RE:Private Equity interestI read the PEHub.com preview, but not the article, like you. The article is dated 2017-Jan-13, so "DH held management presentations last week" means they did the presentations from Jan 3 thru Jan 6, 2017.
I think DH received a couple of unsolicited expressions of interest from PE firms. The PE firms were bargain-hunting after the stock went from C$28 to C$15 on 2016-Oct-26. The Board has a fiduciary duty to assess these. It doesn't always go public, depending on the Board's risk aversion to getting sued by activist investors. The company is profitable but not growing. It is not typical for a management and Board to throw in the towel so soon. They have reputations and egos to protect.
So the Board likely formed their committee on 2016-Dec-7, then hired an investment banking firm to advise them. Probably they were told to find out if anyone else was interested "if it were for sale". Then they signed everyone up to non-disclosure agreements and held a managment presentation where everyone got to see the same thing. Next comes the binding offers subject to due diligence. Then the back-and-forth in the auction happens.
If the potential buyers wait too long, 4Q revenue will be available and audited soon. If growth returns, the price goes up. The company said in their 3Q earnings PR that 4Q is typically their strongest quarter.
It is possible the Trump election in the US has some impact on the discussion. Trump has said he will reduce regulatory burden on the financial sector. This will help banks and may unstick some of the delays in IT spending by US customers referenced in DH's 3Q earnings release. But Trump's program specifics are unknown. If I were running a US bank, I would wait for some details from Trump and Congress before splashing out on more IT spend.
I don't invest for takeovers. I am still in this for the long-run. "Profitable but not growing." It happens. I've seen worse, and those other guys worked a few years to fix their business before they gave up and sold.