raising more than its $1 million minimum target in a local public offering.

The public offering, which aimed to raise up to $5 million, closed on Friday.

Contracts for the acquisition of the property were set to be exchanged yesterday. The company would have forfeited $250,000 if contracts had not been exchanged on yesterday's deadline, unless the two parties had agreed otherwise.

Mr. Jeff Conyers, First Bermuda Securities president and a shareholder in the project, said the developers were on track to exchange contracts with the Bermudiana's owners Forte Hotels yesterday.

He said full details of the offering would be released later this week after a BFCL board meeting.