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Gold/Mining/Energy : Global Thermoelectric - SOFC Fuel cells (GLE:TSE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg from Edmonton who wrote (4793)	2/27/2000 9:15:00 PM
From: Ronald	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6016

Ballard Takeover? You never know. Acquisitions Possible For Cash-Flush Ballard Van_Sun - 2/25/00 12:39:22 PM Soaring Stock Price Has Enriched Value Of Share Offering, Expanding Original Plan For Its Proceeds. William Boei, Sun Business Reporter Vancouver Sun Ballard Power Systems Inc. [T.BLD] said Thursday it may go shopping for acquisitions after it raises half a billion dollars or more with a new share offering. The Burnaby fuel-cell maker said the value of the offering is now $499.2 million, more than 70 per cent higher than the $289 million it expected when it announced the offering in late January. Ballard is sticking to its plan to issue 3,245,000 shares, and its share value has soared in the past month. In January, Ballard said it would use the proceeds to help commercialize fuel cells, develop manufacturing processes, build its first fuel-cell factory and for "general corporate purposes." On Thursday, Ballard added: "A portion of the net proceeds may also be used to pursue acquisition opportunities [including intellectual property] that have strategic value." Ballard officials declined to elaborate, other than to say the possibility of acquisitions had been noted in the prospectus for the offering. "There are lots of interesting pockets of technology, some of which may be of interest to them," said Richard Morrow, a stock analyst with CIBC World Markets in Toronto. Morrow said Ballard could be interested in rival fuel-cell makers as well as companies with other fuel-cell-related technologies. The offering, priced at $153.84 per share, is scheduled to close March 2. It is being managed by a group of underwriters headed by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Ballard said if the offering is over-subscribed, the underwriters have an option to buy an additional 486,750 shares, which would raise an extra $75 million. When the offering was first announced, Ballard shares (TSE: BLD; Nasdaq: BLDP) were valued at $81.90 each. Since then, fuel-cell stocks have been soaring as analysts and investors became convinced fuel cells are a viable power-generating alternative and that their commercial production is drawing closer. Last week its partner, the Royal Dutch Shell Group [RD], unveiled a new technology to use gasoline as a fuel in fuel cells. That could reduce the need for new infrastructure for fuel cell-powered automobiles. Morrow said the main push for Ballard's share price has been the realization that "commercialization may be nearer at hand than some expected." Ballard's share price peaked earlier this week at $178. For the last two days it has been sliding, along with most other technology stocks. On Thursday, it slipped $10.55 to close at $153.45.