Selector puts e-Opportunity on track for August listing

By DANIEL RIORDAN

Shareholders of cashed-up shell e-Opportunity are today expected to approve the takeover of psychometric software developer Selector Group and propel the company from the New Capital Market to the main board of the Stock Exchange.

Renamed Selector Group, the old e-Opportunity is expected to list in August.

Selector shareholders are being offered 15 e-Opportunity shares for each Selector share, valuing Selector at $15.7 million.

The deal requires approval from Selector shareholders holding at least 76 per cent of ordinary shares.

At close of play yesterday, acceptances were well over 80 per cent, according to e-Opportunity director Tony Bishop.

The company, which in April became the second listing on the new capital market after Mowbray Collectables, will be the first to make the transition to the main board.

It had flagged Selector as its key acquisition, a requirement of the initial listing.

A new capital market company automatically migrates to the Stock Exchange's main board when the issued capital of the company exceeds $10 million or its market capitalisation exceeds $10 million for 20 consecutive trading days.

Selector chief executive Jon Vincent said yesterday the company expected to enjoy positive cashflow by early next year and be profitable in 12 months.

Selector grew from psychometric testing developed for air traffic controllers.

Psychometrics, a mix of behavioural science and statistics, enables an employer to test a potential employee's ability to handle a variety of situations.

Selector provides an offline, hard-copy questionnaire, which can take up to two and a half hours to complete, depending on the level of detail required.

Its online tests, which can be filled out by the potential employee at home, take 25 to 35 minutes.

The completed questionnaire is then used to rate the individual in a wide range of areas compared to benchmark behaviour of the general population.

The online part of Selector's business is expected to grow and rapidly overtake its offline business.

Customers include the Australasian operations of the world's biggest recruitment agency Manpower and Wilson & Horton, publisher of the NZ Herald, which partnered Selector in setting up a profiler website.

In September, the Australian Defence Force begins a pilot study using Selector's products.

The company is also negotiating with the central division of the Employers and Manufacturers Association.

Selector says it uses the internet only as a delivery vehicle for its online questionnaire.

Mr Vincent said it had taken a more conservative path to market than most e-stocks.