Hit #29

Now that the Nextel/Sprint deal is official, I can claim Nextel as a hit.

Nextel was a turnaround bet that I bought mostly at $7/share and sold around $15/share, close to a year ago, since I couldn't really understand its rapid rise.

I did buy a few more later as a takeover bet. My average price was $19.2/share and the Sprint buyout values the company at around $30/share for a 56% premium.

Continuing my earlier negative tone on this merger, I think the wireless sector has started doing more mergers with just size as a motivation. That is not a good sign. Moreover, there doesn't seem to be enough enthusiasm by rival players, like Verizon or SBC to go after Nextel and that is very disappointing.

I own a few Sprint shares too, both PCS and FON. Ofcourse, the wireless tracking stock, PCS was merged back into the parent a few months ago. Overall, I got the Sprint shares for around $13/share. They stand today at $24/share. I do not plan to keep the shares of the Sprint-Nextel combine - will use the first chance to sell them.