RE:RE:Year-end Portfolio clean-upHi Grey,
Fairfax and the Voting Trust can take Torstar private by buying the 30 million shares they don't own. At $5.50/share they lockup the company for $165 million which could be easily financed or come out of petty cash at Fairfax. Dividend savings alone would be $3 million annually.
You have to ignore the current share price because the market isn't valuing Torstar on a rational basis. Not even a yield north of 13% can generate much interest because of the industry dynamics, management competency questions and the Voting Trust hangover.
The Voting Trust may be senile, incompetent and near brain dead, but they aren't going to give the company away. They have to feel they have run out of options before they succumb to privatization. A competent financial advisor would give them a range of values for Torstar based on all kinds of methodologies and they will get some good advice.
They will demand a control premium (which is shared with B shareholders) and therefore, $5.50/share and some sort of Atkinsonian provision might get the job done.
Keep the DRIP going and stay the course.