Page "Melbourne IT" Paragraph 10

It benefited from a cover story by finance journalist Ivor Rees in a weekend edition of the Australian Financial Review in November 1999, describing it presciently as the ‘ Hottest Float of the Year ’.

Interest in the shares was particularly strong because it was the only Australian tech stock floating that year with a track record of actual profitability.

Demands for a prospectus were so high that complaints were aired in the media by members of the public unable to obtain one.

The chief beneficiaries of the float, apart from the University, were the clients of the underwriters, JB Were and CommSec, some of whom made massive stag profits when the stock peaked at $ 8. 20 on the day of its float, compared with the IPO price of $ 2. 20.

In 2000 the Victorian Auditor-General held an investigation into whether the stock was undervalued by the underwriters when listed, but concluded that the float had been carried out properly.