Buyout or no buyout, what evidence do you have that the company is on life support and does not have the cash flow to maintain current activities. They are still selling to the automotive industry, they have orders, and, are expanding its efforts overseas. Just because they are small doesn't prevent them from having a sales niche. It's customized applications that do not necessarily require a huge critical mass to deliver its services. Most companies acquire other companies because they want/need their product or service or see the target's business as complimentary to their own core business and seek to mitigate the cost of entry through acquisition. Maybe that's the case here, maybe its not.
Buyout aside, how do you make such a determination?