(February 25) – “Colman O’Brien has a wonderful expression for philosophy that underlies his e-commerce investment dealer, BayStreetDirect.com Inc. Mr. O’Brien, a founder and deputy chairman of the year-old firm, likes to say that he’s giving investors ‘the power to separate mind and money.’ Soon, BayStreetDirect will find if investors want that power,” writes Andrew Willis in today’s Globe.
“This week, the brokerage house snagged a slot as an underwriter in its first financing, a $15-million share sale by Cars4U.com Ltd. Folks who took pleasure in cute vanity licence plate names can have a field day with these dot-com companies.
“Cars4U.com is an over-the-counter stock that represents a controlling interest in four Ontario auto dealerships, a leasing company and a fledgling Internet business. The company’s ambition is to be ‘Canada’s first and largest e-dealer,’ and this financing will help it toward that goal. Investors in the firm include chairman Edward Sonshine, better known as chief executive officer of RioCan, a major real estate trust.
“Scotia Capital is leading the Cars4U.com financing, with BayStreetDirect and Schwab Canada rounding out the sales syndicate. As the marketing effort ramps up, here’s how Mr. O’Brien’s money and minds mantra should play out. Normally, retail investors interested in a hot new deal would have to go to one of the broker houses selling the shares, set up an account if they didn’t already have one, and hope that it was big enough to warrant attention. In reality, the demand from favoured large investors means hot financings are all but impossible for most retail investors to grab.
“BayStreetDirect puts the little guy on equal footing with the big guys for the first time.
Those interested in Cars4U.com, or future deals involving BayStreetDirect, can simply register for free on the dealer’s Web site –http://www.BayStreetDirect.com. Then they fire in an order during what’s likely to be a three-day sales period.
“The brokerage house will sort out demand in a fair method — a lottery system may be used — and deposit the shares purchased to the investor’s existing account.
If the investor has a full-service stockbroker, that person gets paid their regular sales commission by BayStreetDirect.com. Needless to say, this prospect makes the e-commerce dealer quite popular among traditional stockbrokers.
“This is where mind and money are separated for the first time. Investors can decide to get into a deal via BayStreetDirect, and don’t have to move their money out of an existing account.