GeoPark raises £7.73 million; Mission, Mamut wrap placements; Guyana Goldfields to issue units

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., May 15 - It was another day of deals settling Friday. Among those companies that completed financings were GeoPark Holdings Ltd., Mission Marketing Group plc and Mamut ASA.

GeoPark wrapped a £7.73 million stock placement, the company said. Proceeds will be used to increase production at its Chilean oil and gas fields.

Mission and Mamut also sold stock to take in £1 million and NOK 34.34 million, respectively.

Of those deals entering the private placement marketplace, Guyana Goldfields Inc. said it would issue units to raise C$12.05 million. International Finance Corp., along with the company's new chief executive officer, plans to participate in the deal.

XOMA Ltd. will conduct a registered direct offering to raise $10 million. The company will use funds to advance development of its XOMA 052 product candidate.

GeoPark raises £7.73 million

GeoPark Holdings settled a £7.73 million, or approximately $11.7 million, stock placement, the company said.

The Hamilton, Bermuda-based oil and gas company issued approximately 3.44 million ordinary shares at 225p per share.

"The placing price represents a premium of 1.8% to the average middle market closing quotation of the ordinary shares of the company for the 10 business days up to and including May 14, 2009 and a discount of 13.5% to the closing middle market quotation of the ordinary shares of the company on May 14, 2009, the latest date prior to the announcement," the company said in a press release.

Proceeds from the fundraising will be used in part for increasing production at the company's Fell Block oil mines in Chile. GeoPark expects to invest $25 million to $35 million in 2009 in Chile and Argentina in an effort to double its annual oil and gas output.

"We are pleased with the strong demand generated by this issue which was substantially oversubscribed and which underscores the confidence that our shareholders have in our results, business plan and growth strategy," stated Gerald E. O'Shaughnessy, chairman, in the release. "This issue will further strengthen our balance sheet and support our 2009 investment program to continue increasing oil and gas production and reserves."

GeoPark's stock (London: GPK) ended at 254p. Market capitalization is £89.3 million.

Mission, Mamut wrap stock sales

Mission Marketing Group took in £1 million in a private placement of stock.

The company sold 2.5 million ordinary shares at 40p per share.

"We were delighted with the reaction we received following the publication of our preliminary results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008," said Iain Ferguson, chief executive officer, in a statement. "This support from institutional investors has enabled us to utilize our authorities to raise these additional equity funds."

Mission's equity (London: TMMG) closed at 40p. Market capitalization is £12.4 million.

Mission Marketing Group is a London-based company focused on acquiring and developing advertising and marketing agencies.

Elsewhere, Oslo-based Mamut wrapped a NOK 34.43 million placement of stock, according to a press release.

The company sold 5.1 million shares at NOK 6.75 per share. After the deal's completion, the company had approximately 64.55 million outstanding shares.

The financing will serve to strengthen the company's balance sheet, Mamut said.

Mamut's stock (Oslo: MAMUT) closed at NOK 6.85, a gain of 7 cents, or 1.03%.

Mamut is a provider of management and administration software solutions.

Guyana to issue units

Guyana Goldfields is planning to raise C$12.05 million via a non-brokered private placement of common share units.

The company will sell approximately 4.38 million units containing one common share and one half-share warrant at C$0.0275 per unit. Each three-year whole warrant is exercisable at C$4.00.

International Finance Corp. has agreed to purchase C$5 million of the units. Also, Claude F. Lemasson, Guyana's recently appointed president and chief operating officer, agreed to purchase C$1 million of the units.

In an interview with Prospect News, Lemasson said that since taking his post on March 1, he had considered taking an equity position in the company. He therefore saw the opportunity to "wet his feet," as he put it, when the board decided to go ahead with the financing.

"A lot of investors out there are taking that as a vote of confidence," he said of his participation.

Lemasson also said that the deal came about as IFC had expressed interest in increasing its equity position - which had stood at 2.9% pre-transaction.

"So that triggered that part of the deal," he said.

Other long-term investors also wanted to increase their investments and thus, a larger deal was born.

"I think we're very pleased with the whole arrangement," he said of the "relatively standard terms" of the deal. "IFC has been with us for at least three years and have indicated furthering their equity financing, as well as any debt financing in the future to further this project. So this is a positive for the company."

Currently, Guyana has about C$15 million in the bank, Lemasson said, which covers project funding through 2009 and for apportion of 2010. Once the deal is completed, the company will have C$27 million, giving the company an even better cash position.

Lemasson noted that the deal would close in "roughly two to three weeks."

Proceeds will be used to complete the company's previously announced definitive feasibility study at its mines in Guyana, South America.

Guyana Goldfield's shares (Toronto: GUY) increased 27 cents, or 9.96%, to C$2.98. Market capitalization is C$176 million.

Toronto-based Guyana is a gold exploration company.

XOMA plans direct offering

XOMA, a Berkeley, Calif.-based pharmaceutical company, announced a $10 million registered direct offering of units.

Under the terms of the deal, XOMA will issue approximately 11.76 million units consisting of one common share and one half-share warrant. The units will be sold at $0.85 per unit and each whole warrant is exercisable at $1.02 for five years.

The warrants are good for an additional 5.88 million shares and the strike price represents a 120% premium over the company's stock closing price as of May 14, according to a press release.

Proceeds will be used in part to fund development of the company's XOMA 052 product candidate.

"Engineered as a broad anti-inflammatory agent, XOMA 052 has potential as a treatment for many diseases, including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, acute gout, and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis," according to the company's web site. "This multi-indication potential makes it the most versatile and exciting product in our pipeline."

XOMA's equity (Nasdaq: XOMA) fell 1 cent, or 1.24%, to $0.84. Market capitalization is $122 million.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.