That's part of the distinction between "preferred" and "common" stock, right? I noticed in the PR that LFB gets preferred stock, not common, which puts them at the head of the line to garner benefits should GTC go under.
I don’t think LFB’s Plan A is to attempt to acquire GTC’s assets in bankruptcy proceedings, and hence the fact that LFB’s convertible preferred stock has a liquidation preference relative to the common stock is not really the issue, IMO.
If LFB wants to acquire all of GTC, the vehicle for accomplishing this will presumably be a standard tender offer. Given that LFB will own almost 70% of GTC’s equity on a fully-diluted basis when the latest financing transaction closes, if 2/3 of GTC’s minority shareholders were to tender their shares, LFB’s equity stake would reach 90%, which is the legal threshold for a short-form merger that becomes a fait accompli without requiring a shareholder vote.
If GTC’s BoD tried to interfere with LFB’s tender offer, LFB could replace a majority of the directors with its own slate—or simply threaten to do so, which would likely be just as effective.
“The efficient-market hypothesis may be the foremost piece of B.S. ever promulgated in any area of human knowledge!”