Australian brothel trades on stock exchange
Shares in a brothel have almost doubled in value after it began trading on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The Daily Planet, the country's first publicly listed brothel, received some promotional help from former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
"How can you go wrong with sex?" said Fleiss, while visiting Melbourne for the launch.
Shares at The Daily Planet were offered at A$0.50 cents each, and opened 40% higher at A$0.70. By late trading, shares were up 90% to A$0.95.
Chief Executive Andrew Harris said the Melbourne-based brothel, which opened in 1975, raised A$3.5 in its initial public offering - with one of the 600 new shareholders forking out A$1 million.
Mr Harris said the company plans to franchise the business in other Australian cities, and build a mega brothel in Sydney.
Fleiss made international headlines several years ago when investigators accused her of arranging liaisons with prostitutes for a number of Hollywood celebrities and other jet-setters.
She was released from prison in 1999 after serving 21 months for money laundering, tax evasion and attempted pandering, and is now contracted to help The Daily Planet develop business ideas.
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