Gulf Resources gets $60 million equity line; China Housing raises $25 million

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, May 10 - Two offerings from China led U.S. private placement action on Thursday, led by a $60 million fixed-price standby equity distribution agreement for Gulf Resources Inc.

Meanwhile, stocks took a beating, but one market source said he did not feel the drop would threaten PIPE volume.

"Even though it's a significant drop, I don't think it will matter that much," he said. "We're getting to a point now where if [issuers] need money, they're going to market for it. The stock prices matter to a certain degree, but I don't think it's going to keep issuers out."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 147.74 to close at 13,215.13; the Nasdaq composite index lost 42.60 to settle at 2,533.74; and the Standard & Poor's 500 composite index gave up 21.11 to end the session at 1,491.47.

Under the 18-month Gulf Resources equity line, eight investors may buy up to 30 million shares at $2.00 each.

There is a $10 million maximum advance under the agreement and the company cannot sell a number of shares to investors that would cause the investor to own more than 9.9% of the company's outstanding common stock.

On Thursday, the company's stock gained 14 cents, or 7.33%, to end at $2.05 (OTCBB: GUFR).

Based in Shenzhen, China, Gulf Resources mines crude salt in the People's Republic of China.

China Housing raises $25 million

In another offering linked to China, China Housing and Land Development, Inc. concluded a private placement for $25,006,979.

News of the offering, which closed on Wednesday, sent the company's stock tumbling 10.74%, or 51 cents, to end at $4.24 (OTCBB: CHLN).

The company sold 9,261,844 shares at $2.70 each to institutional and accredited investors. The investors also received warrants for 2,778,554 shares, exercisable at $4.50 each through May 9, 2012.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. was the placement agent, and the proceeds from the offering will be used to acquire Xi'an New Land Development Co. Ltd.

"We are pleased to complete this financing and believe the company is well-positioned to continue to capitalize on several high-growth opportunities within the Xi'an real estate market," said Pingji Lu, the company's chief executive officer, in a news release.

"As previously disclosed, our acquisition of Xi'an New Land Development Co. Ltd., announced on March 12, 2007, will provide us with the development and sale rights to 487 acres of the highly coveted residential portion of the Baqiao Hi Tec Industrial Zone. We will use these proceeds to close this acquisition while preparing to market the necessary capital expenditures to monetize this valuable asset beginning in the second half of 2007, while continuing to invest in our other projects, namely Junjing Garden II and Yijing Garden.

"Recently, several high-profile developers have made significant investments near our key properties, reinforcing our belief that Xi'an possesses many attractive long-term growth attributes."

Based in Xi'an, China, China Housing develops residential and commercial properties within Xi'an.

ROO's $25 million deal

Moving to the tech sector, ROO Group Inc. settled a $25 million offering of stock.

The company sold shares at $1.00 each to a group of investors that included mostly existing institutional investors.

The investors also received warrants for 3 million shares, exercisable at $4.00 each.

Proceeds will be used for ongoing operations, for acquisitions, for the development of the company's video platform and for the expansion of sales and marketing resources.

"Our ability to secure this important financing highlights our growth potential and the tremendous progress we have made in strengthening our suite of integrated online video solutions for publishers, content producers and advertisers," said Robert Petty, the company's CEO, in a news release. "We are well-positioned to continue to expand our business and product offerings globally, while strategically aligning with key players in the rapidly growing online video industry."

ROO's stock got off to a good start, gaining 3.92%, or 10 cents, by 9:48 a.m. ET. The stock went on to gain 19 cents, or 7.45%, to close at $2.74 after the offering was announced Thursday morning (OTCBB: RGRP).

New York-based ROO provides online video for content providers.

WorldWater closes deal

Elsewhere, WorldWater & Power Corp. wrapped a private placement of units for $5.45 million.

The company issued 10.9 million units at $0.50 apiece.

The units consist of one share and one quarter-share warrant with each whole warrant exercisable at $0.50 at five years.

Proceeds will be used for working capital.

WorldWater's stock gave up 4%, or 3 cents, to close at $0.60 Thursday (OTCBB: WWAT).

Based in Pennington, N.J., WorldWater provides water and power from solar energy sources.

First Majestic raises C$34.4 million

Moving to Canada, First Majestic Silver Corp. led offerings there, closing a C$34.415 million placement of special warrants exchangeable for units of one share and one half-share warrant.

The company issued 6.883 million special warrants at C$5.00 each.

The special warrants are exchangeable into the units once a prospectus covering the underlying shares is effective. The whole warrants are exercisable at C$6.50 each for 18 months.

The company's stock gained 3 cents to end at C$5.01 on Thursday (TSX Venture: FR).

Comark Securities Inc., formerly known as Sprott Securities Inc., and CIBC World Markets Inc. were the co-lead underwriters for the deal.

Proceeds will be used for the expansion of the company's La Parrilla Silver Mine, the San Martin Silver Mine and the La Encantada Silver Mine. The rest will be used for vendor commitments and for working capital.

Located in Vancouver, B.C., First Majestic is a silver exploration company focused on properties in Mexico.

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