I'm not too keen to speculate on the reasons behind the...

I'm not too keen to speculate on the reasons behind the announcement of the results in the last week of Q3. It might be nothing, or it might be something. But, we won't know until later (and even then we still will have to speculate a little). If it is simply that they haven't got the headline readout then it is nothing to start speculating about.

As for Merck, they won't move until the results are out and they know what the results mean. As DDD says, there is nothing in it to make a pre-emptive strike. And, it really isn't going to worry them if they need to pay a little more (a few hundred million isn't much more than a blip on the Balance Sheet). They will know better than anyone else what the product might be worth. They probably even know that after the announcement there will be a massive amount of shares tipped out (as always happens on the ASX) so they may not even have to bid too much higher. They know they might need to offer a premium. They have worked with BNO for a while and have done quite a bit of the DD they would need to do already. So, in essence, Merck is likely to be in the box seat if it is worth taking the product away from BNO or if they want to take the whole box and dice. Maybe the latter is the best outcome for holders of the shares. GLTA