RE:Heads upObscure...good ponts as usual
Regarding the options, there are variations to this and what is not clear to me is what discretion Middlefield has in terms of its options trading. There are certainly more complex options strategies than simply selling a call on a share of ENB. As well, as you pointedt out, we don't even know what calls they may written and also the number of contracts sold.
That said, a quick glance at the options chain on the CBOE for the upcoming expiry date, I see that there are very little options contracts out there with the exception of the one very close to the current to the current SP. The price decay is significant and usual. So if for example, Middlefieldl had written out of the money calls at this exercise price they would be able to close their positions for a profit. On the otherhand, if they had sold contracts with a strike price at the ENB share price a couple of months ago they would be at a significant loss. Given that few of these contracts are left, it begs the question as to whether or not Middlefield closed out their position for a loss or whether they didn't write any at those strike prices.
If the former is the case then they would no doubt have to use the ATM facility to cover their losses and have the money for the payout of the dividends on ENS. In this situation, depending on how many contracts they wrote, they could be the ones who are depressing the price of ENS and generating the discount to NAV.
As with any "academic" discussion, the question then becomes - "Does any of this matter?" The answer depends on your investment strategy and whether there are better places to get a risk adjusted return. It also depends on one's view as to whether this problem is temporary or systemic.
Each of us will need to decide this on our own.