Stan, I think your analogy is right on and puts this deal in perspective for the short term. Some store chains are very selective about the products they shelve; others aren't. I'm sure WCOM could be could be counted among the picky.
The key for me in the announcement is that WCOM allowed FTEL to leverage the WCOM name. If this was just a collocation deal, WCOM would still take FTEL's money and collocate the equipment, they just might not let them use their name -- especially if they completed their evaluation and were somehow luke warm to FTEL. With the recent positive reviews, there is no reason to think this is the case. If WCOM actually issues a news release, I will be impressed, but I think, at this point, FTEL is being very deliberate in releasing enough information to get the desired stock price and hold it there.
With this(preliminary?) announcement, I would guess that FTEL wanted to say enough to get the price over five bucks and keep the clock ticking. Bigger deals often take more time and haggling and, in all likelyhood, are under negotiation as we speculate. As Helen said, there's more to come! Another $0.02
Jim |
