Triple 8 wraps stock, unit issue; Mission Oaks pockets $7 million; Fire River seals placement

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., July 26 - Triple 8 Energy Ltd., Mission Oaks Bancorp Inc. and Fire River Gold Corp. were among companies completing PIPE transactions on Monday.

Triple 8 raised nearly C$10 million from a private placement of stock and units. The financing came in connection with a leadership change, and the company's new top executive said the funds would help to fund a planned acquisition.

Mission Oaks meantime sealed $7 million from a private placement of units. The proceeds will be used to bolster the company's capital position.

And, Fire River raised C$5.5 million from a private placement of units. The company intends to use the funds to help bring its flagship project back into production.

Meanwhile, Aroway Minerals Inc. said it wanted C$5 million for an exploration program. To that end, the company is conducting a private placement of units.

Cell Therapeutics Inc. is issuing preferred shares in its effort to take in more than $4 million. The preferred shares are convertible into common shares.

Also, Vantex Resources Ltd. announced it had upsized a previously announced private placement of units. The increase was due to high investor demand.

Triple 8 wraps stock, unit sale

Triple 8 Energy, a Calgary, Alta.-based oil and gas company, settled a C$9.86 million private placement of equity and units, according to a press release.

The non-brokered deal originally priced at C$10 million on June 25.

The company issued approximately 112.76 million common shares at C$0.06 each, representing a 40% discount to the June 25 closing share price of C$0.10.

Additionally, Triple 8 sold 51.5 million units at C$0.06 per unit. The units held one common share and one warrant.

The warrant is exercisable at C$0.10 for five years.

The financing was done in conjunction with a management shift that brought in a new group of executives, including Trevor Spagrud, the company's new president and chief executive officer.

Spagrud told Prospect News that the change in leadership has been an ongoing process and that the financing was "necessary for us to get our positions and also get some key individuals that can support us down the road."

Triple 8 is currently looking to "acquire some assets in [British Columbia]," Spagrud added, and this financing will help get that deal settled.

Spagrud expected the asset purchase to close "in the next couple of days."

And, he said the new funding would also help give the company some financial flexibility.

Triple 8's equity (TSX Venture: TEE) fell a cent, or 9.09%, to C$0.10. Market capitalization is C$3.17 million.

Mission Oaks pockets $7 million

Mission Oaks Bancorp pocketed $7 million from a private placement of equity units, the company said in a press release.

The Temecula, Calif.-based company issued the units at $4.00 apiece. Each unit held four common shares and one warrant.

The warrants are exercisable at $1.00 until 2013. The strike price is a 20% discount to the July 23 closing share price of $1.25.

"I am pleased to report that we were able to successfully raise the full $7 million that we were seeking," said Gary Votapka, president and CEO, in the release.

"The last few years have been very difficult for community banks, especially for those in the Inland Empire. It is gratifying to know that the directors, shareholders and new investors who purchased our stock are confident that we will be able to continue to play a role as one of the dominant independent banks in our market."

"Nearly every community bank in Southern California is under some form of regulatory agreement, and many of them call for additional capital to be raised," he added. "We are one of the few companies that have successfully done that."

Proceeds will go toward improving the capital position of Mission Oaks National Bank.

Mission's stock (OTCBB: MOKB) was unchanged at $1.25. Market capitalization is $5.62 million.

Fire Gold seals C$5.5 million

Among other completed transactions, Fire River Gold announced it had raised C$5.5 million from a non-brokered private placement of units.

The deal originally priced at C$3 million on June 18 and was increased to C$5.5 million on June 22.

Fire River sold 11 million of the units at C$0.50 each. The units contained one common share and one half-share warrant.

Whole warrants are exercisable at C$0.75 for 18 months. The strike price represents an 11.94% premium to the July 23 closing share price of C$0.67.

Proceeds will be used for exploration and development work at the Nixon Ford Gold Mine in Alaska, as well as for general corporate purposes. The company is currently undertaking a work program to bring the flagship Nixon project back into production within the next year, according to a press release.

The company did not return calls seeking comment on Monday.

Fire River's stock (TSX Venture: FAU) dropped 4 cents, or 5.97%, to C$0.63. Market capitalization is C$30.43 million.

Fire River Gold is a Vancouver, B.C.-based mineral resource company.

Aroway to sell units

Aroway Minerals is seeking C$5 million via a best-efforts private placement of units, according to a press release.

The company will sell 20 million flow-through units at C$0.20 each. The units will consist of one flow-through common share and one half-share warrant.

Whole warrants are exercisable at C$0.30 for one year.

And, Aroway will also sell 6.25 million common share units at C$0.16 each. Those units will hold one common share and one half-share warrant.

Whole warrants are exercisable at C$0.22 for one year. The strike price represents a 2.32% premium over the July 23 closing share price of C$0.215.

Proceeds from the financing will go toward exploration program costs at the Worsley Property, in which it is looking to acquire a 50% stake.

The company did not return calls seeking comment on Monday.

Aroway's shares (TSX venture: ARW) gained 2 cents, or 9.3%, to C$0.235. Market capitalization is C$1.6 million.

Aroway Minerals is a Vancouver, B.C.-based mineral exploration company.

Cell Therapeutics plans preferred sale

Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics will privately place $4.06 million of series 6 preferred shares, the company said in a regulatory filing and subsequent press release.

The biopharmaceutical company will issue 4,060 of the preferreds at $1,000 per share.

The shares are initially convertible into 11.6 million common shares at an initial conversion price of $0.35 per share.

The conversion price is a 16.66% discount to the July 23 closing share price of $0.42.

Also, investors will receive warrants good for another 5.6 million shares. The warrants are exercisable at $0.42 for four years, six months and one day.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. Settlement is expected by July 27.

The company did not return calls seeking comment on Monday.

Cell Therapeutics' stock (Nasdaq: CTIC) dipped 2 cents, or 4.69%, to $0.40. Market capitalization is $262.72 million.

Vantex upsizes deal

Vantex Resources announced it had increased the amount of a previously announced private placement of units to C$2.1 million.

The deal originally priced at C$1.7 million on July 21. The company said the upsizing was due to investor demand.

Vantex will now issue 2,100 units at C$1,000 per unit. Each unit will hold 8,000 flow-through common shares, 2,000 common shares and 5,000 warrants.

The warrants are exercisable at C$0.15 for one year. The strike price is a 15.38% premium to the July 20 closing share price of C$0.13.

Proceeds will be used for exploration and for working capital.

Vantex's shares (TSX Venture: VAX) ended steady at C$0.125. Market capitalization is C$2.09 million.

Vantex Mining is a La Prairie, Quebec-based mining company.

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