Those NDAs cover the gambit of companies and organizations that range from grad students working on theses to government agencies, to research labs, to potential end users and miners that are evaluating ZEN as a possible acquisition. As far as I know no one outside of a select few at ZEN know how many or who might be having an inside look towards acquisition. Equally important is that a NDA doesn't give you access to anything more than what is specifically written. An end user would get access to samples and technical data specific to their need not the mining data etc. Same goes for mining companies where they would get access to most of the PEA data but not what is likely proprietary technical data from some of the end users. And so on and so on! NDAs are binding ion both parties.

The easiest way for AE to control the possibility of takeover is to write it into the NDAs. No offers can be made until the PEA is released. Anyone without dataroom access has no way of knowing what is actually going on and is unlikely to bid. Hostile bids have to contend with ZEN management control of a blocking chunk of ownership.

So while I have no more information than anyone else it is possible that the NDAs and the 'incomplete' PEA that is giving AE the time to maximize shareholder value. Or any of the other scenarios might be true.

.... Been There