Signature Devices Inc. (SDVI)

[markeddy998]

If Ken decides to take the company back to private, he's gonna have to pay a pretty price for my shares and probably everyone's shares, period. Of course he could be really EVIL and just REVERSE split them at 1:1000 or higher, WAIT, and then just make an offer to buy them back.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6452716_happens-public-company-goes-private_.html

Procedure
When a publicly traded company agrees to go private, it usually sells shares to an investment group or to another privately held company. Sometimes, the management of the public company itself decides to take the company private by buying all outstanding shares. Most public-to-private conversions are amicable, but sometimes an investment group will make a hostile bid that is not supported by the board of directors. In either case, a company must obtain shareholder approval before it goes private.

Announcement
Upon announcement of a company going private, its publicly traded stock shares often jump in value. A group wishing to take control of a company generally has to offer a premium over the current stock price to convince shareholders and management to agree to the transaction.

Shares usually end up trading slightly below the official offer price of the buyout, as there is always a risk that the deal does not go through. If that happens, the share price usually tumbles back down to where the stock previously traded.

Tender
When a company offers to buy another company, the price at which the deal is announced is known as the tender price. After the board of directors and shareholders agree to the deal, investors tender their shares to an agent of the purchasing company in exchange for the agreed-upon cash amount. Upon receipt of the shares, investors receive a check for the amount of the tender offer.

This procedure is streamlined for investors who work with a financial-services firm instead of keeping their own stock certificates in a safe-deposit box, as the firm can handle all of the paperwork on the client's behalf.

Delisting
After the tender period has elapsed, the stock exchanges will delist the stock, meaning they will stop trading shares of the stock. Although the shares are not technically worthless at this point, because they have no public market, there is no public place to receive any value for them.

Remaining Shares
For investors who neglect, forget, or otherwise do not take advantage of the tender offer, there is some recourse after the shares have been delisted. Each firm has a transfer agent who handles administrative proceedings of the company, such as issuing, canceling, and processing stock certificates. As long as an investor can provide an authentic, numbered stock certificate to the transfer agent, the certificate might be redeemed. However, if the terms of the tender offer explicitly bar shareholders who do not submit their shares on time, the shares will effectively be rendered worthless.