, Columnist
The Lesson in Straight Path's Short Squeeze
Betting against entities that hold crucial wireless airwaves isn't the best idea.
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Oh, to be a Straight Path shareholder. And oof, to be a Straight Path short-seller.
The bidding war between Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. for Straight Path Communications Inc. has come to an end, leaving the market value of this little-known wireless spectrum owner nearly $2 billion higher than it was about a month ago, when it stood at a mere $450 million. Verizon's winning bid this week of $184 a share knocked out AT&T, which had originally agreed to pay $95.63 a share back in April. Verizon says its finalized terms work out to an enterprise value of $3.1 billion.