07 March 2003 12:00am

ERG Group is set to sell Proton World International, little more than a year after the Perth-based ticket collector gained full ownership of the Belgium-based developer of smart card applications and operating systems.

The sale, to a "significant global company," may be announced next week.

ERG said that the sale price was expected to be €60 million, or about $109 million. This would release about $63 million for ERG after taking into account various Proton loans. ERG is also entitled to another €22.5 million under an earn-out clause with the mystery buyer, the terms...