DJ1,It does always happen before a takeover that the bidding...

DJ1,

It does always happen before a takeover that the bidding company gives the shares of the target company a good workover in order to reduce the sp to the lowest possible level.
Then they will try to keep it at those levels in order to get to that magical 90 days VWAP. Usually this is the time when the nervous nellies will fold their cards, and sell out playing into the bidder's hands.

While this is happening, some stop losses will also be triggered and some marging calls will me made as well, thus giving the bidder more shares available for his game while gaining more percentage holding, and not necessarily under his name.

Once they have reached that VWAP figure, which was previously properly planned/targeted and achieved in order to allow them to make the offer, they will then come out again with a magical offer of 30 or 40 or 50% premium to the manipulated down VWAP.

But, here it is mate, and here lyes the crunch, that premium offer is usually not much more than what the sp was at before they started that good workover, lol.

And, IMHO, if they don't succeed in getting that offer accepted, and if they have accumulated shares while they were doing the manipulation, they will then start dumping the shares giving the impression that what was holding the sp up during the negotiations, was only because there was a takeover offer on the table.

There is the market for you mate. The best thing is to look away while this is going on. Chances are that it will eventually work itself out.

Hope this will help.

Buddy