Sec. 17. (a) A corporation may elect to withhold payment required by section 15 of this chapter from a dissenter unless the dissenter was the beneficial owner of the shares before the date set forth in the dissenters' notice as the date of the first announcement to news media or to shareholders of the terms of the proposed corporate action.
(b) To the extent the corporation elects to withhold payment under subsection (a), after taking the proposed corporate action, it shall estimate the fair value of the shares and shall pay this amount to each dissenter who agrees to accept it in full satisfaction of the dissenter's demand. The corporation shall send with its offer a statement of its estimate of the fair value of the shares and a statement of the dissenter's right to demand payment under section 18 of this chapter.