subsidiaries operating on the Island, revealed yesterday it will go public.

Hemisphere's initial public offering (IPO) of shares includes 846,000 convertible redeemable voting 9.75% preferred shares at $5 each, representing 47 percent of the company's total issued shares.

Of the 846,000 IPO, 70,000 will be new shares.

The offering is expected to generate $4.23 million.

The company's proceeds from the offering are earmarked for expansion of operations in the Cayman Islands, to include the establishment and capitalisation of a new wholly-owned subsidiary to focus on management services to Hemisphere's mutual fund clients. Hemisphere currently has a 50 percent joint venture stake in a Cayman company.

Public presentations on the offering are slated November 14, 16 and 22 at the Hamilton Princess.

"The offering marks the first of the local management companies to approach the public market and represents a further expansion of the range of companies available to local investors,'' said President and CEO Mr. Christopher Wetherhill.

"The public listing will provide for a broad shareholder base...we anticipate our staff will become shareholders,'' he added.

"The Hemisphere offering is an interesting new development in the local investment market...It will add a new alternative in the class of convertible securities listed on the local exchange,'' commented Mr. Peter Mellor, senior vice president, investments, at the Bank of Bermuda.

Mr. Wetherhill and his wife Christine Wetherhill, Mr. Joseph Kelly and his wife Elaine Kelly and Ms Margaret Every are the existing shareholders and are offering for sale; 570,000, 130,000 and 76,000 shares respectively. Mr. Kelly is vice president, finance, and Ms Every is the company's vice president, administration. Mr. Wetherhill and Mr. Kelly are British while Ms Every is Bermudian. Mr. John E. Riihiluoma Jr., a Bermudian, is director and chairman of the Hemisphere Group.

The group, whose primary subsidiary is Hemisphere Management Ltd., started in 1981, handles company management, corporate secretarial and trust management services and is forecasting revenues in 1995 of $4.16 million.

Hemisphere employs 350 people and has about 350 clients with net asset value of over $1.5 billion.

Investors must apply for a minimum of 200 shares per person and minimum integral multiples of 100 shares. Shares outstanding after the offering will be 1.8 million, 954,000 common and 846,000 preferred. The company has applied to list both on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

The offering closes on Friday, November 25 at 3 p.m. and opened on Monday.

The offering is being underwritten by Bermuda International Securities Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Bermuda. The underwriter has contracted to purchase any of the shares not purchased by investors.

The bank has appointed GulfStream Securities Ltd., Bermuda Commercial Bank Ltd., and First Bermuda Securities Ltd. as sales agents of the shares.