Being picky, I'd disagree with "always should"If you are...

Being picky, I'd disagree with "always should"

If you are comparing economic value then yes you need to look at the relative market cap's (share price * number of shares on issue). Ideally you would also consider the implications of any outstanding options on this, particularly if the options are trading above any exercise price.

If however considering a script offer, you don't need to worry that much about the market cap particularly if its a big company so the acquisition won't change the share price much. For instance say one of the big players did a script offer. If AKE did a 1:12 script offer (and was at $12), do we need to know the market cap of AKE to work out the value - No. If PLS did a 1:3 script offer and was at $3, do we need to know the market cap to work out the value - No. While we could work out the company valuation implied of ESS, this isn't really necessary because what is important is knowing the offer is $1/share.