Sprint About To Be Acquired? (S, SKM)

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) just saw a rather large surge in volume as per our report at Volume Spike (VSInvestor.com).  We saw a surge in trading and price based upon a CNBC report from David Faber that SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) is in talks to potentially acquire the ailing telecom.  This is one of the top brands we predicted could disappear as we know it at the beginning of the year.  In fact, we noted back that that SK Telecom had already approached the company.

Faber was very clear that there are no definite terms signed and that a deal is not imminent and potentially weeks away.  SK Telecom is actually smaller, so this might also involve private equity or other partners. 

Shares spiked 9% on the CNBC report, and are now up over 13% on more than 30.5 million shares having traded hands.  Its 52-week trading range is $5.48 to $22.64 and its average daily volume is about 34 million shares.

As a reminder, until something official or quasi official materializes, all such reports are to be considered rumors.

Jon C. Ogg
July 15, 2008