I'm not sure where the 2.5 million float shares figure came from. I do not recall that in any PR so it is likely someone's guess. I would guess that the outstanding shares is around 50 million and we know that 30 million of those are restricted and owned by insiders (mostly Downs himself). So the float is realistically around 20 million shares. Insiders feel this is drastically undervalued right now, and I agree. So they have raised funds to "internalize" the dividend and take advantage of the depressed share price. This effort will reduce the float by up to 25% if they are able to buy enough shares at the depressed price. The company probably already bought some, but by announcing they are showing confidence and being as open and honest as possible.
In response to recent price fluctions, all I can say is that it is the normal market at work. I highly doubt anyone has the $100,000 it would take to seriously manipulate this stock. We are trading over 700,000 shares a day. Considering that the share price was at $0.10 only 14 trading days ago, I can understand some profit taking. As we shake the tree and the loose leaves fall we make room for other longs to pick up a few more shares at a discount. New longs enter and take their places. Nothing unusual if you ask me.