Interest high in 'Howard special' mystery bio-tech

By Chris Hutching

Friday 28th April 2000

UNFOLDING STORY:

Howard Paterson is coy about his latest venture

They are calling it another "Howard Special" and it has stimulated a lot of talk among well-heeled South Island investors.

A2 Corporation listed on April 11 on the secondary board of the Stock Exchange but there is little information available about what it does.

In the first three days of trading there were more than 400,000 shares bought and sold at prices between 60c-70c. Since that time the shares have settled at around 48c.

Brokers contacted about the new issue were able to provide only scant information.

According to Companies Office records two of the founder directors are Dunedin-based millionaire Howard Paterson and Corran McLachlan.

Much of the talk about the prospects of the company has emanated from Mr Paterson's millionaire friends in the Queenstown area who have described it as "potentially one of the biggest unfolding stories" of the biotechnology revolution.

But Mr Paterson was coy about the company. It was not the right time to publicly unveil its activities just yet, he said.

However, people who think they are "in the know" are obviously voting with their wallets.

The secondary board allows listings without any of the disclosure required for main board listings.

Mr Paterson specialises in setting up deals to bring venture-capital companies to the market.

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