They certainly do sniff something.
The rumours of a Virgin buyout have been doing the rounds for some time. Until recently (Virgin's surprisingly high equity raising) an acquisition of REX would have been seen as something akin to the Ansett takeover of Hazleton, and we all know how that ended!
Now, with a cashed up VA, there may be some veracity to these rumours.
The interesting thing about the stated value of REX, is that far from being valued at $85M, the company has cash reserves alone in excess of $110M, As stated in the latest financial report! So the Private equity boys are either surprisingly inept in their appraisal, or as is the case, truth is the first casualty in war.