It wasn't that long ago undisclosed bids and offers were placed...

It wasn't that long ago undisclosed bids and offers were placed with the market none the wiser of the actual volume and sometimes they were pulled. This is almost as old as time itself.

Why doesn't everyone complain when the shareprice is "manipulated" upwards like the recent spike to 77c?

I believe the less time you spend worrying about what others are doing in the market and spend more time trying to exploit the action the better off you are. It is a two way street so there are opportunities in both directions.

Right now traders that have no interest in a dividend/cap return are taking their chips off the table. Soon to be replaced with superfund types that will buy on the completion of the sale and announcement of the div.

At this point if you are a buyer you should be stoked as there is still value at this level. If you are a long term holder it hardly matters. If you are in the middle you will get a chance to roll them out when the div hunters move on the stock.