Ann: Business update, page-49

Boston-based software-as-a-service provider Bigtincan may have said that it remains in takeover talks, but the market does not seem to be buying it.Shares in the company on Friday closed at 31c, and they have been on the slide since August.The moves have caught the attention of Canaccord Genuity analysts, who say tha t“at 33c, investors are pricing in a near zero chance of a transaction occurring and expect further pressure on the balance sheet”.The $180m global software company, which provides a leading artificial intelligence-powered sales enablement automation platform, has told the market it has received a number of expressions of interest regarding a potential transaction.It has Morgan Stanley on board and a data room is now open for due diligence.Sources believe private equity is interested in the tech company whose shares have slid from over 70c amid takeover speculation earlier in the year.In December, Bigtincan’s 13.6 per cent shareholder SQN made a $442m proposal to buy the business.Bigtincan then tapped the market at 80c per share, a move to which SQN tookexception, describing the $30m raising as value-destructive.