Amarin arranges $17.81 million direct offering; volume ends week on a strong note

By Sheri Kasprzak

Atlanta, May 20 - A week of ups and downs in the PIPE market has ended on a high note, with volume making a comeback as stocks recovered over the last few days.

Amarin Corp. plc led news Friday as it announced a direct offering for $17.81 million.

The company sold 13.7 million American Depositary Shares at $1.30 each, a 13.3% discount to the company's closing stock price of $1.50 on May 18.

The shares were sold under Amarin's shelf registration.

Leerink Swann & Co. was the placement agent.

After the offering was announced Friday morning, Amarin's stock dipped $0.22, or 13.5%, to close at $1.41.

Based in London, Amarin develops pharmaceuticals to treat central nervous system disorders.

Elsewhere in the private placement market, sell-siders said volume made a comeback as the week ended, thanks to stronger stocks earlier in the week.

Even though stocks were mixed Friday, the strength of Friday's volume may have come from improvements in the stock market over the course of the past few days, sources said.

"It has very little to do with today's stocks," said one sell-sider. "You're looking at what stocks did earlier this week and compared to where we were this time last week, it's not bad. Oil has been going down, down, down, so stocks keep heading up, up, up. I think once oil gets to $50, you'll start seeing some impact on the broader PIPE market. Until then, it's a good thing for us."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 21.28 to close at 10,471.91; the Nasdaq composite index edged up 3.84 to end at 2,046.42 and the S&P 500 slipped 1.8 to close at 1,189.28.

Looking ahead, sell-siders said biopharmaceutical companies may be doing more PIPE deals in the coming days.

"We're already seeing some of it," said one New York-based sell-sider. "Expect to see more because [biopharmaceutical stocks] are definitely stronger."

In Canada, oil companies are creeping back into the PIPE market, according to one sell-sider there.

"Slowly, we're seeing more," he said. "I'd say the majority of the deals from energy companies are being done with flow-through shares so investors actually have an incentive to buy them."

The flow-through shares, the source explained, come with a tax incentive for investors.

Meanwhile, oil prices continued to slip to finish off the week. Prices dropped $0.12 to close at $46.80 per barrel.

Dyax sells $25.26 million in direct placement

Moving back to direct placements, Dyax Corp. unveiled a $25.26 million sale of stock.

The company plans to sell 6,315,000 shares at $4 each to institutional and accredited investors.

After the offering was priced Thursday, the company's stock gained $0.05 to close at $4.46 and gained another $0.02 to close at $4.48 on Friday.

The shares are being sold under Dyax's shelf registration.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and SG Cowen & Co. LLC are the placement agents in the deal.

Based in Cambridge, Mass., Dyax is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for cancer and inflammatory ailments. The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including the company's ongoing pre-clinical activities, clinical trials and operations.

Eveready prices C$24 million deal

In Canada, Eveready Income Fund announced the details of its C$24 million private placement of trust units.

The company plans to sell 6.4 million trust units at C$3.75 each, a 2.64% discount to the company's 20-day average closing price of C$3.85 ending May 18.

"We are very pleased with the results of this financing, particularly given the strong institutional support we have achieved," said the company's president and chief executive officer Rod Marlin, in a statement. "Although Eveready's unit price has appreciated significantly subsequently to our marketing efforts, we view the pricing of this offering as very positive given the broad investor support we were able to secure as well as in consideration of historical trading levels."

First Associates Investments Inc. is the placement agent in the offering, which is expected to close in early June.

Based in Edmonton, Alta., Eveready provides industrial, environmental, oilfield and mechanical cleaning services. The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

The company's stock slipped C$0.05, or 1.04%, to close at C$4.75 Friday.

Ausam Energy plans C$8 million deal

Over in the energy sector, Ausam Energy Corp. plans to raise C$8 million in a private placement.

The company plans to sell 8,888,889 units at C$0.90 each.

The units include one share and one half-share warrant. The full warrants provide for an additional share at C$1.20 each through Dec. 1, 2006.

"The warrants look pretty good," said one market source who had seen the deal. "Not a bad premium, so they may do okay with the warrants. For an oil company, given the conditions in that market, I'd say it looks fine."

Based in Calgary, Alta., Ausam is an oil and natural gas exploration and development company. The proceeds will be used for the company's oil and gas development and exploration program in Queensland, Australia.

On Friday, the company's stock closed unchanged at C$0.90.

Integrity's stock drops

A day after announcing its plans to raise $15 million in a private placement, Integrity Bancshares, Inc.'s stock dipped Friday.

The company's stock lost $0.10 to close at $22.

Integrity's stock closed unchanged at $22.10 Thursday after the deal was first announced.

Integrity plans to sell shares at $23 each, a 4% premium to the $22.10 closing price.

Based in Alpharetta, Ga., Integrity is the holding company for Integrity Bank.

B + H's stock rises

B + H Ocean Carrier Ltd.'s stock was back up again Friday after the company announced that it has received agreement for its $60 million private placement.

The company's stock gained $0.95, or 5.07%, to close at $19.70 Friday.

On Thursday, the company's stock slipped $1.05, or 5.3%, to close at $18.75.

After the offering was first announced Wednesday, the company's stock lost $0.20, or 1%, to close at $19.80.

The company said it sold shares at $18.50 each to institutional investors in Europe.

Based in New York, B + H operates tankers for shipping products across seas.

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