Athersys closes $65 million stock sale; SunOpta pockets $30 million from convertible preferreds

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, June 11 - Athersys, Inc. led PIPE news to kick off the week, sealing a $65 million stock offering.

Also making headlines on Monday was a $30 million offering of convertible preferred stock from SunOpta Inc.

In the Athersys offering, conducted as part of its reverse merger with BTHC VI, Inc., the company issued 13 million shares at $5.00 each to a group of investors led by Radius Ventures.

The other investors included OrbiMed Advisors, RA Capital Management, Accipiter Capital Management LLC, Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management LLC, MPM BioEquities and Pappas Ventures.

The investors also received an undisclosed number of warrants exercisable at $6.00 each.

Cowen & Co., LLC and National Securities Corp. were the agents for the deal.

The offering was completed as part of Athersys' reverse merger with BTHC VI, Inc. BTHC plans to change its name to Athersys as soon as the requirements are met.

"We are excited to invest in Athersys in connection with its debut as a publicly traded company," said Jordan Davis of Radius Ventures in a statement. "In particular, we are attracted to Athersys' 'fast follower' approach and its focus on developing products that have best-in-class potential in multibillion dollar markets."

"We think the reverse merger is an excellent move," said another buysider connected to the deal. "They have a great pipeline and we feel that they're headed in the right direction."

Proceeds will be used for clinical development of the company's lead candidate ATHX-105 to treat obesity, and for its non-embryonic stem cell product, MultiStem to treat cardiovascular disorders, bone marrow transplantation support and other diseases. The rest will be used for preclinical development, debt repayment and working capital and general corporate purposes.

Cleveland-based Athersys is a biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for obesity and other health problems.

SunOpta's $30 million deal

In other PIPE news, SunOpta sold $30 million in convertible preferred stock.

The preferreds are convertible into common shares of subsidiary SunOpta BioProcess Inc. on a one-for-one basis.

The investors also received warrants for 648,300 shares, each exercisable at $11.57 for six months.

"This financing represents a strong endorsement of our technology and leadership position in cellulosic ethanol," said SunOpta BioProcess president Murray Burke in a news release.

"Proceeds will be used to continue development of our leading-edge and patented biomass conversion technologies and accelerate efforts to build and operate the world's first commercial-scale facility for the conversion of cellulosic biomass to ethanol."

"We are extremely pleased to have completed this financing and are confident that this positions SunOpta BioProcess for an exceptionally exciting and prosperous future," said SunOpta chief executive officer Steve Bromley in a statement.

Canaccord Adams Inc. was the lead placement agent for the deal.

The company's stock fell 12 cents to end at $11.21 (Nasdaq: STKL). In after-hours trading, the stock gained a penny.

Based in Norval, Ont., SunOpta converts biomass products into fuels.

Sapiens secures $20 million

In other PIPE news Monday, Sapiens International Corp. NV announced that it has secured $20 million from a stock offering with a group of institutional investors and its majority shareholder, Emblaze/Formula Group.

News of the deal sent the company's stock up early, gaining 9.3%, or 25 cents, by 9:30 a.m. ET. By the end of the day, the stock gained 17 cents, or 6.32%, to close at $2.86 (Nasdaq: SPNS).

The offering includes 6,666,666 shares at $3.00 each, a 12% premium to market.

The offering is slated to close at the end of the month.

"Sapiens is a different company today," said Roni Al-Dor, the company's CEO, in a statement. We are back to growth and operational profitability, playing in multi-billion dollar markets and ready to take leadership.

"This investment is a strong vote of confidence by our investors and by the Emblaze/Formula group in our direction and future prospects. We appreciate their support and we will do our best to continue on the course that we have set for ourselves."

"We are actively involved in all of our companies," said Guy Bernstein, Emblaze Group's CEO, in a news release.

"We work with Sapiens' management team on a daily basis. We focus on profitability and aggressive, global growth.

"Sapiens presents a strong opportunity in a large global market. There are many risks going forward but our mutual cooperation on the future of the company is unique and powerful in its results as evidenced by this round."

Based in Cary, N.C., Sapiens is an information technology software company.

Diamondex plans deal

Moving to Canadian offerings, Diamondex Resources Ltd.'s stock edged down on Monday after the company announced plans to conduct a C$10 million placement.

The terms of the deal have not been determined, but the offering will include flow-through and non-flow through common shares.

The stock gave up half a penny to close Monday at C$0.295 (TSX Venture: DSP).

The deal is being placed through a syndicate of agents led by Genuity Capital Markets.

Based in Vancouver, B.C., Diamondex is a diamond exploration company.

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