Nice analysis and very likely the way things will play out here. I also am in agreement with what Dragon52 posted earlier about the progression of news on this stock.
It's very possible that they will mention the smaller merger candidate first and let things build in to the release of the China deal.
"Sort of" is such a harmless thing to say. "Sort of". It's just a filler. "Sort of" - It doesn't really mean anything. But after certain things, "sort of" means everything. Like after "I love you" or "You're going to live" or "It's a boy".