Private placement volume lags despite higher stocks; Arbios closes $6.61 million deal

By Sheri Kasprzak

Atlanta, Jan. 12 - Even though stocks were strong Wednesday, private placement volume remained weak.

"There's really nothing I can point to today that would explain low volume," said one market source. "It's still early in the year, so my guess is that issuers are still coming up with deals."

One Canadian source suggested that some oil companies may be in the market for private placements, though no offerings were introduced Wednesday until very late in the day when Canadian Spirit Resources Inc. announced a C$14.3 million deal.

"I have a feeling we'll see some later in the week," said the Canadian source. "Oil has been doing well and I imagine energy stocks will continue to improve."

The source pointed to heating oil as a reason for improved oil prices.

In the United States, Arbios Systems Inc. wrapped up a private placement for $6.61 million.

The company received agreements for 2,991,812 shares at $2.21 each.

Warrants for 1,495,906 shares at $2.90 each for five years were also issued in the offering.

Rodman & Renshaw LLC was the placement agent in the deal.

Arbios, based in Los Angeles, develops, researches and acquires liver assist devices and other treatments for liver failure. The proceeds from the deal will be used to complete a clinical trial for Sepet, a blood purification therapy.

The company's stock closed up $0.10 at $3.10 on Wednesday.

Apollo closes final tranche of deal

Apollo Gold Corp. closed the last tranche of its $9,375,000 direct placement.

The company issued 4,199,998 units at $0.75 each for $3.15 million.

The units in the offering consist of one share and one three-quarters share warrant. The whole warrants allow for an additional share at $1 through Jan. 7, 2007.

An over-allotment option was exercised for 1,875,000 units.

The shares and warrants issued in the offering were sold under the company's shelf registration.

"Beyond the fact that it's a direct placement and therefore, I think, a little easier for companies to negotiate better pricing, the resources market is strong now, especially for gold," said one market source.

Apollo is a Denver-based gold mining and exploration company. It plans to use the proceeds from the deal for the continued development of its Black Fox gold projects and for general working capital.

Apollo's stock closed down $0.01 at $0.72 Wednesday.

eMerge finishes $4.06 million deal

eMerge Interactive Inc. sold 2.9 million shares at $1.40 each Wednesday to close a $4.06 million private placement.

"We are pleased that we are able to take advantage of this opportunity to increase our working capital and strengthen our balance sheet as we implement our 2005 business plans," said the company's president and chief executive officer David Warren, in a statement. "As we have stated before, regulatory and commercial events are creating opportunities for our food safety and traceability products. The U.S. beef industry is currently being pressured by significant economic drivers, and these proceeds will provide us with flexibility to take advantage of opportunities as they develop."

The offering included warrants for 435,000 shares at $1.75 each for five years.

Based in Sebastian, Fla., eMerge is a technology company that serves the agricultural, foodservice and healthcare industries. The proceeds will be used to develop commercial opportunities for its food safety and traceability products.

On Wednesday, the company's stock closed down $0.19 at $1.90.

Genetronics raises $3.03 million

Genetronics Biomedical Corp. received net proceeds of $3.03 million in a private placement.

The gross proceeds raised in the offering could not be determined at press time because the company's management did not return phone calls.

The company did, however, sell shares at $4.05 each.

Warrants for 33% of the number of shares purchased at $5.50 each for two years were also issued to the investors.

Based in San Diego, Genetronics is a biomedical company focused on oncology. It plans to use the proceeds from the deal to support clinical trials for its main oncology product. The remainder of the funds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The company's stock closed down $0.02 at $3.87 on Wednesday.

AVR raises $2.9 million for loan

AVR Debenture Corp. raised $2,944,000 in a private placement to provide a loan to a real estate acquisition company.

AVR issued units including one limited partnership of AVR and one debenture for $8,000.

The debenture, which matures on Nov. 30, 2014, bears interest at 6% annually.

The proceeds from the deal were used to provide a loan to Abbey Vista Ridge LP to fund the indirect acquisition of a 300-unit apartment complex in Texas.

AVR is a subsidiary of Knightswood Financial Corp. Knightswood, based in Vancouver, B.C., provides financing to agriculture and personal finance businesses.

Knightswood's stock closed unchanged at $0.20 on Wednesday.

Advaxis finishes private placement

Advaxis Inc. has finished the final tranche of a private placement for $1.1 million.

The company sold 44 units at $25,000 each to a specially created investment firm.

The units include 87,108 shares and warrants for 87,108 shares.

The warrants allow for an additional share at $40 each for five years.

Last week, the company - under the name Great Expectations and Associates Inc., which has now acquired Advaxis - closed the third tranche of the deal for $128,000.

"We're very pleased to see the continuing support of our investor community in our drug-development program," said the company's president and chief executive officer J. Todd Derbin in a statement. "We anticipate that the proceeds of this financing will enhance and accelerate the development of our proprietary and innovative Listeria-based vaccines."

Advaxis is a Princeton, N.J.-based biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer treatments. The proceeds from the offering will be used to develop a phase I clinical trial for Advaxis's Listeria-based therapeutic vaccine and a phase I clinical trial of Lovaxin C, a cancer vaccine.

Canadian Spirit plans deal

Heading up private placement deals north of the border, Canadian Spirit Resources Inc. said it plans to raise up to C$14.3 million in a non-brokered offering.

The company plans to sell a maximum of 2 million units at C$7.15 each.

The units are comprised of one share and one half-share warrant. The whole warrants allow for an additional share at C$8 each for one year.

Based in Calgary, Alta., Canadian Spirit is a natural gas exploration and development company. The company plans to use the proceeds from the offering to fund a portion of its pilot production project and to evaluate work at Farrell in British Columbia. The remainder of the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The company's stock closed up C$0.125 at C$6.10 on Wednesday.

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