Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) volatility at 68; Arbitrage spread tightens into FCC decision.

• SIRI is recently up $0.22 to $3.53, over 6%. SIRI and XMSR announced on 2/20/07 a merger of equals. XMSR shareholders will receive 4.6 SIRI shares for each XMSR share.
  
• Cowen says: "We expect FCC approval before Dec. 4, the end of the FCC review period. We believe approval as early as Oct. is possible. Maintain Outperform on both XMSR & SIRI."
  
• XMSR-SIRI arbitrage premium spread is at 12%. Mel Karmazin is CEO of SIRI.
  
• XMSR December option implied volatility of 68 is above its 26-week average of 51 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) volatility up; Arbitrage spread tightens into FCC decision.

• XMSR is recently up $1.07 to $14.69.
  
• SIRI October option implied volatility of 71 is above its 26-week average of 53 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Avaya Inc. (NYSE: AV), a corporate phone salescompany, has a bid on the table for $17.50 per share, which is expected to go through by the end of the year. If this deal does go through, shareholders stand to make a meager return of 2.3% -- nothing great.

But the story becomes more interesting when investors consider the potential for a new acquirer to step up and make an offer -- an event that is not considered unlikely amongst the "smart money." As the NY Times Deal Book is reporting, many on Wall Street are expecting Nortel Corp. (NYSE: NT) to come out and make a higher bid for Avaya.

This is an interesting derivative of my activist arbitrage strategy I discussed here on BloggingBuyouts, a sister blog of BloggingStocks. Basically, buyers of Avaya are in a very interesting win-a-little vs. win-a-lot situation. If the $17.50 offer goes through and a buyer such as Nortel doesn't step up, shareholders will make a little. But if Nortel comes in and makes a bid, or if a bidding war transpires for the company, shareholders stand to make good money -- especially considering the little risk involved.

Tails I win, heads you lose.