Quintana wraps $191.77 million PIPE as part of ship acquisitions; ChondroGene plans C$20 million deal

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, May 12 - Quintana Maritime Ltd. concluded a $191,769,562 private placement as part of its plans to acquire a fleet of ships from Metrobulk Holdings SA.

News of the placement and the acquisitions sent Quintana's stock up more than 4% on the day.

The stock gained 4.22%, or 34 cents, Friday to settle at $8.39 (Nasdaq: QMAR).

The volume of shares of Quintana traded on Friday also climbed with 356,949 shares traded. The average number of shares traded is 118,118.

In the placement, Quintana issued 2,045,542 units at $93.75 comprised of 2,045,542 shares of 12% mandatory convertible preferred stock and class A warrants for 8,182,168 shares.

The preferreds are convertible into common shares at a rate of 12.5 common shares per preferred.

Each warrant is exercisable at $8.00 each through May 11, 2009.

Dahlman, Rose & Co., LLC and Fortis Securities LLC were the placement agents.

Under the acquisition agreement, Quintana intends to buy three Panamax dry-bulk carriers and 14 Kamsarmax dry-bulk carriers for $735 million.

"This transaction is transformational for Quintana as it positions us, post acquisition, as one of the largest U.S.-listed dry-bulk shipping companies by tonnage with the youngest fleet on a [deadweight] weighted-average basis among its public peers," said Stamatis Molaris, Quintana's chief, in a statement.

"With the acquisition of all 17 vessels, we will establish a significant position in the Kasmarmax niche by virtue of our controlling one-quarter of the actively trading Kamsarmax fleet. The acquisition will become accretive in terms of cash flow per share in 2007, upon delivery of all the ships in that year."

The placement and word of the acquisitions come just a few days after the company announced its first quarter earnings results.

For the first quarter of 2006, Quintana reported a net income of $5.4 million, compared to a net loss of $156,866 for the same period of 2005.

Located in Glyfada, Greece, Quintana is a dry-bulk shipping company.

ChondroGene's PIPE

Moving to the Canadian private placement market, ChondroGene Ltd. priced a C$20 million private placement, sending the stock down by more than 7.5%.

The placement, set to close May 25, includes up to 12.5 million shares at C$1.60 apiece.

Agent Westwind Partners Inc. has a greenshoe for up to 3,125,000 additional shares.

After the deal priced Friday morning, the stock sank by 7.69%, or 15 cents, to settle at C$1.80 (TSX Venture: CDG).

Proceeds will be used for the development and commercialization of ChondroGene's lead product ColonSentry, a blood test used to detect pre-cancerous polyps and colon cancer. The rest will be used for additional clinical development, as well as for general corporate purposes.

Toronto-based ChondroGene develops tests used to diagnose certain diseases using disease-specific biomarkers. The biomarkers are used to diagnose cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders.

Gold prices close down

After steadily climbing all week and sparking a flurry of activity in the PIPE market, gold prices took a dip on Friday, giving up $9.70 to end at $711.80 per ounce.

"I think the key here is that gold prices are up on the week," said one Vancouver, B.C.-based sellside market source familiar with the natural resources sector. "The [gold] stocks seem to be doing just fine."

Despite the drop, though, a couple of gold offerings priced Friday.

Leading those deals was a C$7 million unit offering priced by Carpathian Gold Inc.

The placement consists of up to 11,666,666 units at C$0.60 apiece.

The units are composed of one share and one half-share warrant. Each whole warrant allows for the purchase of another share at C$0.90 for two years.

A syndicate of agents led by Jennings Capital Inc. has a greenshoe for up to 5 million units.

The deal is expected to wrap up on May 31.

On Friday, the company's stock climbed by a penny to end at C$0.62 (TSX Venture: CPN).

Proceeds from the deal will be used for ongoing exploration and development on the company's Rovina license in Romania, as well as for working capital.

Capathian is located in Toronto.

Another gold explorer, Wildcat Exploration Ltd. priced a C$1.25 million private placement.

The non-brokered deal includes up to 4,166,667 units at C$0.30 each.

The units consist of one share and one warrant. Each warrant is exercisable at C$0.40 for one year.

The offering is scheduled to close June 12.

Wildcat's stock remained unchanged at C$0.34 Friday (TSX Venture: WEL).

Proceeds will be used for costs associated with the ongoing exploration at the Bissett and Snow Lake areas of Manitoba and the Foster River base metal project in Saskatchewan.

Wildcat is based in Winnipeg, Man. In addition to gold, Wildcat also explores for base metals.

Starcore's stock closes off 12.5%

In other gold news, Starcore International Ventures Ltd. watched its stock sink after the gold explorer priced a C$30 million offering of subscription receipts on Thursday.

On Friday, the stock gave up 12.5%, or 10 cents, to close out the session at C$0.70 (TSX Venture: SAM).

The stock had gained just a penny on Thursday when the deal priced to close at C$0.80.

In the placement, which is being conducted as part of Starcore's acquisition of the San Martin mine, Starcore plans to sell subscription receipts at C$0.60 each.

The receipts are exchangeable for units of one share and one half-share warrant once the acquisition is complete.

Starcore is based in Vancouver.

Neurologix's stock slips 2.6%

A day after wrapping a $12 million PIPE, Neurologix, Inc.'s stock fell 2.63% on Friday.

The stock lost 5 cents to end the session at $1.85 (OTCBB: NRGX).

When the deal was closed Thursday, the stock advanced by 5.56%, or 10 cents, to close at $1.90.

In the placement, Neurologix sold shares of series C convertible preferred stock at $35.00 each to General Electric Pension Trust, the DaimlerChrysler Corp. Master Retirement Trust and funds managed by ProMed Management, Inc.

The preferreds are convertible into 19.66 common shares each.

Located in Fort Lee, N.J., Neurologix is a research and development company focused on treatments for brain and central nervous system disorders.

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