Not sure I understand what you mean by “managed acquisition”?

Serious, highly sophisticated market players make measured, calulated moves based on their preceptions of market awarness at any given time.  If they want to buy something, and have the time and money available, they can as well drive the price down as up (or try to hold it at even), depending on who is available among other players at the time.  Sometimes they get lucky, as I am suggesting may have happened today.  Sometimes they can only "nibble" to keep from driving prices higher.  They certainly don't want to bid against themselves, but they can and do underbid "against?" themselves trying to create a vacuum. 

What I am saying is, we could have seen this type of volume as the last year ended, but sellers held back.  Today they didn't, and as fear begets more fear, it also begets more sellers, though these were large/larger blocks - not mom and pop retail holders.  

Then, too, fear may have had nothing to do with it, if a company financier was merely looking to raise cash from private placements.