Firm to raise £5m for Irish ventures

A venture-capital company which plans to invest in Irish Internet and technology companies is planning to raise at least £5 million sterling (€8.3 million) and possibly as much as £20 million sterling in a flotation on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Ireland Netinvest.Com has close links with a similar British operation, Netvest, which was floated on the AIM market last year and invests in fledgling British Internet operations. It is understood that NCB Stockbrokers, which is handling the flotation, has provisionally reached the initial £5 million target which would involve 20 million shares being placed at 25p each. Raising the maximum of £20 million sterling would mean that 80 million shares would be issued at the 25p placing price.

Ireland Netinvest.Com currently has 14 million shares in issue, so even the minimum placing of 20 million shares will involve a significant dilution of the start-up shareholders. NCB itself has an option to buy 800,000 shares at 5p each within one month of the shares. Investors in the placing will receive a warrant allowing them to buy one additional share for every two already held at a price of 38p each, within two years of the shares being admitted to AIM.

Prior to the AIM flotation, the main shareholders are Netvest which has 13.4 per cent, while two Irish entrepreneurs, Thomas Jones and John McKeon also have 13.4 per cent stakes. A former senior manager with Price Waterhouse, Mr Jones established the Paco chain of clothes shops. He owns the Jones Deli chain and a private technology-investment fund.

Mr McKeon, a former financial adviser with Allied Dunbar, has more recently been involved in mergers, acquisitions and flotations. The company is chaired by former banker Mr Gerald O'Mahony. Two directors of Netvest, Mr Peter Catto and Mr Ian Ilsley are also on the board.