This isn't the first death spiral these guys have funded. They know how to play retail. Hit the bids, they pull back the ask to drive some more bids.
They have a guaranteed profit, as long as they can sell first, then cover directly from the company at a huge discount.
Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals.
E. O. Wilson