RE:RE:Re re 3rd quarterThe company was poorly managed with previous owners. The previous owners also had directors appointed in the company, so they would have known at the time when the bid came in at $4.00.
The same owners/management allowed the dilution of the company for a long time and Waterous is fixing the problem now. The previous owners are also the ones who sold the company at $3.60 exclusively, screwing over other shareholders left without a choice. But, the shares did trade around $3.60 at the time of takeover announcement, so other shareholders did have the same choice to sell out.
The dividend should have been cut earlier with all the dilution that happened and the money used for the buyback should have gone to pay back the debt. The former owners were exploiting the company resources.
Now, the explanation for institutions keeping the share price low may be that they do not want to see an equity offering. If that happens, the company would easily be able to pay back the debt sooner and the lenders would not be able to bank the interest/fee charged on the loan. This always happens with any company. By keeping the share price low, it takes away the option for the company to raise money by offering shares.
Also, WEF has not made any other purchases/deals after the Cona takeover. Their pocket may be narrower than people assume it to be.