That's exactly why I reckon that there will be no competing...

That's exactly why I reckon that there will be no competing offer at this stage.

Crescent won this round, they'll get the controlling stake on the cheap, and maybe even score a bonus if they talk some instos to get their shares in a block.

For competitors that want to take Cardno (both local and USA) it will be cheaper to wait for Crescent to close the deal (while already negotiating with them), and then buy CDD out. Crescent will get nice premium for a well played game, competitor would get guarantied controlling stake without the need to open cards in advance and spike the share price. Win-Win for Crescent and the ultimate buyer, loss for shorters that don't pull out on time, draw for long shareholders with possible win for those that sell at the right moment (which hasn't come yet).

Nothing so far actually implies that Crescent wants to trade CDD quickly, instead of e.g. longer way of taking it private. So this is just a speculation, but IMHO it's a realistic scenario.