Opti Canada closes C$36 million deal; volume improves despite lower stocks

By Sheri Kasprzak

Atlanta, May 5 - Opti Canada Inc.'s C$36 million private placement of units led private placement action Thursday as volume picked up on higher stocks from earlier this week.

Opti Canada, in a deal one market source said was priced at a decent premium, sold 1.2 million units at C$30 each. The units include a share of series C preferred stock and one half-share warrant.

The whole warrants allow the holders to buy an additional share at C$30 each through Nov. 30, 2008.

The preferreds pay annual dividends at 5% and are convertible into common shares on a one-for-one basis.

"They did it at a good premium," said one market source. "It does look like their stock has responded accordingly, they've been up most of the day, so good for them."

The company's stock gained up to C$0.55 on Thursday before settling for a C$0.05 gain to close at C$24.75.

"We are very pleased with the C$30 price of the underlying common equity and believe this is a strong endorsement of Opti and its future growth prospects by one of our larger, existing institutional shareholders," said the company's president and chief executive officer Sid Dykstra in a statement.

The deal was placed through a syndicate of placement agents led by Tristone Capital Inc. and TD Securities Inc.

Proceeds will be used to fund the company's expansion of its Long Lake integrated oil sands project beyond phase I.

Based in Calgary, Alta., Opti develops oil sands projects in Canada.

Elsewhere in the private placement market, sell-siders said even though stocks took a dip on Thursday, higher stocks from earlier in the week may have set the pace for higher volume.

"We're seeing quite a bit more today," said one sell-sider based in San Francisco. "What's happening is that we had higher stocks on Tuesday and Wednesday, so issuers are feeding off of that rather than paying that much attention to today's lower stocks. And to be fair, the losses in the stock market today weren't really anything to write home about. It was a pretty good day for PIPEs if you ask me."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 44.26 to close at 10,340.38; the Nasdaq composite index edged down 0.43 to close at 1,961.80 and the S&P 500 lost 3.55 to close at 1,172.10.

Canadian issuance, according to one sell-sider there, while not abysmal, is still suffering from instability linked to oil prices.

"One day they're up, one day they're down, so it's not really an environment where an energy company's going to say, 'Sure, sign me up,' when their stock could suffer soon after," said the Canadian sell-sider. "I think once [oil] prices settle a bit, things will improve here."

The movement for oil prices was up Thursday, as oil gained $0.70 to close at $50.83 per barrel.

MobilePro raises $15.5 million

MobilePro Corp. sold a convertible note for $15.5 million in a private placement to Cornell Capital Partners L.P.

The note bears interest at 7.75% annually, matures in three years and is convertible into common shares at $0.30 each.

Cornell also received warrants for 6 million shares, exercisable at $0.50 each.

"We are very pleased to have lined up this favorable new funding," said Jay Wright, MobilePro's chief executive officer, in a statement. "It immediately cuts our annual interest expense by over $2 million per year - over half a cent per basic share outstanding - while positioning us to ultimately convert the debt into equity at prices above our 17-month high. By eliminating restricting covenants, it also allows us to re-energize our acquisition program and continue building shareholder value. In short, it is a very solid package."

The note replaces a 23% bridge financing.

Based in Bethesda, Md., MobilePro is a wireless technology and broadband telecommunications company.

The company's stock slipped $0.013 to close at $0.261 on Thursday.

First Majestic downsizes offering

First Majestic Resource Corp. said it has downsized to C$10.75 million its previously announced C$15 million private placement.

The company now plans to sell 5 million units at C$2.15 each.

The units include one share and one half-share warrant. The whole warrants provide for an additional share at C$2.50 each for two years.

"I think a couple of things could be at play here," said one market source familiar with the company. "I think they shopped it around and didn't get much response and realized that if they dropped the price, they could get it done reasonably. Also, and I'm not saying this is the case, just speculation, they may have just realized their need for capital wasn't great enough to justify such a big offering."

Even so, the company's stock still closed down Thursday, slipping C$0.06 to end at C$2.21.

The deal was first announced March 21 as a C$15 million offering comprised of 6 million units at C$2.50 each. The warrants had been exercisable at C$3 each for two years.

Jennings Capital Inc. is the placement agent in the deal

Based in Vancouver, B.C., First Majestic is a silver mining and exploration company. It plans to use the proceeds for the development and exploration of its La Parrilla silver mine and its Candamena, Dios Padre and Chalchihuites properties in Mexico.

Onelink4travel wraps $6.45 million deal

Onelink4travel, Inc. raised $6.45 million in a private placement of convertible notes.

The notes bear interest at 10% annually, mature in December 2007 and are convertible into common shares at $1.50 each.

The investors also received warrants equal to half of the shares issuable upon conversion, exercisable at $1.50 each for five years.

"We welcome our new long-term investors who have confidence in our company's ability to execute on its strategy," said Bill Guerin, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. "We are pleased to have exceeded our $5 million funding target. We are now in a strong position to complete the rollout of our core product and to gain business synergies from our acquisitions."

Based in San Francisco, Oneline4travel provides prepaid financial products to the travel and tourism industry. The proceeds of the deal will be used to finance the company's acquisition of Reservation Center, Inc. and for working capital.

Micro Component's $2.5 million offering

Micro Component Technology, Inc. completed the private placement of a convertible note with Laurus Master Fund Ltd. on Thursday for $2.5 million.

The note bears interest at Prime plus 175 basis points, matures in three years and is convertible into common shares at $0.23 each.

Laurus also received warrants for 2,566,651 shares at $0.01 each.

"This additional financing with Laurus, together with our recent actions to eliminate approximately $1.5 million of annual expense, affords us the needed liquidity to meet our financial needs in these difficult markets, and to pursue recent customer opportunities associated with our Strip Solution product family."

Micro Component, based in St. Paul, Minn., manufactures test-handling products for the semiconductor industry.

The company's stock closed unchanged Thursday at $0.28.

Magellan's stock climbs

A day after announcing its plans to raise C$20 million in a private placement of convertible preferred stock, Magellan Aerospace Corp.'s stock improved.

The company's stock gained C$0.10 to close at C$2.75.

After the deal was first announced Wednesday, the company's stock remained unchanged at C$2.65.

Magellan Aerospace Corp. led private placement news Wednesday as volume made a comeback as stocks improved.

The company will sell cumulative redeemable preferred shares at C$10 each. The preferreds are convertible into common shares at C$3 each.

Based in Toronto, Magellan manufactures aeroengine and aerostructure components for the aerospace industry.

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