had suspected yesterday, that the $4.2-million Hemisphere Group Ltd. initial public offering (IPO) was fully subscribed.

In fact, senior vice president of the bank, Mr. Peter Mellor said that the offering was substantially over-subscribed.

"While details are still being finalised,'' he reported, "our figures indicate that the offering was approximately 30 percent over-subscribed, with in excess of 310 investors participating in the offering.'' Hemisphere is the first of local management companies to approach the public market and the company has been confirmed for listing on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

President and CEO of The Hemisphere Group, Mr. Christopher Wetherill, said, "The public listing is considered to be an important development for our company, and will provide us with a solid foundation upon which to build our company's future.

"One of our goals was to distribute the ownership amongst a broad shareholder base and this has clearly been achieved. We wish to welcome our new shareholders and thank them for the strong support shown for the company's offering.'' Mr. Mellor said, "We believe that the increased number of sales agents in this offering, especially the entry by GulfStream (Securities Ltd.) in the underwriting group with the Bank of Bermuda, has made a valuable contribution in the wide distribution of the offering.'' The offering was arranged, managed and underwritten by the bank's investment division. The bank was joined by GulfStream, who purchased shares in the offering on a firm commitment basis for distribution to its clients. Other sales agents included Bermuda Commercial Bank, First Bermuda Securities and Lines Overseas Management.

The offering consisted of 846,000 convertible redeemable voting 9.75 percent preferred shares at $5.00 per share. The total value of the offering was $4,230,000, representing 47 percent of the total issued shares of the company.

The preferred shares are convertible into one common share at any time at the option of the shareholder. The offer closed last Friday.

Hemisphere is a Bermuda management company, with three active subsidiary operations, providing company management services, corporate secretarial services and trust management services and owns a 50 percent stake in a joint venture in the Cayman Islands.

There is a staff of 31 in Bermuda and four in the Cayman Islands. The company has about 350 clients including mutual funds, investment holding companies, trading companies and trusts.

Hemisphere has formed a network of professional relationships in the major financial centres of the world and these are the source for significant on-going referrals of business. The total net asset value of clients for which Hemisphere provides administrative services is in excess of $1.5 billion and management forecast that that figure will exceed $2 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.

Bank of Bermuda senior vice president:Mr. Peter Mellor