One of the conditions precedent for a binding proposal is that...

One of the conditions precedent for a binding proposal is that they require the board's unanimous support. So the board is in a position to withhold their support until they believe that the shareholders (and they personally) are extracting as much value out of Harbour as they can.

Harbour for their part, by controlling more than 10% of the voting shares, can block any competing offer from reaching compulsory acquisition stage and being completed.

So I believe that the board's decision at this point is basically to either accept the take-over offer, or decline it and continue as before.

The other major potential obstacle is FIRB approval, which I believe is far from certain.

For my part I have mixed feelings:
1) Santos has been a very lucrative stock for me, returning over 100% this financial year alone. Not keen to lose it.
2) On the other hand, acquisition would free up a lot of cash in my portfolio.
3) On the other hand, a takeover would be an economically bad outcome for Australia as a nation.

On balance I would prefer to keep Santos, but I could live with it if they took it away.