Inmet seals C$500 million; Cell Therapeutics to sell preferreds; Northeast Bancorp plans sale

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., March 31 - The PIPE market saw an uptick in large deals on Wednesday, and financings were fairly split between U.S. and Canadian issuers.

Inmet Mining Corp. said it had secured Ellington Investments Pte. Ltd. as an investor in its planned C$500 million private placement of subscription receipts. The receipts convert into equity.

Meanwhile, Cell Therapeutics Inc. announced a $20 million registered direct offering of preferred stock. Investors will also receive warrants for common shares.

Northeast Bancorp will conduct a $16.2 million private placement of equity, the company said in a press release. The bank holding company said the funding would provide room for growth.

Also, Americas Petrogas Inc. said it completed two private placements of stock, bringing in total proceeds of C$16 million. Of those funds, C$10 million was raised in an underwritten offering.

CPI Aerostructures Inc. is planning a direct placement for proceeds of nearly $4 million, the company announced. Proceeds will be used, in part, to pay down bank debt.

And, Trade Winds Ventures Inc. settled a C$3.3 million placement of units. A company spokesperson said the funding should provide enough working capital to last through 2010.

Inmet to issue subscriptions

Inmet Mining, a Toronto-based international mining company, announced a C$500 million private placement of subscription receipts.

Ellington Investments Pte. Ltd. is the investor.

Inmet will sell approximately 9.26 million of the receipts at C$54.009 each. The receipts will convert into common shares.

Proceeds from the raise will be used to develop the Cobre Panama project and for general corporate purposes.

Inmet's equity (Toronto: IMN) jumped C$3.96, or 7.14%, to C$59.46. Market capitalization is C$3.29 billion.

Cell Therapeutics to sell preferreds

Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics is seeking $20 million via a registered direct offering of series 4 preferred stock.

The company will sell 20,000 of the shares, with each share being convertible into 2,000 common shares at an initial conversion price of $0.50. Investors will also receive warrants for another 20 million common shares.

The warrants are exercisable at $0.6029 for four years.

Proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. Settlement is expected by April 6.

Calls seeking comment were not returned Wednesday.

Cell Therapeutics' equity (Nasdaq: CTIC) fell $0.0529, or 8.74%, to $0.5521. Market capitalization is $344 million.

Northeast seeks over $16 million

Northeast Bancorp intends to raise $16.2 million via a private placement of common shares, according to a press release.

The company will sell the shares at $13.93 per share.

"The investment will bring significant new capital and resources to further build upon Northeast's community banking and financial services franchise," the company said in the release.

"This level of capital represents a real investment in Northeast's future that we believe will provide greater opportunities for our customers, our employees, our shareholders and our region in the years ahead," added Jim Delamater, president and chief executive officer.

"With unanimous management and board support, we believe there is exciting energy behind this transaction to maximize Northeast's infrastructure to continue with our business strategy to diversify revenue, explore new lines of business and ultimately create jobs."

Northeast's stock (Nasdaq: NBN) dipped a nickel, or 0.36%, to $14.00. Market capitalization is $32.6 million.

Northeast Bancorp is a Lewiston, Maine-based bank holding company.

Americas settles stock offerings

Americas Petrogas took in C$16 million from two private placement of common stock, according to a press release.

The company raised C$6 million in a non-brokered placement and another C$10 million in an underwritten offering. The former priced March 25 and the latter on March 12.

In the non-brokered tranche, Americas sold approximately 7.41 million shares at C$0.81 each. Another 12.35 million shares were issued in the underwritten portion, also at C$0.81 each.

Of the shares sold in the underwritten tranche, approximately 3.70 million were part of the fully exercised greenshoe.

"Net proceeds received by the corporation from the offerings will be used by the corporation for the ongoing exploration and development of its Argentinean oil and gas properties, for the advancement of the Bayovar potash project by the corporation's subsidiary, GrowMax Agri Corp., as well as for general corporate purposes," the company said in a press release.

Americas' stock (TSX Venture: BOE) slipped 3 cents, or 3.23%, to C$0.90. Market capitalization is C$87 million.

Americas Petrogas is a Calgary, Alta.-based oil and gas exploration and development company.

CPI plans direct placement

CPI Aerostructures arranged a $3.9 million registered direct offering of equity, according to a regulatory filing and subsequent press release.

The company intends to sell 500,000 common shares at $7.80 per share.

Proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. The company also intends to use proceeds to pay down its revolving credit facility with Sovereign Bank. Settlement is expected by April 6.

The company could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

CPI's shares (Amex: CVU) declined by $0.2999, or 3.61%, to $8.00. Market capitalization is $48.7 million.

CPI Aerostructures is an Edgewood, N.Y.-based producer of structural aircraft parts principally for the U.S. Air Force and other branches of the U.S. armed forces.

Trade Winds wraps unit sale

Trade Winds Ventures settled a C$3.3 million private placement of units, the company said in a press release.

The deal originally priced at C$2 million on March 3. On March 8, the deal was increased to C$3 million with a 10% over-allotment option.

All told, the Timmins, Ont.-based company sold 22 million units - 2 million as part of the greenshoe - at C$0.15 per unit. The units consisted of one common share and one half-share warrant.

Whole warrants are exercisable at C$0.20 for one year.

According to Ian D. Lambert, chief executive officer and president, the company elected to conduct the financing as it saw an opportunity.

"We felt that the opportunity to raise money at this point in time for us was there," he said, adding that "you never know" if market conditions would change. "So we took advantage of that."

Investors seemed pleased with the deal, he noted, given the previous increase in the size of the financing, as well as the performance of Trade Winds' stock. Lambert said the equity has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year.

With the raise, Trade Winds "has enough working capital to get us through the end of the year," he said. As such, the company currently does not have any plans to return to the PIPE market in the near term.

Proceeds will be used for exploration of Trade Winds' Block A and Gowest gold project in Ontario and for general working capital.

Trade Winds' shares (TSX Venture: TWD) were unchanged at C$0.19. Market capitalization is C$17.5 million.

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