The buying that has occurred since the scheme announcement is...

The buying that has occurred since the scheme announcement is not by the bidder.

Some large shareholders offloaded at around 50c; others bought in.

My read is that some decided that a quick profit was better than waiting; and others saw that ESS will not be sold for 50c.

I can see no way that the bidder can get 50c.

Did the callers tell you who they were working on behalf of?

I would be very surprised if it wasnt the bidder trying to gauge if they need to up the ante.

Reaching a no vote at 50c is quite problematic given it will slow them down plenty. But they dont want to pay more than they think we will accept.