Note that the 6 mil price tag, nor the 5 mil offer is sourced. Also, so called 'merger' talks with South Melbourne are now confirmed as trying find a partner to run W-League and NYL teams, with some games to be played in Aus (likely the 2 or 3 currently played in Melbourne - but that is my own speculation).
Given that we now know the Phoenix licence is territorial to NZ, and the price the FFA want for an expansion licence is $15mil, I find this very hard to believe. In fact, buried further in the article is this
"whilst the Phoenix are seeking to maintain a footprint in the form of team colours, or a percentage of ownership"
So entirely consistent with what Morrison is saying. They are happy to talk to potential expansion bids about partnerships, but not interested is selling in full.