I believe the Kestrel programme finally floundered when AW had to admit they couldn't find room for the flux capacitor and teleportation system NAVAIR decided the president's helicopter desperately needed along with all the other post-contract additions they specified!
In fact all the helicopters ordered were delivered on time (or ahead of time) and on budget. The programme had become an albatross for AW in very short order with unreasonable equipment demands (which it should be noted Sikorsky couldn't have provided for then with the S-92 and couldn't now - look for a far more austere VH than Kestrel was intend to be), so I believe the cancellation was a fairly mutual agreement, AW had delivered fully on what was required up to that point, and had been paid in full. So the cancellation was received quite amicably, with full payment and no fault layed at AW's door - correctly.
NAVAIR pissed away billions on silly, unreasonable specs, and Obama probably quite rightly saw it for what it was and binned it.
As for Sikorsky "winning". . . didn't everyone else drop out?