Topps issued a letter to its shareholders last Friday urging acceptance of the $9.75 per share offer from the Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn at the special stockholders meeting scheduled for August 30th (see 'Topps Showdown Set').  It repeatedly stresses that the $9.75 offer is the 'only binding offer received,' and that it has a high probability of closing shortly after stockholder approval.   

On Monday, the Committee to Enhance Topps issued a release announcing that Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm, had recommended that Topps shareholders vote against the Tornante bid. 

These announcements continue a longstanding battle in the press over the competing offers from Tornante and Upper Deck (see 'Dueling Letters from Topps and Upper Deck').