Appen shares falls as Innodata withdraws takeover bid
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More news: Appen's share price took a hit in early trading on the ASX, after US tech firm Innodata withdrew its $154 million takeover bid for the Sydney-based data company.
Appen shares were down 16.6% to $0.81 by 10:45am AEDT.
Innodata pulls $154m takeover bid for Appen
The news: US tech firm Innodata has withdrawn its $154 million takeover bid for Appen, as the disclosure of the offer breached its confidentiality condition.
The numbers: In a response to an ASX share price query on Tuesday, Sydney-based Appen disclosed that Nasdaq-listed Innodata had offered its shareholders 70 cents worth of Innodata shares for each Appen share, valuing the deal at $153.5 million.
Appen's shares had rocketed 30.1% on Tuesday, before entering a trading halt just before 1pm AEDT. The company's shares then plummeted nearly 20% on Wednesday morning after Appen disclosed Innodata's bid.
The context: Innodata said it has withdrawn its confidential, non-binding, indicative proposal. The New Jersey company said that it had submitted the proposal to Appen's board on 13 February 2024, under the condition that it remained confidential.
However, the proposal was made public by Appen on Tuesday, after the ASX price query which required disclosure of any business activities which could have impacted recent trading in Appen's stock.
Last month, Appen announced $20.7 million worth of cost-saving measures, including closing two of its North America offices, after Google terminated its contract with the data services provider, ending a deal worth $126 million and 26% of its gross revenue in the 2023 financial year.
The sources: Innodata media release, ASX announcement
