Would-be investors in Azlan Group Plc must have thought that the price-earnings ratio of 27.4 we gave for the shares at the offer price of 230 pence yesterday (CI No 2,297) was a typo (typographical error) – but unfortunately it may sound astronomic, but is nevertheless correct: the company is in a growing business, networking equipment distribution with high added value, but the flotation is raising only UKP6m for the company, some UKP15m for those that took shares in the buyout, and the route chosen is a placing and intermediaries offer, which means that rather than simply clipping a coupon from the prospectus or a newspaper, mailing off their cheque and getting the shares at the issue price free of dealing charges, would-be individual holders have to go through a broker and pay commission – which suggests that anyone that fancies a punt on Azlan would do better to wait for the next major setback in the market and get in at a lower price.
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