By Ian Karleff
    TORONTO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Battery
Technologies <BTI.TO> credits a rapid rise in the company's
stock price on a soon-to-be-completed equity financing, as well
as speculation over the battery maker's prospects of signing
deals with wireless device makers.
    The shares have more than tripled in heavy volume from 46
Canadian cents on July 24 to C$1.47 on Tuesday, up 38 Canadian
cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange amid heavy volume of 6
million shares.
    "There is no pending news or tangible announcement. The
bidding up of the stock price and the heavy volume we are
seeing I attribute to speculation on where the company is going
to go," president and chief executive Bruce Pope told Reuters
in a telephone interview.
    Battery Technologies holds patents for rechargeable
alkaline manganese-dioxide batteries, which are less toxic, and
hold more voltage than rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries.
    Pope said a prospectus is being finalized to sell C$15
million of common shares through underwriter GroomeCapital.com,
which will raise the total number of common shares outstanding
from 61 million to a yet to be determined amount.
    Battery Technologies' market capitalization has fluctuated
dramatically this year, ranging between C$5.5 million and C$304
million when the shares were at a high of C$4.99 in March.
    Pope said the share issue, and a subsequent paying down of
C$7.5 million in debt with Finland's Merita Bank, using the
issuance of new shares above and beyond the offering, will not
dilute the current value of the outstanding shares.
    "My goal is to minimize dilution...by doing our equity
financing at as high a stock price as we can," said Pope.
    Proceeds from the equity financing will be used to promote
the Battery Technologies brand in Europe and to advance
research and development efforts to develop the company's
batteries into shapes that resemble credit cards, added Pope.
    Research and development spending should reach about C$2
million in calendar 2000.
    Pope said the company is working on contracts with
manufacturers of wireless devices, specifically hand-held
computers, that would get the company's products into devices
at an early stage.
    ((Ian Karleff, Reuters Toronto Bureau 416-941-8102 e-mail
toronto.newsroom@reuters.com))
 REUTERS
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