our friends in the uk, page-6

Usually they don't actually set out to drive the price down and make money on being short - that tends to annoy the company you have the agreement with. They are usually happy just to get short at the VWAP they are using for the calculation as they get the 7% regardless. There is also the risk that others drive it through the opt out level that the company has set and you get caught short eg you sell 20m down to 8p and stops get triggered down to 6.5p but the opt out number is 7p - the company gets worried about the SP performance and triggers the opt out - well now you are just short 20m hoping you can get them back below 8p to make your money. Say the company then has to release the news that Puntland rig mobilisation is occurring you could find yourself in the situation that it its at 20p and you are still short at 8p. Then the company rings you and says they want the money again.

So it's not just money for jam - there is risk but if you handle it right you can make good cash out of it - in the example above you can see it's not in the financiers interest to drive the price lower. Range negotiated a pretty reasonable deal here but there were some naive elements - I suspect management thought the same way you did and that the fund was actually just going to take a long position when ever Range rang up and drew down - then sell down later. I imagine PL and crowd were a little disappointed after the first drawdown was requested and they found of the dudes started shorting Range as their hedge - I don't think they were expecting that cause the financiers usually say they don't or wont do that - but they'll never put it in writing - they will always put in writing that if it falls below a certain price the company can pull out - that makes everyone at the company feel good except it doesn't achieve and funds raised and usually the shorter then just buys back what they shorted at a profit - except in the unlikely case I listed above.

Anyway I suspect most fund raising related heaviness is pretty much over so the soft side is once again the top side. Onwards and upwards.