Hathor seeks institutions; Caza raises for exploration; Artificial Life looks to buy; NxStage issues to fund

By Kenneth Lim

Boston, May 23 - Hathor Exploration Ltd. is raising C$12 million through a private placement of stock that the company says is more for strategic than operational purposes.

Meanwhile, Caza Oil & Gas, Inc. announced a £11.5 million stock placement that will help to fund its U.S. exploration programs.

Artificial Life Inc. said it raised $4.75 million in a private stock placement to boost its balance sheet as it seeks out acquisition opportunities.

NxStage Medical, Inc. said announced a $43 million private placement of stock that will also give fund manager Orbimed Advisors a position on its board.

Hathor seeks institutions

Hathor Exploration said it is selling C$12 million worth of stock through a private placement on a bought-deal basis.

The company is selling 4 million common shares at C$3 per share. Hathor common stock (TSX: HAT) closed at C$3.15 on Friday, up by 3.28% or C$0.10.

The deal is led by Cormark Securities Inc. and the syndicate includes Desjardins Securities Inc, Dundee Securities Corp. and PI Financial Corp. The underwriters have a greenshoe for an additional 1 million shares, or C$3 million.

Proceeds will be for continued exploration and development of the company's mineral deposits and for general working capital purposes.

Hathor is a resource exploration company based in Vancouver, B.C.

Many parties had been approaching Hathor to invest in the company because of promising outcomes at its projects, Hathor president and chief executive Stephen Stanley told Prospect News.

"Obviously with the success we've had with our drill results, a lot of people have approached us," he said.

"I would say that Hathor wasn't looking to raise money," Stanley said. "We already have about C$16 million in the bank. We did the deal with Cormark mainly because they add a lot of value. The financing will bring in a lot of institutions, which is very important for the company, and Cormark is very prominent on the uranium side."

Stanley said he thought the pricing of the deal was fair.

"Usually the buyside would like the stock as cheap as they can get and the company would like it as high as possible," he said. "We thought that it was a fair price...A lot of shareholders think there's a lot more upside in the company, but we thought it was fair considering that it was a straight share financing without a warrant attached. It's very much about placing with institutions right now. We've had a very strong retail following, and we've been looking now with the success of the company to get more institutional involvement."

The company is not in a position to raise debt yet, and it does not expect to need money soon, Stanley said.

"The company now will be extremely well capitalized at the close of the financing," he said. "We consider this to be a very strategic financing, so strategic relationships are pretty much all that we are looking at this time."

Caza raises £11.5 million

Caza Oil & Gas said it plans to issue £11.5 million worth of stock in a private placement.

The placement will involve 50 million common share at 23p apiece. Caza common stock (AIM: CAZA) closed unchanged at 33p on Friday.

Caza, a Vancouver, B.C.-based petroleum and natural gas exploration company, said it will use the proceeds of the deal to fund its exploration and drilling programs in Texas and the Gulf Coast of the United States and to acquire additional acreage.

"We are delighted by the support shown by investors in Caza," Caza executive chairman John McGoldrick said in a statement. "The proceeds of the placing will be used to continue our drilling programs in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico and we look forward to updating shareholders on our progress as activities proceed."

Artificial Life seeks to buy

Artificial Life said it sold $4.75 million worth of stock through a private deal.

The company sold about 2.02 million shares at $2.35 per share. Artificial Life common stock (OTCBB: ALIF) closed at $2.60 on Friday, up by 8.33% or $0.20.

Investors also received warrants for 1,011,366 common shares, exercisable at $3 for three years.

Hong Kong-based Artificial Life develops applications such as games for mobile phones. The company said it will use some of the funds for potential acquisitions. Artificial Life said it is currently evaluating several potential acquisitions.

"We have a strong growth momentum and are preparing the next steps in our corporate development," Artificial Life chief executive Eberhard Schoneburg said in a statement.

"We have been profitable now for the last two quarters and are increasing our cash basis by generating substantial positive cash flow from operations. We had already raised $6.5 million in December 2007 and have partially invested these proceeds in intellectual property development. With the current new funding of approximately just under $5 million, we are further strengthening our cash basis to prepare for potential acquisitions and other corporate opportunities."

NxStage investor to name director

NxStage Medical said it is raising $43 million through a private stock placement.

The placement comprises about 9.56 million shares at $4.50 per share. NxStage common stock (Nasdaq: NXTM) closed unchanged at $4.76 on Friday.

The investors also will receive warrants for 1,911,111 common shares, exercisable at $5.50 per share, which may be adjusted to $3 or $6.50 depending on whether the company achieves certain targets by Dec. 31.

The private placement will be closed in two tranches. The company has agreed to sell the first tranche of 5,555,556 shares and warrants for 1,111,111 shares for $25 million to funds managed by OrbiMed Advisors by May 28.

It also has agreed to sell the second $18 million tranche of 4 million shares and warrants for 800,000 shares to existing investors, subject to stockholder approval. This tranche is expected to close during the third quarter.

The deal will be conducted by Canaccord Adams Inc.

NxStage is a manufacturer of dialysis products based in Lawrence, Mass.

As part of the deal, OrbiMed, a healthcare-dedicated fund manager, will nominate a director to fill an existing vacancy on NxStage's board of directors. NxStage's board had seven members before the deal was announced.

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