Carter Holt division target of new listing

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Monday 25th March 2002

A software business currently owned by Carter Holt Harvey (NZSE: CAH) has been cited as the potential key transaction in a new IPO launched on Monday.

The New Capital Market float of Straightedge Limited will be for 600,000 shares at 50 cents each.

The shell company is currently 75% owned by CHH with the remainder held by Auckland businessman, Marc Potter. Following the float those shareholdings will reduce to 30% and 10% respectively.

Mr Potter is the owner and MD of Performance Printing Group Limited of Auckland and a principal of LEK Management Consulting.

In its prospectus the company says it has identified the acquisition of the intellectual property rights and other assets of the Straightedge division of Carter Holt Harvey as a potential key transaction.

"The Straightedge division at CHH has developed and obtained distribution licences for design and visualisation and other software for the wood supply, building products and DIY markets," the company says.

"On successful trials and sales in the Australasian market, the Straightedge division intends to launch these products into the North American market and then in further markets globally."

The major software products are a CD-based outdoor project package called Biz-e Builder, 3D kitchen and bathroom software called Virtual Worlds and a database management system for use in timber mills called Tadpole.

Straightedge's directors says they expect to finance the proposed key transaction through both the IPO and any balance in cash from a subsequent issue of shares and the cash reserves of the company following the offer.

"Those cash reserves will be the balance of cash raised from the issue of the shares through this offer and the $200,000 collectively subscribed to the company by Carter Holt Harvey and one of the directors, after payment of expenses."

Straightedge Limited's IPO is the first public capital raising resulting from Carter Holt Harvey's innovation focus.

The share offer is expected to close at on 18 April 2002 or earlier if full subscription is reached before then. It is expected that the majority of shares will be allocated to clients of the organising broker, Forsyth Barr or other brokers on a firm allocation basis.

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