Good evening,

ASX-listed laboratory testing giant ALS Limited has its eye on a smaller listed rival.

Street Talk can reveal that ALS approached HRL Holdings with a non-binding bid about a month ago, and should be coming out of the data room any time now with a firmer bid.

The talks sound friendly, perhaps spurred along by HRL chairman Greg Kilmister’s decade-long stint as chief executive of ALS.

If the talks were to make it all the way to a deal, sources say it would land around the $80 million mark, which would be 10 times HRL’s EBITDA for the previous financial year.

Also in the listed world, we take a look at the intentions of Sigma Healthcare and Tassal Group’s new shareholders, and we have the details on BWX’s raising.

Elsewhere, Basslink’s receivers have fired the starting gun but some potential bidders are complaining that six weeks is not enough for due diligence.

Happy reading,

Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood
Street Talk Editors