Ig, you are right about the short funds not wanting a buyout at all, regardless of price, as they would then be inescapably trapped. I had not thought of that. It is unlikely to happen anyway given where the SP is.
Like you said, it appears they have a small (unknown) window to get out of their positions. They are hoping their "shock and awe" strategy of the last few days may bear some result. I wouldn't mind it if they can cover whatever percentage of their short position in this price range as we need them off our backs if possible. I doubt that they can cover more than 3-4 million even in the 4s. They may have to cover the rest higher, but from their perspective the low base can't hurt.
I guess it would only be the retail shorts who will truly get burned when the partnership news releases.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
