You make a good point on the matter of getting all the required...

You make a good point on the matter of getting all the required signatures. In large organisations, there are often two signatories required by both parties on the contract, but the supporting documents requesting sign-off may have half a dozen signatories. Usually when all the supporting signatures for a party have been garnered, the authorised contract signatories sign off as a matter of routine. Consequently, those in the contract recommendation cycle will be 99% sure that the authorised signatories will sign. The signatories to the contract might not always be immediately available, but if they are absent for some time, there is usually a delegate who can sign on behalf of the absent person.

One of the negotiating teams usually substantially drafts the contract. They may send the agreed-in-principle contract to the other party unsigned, and when it is returned as a one-party-signed document, there can be a delay in getting the final signatories to sign. It is at this point that insiders may be tempted to take advantage of their inside knowledge, and why a trading halt may be called. To have all the parties in the same room signing a large contract is rare, other than in movies. People in the contract-drafting-negotiating teams would have a good feel for the likelihood of a contract's execution fairly early in the process.

If the now-awaited contract transpires to be small, look on the bright side, there are more contracts hurtling down the pike. For me, the best outcome is a largish contract from a project other than Koodaideri, because I can then reasonably expect a Koodaideri contract to follow.