Oldgreg: They had significant news to achieve this and the delay of the DL sales is the reason it hasn't materialised.  If not, then that news would have surely been forthcoming already??.

Hm, the last DL tranche is delayed, and the big news is also delayed, but that does not necessarily mean that there is any causal relationship. Aside from the few things we know about, there are likely many, many more factors, positive or negative, that might cause accelerations or delays, progress or setbacks. That there is a connection between, out of all things, the two points we know about – I cannot rule it out, but I doubt it. Reasons might also lie within the tier 1.