If only all companies could be as clear cut as Sigma-Aldrich when it comes to denying market rumors.

When responding to queries about rumors, companies often go with the all too commonplace and not particularly helpful “We don’t comment on market speculation.” Hmmm. Is that a no-comment or a non-denial denial? Or they’ll say something like “We are always considering opportunities and talking to competitors.” Does that mean the rumor is true? To their credit, TD Ameritrade and E*Trade’s PR people, shed a bit more light than normal early on Wednesday regarding their M&A strategies when rumors flew of a potential merger.

Sometimes the company spokesman will go off the record and say something like “There’s nothing here, but you can’t write that.” Helpful, but not so great if the stock is up and the options are moving around like crazy.  

And then there’s Sigma-Aldrich CFO Michael Hogan.

When faced with  market speculation that his chemical company was interested in acquiring German specialty chemicals company Altana - a rumor that sent Altana shares up 6 percent earlier today - he just told it like it is.

“I will tell you there are no discussions taking place with Altana…the rumors are false,” Hogan told Reuters. And he didn’t stop there.  ”We had a call from Altana, because they were as perplexed as we were,” said Hogan.

And then this.  
     
“To give you an idea of how untrue the rumors are, I had to look Altana up to figure out who they are,” Hogan told Reuters.

Aha. That’s definitely a denial. Check that rumor off the list. Altana shares gave up most of their gains, closing up only about 2 percent in Germany. 

   (With reporting by Euan Rocha)