I think it is just another feature, which did not made it into the game. There are many of such things. The cancelled Amazon-class, the summoning of the Hell-Golem, dozens and dozens of skipped quests... (Good ones, btw.) The best explanation might be: The big boss gave the mini-boss a call: Listen! We´re 98 percent bankrupt. So wrap things up, release is at 12 o'clock. Ciao!
That´s how I would explain it.