As important as a unified front could be, the determining factor in what you finally get will be based on what you have in the ground.  If a reasonable find is achieved then payment will be based on value.  Merger deals will still be based on what you have whether it's with NOT et al or a major.

Certainly dealing with one entity would be easier and safety within a group may be valid, however, as long as you have something desirable in quantities of value, others will want it.  I don't think a big scare is of necessity here.