RE:What am I missing?Since you ask, here is what you are missing.
They want to consolidate shares so that hey reach a consolidated price where they can find big buyers to buy new treasury shares.
Those big buyers will not pay the new consolidated market price, They will get a discount (often 20% or more) plus they will get cheap share warrants. These discounts will not be offered to existing or retail shareholders like you and me who paid higher prices for our shares. Also the company often gets stuck with a big expensive broker fee for doing it.
The share price will fall immediately as soon as the new treasury share deal is announced - and the downward spiral begins. Often it falls below the cheap share discount offer price, It accelerates downward when the new buyer sells the cheap shares as soon as possible to recoup all the money he "invested" and he keeps the warrants as a free bet that share prices will rise eventually in the future years covered by the warrants.
How do you prevent this game?
Answer: Reject consolidation - issue share rights to existing shareholders and let them buy more shares for themselves with the money going directly into the FCC treasury. Then investors win and cheap new shares do not fllod the market.
That is what you are missing. It happens all the time.to holders of consolidated shares and the shorters win.
Good luck to real investors.