I'd say this clown wasn't too interested in his shareholders , having left $3 (20%) on the table , and tries to put a happy face on it. Would you admit such a thing in public? ======================== The lure of the special dividend, however, isn't impressing all investors. Michael Stead, a portfolio manager for River Aire Investment, which mainly invests in financial stocks, says he sold his shares of Ameritrade shortly before the deal was announced. He says he would have preferred Ameritrade accepting the bid from E*Trade and is not disappointed he's missing out on the special dividend. "They are clearly not interested in shareholder value, therefore it's time to go,'' says Stead, who sold his shares when the stock was trading around $15. "To hang around for a special dividend is something I'm not willing to do. I think there are better opportunities elsewhere."
A special dividend doesn't come out of nowhere. It reduces the shareholders' funds by that amount, so a share that was worth $15 before distribution of a $3 special dividend will be worth $12 afterwards. Fundamentally, anyway.