InNexus arranges loan; African Queen to sell units; Irvine wraps deal; Vaughan gets credit line

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., March 25 - InNexus Biotechnology Inc. announced Wednesday that it had arranged a $2.5 million loan facility.

In an interview with Prospect News, a company spokesperson said that the funds would be used to pay down outstanding liabilities, as well as to fund operations.

African Queen Mines Ltd. said late Tuesday that it would sell 4 million units to raise C$1.2 million. Proceeds from the deal will go toward furthering exploration in the company's gold projects in Mozambique.

Irvine Sensors Corp. completed a $1 million convertible preferred sale. The company also said that it had closed on a $9.5 million patent sale.

Vaughan Foods Inc. secured a $3 million line of credit. Part of the proceeds will be used to retire another line of credit.

InNexus arranges loan

InNexus Biotechnology arranged a $2.5 million loan facility, according to a press release.

The six-month 12.5% facility can be extended for another six months. Investors will also receive 25% warrant coverage. The five-year warrants will be exercisable at market price at the time of the exercise.

The loan is repayable at any time and is subject to a 5% penalty.

Cathy Wolverton, InNexus' principal accounting officer, told Prospect News that the funds would be used for "paying our current liabilities and for funding ongoing costs" associated with research and development.

InNexus' equity (OTCBB: IXSBF) closed at $0.0939 on March 20.

InNexus is a Vancouver, B.C-.based biotechnology company.

African Queen to sell units

Mining company African Queen Mines is planning to raise C$1.2 million via a private placement of units.

Under the terms of the non-brokered deal, the Vancouver, B.C.-based company will issue 4 million units consisting of one common share and one half-share warrant. The unit price is C$0.30 per unit and whole warrants are exercisable at C$0.45 for two years.

Proceeds from the transaction will be used in part to fund the company's gold projects in Mozambique.

In February, African Queen abandoned work at its Cazula Gold project in the region, as "gold mineralization below surface associated with quartz veining and hydrothermally altered and brecciated host rocks was generally found to be sporadic and discontinuous," according to a press release published Feb. 24.

"Results from Cazula to date do not justify further expenditure of time, energy and funds on the part of the company," Irwin Olian, the company's chief executive, said in the release. "Recent encouraging results from our Fingoe Belt Gold Project make it clear that our financial and personnel resources are best allocated toward that more highly prospective project. In this rather difficult economic environment it is important that we prioritize our projects with a view toward committing our resources to those projects most likely to add value long-term for our shareholders. In addition to the Fingoe Belt Gold Project in Mozambique, we remain very excited about our diamond projects in Botswana and Namibia, which will be the principal focus of our activities in the coming months."

African Queen's stock (TSX.V: AQ) ended unchanged at $0.28.

Irvine closes deal

Irvine Sensors wrapped a $1 million placement of convertible preferred shares, according to a regulatory filing released late Tuesday.

The series A-2 10% cumulative preferreds were sold at $40 per share. Each share is convertible into 100 common shares with an initial conversion price of $0.40 per share. Also, the shares are callable with 30 days notice at a price equal to the purchase price plus any unpaid dividends.

The company said that the issuance of the preferreds was in conjunction with the cancellation of $1 million in outstanding debt held by Longview Fund, LP and Alpha Capital Anstalt.

Furthermore, the company announced that it had closed on a patent purchase agreement with Aprolase Development Co., LLC. Aprolase paid $9.5 million for the patent, which was then licensed back to Irvine Sensors.

"This is a watershed transaction for us," John Carson, Irvine Sensors' chairman and CEO, said in a press release Tuesday. "It immensely improves our liquidity and balance sheet, and we believe it demonstrates a potential for the future. We expect that our core research and development business will continue to be a source of patentable innovations every year, and this approach to monetizing such assets is very attractive. In addition, the immediate infusion of capital, coupled with the extinguishment of debt from the Optex sale, positions us to pursue multiple market opportunities."

Irvine Sensors' equity (Nasdaq: IRSN) gained $0.0001, or 0.02%, to $0.4001. Market capitalization is $2.19 million.

Irvine Sensors is a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based three-dimensional imaging technology company.

Vaughan secures credit line

Moore, Okla.-based Vaughan Foods secured a $3 million revolving line of credit from Peninsula Bank Business Funding on March 19, according to an 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

The loan carries an interest rate of Prime plus 4.5%, with a 7.75% floor. Maturity is May 1, 2010.

Additionally, Peninsula received a warrant good for 253,507 common shares at $0.5917 until March 6, 2016.

Vaughan will use $1 million of the funds to retire another existing revolving credit facility with International Bank of Commerce, according to a press release issued Tuesday.

"The strength of our asset base allowed us to refinance our revolver amidst an extremely challenging credit environment," Herb Grimes, Vaughan's chairman and CEO, said in the release. "We are very appreciative of the job done by Peninsula Bank Business Funding to provide this facility at a time when most other lenders are generally unwilling or unable to provide any financing to even the most creditworthy companies."

"Seasoned senior management, a sound underlying business model and solid sales growth were key considerations in our decision to work with Vaughan Foods in establishing a new revolving line of credit," commented Mike Hansen, executive vice president of Peninsula Bank Business Funding.

Vaughan's stock (Nasdaq: FOOD) closed at $0.55. Market capitalization is $2.54 million.

Vaughan Foods processes, packages and distributes refrigerated foods.

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