[johnmarcus]

are we pretending that they didn't say that exclusively in hopes the deal would go through?

They will turn around that statement on a dime and not a single investor will blink with "...but you said to the regulators...". No risk in making such a silly statement.

They probably will get a change of leadership though. Often they chose the best-man-for-the-merger, and when it doesn't work out, they then actually search for the best-person-for-the-job.