This sounds good and perhaps you have some financial experience to back this up, but I fundamentally disagree. At some point even a complex sale is just that...a sale, and this one is so questionable that anyone ignoring details like you put forth anyone would question this. Let alone the rumors of AU being a house of cards- in this market, HP should have walked and probably could have purchased AU for under $5B and the AU management would have run for the hills with the cash. Bottom line- it's a total enigma...time will tell!