You have some valid points; the blackout and the reason for it is creating some confusion. I agree with you that if a blackout is in effect, then the person should not be allowed to participate in a PP. That seemed to indicate that EE was not part of the blackout (at the time of the PP).

The securities laws in Canada, which is a provincial jurisdiction, are not very specific on what constitute events that require a blackout; basically the law leaves that up to management's judgment - any person possessing non-public info that may benefit him or her in a security transaction should not be allowed to trade in the security, hence a blackout. The rules for a blackout is established and imposed by the company.

I have to say that more transparency on this issue by the company wouldn't hurt; unless they feel that any detail disclosure on the issue may jeopardize their buy-out negotiations. JMO