RE:RE:Still chirping away over the carcass of “the offer” are we?I normally adhere to never-say-never; but I am irritated past being reasonable in this instance.
Let’s review how we got here:
- An unsolicited offer for a no-cash share exchange turned into a hostile takeover (or under) bid.
- In the face of the a complete rejection of this by Bonterra management and shareholders, an extension of the hostile bid without any improvement in the offer; but with a change from a takeover to a potentially very messy, nasty and expensive proxy fight. A second rejection and yet another dragging out of the offer. Now we are onto a third move of the goal sticks with no indication from the bidder that any Bonterra shareholder has tendered; and some evidence that almost none have.
- A succession of press releases (and sniping posts here) that have degenerated into nothing but personal attacks and innuendo against Bonterra’s long standing and well-respected leadership.
- Everything we read, even those few reports that are meekly positive about the so-called imperatives of the M&A cycle, lists red flags surrounding the bidding company; its sketchy offer; its ever-changing management; its rocky track record and its spotty business ethics. Have these been addressed anywhere? No; all that we hear are a litany of appeals to authority: the banks want the deal; the market wants the deal; shareholders want the deal; only the obstinacy of a few individuals stands in the way; the deal just has to happen... So says the herd, except for Bonterra shareholders, who are clearly not so persuaded.
I will leave it to others to figure out where words like naive and arrogant might apply in all this.
All the discussion here by Obsidian’s backers is about Bonterra, but this is no longer about Bonterra. It is (or should be) about Obsidian and its lengthy list of miss-firing initiatives. This one is now seven months stale.