We recently wrote about odd-lot tenders for fun and profit: those peculiar corporate actions where owning 99 shares can sometimes put you ahead of investors who own 100, 1,000 or a million.
The obvious next question is whether there are any actual opportunities to try it on. As of September 10, 2026, there are three live publicly traded tenders I found with an odd-lot provision worth discussing: Arbutus Biopharma, Air Canada and MiniLuxe.
All three offer holders of fewer than 100 shares some form of protection from proration. Beyond that, they could hardly be more different. Arbutus has an uncertain Dutch-auction price. Air Canada has a lovely-looking spread accompanied by a very Canadian tax problem. MiniLuxe offers an amusing percentage return on so little money that transaction costs may eat the entire meal.
This seems like an appropriate place to start keeping score.
We’re Going to Treat These Like a Paper Portfolio
For every opportunity in this series, I want to record the market price before we know how the tender turns out. When the offer closes, we’ll come back and calculate what would actually have happened if we had bought the conventional maximum odd lot of 99 shares and tendered them.
For Arbutus and Air Canada, I am using the September 9 closing prices, the last completed trading session before this article. MiniLuxe barely trades at all, but its most recent September 9 quote was C$0.38, so we’ll use that as the reference price as well.
| Company | Reference Price | Cost of 99 Shares | Tender Range | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ: ABUS) | $5.17 | $511.83 | $5.00–$5.75 | September 29 |
| Air Canada (TSX: AC) | C$28.13 | C$2,784.87 | C$29.00–C$33.00 | September 24 |
| MiniLuxe (TSXV: MNLX) | C$0.38 | C$37.62 | C$0.40–C$0.48 | September 24 |
These are hypothetical purchases, not recommendations. The point is to establish a contemporaneous price so that six weeks from now we cannot congratulate ourselves using whatever price happens to make the trade look best.
Opportunity #1: Arbutus Biopharma
Arbutus Biopharma is offering to spend up to US$230 million repurchasing its own shares through a modified Dutch auction. Shareholders can tender between $5.00 and $5.75 in five-cent increments, and the offer is scheduled to expire at 5 p.m. New York time on September 29 unless it is extended or withdrawn.
The company has explicitly protected qualifying odd lots. If the offer is oversubscribed, Arbutus says it will first purchase all shares properly tendered at or below the eventual purchase price by shareholders who beneficially own fewer than 100 shares and tender their entire position. Only then does the company prorate the remaining tendered shares.
The full Arbutus Offer to Purchase is available through the SEC. It is worth reading if you are considering the trade, because the precise odd-lot language matters.
The Arbutus Problem: The Tender Can Clear Below Our Purchase Price
ABUS closed September 9 at $5.17. Buying 99 shares at that price would cost $511.83. Unfortunately, the bottom of the tender range is only $5.00.
If we make a Purchase Price Tender and the auction clears at $5.00, our coveted odd-lot priority would work perfectly. Arbutus could buy all 99 shares. We would simply have succeeded in selling every share for less than we paid.
| Final Tender Price | Proceeds on 99 Shares | Gross Profit/Loss | Gross Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $495.00 | -$16.83 | -3.3% |
| $5.25 | $519.75 | +$7.92 | +1.5% |
| $5.50 | $544.50 | +$32.67 | +6.4% |
| $5.75 | $569.25 | +$57.42 | +11.2% |
That makes Arbutus different from the classic odd-lot trade where the market price sits safely below the minimum tender price. The odd-lot provision removes potential proration. It does not remove clearing-price risk.
Could We Just Refuse to Tender Below $5.25?
Yes. An investor could make an auction tender at $5.25 rather than a Purchase Price Tender. If Arbutus clears at $5.25 or higher, the shares could qualify for purchase and the investor would avoid knowingly selling below the $5.17 reference price.
The tradeoff is straightforward. If the auction clears at $5.20, a $5.25 tender gets rejected altogether. You still own ABUS, which may then trade wherever the market thinks it belongs after the tender.
Odd-lot priority protects you from proration. It does not guarantee that you guessed the auction correctly.
Arbutus Has a Surprisingly Important Canadian Tax Advantage
Arbutus is incorporated in British Columbia, so Canadian tender-tax rules deserve attention here too. Fortunately, the company’s own tender document suggests the tax issue may be much less troublesome than it is with Air Canada.
Arbutus estimates that its Canadian tax paid-up capital should be at least C$8.42 per share when the offer expires. Because the U.S.-dollar tender price may not exceed that paid-up capital once currencies are taken into account, Arbutus says a nonresident shareholder selling into the tender may not be deemed to receive a taxable Canadian dividend.
The company specifically warns that this outcome cannot be guaranteed. If a deemed dividend does arise for a nonresident, Canadian withholding could apply. Anyone actually participating should read the tax section of the offer rather than relying on an article about someone else’s tax situation.
Still, compared with Air Canada, the Arbutus tax setup is refreshingly uneventful. Its problem is the spread.
Opportunity #2: Air Canada
Air Canada is where the numbers become much more interesting. The airline is conducting a substantial issuer bid for up to C$800 million of shares using a modified Dutch auction between C$29 and C$33, in ten-cent increments. The offer is scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on September 24 unless Air Canada extends, varies or withdraws it.
Its odd-lot language is equally attractive. If the offer is oversubscribed, Air Canada says holders of fewer than 100 shares will not be subject to proration.
The company explains the structure in its official substantial issuer bid announcement.
At C$28.13, Air Canada Looks Almost Too Easy
Air Canada closed September 9 at C$28.13. That means 99 shares would cost C$2,784.87, while even the bottom of the tender range is C$29.
Unlike Arbutus, the gross return is positive at every possible tender price:
| Final Tender Price | Proceeds on 99 Shares | Gross Profit | Gross Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| C$29.00 | C$2,871.00 | +C$86.13 | 3.1% |
| C$30.00 | C$2,970.00 | +C$185.13 | 6.6% |
| C$31.00 | C$3,069.00 | +C$284.13 | 10.2% |
| C$32.00 | C$3,168.00 | +C$383.13 | 13.8% |
| C$33.00 | C$3,267.00 | +C$482.13 | 17.3% |
A 3.1% minimum gross return over roughly two weeks, with no proration for a qualifying odd lot, looks awfully attractive.
There is, naturally, a catch.
Canada Has Invented a Tax Rule Especially Capable of Ruining This Trade
When a Canadian corporation repurchases its own shares for more than their tax paid-up capital, part of the proceeds can be treated as a deemed dividend under Canadian tax law rather than simply as proceeds from selling stock.
We do not need a hypothetical to see how this works because Air Canada ran a similar tender in 2025. That offer cleared at C$18.80, while Air Canada estimated paid-up capital of C$10.59 per share. The company therefore reported a deemed dividend of C$8.21 per tendered share.
Air Canada’s 2025 final tender results explain the calculation.
Current specialist tracking of the 2026 offer estimates paid-up capital at approximately C$10.60 per share. If the new tender clears at C$29, that implies a potentially very large deemed-dividend component relative to our C$0.87-per-share gross spread.
The Withholding Treatment May Be the Entire Air Canada Trade
For a U.S. investor, I would want to understand exactly how the broker will handle Canadian withholding before buying a single share for this strategy. The answer can depend on residency, treaty treatment, account type, custody arrangement and how the broker processes the corporate action.
If Canadian tax is withheld against a deemed dividend approaching C$18.40 per share, our C$86.13 gross minimum-price profit can disappear with impressive efficiency. Different accounts may receive different treatment, which is why the same tender can be interesting for one investor and a terrible trade for another.
This is not something I would solve by reading three Reddit comments and hoping Interactive Brokers agrees. If you are considering the tender, confirm your own treatment with the broker and, where appropriate, a tax adviser.
Air Canada’s spread is appealing. The tax treatment is not a footnote to that spread; it may determine whether the trade exists.
Last Year’s Air Canada Tender Is Also a Useful Warning About the Auction Price
Air Canada ran another substantial issuer bid in 2025 with a range of C$18.50 to C$21.00. The final price was only C$18.80, quite close to the bottom of the range.
The offer was slightly oversubscribed. Ordinary eligible tenders were ultimately subject to approximately 99.14% proration, while odd lots escaped proration altogether.
That was barely enough proration to make the odd-lot preference interesting, but the clearing price is more instructive. A Dutch-auction range extending to C$33 does not mean C$31 is a reasonable base-case assumption. With the stock below C$29 today, I would model the current opportunity primarily around the C$29 floor and treat anything higher as a pleasant surprise.
Opportunity #3: MiniLuxe
MiniLuxe Holding Corp., the Boston-based beauty and nail-care company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, is also running a substantial issuer bid. It is offering to buy up to C$6 million of its shares through a modified Dutch auction between C$0.40 and C$0.48.
The offer expires September 24 unless extended or withdrawn. If it is oversubscribed, holders beneficially owning fewer than 100 shares are exempt from proration.
MiniLuxe’s issuer announcement contains the current tender terms.
MiniLuxe Has the Best Percentage and Perhaps the Worst Dollar Economics
MNLX last traded around C$0.38. A 99-share position therefore costs only C$37.62.
| Final Tender Price | Proceeds on 99 Shares | Gross Profit | Gross Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| C$0.40 | C$39.60 | +C$1.98 | 5.3% |
| C$0.42 | C$41.58 | +C$3.96 | 10.5% |
| C$0.44 | C$43.56 | +C$5.94 | 15.8% |
| C$0.46 | C$45.54 | +C$7.92 | 21.1% |
| C$0.48 | C$47.52 | +C$9.90 | 26.3% |
A potential 26% return tends to get one’s attention. A maximum potential gross profit of C$9.90 tends to return it.
This is a wonderful illustration of the scaling problem inherent in odd-lot tenders. The percentage can be spectacular while the actual economic opportunity is less compelling than finding a forgotten twenty-dollar bill in a winter coat.
MiniLuxe Has Several Additional Problems
First, the stock is extraordinarily illiquid. Recent trading has included days with essentially no volume. Acquiring exactly 99 shares at the last quoted price may therefore be more theoretical than the table suggests.
Second, your broker has to be able to buy the TSX Venture shares and process the Canadian tender. A modest FX charge or corporate-action fee could exceed the entire potential profit.
Third, MiniLuxe says it is not obligated to complete the offer if less than C$1 million worth of shares are validly tendered. That is a real condition that does not exist in quite the same way in our first two examples.
And because this is another Canadian substantial issuer bid, tax treatment should also be checked rather than assumed.
I am putting MiniLuxe on the scorecard because it genuinely is a live odd-lot tender. I am not sure I would get out of bed for C$1.98.
So Which One Is Actually Interesting?
Arbutus and Air Canada present almost opposite problems. ABUS has a cleaner-looking tax situation, but the auction can clear below today’s market price. Air Canada offers a positive gross spread even at the floor, but the Canadian deemed-dividend and withholding mechanics can overwhelm that spread depending on who you are and where you hold the shares.
MiniLuxe has neither problem in an especially useful sense because the whole 99-share position is worth less than C$40. If the tender clears at the top, congratulations on your C$9.90 before tax, fees, foreign exchange and the opportunity cost of reading the tender circular.
| Arbutus | Air Canada | MiniLuxe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticker | ABUS | AC | MNLX |
| Reference price | $5.17 | C$28.13 | C$0.38 |
| 99-share cost | $511.83 | C$2,784.87 | C$37.62 |
| Tender range | $5.00–$5.75 | C$29–C$33 | C$0.40–C$0.48 |
| Odd-lot protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gross result at floor | -$16.83 | +C$86.13 | +C$1.98 |
| Gross result at ceiling | +$57.42 | +C$482.13 | +C$9.90 |
| Main problem | Clearing price | Canadian tax | Dollar profit / liquidity |
What Would I Watch Before the Deadlines?
For ABUS, the important variables are the stock price and any indication of where shareholders may tender within the $5.00–$5.75 range. A decline below $5 would make the trade much more conventionally interesting. A substantial rally could remove most of the reason to participate.
For Air Canada, I care much less about dreaming of a C$33 clearing price than about verifying the tax treatment in the actual account being used. If the withholding problem is solved, the C$29 floor is already interesting. If it isn’t, the higher tender range does not rescue the trade.
For MiniLuxe, I would mostly watch whether the C$1 million minimum condition is satisfied and whether there is enough liquidity to make the exercise remotely practical. This may turn out to be more useful as a teaching example than as a source of profit.
Remember Your Broker’s Deadline
All three official expiration dates can be misleading if you wait until the last minute. Brokers and other nominees routinely establish earlier corporate-action deadlines so they have time to process customer instructions.
Arbutus explicitly tells beneficial owners that brokers may impose earlier deadlines. Air Canada likewise tells shareholders to check with their broker and warns that nominee deadlines may precede the official September 24 expiration.
If you intend to participate in any tender, find the broker deadline first. Learning that your perfect odd-lot trade expired yesterday inside your brokerage account is a particularly inelegant outcome.
We’re Going to Postmortem Every One of These
The useful part of this series comes after the offers close. We have now recorded the starting prices: $5.17 for Arbutus, C$28.13 for Air Canada and C$0.38 for MiniLuxe.
When each tender finishes, we’ll look at the final purchase price, whether the offer was oversubscribed, the proration imposed on ordinary shareholders, whether odd lots were actually accepted in full, and what 99 shares purchased at today’s reference price would have earned or lost.
We’ll also separate the pretty gross-return number from the messier reality of taxes, withholding, commissions, foreign exchange and corporate-action fees. If an apparent 6% arbitrage becomes a negative return after Canadian withholding, that belongs in the scorecard too.
And when another live odd-lot opportunity appears, we’ll add it at the price available when we identify it rather than waiting to see how the story ends.
Fun and Profit, Hopefully in That Order
If you have not read the basic strategy yet, start with our Odd-Lot Tenders for Fun and Profit overview. It explains why 99 shares can occasionally be better than 100, how proration works and what to look for in the tender documents.
The three current offers already show why this corner of the market is more interesting than a simple formula. Arbutus gives us odd-lot protection but no guaranteed positive spread. Air Canada gives us the spread but hands the tax authorities a seat at the table. MiniLuxe offers potentially spectacular percentage returns on enough capital to buy dinner.
Some of these trades will work. Some will not. At least now we have put the prices on the record before finding out which is which.