Offer... I for one am still undecided on how I feel about the deal.....It is not a terrible offer but I think we have all been expecting a little more than we received. For those that are leaning towards voting no, I would still encourage you to do so however I see very little chance of this being voted down.
It is clear that Management has been working on this for some time and I think the reason they let the share price flounder for so long is more obvious than ever. IMO they did so for two reason:
1. To allow their non-insider support group "friends" accumulate as much as possible to support their agenda, leaving little chance of retail having an actual fair and transparent say in what is going on. These people don't have to report but due to their close relationship with Management, they may as well be on the board. A week before the announcement there is an obvious leak, allowing supporters to further accumulate. My guess is that they have more than enough of the vote going in their favour already and don't need us. What else is new?
2. To create the appearance that this is in the best interest of shareholders. Anyone evaluating the offer would obviously say its in the best interest of shareholders based on where it has traded the last two years...... but we all know that assessment is based on a manipulated and suppressed share price, not a fair and efficient market value. Nation Bank's assessment means squat from my perspecitve.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm as happy as the next guy to make money and will make out quite well on this one but that was never the question. The question was always how much and would we realize anything close to the true value of our porpeties. The answer to that has now been answered and yes, Management was out for themselves (and their friends) all along and no, we did not realize the true value of Cali....we have been somewhat duped.
Unfortunately, this is the reality of the world we live in and the regulators appear powerless or uninterested in leveling the playing field for the average retail investor.
Anyway, congrats all and thanks to eveyone for the intellectual and very insightful dialogue while we waited and continue to wait for the deal to be finalized. The complete story is obviously far from over and I look forward to more interesting dialogue on the Vetas board in the future.....
BH