I agree with you in part. As is said, the lower price can mentally anchor shareholders to see a lower offer price as reasonable and this could be a tactic for a buyer to acquire AVZ or assets at a lower value than otherwise.
What this assumes though is that the buyer knows the true value of the asset but shareholders do not. Again, this is where ML and the BOD are important in communicating to shareholders whether they are getting a low-ball offer and should hold out for more or if it's a fair-value offer. Their assessment will be based on the level of demand and number of interested buyers they are negotiating with, which to my mind are independent of the current share price.
I think the recent SP drop is due to a lack of clear communication from Klaus about what is happening behind the scenes and how far away an offer is. People have drawn a range of conclusions about Klaus' 15c sell and worry that the TO will be later rather than sooner, or not at all.
Personally, I'm holding out to see what ML and KA have to say, rather than jumping to conclusions.
AVZ Price at posting:
9.7¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
