"...should we assume - as there's no mention what-so-ever of it - that the talks on the North Pipes claims have stopped w/o result?"

No! A non-disclosure aggreement (NDA) does not put either company under a time line. In fact, should a deal results, it will not often happen so soon after the NDA is announced.

In most cases, nothing comes of these anyway, and shareholders are left "up in the air". Or, the other party may not find conditions at present not suitable to their needs, and will wait changing conditions - theirs or the markets - to help with the decision.

My advice is to forget about, and be pleasantly surprised if a deal is announced some weeks or months from now.