Lastminute.com to float on US and UK stock markets

NEWS Online travel agent, Lastminute.com, is selling off between 20 and 25 per cent of its shares on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in March. Brent Hoberman, co-founder and chief executive of Lastminute.com, said: "The money raised will be invested in technology, in looking at new ways to distribute the service on mobile phones and digital television and for brand building and geographical expansion." Hoberman said the company will continue to expand through Europe - it currently operates in France, Germany, Sweden and the UK - and admitted he was surprised at the speed with which the company has reached this point. The shares will be offered to institutional investors, retail investors and Lastminute's registered subscribers. Silicon.com will be publishing an Agenda Setters interview with Martha Lane-Fox, co-founder of Lastminute.com, on 17 February.