RE:Didn't age well - maybe it needs a shot of TFC-1067 or 1326Delusional is not a leadership strategy that I have ever seen in a management text book, but clear that it doesn't hold for very long as you have so nicely laid out.
Yes, they were quite pumped at the time of the deal. My educated guess on this one is that they thought the announcement should have driven them up to 80 cents or north and the world would be their oyster. But in what world does Howard think he can support that when they couldn't be permitted to say a thing about the terms of the deal? He knows ALL the terms of the deal, and he keeps buying more shares.
One way we are going to get screwed is from not knowing anything and counting on our terrible experiences on communication to make investment decisions, then all of a sudden baboom, we are trading sky high because whatever Howard is sitting on with that agreement actually comes to fruition, maybe with more certainty than ever, and meanwhile we are sitting back saying WTF?. Or maybe doesn't end that way and we keep dragging along. But he keeps buying more shares. Go figure.