It always confuses me that why any potential suitor doesn't buy a lot of shares in the secondary market at this level. On the day that buyout happens, it will make a lot of profits, or effectively they buy the company at the current price for the shares they own. I think the obvious answer is there are not so many shares floating on the market. So BP would really appreciate it if there are 125M shorts rather than the current 25M level since shorts virtually create extra shares for buying. I guess BP are waiting for more shorts and of course for more longs to give up their shares.