 31 Jan – 6 Feb 2001 |
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Globe partners with BoV Stockbrokers for forthcoming IPO [ move provides BOVSL with first assignment ] By David Lindsay Globe Financial Management, currently in the process of seeking a Malta Stock Exchange listing, yesterday announced that it has appointed Bank of Valletta Stockbrokers Ltd as their sponsoring stockbroker for their upcoming public share offer. This is the first such assignment for BoV Stockbrokers (BOVSL), which was licensed just last December. The BoV group will be acting as manager, underwriter and registrar for the anticipated IPO and, accordingly, all BoV branches will be handing out and receiving applications – on a date still to be announced. Commenting on the announcement, BOVSL's Franco Xuereb – in his capacity as sponsoring stockbroker for the Globe share offer, explained, "This is an excellent experience for our future growth and we are proud to have been chosen by Globe. Globe Financial Management is the first investment services business to go public in Malta and we congratulate them on their achievement." Globe chairman and founder, Christopher Pace, explains the reasoning behind the move, "The company recognises that for it to compete head on with Bank of Valletta and HSBC, it has to be on a level playing field and have its shares valued in the same way that the others are valued, on the stock market. "Accordingly, it has been our intention for two years now to seek a listing on the Exchange and we have been preparing ourselves internally to do that through various reorganisations. In August last year we carried out a pre-placement of 14 per cent of the company, which was a dilution for existing shareholders in terms of their existing shareholding. That was, if you like, a precursor to going public. "Now we intend to work very closely with our advisors to offer our shares on the stock market in the near future." However, Globe's employees are also expected to benefit greatly from the IPO, by being offered the possibility of gaining a personal stake in the performance of the company. According to Mr Pace, "The idea is to sell 20 per cent of the company and popularise our company in order to gain a broader base of shareholders while, at the same time, being able to offer our main asset, our employees, share options in the company to really get them on board and make them feel part of the success." | ||||||
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