I wonder if a "friendly" company who wants us to succeed and who knows of our poison pill provision could do us a favor and make an offer anyway, just to bring attention to us, and hence by that mechanism, and the subsequent media attention that would result, help vault our SP high enough to make Nasdaq.

Do companies ever do such favors?

After all, if the larger company's goal is merely to have POET up and running with strength so that they can scale up man-power wise and facility-wise and produce the stuff they need, it would only serve their own interest to try that, IMO.