SRC, I don't truly consider it a complete "ruse" in the classical sense; I don't believe they are trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes except for acknowledging the end game. I believe they know how the story ends, most likely via private communications and discussions. Some folks climb to the top by stabbing others in the back, and some climb there by doing good, honest business dealings with solid strategy and market understanding. I believe Mr. Martha is firmly entrenched in the latter camp, running one of the top med device companies on the planet before his 50th birthday. That level of visibility takes down the shysters pretty quickly, leaving shrewd but honest businessmen at the top. If Medtronic builds a reputation of screwing over their business partners, his legacy would be very short lived.
For now, there is no buyout, and both organizations are continuing on as such, as it should be. As it has to be. I'm figuring the two possibilities are that they both continue on, not necessarily just until the publicly-known agreement completes, but possibly even afterwards; they could have additional (implicit or verbal) milestones required before acquisition. Maybe Titan needs to sell 50 or 200 Enos systems to prove viability in the marketplace. Maybe there will be a joint marketing agreement in advance using shares sales resources. Look more closely at the Mazor agreement to see the transition model they used. There is a Sticky above to post 110169 with a list of links showing how that progressed. Note item 149 in which Medtronic assumed global distribution for Mazor products a year before acquisition. Now a proven model, but with the unintended side effect of a Mazor share price run-up. I'm sure they are doing the math to see how they want this to play out and whether or not they need to revise or optimize that model.
The second possibility is a shortcut; at some point and for some unforeseen reason, MDT might just say they have enough info and enough confidence in the technologies that there is no reason to delay the inevitable. Early acquisition would allow them to concentrate more of their own resources into the development of both product offerings and get them to market even more quickly. It also would allow for a more economical acquisition solution, because as Titan progresses with Enos, the inherent value increases, so MDT's cash outlay may need to increase proportionally. But the motivation for early acquisition could just as easily be an outside factor, like the upcoming election leading to reinstatement of Obama administration officials who bitterly fought Medtronic's move to Ireland and lost in court. Who knows...
So in the meantime it has to be business as usual, we attend the occasional investor conference, we try to maintain the NASDAQ compliance by whatever means are necessary... Their reps are enmeshed in our board meetings and the joint oversight panel, maybe to ensure Titan doesn't try to screw THEM over! Both sides have some vulnerabilities right now and neither wants this to go south.
If Mr. Martha wants to maintain the respect he has earned in this industry, this can only play out to one conclusion. If, on the other hand, he somehow screws Titan over, nobody will want to play with them again, and his self-declared legacy of acquisitions will dry up faster than a Sequoia in a California wildfire.
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Thx 66, still foggy on the 'ruse' (looking independent) and/or keeping pps low and r/s thing. So TMDI states that a r/s will be up for vote this month but come next month a milestone, which we don't know what it is, will be met and this will provide $10M dollars to TMDI. In addition, MDT's CEO will speak on the 14th of October about robotics which must include the partnership with TMDI and most likely the progress made. So we are talking about a 1-2 month window.
I am having trouble connecting the dots on TMDI attempting to look independent by business as usual by announcing a vote (just an unnecessary vote) on a r/s and then a month or so later all these positive developments from the MDT/TMDI partnership. Again, if true it will drive TMDI pps higher eventually hitting the 10 days > $1 and being NASDAQ compliant. Maybe there is a NASDAQ deadline in that month or so gap I am not aware of, possible.
What strategic benefit is between the vote on r/s announcement and the October news that could be had by this 'ruse' or attempt to keep pps low? It's not like the pps has been hopping as of late so no fear of it getting out of control before milestone is hit. Lets say price takes off after October news, is the r/s vote supposed to stop ppl from buying in an attempt to keep pps lower? I'm a simple man, maybe a little slow as well, but still doesn't make a lick of sense to me what is going on.
Thx. I remain long and confused:)
