Australia's BBX Goes Public With Oversubscribed IPO

Michael Touma, managing director of Business Barter Exchange, is now the head of a publicly-traded barter company - BBX is the first Australian barter company to be traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).

Touma’s company has been building an infrastructure in Australia for the past 13 years, and with an ASX listing he envisions a bright future. "Our listing will give us a lot more credibility, as well as a lot more power to move forward and see faster growth."

BBX’s IPO closed oversubscribed and raised $6.85 million from the sale of 27.7 million shares at 25 cents each. (It closed the first day trading at 24 cents). Reportedly, an impressive 60% of the investors were institutions.

Touma plans to use some of the capital to expand into Asia’s Indian and Chinese markets, in addition to establishing more branches and franchises within Australia.

BBX is Australia’s second largest trade exchange, handling close to $100 million in trade on behalf of 4,360 member businesses each year. For more information contact BBX’s corporate office at (612) 9476-6655.