We are not activist investors but we wont accept the buyout if it doesn't make sense. In our experience when there is an offer at a very low price if the buyer doesn't increase the offer during the initial buyout most of the time the buyer comes back although it can take sometime. Its fairly clear that there is also an incentive for the shareholders to want to pay dividends or buy back stock as they have done in the past. The share price in the short-term often can go down if a buyout fails but this can be a great opportunity for investors to buy more stock in an undervalued company as we have done in the past. In this case based on the history of the companies corporate actions and looking at the circumstance of the buyer it seems logical to us that the buyers would either eventually come up with a fairer offer or do other things that make sense for all parties to maximize value. We are not worried if the resolution fails and in the short-term the price goes down. In the past we have made good money for our investors waiting for acquirers to make reasonable offers. Its also the best thing for the stock market and investors as a whole to reject a poor offer which makes the statement to the investor community that minority investors need to be treated fairly. We have known this company for many years and are fairly convinced either now or later we will most likely get a fair price out of the shares. There is always risk but in this case the offer doesn't seem close to a price where we think the risks are a significant worry.

We are institutional investors with a sizable holding in the stock and we are most likely going to vote against it. Dividends and partial or complete liquidation would be a better way to give shareholders value. There are valuable pieces of the business and anything significantly below nav is just being opportunistic. The appraisal by a supposedly independent firm isn't often worth much. If the the appraiser is selected by the board of the firm being acquired and if this is the case as the acquirer is related to the board often times the board selects a firm they believe will give an appraisal that lets them achieve their goals. If this is the case its clearly a conflict of interest. Even if "independent directors" select the appraiser these Director's are often not very independent as often the majority shareholders have significant influence on who are the 'independent' directors and often they are friends. In the more than 20 years I have been in this business its rare to see an appraiser's report that is really good and seems truly independent. In reality the minority investors should select the appraiser or if this isn't possible or practical the regulator or stock exchange should make the selection especially in a situation where the acquiring party sits on the board or manages the company being acquired. Anyway it is easy for the appraiser that wants to make the company happy to say the offer is good because it is above the recent share price allowing them to neglect or discount the real intrinsic value. Anyway, I hope other shareholders look at the situation and think for themselves what is fair and makes sense.