RE: PP = Private PlacementOnly the naked short part of this is illegal.
https://www.thestar.com/Business/article/233374
Canaccord fined over short sales
Stonestreet's trading strategy involved securing private placementdeals in which it bought shares at a discount, then "sold short theissuer's underlying common stock by initiating `naked' short sales inthe Stonestreet account," the agreement said.
"Stonestreet LPcontinued to short the underlying stock until the accumulated shortposition was approximately equal to the number of shares thatStonestreet LP would receive through the private placement. Eventually,the shares purchased in the private placement were used, either directlyor indirectly, to close out the accumulated short positions. Thistrading strategy generated profits for Stonestreet LP on the differencebetween the short sale price and the discount price of the privateplacement."
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