Botry-Zen counts down for a February listing

By Chris Hutching

Friday 16th November 2001

MIDAS TOUCH: Howard Paterson

The pace of events at Botry-Zen has accelerated for Howard Paterson, who recently returned about $115 million in oversubscriptions for a $5 million share issue by the new company heading for Stock Exchange listing in February.

Mr Paterson said he was extremely pleased with the speedy progress in obtaining provisional registration by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to proceed with commercial production of the organic control agent against the plant disease botrytis.

He said the company would probably attain listing on the Stock Exchange in February.

Mr Paterson floated the company a few weeks ago when it attracted about $120 million from would-be shareholders. A source close to the action said the latest float had gone "like a cut cat."

Botry-Zen has intellectual rights to a biological control preventing botrytis in grapevines and is also involved in trials on tomatoes, kiwifruit, lettuce and berry crops.

The company has caught the attention of a major US viticulture corporation, which is keen to be the main distributor in the US and wants to take an equity stake.

"We're in talks with this substantial player over there and they're very impressed with Botry-Zen. It's a totally natural product. For a small country it's that pure image that gives us a point of differentiation in the world," Mr Paterson said.

Botry-Zen's 166 million shares issued recently in a significantly scaled-down placement at 10c each have been trading in the mid 20c range until about two weeks ago when they rose to their current 40c level.

A broker speculated that the rise might be because of the interest recently shown by overseas corporations. But Botry-Zen spokesman David Parker said the share price rose after a recent biotechnology conference held by UBS Warburg.

Another recent float of Mr Paterson's - Blis Technologies - is trading steadily on the main board of the Stock Exchange at 90c, while A2 Corporation and C G Surgical may also list.

Listed Southern Capital, also founded by Mr Paterson, holds stakes in these companies related to interests managed out of his Dunedin office called the Edinburgh Trust.

Southern Capital has seven million Botry-Zen shares and Mr Paterson holds a significant stake in his own right.

A European distribution network is being set up to market Botry-Zen and a British investment banker is making arrangements for listing on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market.

In this country, a laboratory and factory have been built and the company has begun to make commercial quantities of product for leading wineries. Trials of Botry-Zen on other crops for this growing season have begun.

Botry-Zen owns rights over an organic biological control agent effective against Botrytis cinerea. Research was undertaken by HortResearch as part of the Winegrowers of New Zealand research programme, which is jointly funded by the Wine Institute and the Grapegrowers' Council with help from the Foundation for Science, Research and Technology.

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