Southern Pacific lifts deal; Petro Uno upsizes financing; Morgans Hotel settles preferred sale

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., Oct. 15 - A bulk of the private placement deals Thursday were either financings being increased or settling, according to data compiled by Prospect News.

Southern Pacific Resource Corp. and Petro Uno Resources Ltd. both increased deals. Southern Pacific lifted its placement of subscription receipts to C$52 million from C$50 million, while Petro upsized its unit sale to C$5 million from C$4 million.

In settled transactions, Morgans Hotel Group Co. said it raised $75 million via a private placement of preferred securities. The Yucaipa Cos. LLC was the investor.

Bio-Extraction Inc. also completed a deal, raising C$15 million, C$5 million of which was part of a greenshoe.

Canacol Energy Ltd. wrapped a private placement of stock. The company took in C$40 million in the financing.

Among new deals, Cardium Therapeutics Inc. brought a $6 million registered direct offering of shares to market.

Southern Pacific lifts placement

Southern Pacific Resources upsized a private placement of subscription receipts to C$52 million from C$50 million, according to a press release.

The deal originally priced Oct. 9.

The company now intends to issue 104 millions subscriptions at C$0.50 each. Each receipt is exchangeable for one common share following the closing of the company's planned acquisition of producing SAGD heavy oil assets from a public oil and gas company.

The purchase price of the assets is C$90 million and will be funded with money raised in the bought-deal financing, as well as with funds from a new C$45 million line of credit.

Settlement is expected by Oct. 23 and the acquisition is expected to close by Nov. 2.

Calls seeking comment were not returned Thursday.

Southern Pacific's stock (TSX Venture: STP) fell 2 cents, or 3.45%, to C$0.56. Market capitalization is C$63.5 million.

Southern Pacific Resources is a Calgary, Alta.-based mineral exploration company.

Petro upsizes financing

Petro Uno Resources also lifted a previously announced private placement. The company increased the financing to C$5 million from C$4 million.

The deal originally priced on Sept. 9.

The Calgary, Alta.-based capital pool company will sell units at C$0.35 each, according to the terms of the deal. Each unit will consist of one common share and one half-share warrant. Whole warrants are exercisable at C$0.40 for one year.

Closing on the first tranche of C$3.5 million is expected by Oct. 15, and the remainder is expected to settle by Oct. 30.

Proceeds will be used to fund the acquisition of Ward Williston Oil Co.'s interest in the McKinney Field, as well as for general corporate purposes.

Petro's shares (TSX Venture: PUP) declined C$0.045, or 10%, to C$0.405. Market capitalization is C$4.38 million.

Morgans settles preferred placement

Morgans Hotel Group sold preferred securities to Yucaipa Caos., LLC to raise a total of $75 million, the company said in a press release.

The preferreds include an 8% dividend for the first five years, a 10% dividend for years six and seven and a 20% dividend thereafter.

Yucaipa also received a warrant for 12.5 million common shares, exercisable at $6.00 for 7.5 years.

Morgans intends to use proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet, as well as to fund future growth.

"We are pleased that Yucaipa and Ron Burkle, with their impressive track record of successful investments, have decided to make such a significant investment in Morgans," remarked David Hamamoto, chairman, in the prepared statement.

"We view this investment, which was done after substantial due diligence, as a vote of confidence in both our business and our long-term growth prospects. The investment, along with the company's other restructuring efforts, will further strengthen our balance sheet, allowing us to prudently capitalize on growth opportunities ahead," Hamamoto said.

"Morgans has some of the most exciting brands in the industry and a terrific platform for future growth," added Burkle, chairman of Yucaipa. "We are excited to partner with the company as it continues to expand its brand portfolio. We look forward to working with Morgans' talented management team to drive long-term growth, profitability and value for all shareholders."

Morgans' stock (Nasdaq:MHGC) gained 8 cents, or 1.45%, to $5.59. Market capitalization is $165 million.

Morgans Hotel group is a New York-based hospitality company.

BioExx wraps stock sale

Bio-Extraction, a Toronto-based developer of extraction technology, said it closed its private placement of common shares.

The company raised proceeds of C$15 million, which included a C$5 million greenshoe. The deal originally priced Sept. 25.

The company sold 12 million shares at C$1.25 per share. About 4 million of those shares were part of the greenshoe.

Proceeds will be used for capital expenditures at BioExx's Saskatoon processing facility and the proposed North Dakota processing facility, among other things.

Calls seeking comment went unreturned Thursday.

BioExx's equity (TSX Venture: BXI) dipped 5 cents, or 2.98%, to C$1.63. Market capitalization is C$182 million.

Canacol raises C$40 million

Among other completed financings, Canacol Energy said it raised C$40 million from a private placement of stock.

The deal originally priced for C$20 million on Sept. 23. Within a few hours, the company had raised the offering to C$30 million, with a C$10 million greenshoe.

Canacol sold approximately 142.85 million shares at C$0.28 per share.

"We are very pleased to have met with such success in this private placement," said Charle Gamba, president and chief executive officer, in a press release. "The raise enables the corporation to execute its development and appraisal programs on its Colombian producing assets, including its oil discovery at Capella."

"The corporation is also now fully funded to execute its high impact exploration programs in 2010, most notably the drilling of the Karanambo light oil prospect in Guyana, and the acquisition of 2D seismic in advance of drilling its Tamarin exploration contract adjacent to its Capella oil discovery in Colombia."

Canacol's stock (TSX Venture: CNE) improved by 2 cents, or 5.33%, to end at C$0.395. Market capitalization is C$51.4 million.

Canacol Energy is a Calgary, Alta.-based independent onshore oil exploration company.

Cardium brings direct offering

Cardium Therapeutics will conduct a $6 million registered direct offering of equity, the company announced.

The San Diego-based company will issue approximately 4.61 million common shares at $1.30 per share. Investors will also receive warrants equal to 3 million common shares, with each warrant exercisable at $1.40 for six years.

Calls seeking comment went unreturned Thursday.

Cardium's shares (Amex: CXM) slipped 18 cents, or 12.86%, to $1.22. Market capitalization is $55.3 million.

Cardium Therapeutics develops therapeutic products and devices for cardiovascular, ischemic and related disorders.

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