Australian online media company ecorp Ltd., formerly Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL) Online, Friday announced
its intention to list on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The initial AUS$161 million share offer represents 20 percent of the
company’s issued capital, and the offer is only open to investors that are
PBL shareholders or account holders in ecorp’s online broking business,
ShareTrade. The offer price will be AUS$1.20 per share.
On completion of the offer, there will be 670 million shares on issue, and
at the price of AUS$1.20 per share, ecorp will have a market capitalisation
of AUS$804 million (US$533 million).
ecorp is fully owned by media corporation Publishing and Broadcasting
Ltd., and after the capital raising and listing, PBL will remain
majority shareholder with 493 million shares.
The news of ecorp’s intended listing rounds out a busy day for the
organisation. Earlier today it announced it had acquired Australia and New
Zealand’s largest computerised network ticketing company, Ticketek.
ecorp will issue 43 million shares, worth around AUS$52 million (US$34 million), to
Ticketek’s current owner Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH), the private
holding company of Australian media baron Kerry Packer. CPH is also a
singificant shareholder in PBL. It will also make two further payments of
AUS$5 million ($US3.3 million) if Ticketek achieves financial targets in 2001 and 2002.
“We believe that the [Ticketek] business will be best developed within ecorp,
where the full potential of the online delivery of tickets and related
products can be best achieved.” said James Packer, CEO of CPH and Kerry Packer’s son.
He added that CPH intends to transfer ownership of the shares from ecorp
over to PBL “in a manner which will not result in any profit being made by
CPH from any appreciation in the value of ecorp’s shares.” If CPH does
transfer the shares PBL will hold 80 percent of ecorp.
ecorp currently holds a 50 percent interest in two joint ventures,
ninemsn, in which it has partnered with Microsoft, and eBay Australia and
New Zealand, with eBay Inc. The company also operates Online Broker Holdings (which trades as ShareTrade Australia Stockbroking), aside from its
new control of Ticketek.
Eligible investors may participate in the offer from May 24 until
June 8. Shares will be openly available on June 8, and ecorp
anticipates sufficient demand that it has set the closure date two days
later, on June 10.
