Yeah, that's common for large companies, intentional or not. They have a large set of stakeholders who need to sign off, and they work on different timelines,

Yeah, that's common for large companies, intentional or not. They have a large set of stakeholders who need to sign off, and they work on different timelines, and they have whole departments of people whose job it is to develop and propose acquisitions, of which maybe one in ten actually happen. A real offer comes with a real check. Don't engage more than very high level without a letter of intent. Don't stop what you're doing until the check clears.