Trubion sells shares; Lighting Science raises $5 million; Sutton issues £7.05 million of stock

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., Aug. 28 - The private placement market wound down the week on Friday with several completed deals and a broader range of sectors coming to market.

Among the day's settled transactions, Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it pocketed $10 million from a private placement of equity. The shares were sold to Facet Biotech Corp., with whom Trubion also inked a collaboration agreement.

Also, Lighting Science Group Corp., a developer of environmentally friendly lighting solutions, raised $5 million through the sale of a convertible note. The note is convertible into preferred share units.

In news from across the Pond, Sutton Harbour Holdings plc said it closed on a £7.05 million private placement of stock. Victoria Oil & Gas plc also wrapped a deal, bringing in £6.01 million.

Elsewhere, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. announced a $19 million registered direct offering of shares. The funds will help the company pay for a planned acquisition.

Hawk Exploration Ltd. brought a C$10 million bought deal to market. The deal also includes a C$3 million over-allotment option.

Trubion sells common shares

Trubion Pharmaceuticals raised $10 million in a private placement of stock, according to a regulatory filing.

The company sold approximately 2.24 million common shares at $4.457052 each to Facet Biotech Corp.

The deal came on the back of news that Trubion and Facet were teaming up on the development and commercialization of TRU-016, "a product candidate in phase 1 clinical development for chronic lymphocytic leukemia," according to a press release.

Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Trubion will receive an upfront payment of $20 million and may receive up to $176.5 million in contingent payments, based on achieving certain milestones.

"TRU-016 is a promising therapeutic with impressive preclinical and preliminary clinical data for CLL that will greatly enhance our pipeline and support a key strategic objective, which is to build a robust oncology portfolio," said Faheem Hasnain, president and chief executive of Facet Biotech.

"After a thorough evaluation of a number of programs over the past several months, we concluded that TRU-016 was a particularly compelling program and a great fit with our pipeline and expertise," Hasnaian said.

"While the novel approach to protein therapeutics is supported by a solid biological rationale and validated clinical data in CLL, TRU-016 may have broad utility in additional indications, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple sclerosis," Hasnaian noted.

"Through this collaboration, we can leverage and extend our significant expertise in the research and development of protein therapeutics and we look forward to playing a key role in advancing this important program with our partners at Trubion," Hasnaian added.

"We are delighted to have Facet as our partner," said Peter Thompson, M.D., FACP, president, CEO and chairman of Trubion. "Coupled with our own strengths in the discovery and development of novel protein therapeutics, their expertise will afford us the opportunity to pursue the clinical development and commercialization of TRU-016 and other CD37-directed therapeutics in the most aggressive manner possible."

Trubion's shares (Nasdaq: TRBN) gained $1.72, or 44.91%, to $5.55. Market capitalization is $106 million.

Trubion Pharmaceuticals is a Seattle, Wash.-based developer of products that treat autoimmune diseases and cancers.

Lighting Science raises $5 million

Lighting Science Group took in $5 million from the private placement of a 14% convertible note.

The company sold the note maturing July 31, 2010 to Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV on Aug. 27, according to a regulatory filing. The note is convertible into units holding 1.006 series D non-convertible preferred shares and one warrant at $1.006 per unit. Each warrant is exercisable at $6.00.

Calls made to the company seeking comment went unreturned Friday.

Lighting's equity (OTCBB: LSCG) improved by $0.085, or 14.66%, to $0.665. Market capitalization is $19 million.

Lighting Science Group is a Dallas-based developer of environmentally friendly lighting products.

Sutton Harbour issues stock

Sutton Harbour Holdings said it took in £7.05 million from a private placement of ordinary shares, according to a press release.

The company sold approximately 12.36 million of the shares at 57p each.

"We are delighted with the support from our existing major investor and new institutional investors," remarked Michael Knight, chairman, in the release. "The proceeds from the placing will be used for further investment in good quality property assets and our regeneration pipeline to help build shareholder value."

Sutton's stock (London: SUH) closed at 60p. Market capitalization is £31.1 million.

Sutton Harbour Holdings is a Plymouth, England-based company specializing in infrastructure and regeneration activities.

Victoria seals £6.01 million

Among other completed deals, Victoria Oil & Gas settled a £6.01 million private placement of ordinary shares.

The London-based company sold approximately 141.32 million of the shares at 4.25p per share.

Proceeds from the financing will go toward advancing the company's Logbaba property, located in Douala, Cameroon. First gas sales to industrial customers are expected by mid-2010.

"Our priority is to make VOG cash generative as soon as possible," said Kevin Foo, chairman, in a press release. "A significant portion of the project timeline is taken up by conceptual design and engineering of the gas processing and pipeline. This fundraising compresses the project timeline by allowing us to start the downstream design before the two wells are completed."

Victoria's equity (London: VOG) ended at 6.02p. Market capitalization is £50.9 million.

Victoria Oil & Gas is an oil and natural gas exploration company.

Kratos seeks $19 million

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, a San Diego-based provider of mission critical engineering, IT solutions and war fighter solutions for the federal government, priced a $19 million registered direct offering of stock.

The company intends to sell 26 million common shares at $0.72 per share.

The deal is expected to close by Sept. 2 and shares sold in the financing will be eligible for a 1-for-10 reverse stock split scheduled to occur on Sept. 10.

Proceeds will be used to repay existing debt.

Calls made to the company seeking comment went unreturned Friday.

Kratos' shares (Nasdaq: KTOS) fell 3 cents, or 3.38%, to $0.80.

Hawk brings bought deal

Hawk Exploration announced a C$10 million bought deal Friday, along with a C$3 million over-allotment option.

The company will sell approximately 9.52 million subscription receipts at C$1.05 each. The option is for an additional 2.85 million subscriptions, also at C$1.05 each.

Each subscription receipt is exercisable for one common share.

Proceeds will be used to fund Hawk Exploration's acquisition of "certain producing properties in the Provost area of Alberta," according to a press release. The company is paying about C$13 million for the assets and the deal is expected to close by Sept. 30.

The deal includes about 1,370 acres of land, including 650 acres of undeveloped land. The company has already identified seven potential drilling locations.

Upon completion of the financing, the funds will be held in escrow pending the closing of the asset purchase. If the purchase is not completed by Oct. 15, Hawk Exploration will give subscription holders their investment back.

Settlement of the financing transaction is expected by Sept. 22.

Hawk's stock (TSX Venture: HWK-A) ended unchanged at C$1.23.

Hawk Exploration is a Calgary, Alta.-based oil and natural gas exploration company.

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