Australian software company Appen (ASX:APX) has confirmed it received a merger proposal from U.S.-based digital data solutions business Innodata.

According to the proposal, Innodata offers A$0.70 worth of its shares for each share in Appen.

The potential all-stock deal details, however, have not been fully disclosed.

Appen and Innodata did not immediately confirm the deal’s value.

Appen is considering the bid’s implications for its shareholders and has agreed to a limited exchange of confidential information on a non-exclusive basis.

Appen noted that Innodata is one among several parties to have proposed transactions through strategic investments, or sale of part or entire Appen’s businesses.

The potential sale comes at a time when Appen, as one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence training providers, faces a challenging operating environment and weakened global demand, making cost-saving initiatives a necessity.

Appen (ASX:APX) is a leading Australian software company specializing in high-quality, human-annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

HESTA, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, has urged Woodside (ASX:WDS), the country’s biggest oil and gas firm, to consider the appointment of new directors who possess the necessary skills to manage climate-related challenges.

The fund made this suggestion on Tuesday.

Woodside (ASX:WDS) is an Australian petroleum exploration and production company.

Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group (ASX:9988) is investing approximately $640 million to bolster film, television, and creative events in Hong Kong over the next half-decade.

Star performers include US aluminum manufacturer Alcoa (ASX:AA), who acquired Alumina (ASX:AWC) in a complete share transaction that appraises the Australian-based company at $2.2 billion.

The acquisition positions Alcoa as one of the major global producers of alumina and bauxite.

Alibaba Group (ASX:9988) is an international conglomerate that specializes in e-commerce, technology, and entertainment.

Alumina (ASX:AWC) is a company listed in Australia that is involved in bauxite mining, alumina refining, and aluminum smelting operations.

Shares of Strike Energy (ASX:STX) rose as high as 9.5% to A$0.230, marking their most significant intraday gain since February 21st.

The shares achieved their greatest level since February 23rd.

The energy explorer announced it has entered into a two-year gas transportation contract with APA Group.

The agreement allows for a total of 10 terajoules per day of gas to be delivered into the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline from Strike’s Walyering gas processing facility, starting in late 2024.

Despite this win, Strike Energy’s stock is down approximately 56% for the year as of the last closure.

Strike Energy is a leading energy exploration company based in Australia.

Dateline Resources (ASX:DTR) witnessed a surge in its shares by as much as 25% to A$0.015.

The gains are the company’s highest intraday percentage since February 13.

Additionally, the company reported its stock reached its highest level since February 15.

Dateline Resources has mobilised a reverse circulation drill at its Colosseum gold mine in California.

The company also announced the expansion of its Colosseum drilling program with an additional 10 drill holes.

A significant movement of approximately 6.2 million shares was observed, in comparison to the 30-day average volume of 3.8 million shares.

So far this year, the stock has risen 40% as of the last close.

Dateline Resources is a mining and exploration company.

Shares of ALS (ASX:ALQ) closed up by 1.2%, reaching A$13.06.

This optimism is bolstered by analysts at Macquarie who predict that ALS will deliver its 2024 net profit after tax (NPAT) of A$324 million ($214.4 million), which is at the higher end of the company’s guidance.

The brokerage firm has hiked its target price to A$14.25 per share from A$13.60, and continues to maintain an ‘outperform’ rating for the company.

Macquarie’s revised price target is the highest among nine analysts covering the stock, and it is notably above the median price target of A$13.20.

ALS holds a 49% stake in Nuvisan and has the option to acquire the remaining stake.

Macquarie estimates that ALS could purchase an additional 51% stake in Nuvisan for approximately A$185 million.

Moreover, the majority of the ten analysts covering ALS rate the stock as ‘buy’ or higher.

One analyst gives a ‘hold’ rating and one rates it as ‘sell’.

As of the last closing, the shares of ALS are up 0.4% for the year.

ALS is a global services company that specializes in testing, inspection and certification.

On March 12th, Appen (ASX:APX) announced a trading halt.

The announcement came after the company received an ASX price query letter and has led to the suspension of all trading activities pending further notice.

The trading halt is expected to be lifted after the publication of their response to the price query letter.

Appen is an Australian based data company that provides high-quality training data for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Shares of NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) saw an uptick of 1.6%, reaching A$17.670, their highest since February 29.

The Australian data centers operator recently announced its acquisition of a plot of land, along with a newly completed core and shell data center development located in Sydney, dubbed as the S6 facility.

The purchase price of this facility amounted to A$184 million ($121.75 million), a significant investment for the firm.

As of the last close, NEXTDC’s stock had climbed approximately 27% year to date.

NEXTDC is an IT services company specializing in data center services across Australia.

Adairs (ASX:ADH)’s shares surged as much as 6.9% to A$2.47, reaching their highest level since March 8, 2023.

The stock made a significant intraday percent gain which is the largest since February 27.

The increase came after the home furnishing retailer announced the resignation of its non-executive chairman Brett Chenoweth from the board, effective from March 22.

The company also reported that non-executive director Kate Spargo will become the interim non-executive chair.

Around 1.1 million shares were traded, compared to the 30-day average volume of 1 million shares.

So far this year, the stock has seen a 34.5% increase, as noted at the last close.

Adairs is a home furnishing retailer.

Metcash (ASX:MTS) saw an uptick in shares, with a rise of as much as 2.9% to A$3.920, marking their highest level since May 15, 2023.

The company marked its biggest intraday percentage gain since January 9.

The supermarket wholesaler announced that its total food sales, excluding tobacco, increased by 5% during the ten months that ended on February 25.

Furthermore, Metcash reported a total group sales increase of 0.9% for the same ten-month period.

The company’s food and liquor segments have reportedly continued to perform well, supported by improved competitiveness and a differentiated value proposition.

According to analysts at Citi, Metcash’s trading update suggests that trading conditions have not significantly changed since its early February update.

However, Citi’s brokerage added that it continues to prefer Coles and Woolworths over Metcash, maintaining its ‘neutral’ rating on Metcash’s stock with an A$4.00 price target.

As of the last close, Metcash’s stock has increased by 9.2% year-to-date.

The story was reported by Ayushman Ojha and Echha Jain in Bengaluru.

Metcash is an Australian supermarket wholesaler.