I've asked the company for some time [about whether Morrison would leave], and the [recent] answer was 'who knows'.

Food stocks are viewed as 'classically defensive,' meaning that the earnings hold up well across a dip in the economy, across a recession.

With some deals already on the table and others supposedly on the table, food company managers suddenly have a reason to have an open mind.

Given the risks related to closing the deal, they are probably pretty comparable. A better situation, in my view, would have been $26 per share in cash on the table.