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Dish Makes a Bid for MetroPCS before T-Mobile Deal

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Charlie Ergen, Dish Network Corp’s chairman had made a bid to acquire MetroPCS in the month of August for USD 4 billion and the company is taking serious measures to enter into the wireless business.

Mr. Ergen is buying Metro PCS for US$11 per share and he will be paying 30 percent in cash and 70 percent in stock. Mr. Ergen courted MetroPCS right from last March. Talks fell apart later in the month of August and MetroPCS announced its merger with Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile in early October. This particular deal combines the 4th- and 5th-largest wireless carriers in United States.

Dish, the satellite TV provider, gained a foothold in the wireless industry by building up billions of dollars since 2008. The company showed its seriousness in acquiring the wireless business to the Federal Communications Commission.

Dish said that it wants to branch out the business in the U.S. pay-TV market. Dish was prepared to offer the service to the cellular customers as well.

The company is awaiting the FCC decision in changing the current rules and allowing the satellite operators to use the spectrum for cellular based networks. FCC favors Dish’s request with very few limitations.

Mr. Ergen said that it will be a big change for them in the current wireless industry with increasing risk. In the meantime, Sprint Nextel Corp has showed its interest in acquiring MetroPCS until they complete the deal with T-Mobile, and Sprint is also working on the deal to sell its stake of 70 percent to Softbank Corp. for US$20 billion.

An executive from “Company G” contacted Metro PCS earlier in this October before T-Mobile announced its deal publicly. People familiar with the latest developments said that the company G was Sprint.

When the deal was informed to T-mobile, the executives expressed their hope that no transactions would occur. However, if it occurs, he hoped that breakup fee payable by MetroPCS for pursuing an alternative transaction will be reasonable. Under the agreement, MetroPCS will pay breakup fee of around US$ 150 million.

There have been many discussions regarding the wireless industry in the past few months, showing the company’s efforts to lineup the spectrum and grow larger in consolidating the business from previous year’s collapse.

Deutsche Telekom has contacted MetroPCS regarding a fresh deal, after the deal collapsed with AT&T, according to the filings.

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Business

Top 3 Gainers: Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Eros International (NYSE:EROS), Borqs Technologies’ (BRQS)

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Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is up 2.5% after Benchmark reiterated its Buy rating in a look-ahead at Q2 earnings. The firm’s expecting a beat and solid guidance for Q3, and it’s raising its guidance for the fiscal year.

Tailwinds from the pandemic won’t dissipate easily, Benchmark suggests, and the videogame maker’s acquisition of Peak (and with it new “forever franchises” in Toon Blast and Toy Blast) will drive audience, bookings, margins and free cash flow, it says. The firm has an $11 price target, now implying 14% upside.

Eros International (NYSE:EROS) is up 5.8% today, making up the last week’s lost ground, after news that its streaming service Eros Now is partnering with Sony India (SNE +2.3%).

That will mean Eros Now’s app is pre-installed on selected Sony smart televisions in India, along with availability on a large base of existing models (Bravia E series and newer).

The country over the past year has seen a 25% growth in demand for smart TVs, fueled by overall industry growth of 15%, to a record 15M units/year.

Borqs Technologies’ (BRQS) personal safety tracker sees strong market with increased orders from the electronics retail chain in the US.

The boost in product demand comes ahead coronavirus pandemic that provides company to expect delivery of 250K units this year. It reflects over 3x the volume delivered in 2019, the year of its launch.

Borqs’ mobile personal safety devices designed particularly for senior citizens come with panic button, location tracking, and fall detection.

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Biotech

Biotech movers: Pfizer Inc. (PFE), Celgene Corporation (CELG)

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Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said on Thursday it received a request for documents as part of a U.S. investigation related to quality issues involving the manufacture of auto-injectors at its Meridian Medical Technologies site.

Pfizer, in a regulatory filing, said it would be producing records in response to the civil investigative demand from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

Why ASDN Could Massively Outperform PFE in 2019

Meridian, a unit of Pfizer that manufactures EpiPen injectors used to deliver an emergency allergy antidote, has been hit by a series of manufacturing problems in recent years. Mylan NV, which markets EpiPens, has recalled tens of thousands of the devices after complaints that some had failed to activate.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has been meeting with shareholders in Boston and New York over the last two weeks to try to salvage its $74 billion purchase of cancer drugmaker Celgene Corporation (CELG), the biggest acquisition announced so far this year.

Why Investors Are Calling ASDN the CELG of the Sky!

The deal, announced in January, was hard sell to Bristol shareholders from the start. The acquisition adds about $32 billion in fresh debt to Bristol’s balance sheet while assuming $20 billion in Celgene’s debt, the companies said at the time. After factoring in debt, the acquisition was the largest health-care deal on record, according to data compiled by Refinitiv.

Now, hedge funds Wellington Management and Starboard Value say the deal doesn’t sit well with them. Bristol has sent executives to New York to meet with institutional investors several times over the last two weeks and met with investors in Boston on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a person who briefed on the meetings.

Bristol-Myers declined to comment.

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Biotech

Big Losers: Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (CRBP), Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (PBR)

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Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (CRBP)’s shares slumped as much as 16% to $6.94 on huge volume. The stock has been showing intense sell off suddenly after a bearish article on seekingalph.com by Alpha Exposure.

The article stated that Corbus has ties to investors convicted of or alleged to have committed securities fraud. We believe lenabasum has failed its major trials in SSc and CF. Lenabasum was also denied Breakthrough Therapy Designation in SSc. We believe lenabasum will fail in its pivotal SSc and Phase 2b CF trials. We are short Corbus with a price target of $0.50.

Wow the future of Autonomous flight is finally here with the launch of ASDN passenger drone Elroy

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (PBR) is expanding its ambitious divestment program and has “bold” plans for sales, the Brazilian state-run oil company’s chief executive said after the firm posted its first annual profit in five years.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss fourth-quarter results, CEO Roberto Castello Branco said selling non-core assets will be key to deleveraging.

Petrobras, as the company is known, can reduce its ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, to 1.5 or even to 1, he added.

The University of Chicago-educated CEO, who took the reins in early January, has long been vocal about the need to slim down the sprawling firm and focus on core activities such as exploration and production. Thursday’s comments were some of his most assertive on the matter.

Why Investors Are Calling ASDN the TPC of the Sky!

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