NR thoughts SO the NR has been out for a bit now, I ahve read it a few times. These NRs are always carefully worded, even one word can imply or hint at the direction the company will take, so here are my thoughts on the NR....
The Company also advised that the Board of Ithaca concluded that it was in shareholders' best interests that the Company enter into discussions with all such bona fide parties.
This is interesting, the way it said it was the Board, not the company that concluded (a harsh world, maybe implying this was imposed), talsk should progress. Maybe management doesnt want to sell this company and they are the impasse, but the Board knows they have an obligation to shareholders and have ordered talks proceed.
The Company is aware of recent press and media speculation concerning the status of these discussions and confirms that it remains in dialogue with bona fide parties.
This seems to imply the company gets it, they know by phone and email we as shareholders are feeling left out, those who want and those who dont want a deal, and this is a polite way to say frig off. It is reassuirng they are still talking. I see they are still using the plural (parties), but not using the phrase "a number of" or the word "multiple" that I think they used in the past. This makes me think there are 2 bidders left, because 2 can be worded as parties, but not really a number of or multiple. So the Kuwaitis probably did leave, and we are down to 2 interested parties.
During the discussion period the Company has confirmed all parties' financial and deal execution capability. A timetable for the submission of final bids has been set. The Company expects to provide a further update to the market within the next four weeks.
This seems to indicate this deal is for real, lots of work has bene done, and some real number crunching has occured. It seems to imply to me they are expecting a bid to come out of this process. I think Athena is strongly tied in with this because that is what the next 4 weeks will be all about when it comes to execution. It does imply an announcement could be made sooner. We do know Athena's production will be discussed on Monday.
The Board stresses that although discussions with parties continue, there can be no certainty of an offer being made for the Company.
legal mumbo jumbo....