To get the context, read it as bolded below:

2. These options vest upon Mr. Goerner's conversion to permanent CEO and the occurrence of any of the following: (a) A successful M & A acquisition brought forth by Mr. Goerner, (a merger or acquisition with TPL excluded), approved by the board of directors, (b) Movement of our stock onto a different AMEX or Nasdaq exchange, approved by the board of directors, (c) Any other action by Mr. Goerner having the effect of a sustained, substantial increase in shareholder value, approved by the board of directors, or (d) Approval by the board of directors.

Again, the context is an ACQUISITION. So an acquisition with TPL would be ???? I suspect the word "merger" in the parenthetical is what causes all the confusion. However, IMO this language matters little - as I suppose the possibility of a merger may be reasonable with the proper terms.

Again, the only problems I have with the post of the merger proposition are issues having to do with "where's the incentive for current PTSC management" and the inclusion of words like "and retail will get screwed". If we could get a truly fair deal, I'm all for it (with reservations due to Lecky's "prison door steps" history).

SGE