do you think the forth coming tax bill has something to do with the valuation process? my guess is prob by a factor of maybe $100 mil or more on this possible transaction.... lots of money could be coming back home and looking for place to spend it... and figuring out the NOL issue related to R&D and mechanics of transfer.. way over my head.... and dif bidders (if such is the case) will have different valuations based on each one's situation... if i was getting best and final, i would wait until bill is passed (assuming before year end before jones gets in.) and see what the tax man gives...
the other issue is front load and walk away or take less up front with CVR's .... prob dozens of scenarios to crunch thru..
my guess is current crew wants to expand asap and that requires capital...
and one other thing, part of the deal could be a fixed contract amount for AVID... BP will/could use the service even if hooking up smaller partners/collabs.... no brainer... even a cave man could put this deal together...