Whatever Type of "Merger" This Is... Unprofessional Altogether.
To go into a real "merger", you would think that an organization would have a plan in place to limit the downtime of its customers.
Having a letter to customers plastered on the top of the website also reflects poorly.
If VELA was trying to stay "dark", I doubt they would let any meaningful news of a real merger slip. Then again, with all of management's past errors, one can not rule it out.