Baltimore shares make strong debut on Nasdaq market

Shares in Baltimore Technologies got off to a strong start on their first day of trading on the Nasdaq yesterday after the company's offer of shares was heavily oversubscribed.

The shares, which were issued at a price of $24.7875 or £15 sterling (€23.5), surged by more than 27 per cent on their debut to $31.625 by the close of trading in Dublin. In London, the shares closed 20 per cent higher at £19.20 sterling.

The company raised a total of £106 million sterling, more than its initial target of £95 million, from the issue of some 6.9 million shares to both shareholders and institutional investors worldwide. Shareholders subscribed for some 29 per cent of the shares under an open offer while some 4.9 million shares were sold to institutional investors.

This included 525,000 shares sold by company directors including chief executive Mr Fran Rooney who made £2.25 million on paper from the sale of 150,000 shares, a small part of his overall investment in the company.

Baltimore chairman Mr Henry Beker offered 300,000 shares and Mr Matthew Bowcock, vice president of corporate development, also sold shares.

The issue price represented a discount of 5.8 per cent to the closing price on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday but was some 30 per cent above the £11.50 level at which the shares closed the day before the offering was announced.

It is understood that US institutional investors subscribed for nearly 50 per cent of the shares, with institutions in Europe buying the rest. Irish institutions took up around five per cent of the shares on offer.

Mr Rooney said that among the reasons the company had opted for a Nasdaq listing was a desire to diversify its shareholder base and bring in large institutions.

The money raised will be used to fund an active acquisition campaign, not just in the US but also in areas such as Asia-Pacific.

Baltimore is interested in acquiring firms that will give it access to new customer bases.

"We would like to explore new emerging technologies like biometrics and broadcasting," Mr Rooney said. "Our focus will be on acquiring something that will give us foothold in these sectors."