a simple equation

A simple equation;

If the board believes it can still secure a JV partner due to the Chinese entities actually competing against each other, no takeover offer will be accepted.

If the board believes there is little chance of securing a JV partner due to the Chinese entities working together and stalling on partner negotiations, a takeover offer will be accepted.

The rest is noise. No-one except for the board and interested Chinese entities really know the answer to the above equation. No-one here can influence the above equation, it's a wait and see proposition.