Dew, I would have to agree that it is waaaaay too coincidental that this bid comes just 7 weeks before the September 19th (approx.) deadline for the demise of the Bristol rights in the non-competition clause...in which case the pressure on Bristol to secure some sort of insulation from competition from Imclone will rise EXPONENTIALLY over the next few weeks.
Thus, and as someone has already pointed out, it would seem to be very much in Imclone's interest to take plenty of time to evaluate the Bristol offer...and since the fiduciary responsibilities of the Board seem to demand this caution anyway, I think it is easy to see the reasons for much of the wording of Carl's response.
In other words, it would not surprise me in the least to see Imclone merely 'eat up the clock' these next few weeks, as long as they can justify that approach otherwise (and I believe that they can, as above). I would suspect that Carl knows well the value of patience in these matters anyway. I believe that Bristol has blinked first, and that they are at a disadvantage in the bargaining now from several perspectives.
All IMHO, and with best regards,
rjurko (Bob)
