Will the UFC merge with Strikeforce after the Zuffa purchase of the San Jose promotion?

"Business as usual."
That's the phrase Dana White repeatedly used when asked about a potential merger between the world's largest fight promotion, UFC, and it's chief competitor, Strikeforce, after news broke that Zuffa had purchased the San Jose based organization.
According to the bossman, Strikeforce will continue to operate as it has since its inception and the current power structure in place will remain exactly the same.

But is that really the case?
A report from Josh Gross states that the reason the two companies will operate separately is because of contracts, namely the deal currently in place with Showtime. However, as soon as that contract is fulfilled, which is reportedly in roughly two years, there will apparently be a merger similar to when the WEC folded into the UFC.

An exciting proposition, no?

Dana White was also adamant in saying that his company does NOT co-promote -- and that extends to Strikeforce, even after the Zuffa purchase.
Which means, at least initially, that names like Alistair Overeem, Fedor Emelianenko, Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Dan Henderson, etc., will not be booked in superfights against current UFC fighters.
Apparently, they will honor everyone's contracts and after they expire, and only after, will they decide whether or not to bid against Strikeforce.
But if Gross is to be believed, it could perhaps have a lot more to do with Showtime than it does with the UFC's desire to operate both companies separately.
Also important to note is what happened when the UFC purchased PRIDE. Initial plans were for the Japanese promotion to remain separate -- and that ran into problems and it wasn't long before the two merged.
Obviously, the two situations are different but the theme remains the same.
Simply put, for the time although the entire MMA landscape has changed in the long term, the short term will remain the same.