IPO Watch: Barry Lambert’s Ecofibre hits the ASX with a bang

The ASX’s first cannabis IPO of 2019 Ecofibre (ASX:EOF) didn’t disappoint after hitting the boards at 11am today opening up 61 per cent at $1.61.

The IPO raised $20 million at $1 a share, to give the company a starting market cap of $309 million on listing.

By midday the stock had dipped to $1.50, still a solid 50 per cent gain on the issue price.

Ecofibre chairman and big medicinal cannabis advocate Barry Lambert certainly has enough skin in game, holding about 24 per cent of issued capital.

Right now, the Ecofibre operations are split between the US and Australia.

The fledgling Australian business sells seeds as food, but the real cash is made in the US, where it sells nutraceutical products for humans and pets, as well as topical creams and salves.

A fibre business is being set up there too.

Ecofibre actually listed, partially, to accelerate the commercialisation of this innovative fibre business, called Hemp Black.

It involves developing hemp-based products in textiles and composite materials in partnership with Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) in the US.

Ecofibre reckons Hemp Black could potentially compete with things like silver oxide coatings for anti-microbial properties in textiles, copper for electrical conductivity in textiles, and carbon black in higher value applications as pigment.