If Street Talk had all that 'illegal' information regarding bidders, time lines etc then they also probably had the price. The $1.40 opening to me is a very strong indicator of the minimum bid price. The only time markets rise past an offer price is when there are likely multiple bidders. Based on ST & ASX announcement that seems pretty unlikely.
It seems strange to me that a column like Street Talk actually exists to break takeover discussions in the media prior to the point when an offer is made. If ASIC had any teeth they'd take action to determine AFR's source & prosecute them for insider dealing.
QIP Price at posting:
$1.32 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held