What about this?

[ebster123]

Here is a thought I have been having for one time.  It has been walked around by one but not fully explored as far as I recall.  While I do it like these delays and the effects on pps maybe there is a reason.  Maybe, just maybe, the purpose of the CAs was not to get RDS involved but to instead keep them AND any other SM from making a buyout offer on the whole company while under the CAs.  Then, keep them in place UNTIL the all of the Ts are crossed and Is are dotted.  I believe IOC did say there will be no announcements until all is done.  This way, if any of these companies want to put in a buyout offer once released form the CAs the pps will be significantly higher, in part because FID will be complete.  Time will tell...

[jft310]

Keeping the CA in place has a purpose. A deal at Tri and at 236/8 are both possible. I would bet Exxon gets done first then we hear about more deals.

[Movieguy]

The CAs do not allow the parties to buy IOC stock on the open market. They are, however, still allowed to make a bid to the BOD of IOC. Depending on how that bid is legally proposed would depend on whether the BOD must release the information publicly. So the CAs are not actually preventing a takeover bid, which is something I also believed, but is not true. My source for this information is IOC management.