Rampart Mercantile Inc. says it intends to buy back about 5% of its shares.

Rampart, the owner of Rampart Securities and recent buyer of BayStreetDirect.com, says it intends to make a normal course issuer bid. The notice permits the company to purchase up to 181,337 of its 3,626,745 issued and outstanding common shares.

The bid may commence on July 20, and will terminate on July 19, 2002. The price which the company will pay for any common shares acquired by it will be the prevailing market price of the common shares at the time of acquisition.

Rampart says that the purpose of the bid is because “management believes that its common shares are undervalued and market purchases of its common shares represent an appropriate and desirable use of funds for the company.”