US tech firm Innodata Inc. (NasdaqGM:INOD) has pounced on troubled Australian rival Appen Limited (ASX:APX) Appen, lobbing a stock-for-stock takeover bid worth $154 million. The bid - disclosed in a share price query from the ASX - comes at a tumultuous time for Appen -investors. Just three years ago, Appen was touted as one of Australia's next big tech companies, with its shares surging above $35 before they crashed to less than 30 cents last month.

The company has lost two Chief Executive Officer?s within 14 months, with former boss Armughan Ahmad announcing his abrupt departure last month after the company lost a USD 82.8 million (AUD 125.2 million) contract with Google. Nasdaq-listed Innodata has -offered Appen shareholders 70 cents worth of Innodata shares for each Appen share, valuing the deal at $153.5 million. This is about 10% of the $1.2 billion price Canadian IT firm Telus (TELUS International (Cda) Inc. (NYSE:TIXT)) offered Appen in mid-2022 before it abandoned takeover talks.

Appen - which cleans up large data sets and sells them to AI--focused companies - says it is considering the merger with Innodata, which last traded at USD 5.98, giving it a market value of USD 172.1 million. Appen said Innodata's offer represented a premium of more than 100% when the offer was made. But in the past month, Appen shares have more than -tripled, raising eyebrows and questions from the ASX.

Appen shares hit a five-month high on March 12, 2024, rising 40% to $1.17, before going into a trading halt. The rise was 54% over March 11, 2024 and March 12, 2024. The company has since disclosed it was "seeking to understand the potential value to Appen shareholders" from the deal and it had agreed to an exchange of non-public information.

Barrenjoey and Allens have been brought in to assess the transaction. "The board notes that there is no certainty that the indicative proposal will result in a binding proposal for Appen, what the terms of such a proposal would be, or whether there will be a recommendation by the board," Appen said in an ASX statement. Appen shares fell when trading resumed on March 13, 2024, and closed down 10.7% at 96.5 cents.