Keep in mind that what is unusual in this process is not the delays leading up to a closing but that the companies are publicly estimating a timeline to having a deal done. And the only reason the companies are putting a timeline on this is because Unilife announced the strategic review with a December 31 conclusion; everything since then (Jan 31, Feb 5, Feb 15) has been Unilife keeping shareholders informed.
If Unilife decided last January to look into a strategic financial transactions (when its back was not up against the wall) it could have done so without the need to inform shareholders of the possibility of a transaction. Shareholders would have simply woken up one morning to a comprehensive deal with Amgen that included a 19.9% equity investment. That process, undertaken in private, would have had delays and hurdles and last minute i's to dot and 't's to cross and shifting closing dates but we would have not been aware of them at all.
We are only privy to the normal delays attendant with this type of transaction because Unilife publicly disclosed in the fall that it was engaging in this process (out of necessity). The delays are not yellow or red flags, they are just part of the process of the sausage being made that investors usually don't see.
UNS Price at posting:
23.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
