i2 Technologies raises $75 million from note sale; rising oil prices nudge down volume ahead of holiday

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Nov. 22 - i2 Technologies, Inc. led PIPE news on Tuesday with a $75 million senior convertible note offering the company is planning to settle.

The 5% notes, issued through placement agent JPMorgan, are convertible into common stock at $15.4675 each and mature Nov. 15, 2015.

The conversion price is a 15% premium to the company's closing stock price of $13.45 on Monday.

On Tuesday, the company's stock gained 27 cents, or 2.01%, to close at $13.72.

The offering is slated to close Nov. 23.

The investors have the option to buy up to $11.25 million in additional principal of the notes for 60 days after the close.

i2 will also issue warrants for 485,000 shares, exercisable at $15.4675 each for 10 years.

Calls to Michael Berry, the company's chief financial officer, were not returned by press time Tuesday.

Proceeds will be used to repay or repurchase outstanding debt. The rest will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, i2 reported net income of $9,391,000, down from net income of $17,866,000 for the same period in 2004.

Based in Dallas, i2 develops technologies used in the supply chain sector.

In the broader PIPE market Tuesday, sellside sources said even though private placement volume will probably stay higher than usual, a surge in oil prices sparked by anticipated freezing weather may have kept some issuers out of the game.

"Oil's up and it doesn't look like it's hurting us too much," said one market source. "There might be some [issuers] who are backing away or postponing pricing something because of oil, but I don't think it's going to matter too much."

"It does look like there are fewer than yesterday," said another sellsider. "[It] could definitely be oil but it was also the Monday before a holiday weekend. There's less time this week to get stuff done, so that may just be it."

Oil gained $1.14 to end the day at $58.84 per barrel, sending stocks down early. The major indexes all recovered by the end of the day to realize gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 51.15 to end at 10,871.43; the Nasdaq composite index ended up 11.89 at 2,253.56, and the Standard & Poor's 500 composite index settled up 6.38 at 1,261.23.

Summus raises $8 million

Looking to the tech sector, Summus, Inc. wrapped up an $8 million offering of 6% senior secured convertible debentures.

The debentures are due on June 30, 2007 and are convertible into a total of 4 million shares at $2.00 each. The investors also will receive a series A warrant for 2 million units at $2.00 each for five months. The units include one share and one warrant for 0.4 of a share. The whole warrants are exercisable at $3.54 each for five years. The investors will also receive series B warrants for 1,355,392 shares, exercisable at $2.71 each for two years.

The offering was announced Tuesday morning, and the company's gained 10 cents to end the day at $2.50.

Proceeds will be used to accelerate the launch of a new mobile content portal in the first quarter of 2006.

"This financing provides us with additional funding to accelerate our direct-to-consumer portal strategy," said Gary Ban, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement. "Right now, our number-one priority is growing our market through our core business on the carriers, as well as our new online strategy, which is designed to help us achieve amore rapid pace of growth towards profitability."

"We are attracted by the growth potential in the mobile media market," said David Berkman, managing partner of Liberty Associated Partners, the lead investor in the offering, in a statement. "We believe that Summus can be a platform to capture a significant portion of that growth and our investment will allow them to realize that potential more quickly."

Summus, based in Raleigh, N.C., provides mobile media applications to wireless communications carriers.

Carmanah plans C$10 million offering

Looking to Canada, Victoria, B.C.'s Carmanah Technologies Corp. priced a C$10 million stock deal Tuesday.

The company intends to sell 3,125,000 shares at C$3.20 each.

A syndicate of underwriters led by GMP Securities Ltd. has an over-allotment option for up to 1,562,500 shares.

The deal is expected to close Dec. 12.

"We are pleased to be represented and supported in this financing by such strong corporate finance partners," said Art Aylesworth, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. "It is a positive recognition of our progress to-date and we look forward to the expanded institutional investor base that we expect this transaction to bring to the company."

Proceeds will be used for working capital; the expansion of facilities in Victoria, B.C., Calgary, Alta., Santa Cruz, Calif., and London; and the pursuit of synergistic acquisition opportunities.

Carmanah produces energy-efficient products like solar-powered lighting.

The company's stock slipped C$0.01 Tuesday to close at C$3.44.

MedMira gets equity line

Elsewhere in Canada, MedMira, Inc. sealed a C$10 million equity line agreement with Cornell Capital Partners, LP.

Cornell may buy shares of MedMira over the next 58 months at a percentage of the volume-weighted average price for a 10-day trading period before a draw. The exact terms of the deal could not be determined by press time Tuesday.

"We are pleased to have closed this financing arrangement with Cornell," said Stephen Sham, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement. "The structure of this financing will allow us to access capital when we require it, at terms favorable to our shareholders, in order to advance our growth plans."

Halifax, N.S.-based MedMira manufactures and markets in vitro flow-through rapid diagnostic tests.

The company's stock remained unchanged C$0.59 on Tuesday.

UTS leads energy offerings

In the energy sector, UTS Energy Corp. led a slate of deals from oil explorers Tuesday.

The company plans to sell 1,490,910 flow-through shares at C$5.50 apiece for C$8.2 million in proceeds.

The deal is being placed through a syndicate of underwriters led by Raymond James Ltd. and FirstEnergy Capital Corp. and is expected to close Dec. 8.

Proceeds will be used for exploration activities outside the Fort Hills project.

UTS is based in Calgary, Alta. Its stock gained C$0.02 to end at C$4.39.

Another Calgary-based oil explorer, Canadian Superior Energy Inc., closed a C$5 million offering comprised of 1,666,667 flow-through shares on Tuesday.

NORREP Performance 2005 Flow-Through LP and another fund bought the shares.

Proceeds will be used for the company's 2005 and 2006 exploration program in western Canada.

Qeva Group Inc., which is also based in Calgary, arranged a C$3.5 million unit offering.

That deal includes up to 10 million units of one share and one half-share warrant. The whole warrants are exercisable at C$0.45 each for 18 months.

Research Capital Corp. is the placement agent for the deal, which is slated to close Nov. 30.

Proceeds will be used for exploration and development in the North Sea.

Crew Gold stock slips

A day after announcing the settlement of a $150 million PIPE, London-based Crew Gold Corp.'s stock fell 4.62% on Tuesday.

The stock lost 6 cents to end at $1.24 Tuesday after gaining a penny on Monday.

In the offering, the company issued subscription receipts at $1.3404 each. The receipts are exchangeable on a one-for-one basis for common shares once Crew finishes its acquisition of Guinor Gold Corp.

Separately on Monday, Crew announced plans to raise another $50 million from its previously announced $150 million convertible bond offering. The company has also dropped the conversion price on the bonds to NOK 11.95 from NOK 12.16.

Crew is a gold exploration company.

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