"Highly hypothetical but I have seen effects with too many great stocks for this not to happen on occasion."
What you are talking about, Ed, is outright fraud. Although the laws in Canada are not as stingent as the US, even having a discussion on the subject with Joe or Tom could make you guilty of conspiracy (20 years).
At any rate, how would you control these guys, once the deal was made. If they stiffed you, any agreement would be unenforcable, other than by a couple of guys with baseball bats. Somehow I can't visualize any representative from Baosteel or Cliff's going this route.
On a milder theory along the same lines though, I can see RCF knowing that there is someone in the background intending to make a run on NOT, and with or without an agreement in place, letting that entity know they have accumulated X amount of shares they are willing to pledge at a certain price.
Although each of us has our pet theory on where this will end up, niether NOT, Baosteel, RCF, or CLF, has seen fit to inform us of their intentions. There is no requirment for them to do so, nor do we have the right to demand to know. The end result of this is that we sometimes(often) get carried away with expansion of someone else's theories.
This last week there has been much discussion of several entities, each holding 9.9%, and how this is going to screw up Baosteel's plans. In truth, we don't know what Baosteels plans are. We don't know why RCF is suddenly here, and we certainly don't have any indication that there are other big holders showing up along side them.
I personally do not see Baosteel taking any action in the short term. They don't have any reason to do so. They can sit on the sidelines for up to a year with the right to preempt any other action, so why make the move prematurely.
I also think RCF is here for the investment return. They simply see an upside short term and are acting on it.
This leaves Wes in a bit of a pickle as he is going to need funds VERY shortly. One would hope he has a rabbit or two to pull up, such as the anticipated infrastructure news, a hit from winter drilling (doubtful), or just knows a takeout is coming.
Best regards
K
