Vonage Rises From The Dead on Sprint Deal

In a deal that should set aside litigation concerns, Vonage (VG) agreed to pay Sprint $80 million in a licensing deal that covers past and future use of patents related to connecting Internet phone calls. As Vonage steadily approached zero, I wrote it off as dead. I'm an original Vonage subscriber and to be honest, I attempted to get in on their IPO, which was a unique offering to existing Vonage customers. Fortunately for me, it was so oversubscribed that I wasn't allocated any shares. The Vonage model wasn't sustainable, as evidenced by this year's performance. The stock had dropped more than 90% since its debut and have earned the nickname "Vonage the dog" from the likes of Cramer.

Well, now, it's back - up 123% on Monday. Not only has the uncertainty been removed, which I continually highlight as a bigger detriment to a stock than the true liability (notice how the financials have jumped back following the giant writedowns by the major firms?), but Vonage is possibly being eyed as a takeover target.

On a personal note, although the pricing's been good, I'm not real pleased with the actual service. My wife beats me up over these weird crossed calls where she calls a number and gets someone else and vice-versa during the day. Also, sometimes, it doesn't work at all. I guess that's what they paid the $80 million for, huh?