I think Matt would be quite happy with that. His issue is WP Engine not contributing to WordPress. If they decide to maintain a fork and infrastructure, they won't be freeloading anymore.
Edit: That attracted a lot of downvotes. I was giving my option in response to the parent comment. In my option Automattic would be happy if they forked it.
Edit: That attracted a lot of downvotes. I was giving my option in response to the parent comment. In my option Automattic would be happy if they forked it.