NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[Chiugray]

Branster, That's a very important point you make. I want to reiterate, if I understand it correctly, as it should be more of a PSA.

In a purely hypothetical: A BP makes a bid to buyout NWBO for $10/sh. The deal will close in 2 months, and immediately the stock price jumps to $10/sh. A Retail shareholder might think (the mistake): "Why not just sell now, can't go higher than the offer price, grab my $10/sh, and move on to the next thing". In the situation where there is a large naked short position (ie NWBO IMO), those naked shares have to clear out. In other words, the anticipated "price ceiling" doesn't apply when shorts are in a "Forced Cover". Therefore if Retail sells at $10/sh prior to closing, Shorts avoid the short squeeze. That same principle applies whether the buyout price is $10/sh, $20, $30, or $50/sh. A short squeeze will be on top of the buyout price, at least until the Forced Cover completes.

3. Price Impact Before Closing - If Merck bids $10.00 while NWBO is at $0.25, arbitrage funds, retail, and institutions will rush to buy under $10.00. - Short sellers (especially naked shorts) scramble to find shares to cover, driving the stock toward $10.00.

4. Forced Cover - By the time the merger closes, all naked shorts must either buy shares or be bought-in automatically by the clearing system. - This exposes naked short positions because the true number of outstanding shares must reconcile. --- Example with NWBO Numbers - NWBO has ~1 billion plus shares outstanding (example). - Suppose there are also 300 million synthetic/naked shares floating. - If Merck buys all 1B plus shares for cash, the extra 300M “phantom” shares still exist on broker statements — but cannot be cashed out without real shares. - Clearing firms force shorts to buy real stock at whatever price sellers demand. This could result in naked shorts paying far above the buyout price ($12, $15, $20+) to find shares.