This Week In The Markets

Four new companies on the Irish market in a single month is certainly a record, at least in this writer's recollections of the market. And it seems that corporate financiers are gearing themselves up for another busy year in 1998, with a dozen or so companies likely to go for a full listing or DCM listing.

The indications are that high technology, telecoms and biotechnology companies will dominate the new issues, with brokers suggesting that at least another half dozen technology companies will join the market.

Add in the likely Dublin listing of Esat and possibly CBT, and more traditional flotations like Athlone Extrusions (due towards the end of January), and the number of companies on the Irish market will be nudging towards the 100 mark by the end of next year.

After Rapid Technology and Donegal Creameries, earlier in the month, it was the turn of BCO and Iona to float on the Dublin market this week - BCO on the DCM accompanied by a £10 million placing and Iona through a straight introduction.

Iona has been listed on Nasdaq since last February and the Dublin listing should help the company build up a bigger Irish shareholder base.

It has been quite a remarkable turnaround for the technology sector - previously an investment wasteland, as far as domestic fund managers were concerned.

Irish fund managers could not accept the sort of multiples that technology fetched on Nasdaq and spurned the sector.

Quite frankly, many fund managers did not understand the sector and as a result were unwilling to put money at high multiples into companies whose future earnings stream was not as clear as traditional financial and industrial stocks.

CBT has probably been the trigger for the renewed interest, with rival fund managers looking on enviously as Standard Life, Bank of Ireland and New Ireland made huge capital gains from their investment in the software group, an investment they were able to realise when CBT floated on Nasdaq nearly three years ago.

Apart from the two flotations, corporate news was thin on the ground this week, and the market tracked the bigger international stock markets, particularly Thursday's late sell-off in Japan when the Nikkei fell 5 per cent.

For those planning an early departure from their dealing desks and fancying the prospect of next week off, there may be second thoughts.

Waterford Wedgwood did get a boost from the announcement it has gained control of Rosenthal and, particularly, the announcement of a £27 million rationalisation at Wedgwood which sees 560 jobs disappear over the next few years.

Markets always seem to take great cheer from people loosing their jobs and Waterford Wedgwood's rationalisation was no exception to this rule, with the share moving ahead strongly.

Elan's acquisition of Sano for seven million of its own shares failed to excite the market, and some investors were less than ecstatic about the 7 per cent dilution of their shareholdings that the acquisition will bring.

The all-share deal was at the insistence of the vendors and Elan had no option but to go along with the demands of the Sano board.

The next major deal may be Kerry's acquisition of the Dalgety food ingredients and flour business. Bids had to be lodged by yesterday and Kerry remains firm favourite to win out.