The shares of printing and advertising company Billboard were “a good medium term investment”, Razvigor Hristov, an investment consultant with Slovenian-owned KD Securities brokerage in Sofia, told SeeNews wire agency. Billboard took the floor at the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) on February 20. The price of its shares increased by 20 per cent, receiving much interest from investors. The price rose to 8.75 leva on a traded volume of nearly 170 000 shares. This was up from the issue price at the company’s initial public offering (IPO) of 7.30 leva. The IPO, held in late 2007, of 1.5 million new shares was nearly 14 times oversubscribed. “The shares of Billboard are rising amid an unstable market and this is a good indicator,” Hristov said. Overall the market was positive about the company’s stock. Billboard owns six companies, including one that holds the rights to post adverts in Sofia’s underground railway stations, a unit for the sale of printing machines and a software firm.

In other news Easy Asset Management (EAM) will be the first non-banking lending institution in Bulgaria to float shares on the BSE. EAM will raise its capital through an IPO and is expected to debut on the Bulgarian capital market at the end of 2008. BenchMark Finance will be the investment intermediary of the issue. Easy Asset Management will use the proceeds from the IPO to develop new products and expand its credit portfolio, the company said.