Woodford was not attempting a takeover. Woodford got the message board treatment — not to be confused with the all you can eat buffet treatment. He made public statements and attempted to address the Phase V allegations, and got body slammed.
Had his intentions been a takeover, he would have approached this situation very, very differently. And don’t recall Woodford being anything more than a fund manger for a speculative stock fund. Had he ever attempted a hostile takeover… anywhere?