CanWest raises $22.5 million from unit deal; Halozyme to wrap $16.1 million direct offering

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Dec. 13 - CanWest Petroleum Corp. led PIPE news on Tuesday, settling a $22.5 million private placement while in the broader market, biotech companies emerged with a slate of private and direct offerings.

In the non-brokered CanWest deal, the Calgary, Alta.-based oil explorer issued 15 million units at $1.50 each to accredited investors, including several Canadian institutional funds.

After the deal was announced Tuesday afternoon, its stock slipped 9 cents, or 3.98%, to close at $2.05.

The units are comprised of one share and one warrant with the warrants exercisable for two years at $2.00 each.

As of Sept. 13, the company had 67,646,692 outstanding common shares.

CanWest completed another private placement earlier this year. On June 10, the company raised $2 million in 7% notes convertible into common shares at $0.60 each.

CanWest also announced Tuesday that it intends to increase its interest in Oilsands Quest Inc., buying $13,025,000 in shares and bringing its holdings in the company to 68.48%.

In its most recent earnings report, CanWest reported a net loss of $3,203,707 for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $639,229 for the same quarter of 2004.

Moving to the biotech sector, Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. is gearing up to close a $16.1 million direct deal.

Halozyme will issue to a group of institutional investors 9.2 million shares at $1.75 each on Dec. 16. The shares will be sold under the company's shelf registration.

San Diego-based Halozyme is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing recombinant human enzymes for infertility, ophthalmology and oncology.

SG Cowen & Co., LLC was bookrunner for the deal.

After the offering was announced Tuesday morning, Halozyme's stock fell 12.84%, or 28 cents, to close at $1.90.

Biotech deals dominate PIPEs

In the broader private placement market Tuesday, one sellsider familiar with the biotechnology sector said several news items impacting biotech stocks may have helped push more private placements in the sector.

"Drug stocks in general are going up," he said. "There are some things here and there from some of the bigger [drug] companies that are pushing stocks up in the sector in general."

Among the news items announced Tuesday was an increase in Pfizer Inc.'s quarterly dividend by 26%.

In the broader markets, stocks in climbed on Tuesday after spending most of the day mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 55.95 to close at 10,823.72; the Nasdaq composite index ended the day up 4.05 to end at 2,265; and the Standard & Poor's 500 composite index settled up 7 at 1,267.43.

Cytogen raises $13.27 million

Elsewhere in the biotech sector, Cytogen Corp., a Princeton, N.J.-based biopharmaceutical company, is planning to close a $13,277,219 direct placement.

The offering includes 3,729,556 units at $3.56 each. The units are comprised of one share and one quarter-share warrant. The whole warrants allow for the purchase of another share at $4.25 each for five years.

The shares underlying the units will be issued under Cytogen's shelf registration.

Rodman & Renshaw LLC was the placement agent.

The company's stock closed up 26 cents, or 7.34%, to end at $3.80 Tuesday.

Proceeds will be used for marketing and clinical development of the company's products and candidates. The rest will be used for general corporate purposes.

A Laval, Quebec-based biopharmaceutical company, LAB International Inc. settled a $12,316,890 non-brokered private placement Tuesday.

The company issued 13,996,466 shares at $0.88 each to Great Point Partners, LLC and Atlas Venture Fund VI, LP.

Proceeds will be used for working capital.

"We are extremely excited that we have attracted to highly regarded U.S.-based institutional investors with an outstanding track record, especially in the biopharmaceutical industry," said Halvor Jaeger, the company's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "This financing will allow us to aggressively pursue our various strategic initiatives as we move our products toward the commercialization pathways.

"We are committed to finalizing and announcing the results of four phase 2 clinical trials on our three lead products, as well as initiating a Fentanyl Taifun phase 3 clinical trial in 2006."

LAB is focused on developing inhaler-delivered drugs to treat cancer pain.

The company's stock remained unchanged at $0.8868 Tuesday.

Sky Petroleum to raise $15.58 million

In the energy sector, Sky Petroleum, Inc. said it is gearing up to close a private placement of 15,588,602 shares at $1.00 each.

The Austin, Texas-based oil and natural gas exploration company has received agreements from institutional investors.

"We are very pleased with the confidence investors are showing in Sky Petroleum and the Murbarek development project," said Brent Kinney, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement. "Sky Petroleum now has sufficient cash on hand to complete its funding obligations under the participation agreement and satisfy working capital requirements for 2006, thus we decided to close the placement early."

Sky completed an $11 million private placement of series A convertible preferred stock at $3.60 each in September. In that offering, every preferred was convertible into four common shares.

Sky Petroleum's stock edged up 2 cents on Tuesday to settle at $1.90.

Oncolytics to raise C$16.48 million

Looking to Canadian offerings, Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced its plans to raise C$16.48 million from a unit offering.

The deal includes 3.2 million units at C$5.15 apiece offered to several institutional investors.

The units consist of one share and one half-share warrant, the whole of which is exercisable at C$6.15 each for three years.

Proceeds will be used to initiate the company's phase 2 clinical program. The remainder will be used for general corporate purposes.

"The funds from this financing are expected to be used to expand the clinical trial program for Reolysin in 2006 and 2007," said Brad Thompson, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement. "Based on indications of activity in our ongoing U.K. phase 1 systemic trial, previous clinical trials and pre-clinical examination of Reolysin in combination with several chemotherapeutic agents, our phase 2 clinical trial program will potentially include combination chemotherapy/Reolysin trials in colorectal, prostate, pancreatic and non-small cell lung cancer, and combination radiation/Reolysin trials in a number of tumor types."

Calgary, Alta.-based Oncolytics is a biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for cancer.

On Tuesday, the company's stock slipped C$0.17, or 2.95%, to end at C$5.60.

Triangle Petroleum stock gains 2.6%

Triangle Petroleum Corp., which led PIPE news on Monday with the completion of a $15 million convertible debenture deal, saw its stock lift slightly on Tuesday.

The company's stock gained 17 cents, or 2.6%, to end at $6.70 after gaining 36 cents on Monday.

Cornell Capital Partners, LP bought the debentures, which are convertible into common shares at the lesser of $5.00 or 90% of the average of the three lowest daily volume weighted average prices for the 10 trading days before conversion.

Triangle, based in Calgary, is an oil and natural gas exploration company.

XsunX stock dips

XsunX, Inc.'s stock fell on Tuesday after the company's stock jumped on word of a $5 million convertible debenture offering.

The company's stock slipped $0.035, or 5.83%, to end at $0.565 on Tuesday. On Monday, when the private placement was announced, the company's stock gained 16.5%, or $0.09, to close at $0.60.

In the XsunX offering, the company sold debentures that are convertible at the lesser of $0.38 or 95% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price of its stock for 30 trading days before conversion.

Based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., XsunX develops semitransparent technologies that allow glass windows to product electricity from the sun.

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