Accepting Defeat
Part of being a good investor is recognizing when you have lost, so that you can cut your losses, or focus on what can win in the future. Today, I recognize my loss on National Atlantic. Why today? After talking with a friend who knows more than me about appraisal rights in this situation, in New Jersey, in cash deals there are no appraisal rights allowed, unless specifically granted in the corporate charter. Here is an example from a NJ bank deal.
Ugh. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is. Maybe someone with deep pockets could sue NAHC and its board and management, jointly and severally for fraud, but those pockets aren’t mine. So, I look forward to the merger vote. I will vote my 0.15% of the shares “against,” but I realize the NAHC management plus the arbs hold enough shares to win. Personally, I really dislike the disinformation that they have written in their definitive proxy regarding runoff; they paint a scenario that does not ring true with my knowledge of the insurance business.
$6.25/share — It could be worse, right? No, probably not. 
Full disclosure: long NAHC
