Cabletalk swells the first wave of fledgling listings

By Nick Stride

Friday 3rd November 2000

Three companies announced plans this week to join the Stock Exchange's New Capital Market and a wave of listings is expected between now and the end of the year.

Telecommunications service company Cabletalk Group, submarine tourism venture Submarines Australasia and beauty clinic Caci are the latest offering of the exchange's junior board. They join Mowbray Collectables, nzij.co, Rocom Wireless, RetailX, and Selector Group, which has already graduated to the main board.

Cabletalk Group, headed by Air New Zealand and Brierley Investments chairman Sir Selwyn Cushing and former Qantas New Zealand managing director Ross Keenan, aims to bring together a number of companies providing construction, maintenance and repair work for the country's major telcos.

Its offer opened on Monday and closes on November 17. Its targeted key transactions are Cabletalk, Astute Networks, McBreen Jenkins Telecommunications and MJCT Communications. Mr Keenan said all those companies were profitable but it would be premature to disclose details as the final mix of companies might change.

No deals had been done although negotiations were continuing. But it was intended Cabletalk Ltd would be the group's cornerstone holding.

"There is a number of options for putting together parts of the telco servicing industry."

Cabletalk and McBreen Jenkins' principal business is repairing and maintaining Telecom's networks. MJCT manages the work carried out by both companies while Astute Networks provides fibre-optic cable and cellular services for Telecom, Clear, Telstra Saturn and Vodafone.

Cabletalk is raising $600,000 through an offer of 50c shares. The lead broker is Craig & Co.

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