Yukon-Nevada sells C$20 million of shares; D-Box gets new investor; Provident Bankshares raises capital

By Kenneth Lim

Boston, April 11 - Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. arranged a C$20 million non-brokered placement of flow-through stock that it said will last it for about two years.

Meanwhile, D-Box Technologies Inc. said it is excited about the sale of C$1.75 million worth of stock to a "well-known" investor.

Provident Bankshares Corp. announced a $64.73 million private placement of common stock and convertible preferred stock as it faces write-downs.

Yukon-Nevada to sell stock

Yukon-Nevada Gold said it is selling C$20 million of flow-through shares in a non-brokered private placement.

The deal involves 10 million shares priced at C$2.00 apiece. Yukon-Nevada's common stock (TSX: YNG) closed at C$1.67 on Friday, lower by 4.57%, or C$0.08.

Yukon-Nevada is a Vancouver, B.C.-based mineral exploration company.

"This will enable us to fast-track exploration at the Silver Valley project in the Yukon and will also free up cash for a possible expansion of mining activities at Jerritt Canyon in Nevada," Yukon-Nevada chief executive officer Graham C. Dickson said in a statement.

The company did not disclose who the investors were, but Yukon-Nevada investor relations manager Nicole Sanches said the shares were being placed with institutional investors.

The capital raised through the placement should last the full two years that the money can be used for the Silver Valley project, Sanches said. The Silver Valley project is currently still in early stages of exploration.

"Silver Valley is only about 8 kilometers away from our Ketza River mine, and we'll have a mill at Ketza River," Sanches said. "The proximity to Ketza River and the new capital will help us to bring Silver Valley into production sooner."

Yukon-Nevada, which currently has about C$41 million in the bank, also expects to enter into production at Ketza River in the next two years, Sanches said.

D-Box lands prominent investor

D-Box Technologies said it is selling C$1.75 million of stock in a private placement to a prominent investor.

The placement involves 3.18 million common shares at C$0.55 each, a 10% premium to D-Box's Thursday closing price of C$0.50. D-Box common stock (TSX: DBO.A) gained C$0.02, or 4%, to close at C$0.52 on Friday.

D-Box, a Longueuil, Quebec-based maker of motion systems for the entertainment industry, said it will use the proceeds of the deal for commercialization, working capital and general corporate purposes.

D-Box chief financial officer Normand Chartrand declined to identify the investor, saying only that it was a "well-known investor."

"Actually, it's too bad that we cannot tell the name, but it's the kind of partner that if things are going the right way ... they will be able to inject the money to ensure that you have the money in front of you for your business plan," Chartrand said.

The deal was initiated in January when D-Box and the future investor met at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Chartrand said.

"They saw us at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, they came and they tried our technology, they tried our product, and it started from there," Chartrand said. "I think they probably knew us before that ... from different people, but it was the first time we had any real business contact."

Things progressed quickly from there.

"We actually had a chance to present to their analyst, they advised us to present to them our business plan to their whole group," Chartrand said.

The investor liked what it saw, and Chartrand, who said he was "absolutely" satisfied with the pricing of the deal, hopes to be able to tap the relationship again in the future.

"I think it's going to have an impact on the entertainment and investment industry," Chartrand said. "They thought that our business plan is good, and they're going to be there when we need, and actually we will need more funds down the road."

"We have signed large studios in the last few months, and the market is presenting various opportunities, that's why these guys have put the money in," Chartrand said.

The new capital should boost D-Box's available cash to about a year's worth of capital, Chartrand said.

"Probably we are looking at next spring before we raise again," Chartrand said. "We have completed a C$12 million private placement last summer, so, as you can see in our third-quarter financials, we still have at that time more than C$9 million in the bank. That placement plus the money coming in today allows us to actually reach the fourth quarter or first quarter of the next fiscal year."

Provident Bankshares props up capital

Provident Bankshares said it is selling $64.73 million of common stock and convertible preferred stock to boost its capital ratios ahead of expected write-downs.

The company said it plans to sell 1.4 million common shares at $9.50 per share for $13.51 million and 51,215 10% mandatory convertible preferred non-cumulative shares at $1,000 per share for $51.22 million.

The initial conversion price in the first three years for the preferreds is $10.50 per common share.

Provident Bankshares common stock (Nasdaq: PBKS) rose 2.97%, or $0.31, to close at $10.76 on Friday.

Baltimore, Md.-based Provident Bankshares is the holding company for Provident Bank.

Provident Bankshares said it is also lowering its annual common dividend payout to $0.44 per share effective in May to save an estimated $29 million per year.

"This capital offering is expected to be completed during the week of April 14th and will mitigate the previously announced and expected write-downs in the bank's investment portfolio," the company said in a statement. "The plan positions the bank to have a prudent response to future economic uncertainty in its market. These initiatives will further improve the bank's capital ratios, which already exceed the regulatory definition of 'well capitalized.'"

The bank is also hiring an independent adviser to review its investment policies and risk control procedures.

"This initiative provides us the capital to bolster our balance sheet in this challenging and uncertain operating environment at the same time providing a financial foundation to support the growth expectation of our business franchise," Provident Bankshares CEO Gary Geisel said in a statement. "While reducing the dividend to peer bank levels was a difficult decision, we believe all these actions emphasize our commitment to build long term shareholder value."

"Provident's first quarter earnings, to be officially announced next week, will show overall financial results consistent with the press release dated February 26, 2008," Geisel further stated. "Net income for the quarter was impacted by the anticipated investment securities impairment write-downs we previously announced. Our credit quality, including charge-offs and non-performing loans, was largely unchanged from the prior period."

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