The Boards do not have to know. At this point, I would have said "no third party exists" except for the sudden change in CLF's tenor. There should not realistically be another party , simply a better price. This is CLF's deal, it remains curious that they have not been able to satisfy KWG/SPQ. CLF's share price beta on a typical day is north of $2.00 , its hard to imagine a deal floundering on a 30 cent (per share of CLF) beta. Giva a little get a lot.