Ann: Trading Halt, page-44

I think the politics trumps all here (as it did with the initial strollout.) It's clear that IDT has the capability and could save money and time getting this done. But Scomo doesn't want to gift Dan Andrews, and by extension Labour, a victory. But he is pandering to the Victorian electorate, which will be a key battleground in the Federal election, by spinning this as a Federal Government investment in Victoria (notwithstanding the fact it is the obvious choice and home to world first-class biotech) - creating jobs, investing in manufacturing etc with federal funds.

I think once the dust settles on the politics (and election,) IDT will emerge somewhere in the mix, but they are also a minnow amongst giants in a high yield, competitive market. Lots of talk at the press conference about engaging with business etc. IDT is sitting on a gold mine with first-mover advantage, but whether they have the clout to get a deal done is another matter. With a market cap of $120m (which may go down depending on the announcement,) they're a sitting duck. I have no doubt that if CSL had IDT's manufacturing facilities this would already be a done deal and Scomo would be announcing a Coalition/Moderna/CSL partnership today.