I've spoken to Fred a couple of times over the pas

I've spoken to Fred a couple of times over the past few weeks and also to Gregg Linn at Avant. Fred said that there is interest in "other assets" other than ESS and the JV partner is still there and has interest in "that one asset ( ESS)" Since Avant hired Dominick the same day AMBS signed the notes to pay them the million dollar fee, it is very clear that Avant and the DX assets are tied into the deal they are working on. Gregg said he hopes to have something to announce by Christmas or early January. I believe the entity is Chinese and it is a different company than the JV partner.

As I posted earlier,BMI is based in Hong Kong and was subcontracted by Dominick the day they were hired by AMBS. This tells me that there was something in the works prior to the engagement letter being signed.

I believe AMBS signed the notes upfront because the toxics will need to sign off on the deal and in the event they didn't then Dominick would have done a lot of work for nothing. In a typical retainer, the company would have at least a verbal understanding what acceptable terms would be if an investment banker brings a deal, but since there are multiple parties that will need to approve it, the notes provide Dominck some assurances they will get something for their efforts in the event one or more of the toxics stands in the way. I still think the deal will be sizable since there is a million dollar fee.