Good point Hectorplains - I can't read all your figures very...

Good point Hectorplains - I can't read all your figures very clearly but I get the picture. I've rerun my previous comps with PPE as another data point and I'll summarise it as follows:
- If we assume that ASH should still demand to 30% discount to PPE given PPE's larger size (their EBITDA is ~$38m after proforma adjustments ;-)) and their focus on healthcare (although I note recent acquisitions have reduced the contribution from healthcare), then ASH should be worth about 80 cents. This gives ASH no credit for their exposure to supply chain LH which is one of the most in-demand sectors right now (go talk to a retailer about their need for staff in their DC's). Its also worth noting that if my 2022 forecasts I posted recently are achieved, at 80c ASH will be back below 10x P/E.

This also got me thinking again about PPE as a potential acquirer of ASH, particularly given they appear much more open to non healthcare LH acquisitions. PPE has said they have $50m-$70m of acquisition debt capacity at the moment. I'll assume that RS would want a decent premium over the 80c valuation given it should arguably be trading their already. I won't post all the calcs on this but to summarise:
- If PPE used $60m of debt and the balance in scrip, they can keep their debt to EBITDA below 1x and still make an acquisition of ASH eps accretive at prices well above $1 per share. I'm not sure RS would want a part scrip deal (as only ~41c would be in cash), but the main point here is that this business is worth a lot more to a potential acquirer than its current share price.