Potent Ventures Inc (POT)

[Spuds McKenz66]

http://www.investingdaily.com/14213/trc-capital-and-the-mini-tender-menace/
Every once in a while, however, something reminds me how many unscrupulous people are willing to do anything for a quick buck. This week, it was the latest attempts by TRC Capital to convince fearful investors to part with solid dividend-paying stocks at below market prices, including PPL Corp (NYSE: PPL), PG&E Corp (NYSE: PCG) and Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG).

Privately held TRC has been around a while. And as a brief Google of its name makes clear, it’s had a wide range of target stocks over the years, ranging from Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK).

TRC’s trademark strategy is to launch an unsolicited “mini-tender” offering to buy a small percentage of a company’s stock BELOW the market price. TRC then sells any shares tendered and pockets the difference. If the share price sinks below the offer price, TRC can walk away. In fact, it can legally keep investors from backing out, literally locking up their shares until it’s profitable to buy them out.

All of the companies listed above have gotten the word out that TRC’s offer is not official. And they’ve urged shareholders to reject it. One can only wonder, however, about investors in companies that didn’t send out press releases, or what happened to those who didn’t get a warning.