Ann: Quarterly Activities Report, page-7

I appreciate that prior announcements may have referenced earlier dates however it is clear that between then and now, progress was made in arranging the merger. The current quarterly confirms that the spin-off could not take place until the said merger is completed. My thoughts are that the WA assets were presented as a "sweetener" to the other two parties for them to accept the terms. Management would've not been able to provide an announcement to the ASX as nothing was decided upon. If they mentioned a possible merger as a reason for the delay, they'd be screwed if the merger failed to meet acceptable terms.