friday open , page-44

There were denials about them eyeing RIO too.

The beauty of one entity (the Gov) being behind so many companies is that it is difficult for reporters to ask every possible vehicle if they have any intent.
And even if they ask the question of the right one, the entity just starts a new company in a foreign juristriction (like Singapore) with a token partner.
In short, it's a waste of time looking for confirmation before the event & rightly so because doing so would only make their play more expensive to execute.

I think the rumours start to circulate AFTER the buyer has already locked in a price with the instos (typically significantly above the going price) and the instos have had time to soak up volume below the guaranteed price.