284 million is a small percentage of outstanding shares compared to other companies of the same size. 1 to 1.5 BILLION shares are not uncommon. Unless the merger creates 800 million more shares once completed I think they will need to do a regular split not a reverse split in order to increase the number of shares to the companies full operational level. I thought that dilution had already taken place and the shares were reflecting the diluted price before the increased outstanding share count.