Thanks for the input. For those looking at ELNK and wondering who would be selling 1.9 million shares at the low last Friday with all the buyout talk, allow me to speculate. There aren't many holders with that much stock in ELNK.
Soros and ITC Holdings were the early backers of ELNK and MSPG, respectively. Both have board representation and neither one is likely to be selling as they would probably be the ones pulling the strings in buyout talks. If they sold because there will be no sale, they'd go to jail.
Sprint? Possibly, but not likely. They are a potential bidder, both their board reps stepped down (potential conflict of interest), and they'd be taking a loss selling at these prices. More likely, if not a bidder, they'll be pushing for a sale. They'd also get some serious questions about inside info.
Institutions? Not likely. Besides, only one fund group, Citi/SmithBarney, owned that much stock.
My guess? Charles Brewer, founder of MSPG who left ELNK last fall, selling about 1/3 of his stock then and making it clear he intended to sell all. Said he wanted to make a complete break from the company and move on to other things. Greed is not his thing, so he wouldn't be worried about missing out on the upside from here. Besides, he may very well have hedged his position then, making this just an unwinding.
Sorry for getting a little OT, but the seemingly endless supply of stock Friday and Monday (the big sells in particular) was bugging me. Thanks for letting me talk it through.
Bob |
