Real-time 3D broadcast graphics developer Orad Hi-Tec Systems Ltd. (XETRA: OHT) disclosed a month ago that its largest shareholder, with a 19.2% stake was collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers. The shares are currently held by the defunct investment bank's receiver.
Orad president and CEO Avi Sharir said, "I have a theory, but no explanation. Lehman Brothers was our underwriter, and I suppose that it had leftover shares. They were discovered only when the receiver began sorting out the mess after the bank's collapse."
Sharir believes that Lehman Brothers' receiver will sell its Orad holding, which will boost Orad's float beyond its current level of 35.9%. The sale of the shares, if and when it takes place, is liable to create pressure on the share, which rose 26% in the past 12 months, but fell 9% since the beginning of the year. Orad opened on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at €2.04 today, giving a market cap of €22 million.
Orad held its IPO in 1999.
Sharir is awed by the movie "Avatar", to the point that, a few weeks ago, he invited Orad's 176 employees to see the movie in Tel Aviv so that they, too, could enjoy the 3D science fiction for two hours and 40 minutes (popcorn included). "You could say that I sent them to work," he said with a smile. "We have a lot to learn from this movie."
Sharir has no intention of challenging Avatar producer and director James Cameron, but there is logic behind the comment for the broadcasting graphics developer, which has four product lines. The first is virtual studios, which contain nothing but the presenter and a table; the second is screen-based graphics for news broadcasts; the third is virtual television advertising; and the fourth is broadcast graphics for sports events, such as displays of the results of races only seconds after they finish.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 28, 2010
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