Soon-Shiong's best shot at winning shareholder approval for a buyout bid would have included a proxy battle, offering up his own slate of directors at Tronc's annual meeting next month. Yet this year's meeting will be held about six weeks earlier than 2016's June 2 annual meeting. That timing -- likely strategically intended by Ferro -- meant that the deadline for Soon-Shiong, or anyone else, to propose alternatives to Ferro's hand-picked slate has come and gone. That missed deadline offers an echo of last year. Then, Gannett missed its deadline to file an alternative slate of directors and could only muster a high-priced protest vote at Tronc's annual meeting. That protest worked to display substantial support for the Gannett bid, but protest or not, the just-say-no campaign continued until the almost-completed deal's weird end, as the deal fell apart at the eleventh hour.