XL-Catlin: pig-headed dilution or strategic master plan?

XL's decision to lodge a $4.2bn bid for Lloyd's
blue-chip Catlin caught the market almost completely by surprise
when it was announced last week on 17 December, but as much as it
caught practitioners unawares it has also divided them.
As of close today (22 December), there has been no
follow-up announcement that terms have been agreed, which suggests
reports yesterday (fuelled by the Sunday Times claiming
that an agreement had been reached) were premature at the very
least.
Nonetheless,.