Will Carl Icahn show long-suffering XO shareholders some love?

Even as he was resigning from Yahoo's board and wrestling with struggling lender CIT Group, he raised his offer for the 47% he doesn't own of telecom concern XO to 80 cents a share. A special committee of XO's board had rejected his original July offer of 55 cents as "substantially" undervaluing the company.

Good news for shareholders? Not necessarily.

First, XO is likely worth a lot more than 80 cents. Second, Mr. Icahn's new offer expired almost as soon as it came to light. It exploded at

6 p.m. on Oct. 26 -- the same day a filing disclosed its existence. Mr. Icahn had informed XO directors about the new offer the previous Friday.

Since then, no word on what happens next. But at least investors appear to be betting that a deal emerges -- after a brutal week for stocks, XO closed up 18% at 79 cents.
—overheard@wsj.com
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page C8