Cresta's "empowerment" IPO succeeds

The IPO, which had to be extended for a week after a slower-than-expected uptake of the shares, closed last Monday with more than 3, 400 subscribers taking up a total of 38.2 million shares.

As part of its citizen economic empowerment, BDC was disposing of 62.9 million shares in Cresta with 40.7 million of them (22 percent of equity) being offered on the open market through the IPO at P 1.45 a share, equivalent to a price/earnings multiple of 13, a discount to the BSE's current market average.