Sycamore Networks, Inc. (fka SCMR)

[flemsnopes]

The ex-dividend date for the special dividend is October 12, 2012 even though the record date is October 1, 2012. In order to receive and keep the special dividend, it appears you will need to buy the stock by 9/27/2012 and own it through 10/11/2012

The Company also announced that, on September 19, 2012, its Board of Directors approved a special cash distribution of $10.00 per share of common stock. The cash distribution will be paid on October 11, 2012 to stockholders of record as of October 1, 2012. In accordance with NASDAQ Rule 11140(b), the ex-dividend date will be October 12, 2012, the first business day following the payment date for the cash distribution.

Read the following excerpt from the SEC website.

If you sell your stock before the ex-dividend date, you also are selling away your right to the stock dividend. Your sale includes an obligation to deliver any shares acquired as a result of the dividend to the buyer of your shares, since the seller will receive an I.O.U. or "due bill" from his or her broker for the additional shares. Thus, it is important to remember that the day you can sell your shares without being obligated to deliver the additional shares is not the first business day after the record date, but usually is the first business day after the stock dividend is paid.

If you have questions about specific dividends, you should consult with your financial advisor. You can also get information by going to your library and reading Standard and Poor's Dividend Record Binder.

From NASDAQ

Dividends Or Distributions
25 Percent Or Greater Than
Security Value
The second method, under
subparagraph (b)(2) of Rule 11140,
provides that for dividends or
distributions that are 25 percent or
greater of the value of the subject
security, the ex-date shall be the
first business day following the
payable date. For example, if an
issuer has announced August 10 as
the record date and August 31 as
the payable date, then the ex-date
will be September 1, the first
business day after the payable
date. In this example, September 1
is the day on or after which a buyer
would purchase the security without
the dividend and, therefore, the day
on which the price of the stock is
adjusted downward. In this
example, a seller of the security on
August 15, even though the holder
of record to receive the dividend,
would have to relinquish the
dividend to the buyer. Indeed,
because the value of the security
on August 15 has not yet been
adjusted downward to reflect the
dividend distribution, the seller in
this example would be unjustly
enriched by keeping the dividend.
The seller would have received the
value of the dividend twice: first, as
fully reflected in the unadjusted
price of the stock on August 15;
and secondly, as subsequently paid
by the company to record date holders.
This Notice reminds member firms
and their associated persons that
ex-dates are determined differently,
depending on the size of the
distribution. Current and historical
dividend information is maintained
by The Nasdaq Stock Market and
can be found on the Nasdaq Trader
Web Site at
www.nasdaqtrader.com/dailylist/
dl_di_ind.stm.