Further: Seems to me that most of this tooing and frowing of...

Further: Seems to me that most of this tooing and frowing of very large volumes of shares without much real change in ownership was likely just as much about getting the VWAP down as it was sucking out the weary smallholders.

It works on the principle that when you beat someone up enough times (particularly when they don't really deserve it) then when you stop and offer them a bit of a respite or even a tiny little carrot or two, they breathe a sigh of relief and give you what you want.

Takeover bid coming?

"Bloodied but unbowed, I still stand straight and tall!".
(Who said that?)
Stiff upper lip and all that!