Ecopia BioSciences plans C$30 million PIPE; Adanac Molybdenum closes C$8.5 million placement

By Laura Lutz

Des Moines, Jan. 4 - Ecopia BioSciences Inc. led PIPE news on Thursday as it priced a C$30 million private placement of units.

The company plans to sell at least 130 million units of one share and one half-share warrant at C$0.25 per unit. Each whole warrant will be exercisable at C$0.375 for three years.

The placement will constitute the required financing under a combination agreement between Ecopia and Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Under the agreement, the two companies plan to merge to create a company focused on oncology and infectious disease.

"This merger and financing will create a strong entity with a balanced product pipeline focused in infectious disease and cancer as well as a strong balance sheet to continue the development of our three clinical products," Pierre Falardeau, current president and chief executive officer of Ecopia, said in a news release. He will be chief operating officer of the amalgamated company.

Picchio Pharma Inc. agreed to subscribe for C$4 million. Picchio is a joint venture owned by FMRC Family Trust and Power Technology Investment Corp, a subsidiary of Power Corp. of Canada.

Desjardins Securities Inc. and Dundee Securities Inc. will be co-lead agents for the placement.

Based in Montreal, Ecopia is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing anticancer therapies from soil-dwelling microorganisms.

Ecopia's stock lost 13 cents, or 26.53%, to close at C$0.36 on Thursday (Toronto: EIA).

Canadian resource companies continue to dominate

PIPE activity for the day was again dominated by Canadian resource companies. Leading those offerings was Adanac Molybdenum Corp. with completion of a C$8,549,465.58 private placement of units.

The company sold 8,381,829 units at C$1.02 each. Each unit includes one share and one warrant. The warrants are each exercisable at C$1.50 in the first year, at C$1.75 in the second year, at C$2.00 in the third year and at C$2.25 in the fourth year.

D&D Securities Co. was the placement agent for the deal.

The deal priced on Nov. 6 as an offering of up to 11.765 million units for up to C$12 million.

Proceeds will be used to fund the detailed engineering and procurement contract for the company's Ruby Creek Molybdenum project, which was awarded to AMEC Americas Ltd. on Dec. 20, for corporate overhead and to hire additional personnel.

Adanac, based in Vancouver, B.C., is a mineral exploration company focused on molybdenum.

The company's stock fell 6 cents, or 5.22%, on Thursday to end at C$1.09 (TSX Venture: AUA).

Uranium raises $13.5 million

U.S. resource company Uranium Energy Corp. got in on the action with a $13.5 million private placement of units.

The company completed an offering of 5.4 million units of one share and one non-transferable half-share warrant at $2.50 per unit. Each whole warrant is exercisable at $3.00. The warrants will expire on the later of 18 months from the date of issuance and nine months from the effective date of the company's proposed registration statement.

"Uranium Energy Corp. is very pleased to be associated with a dynamic group of new investors who have assisted the company in raising significant new capital," company president and chief executive officer Amir Adnani said in a news release.

"The company can aggressively continue with project development, as well as its other scheduled growth initiatives."

Uranium Energy is a resource company based in Austin, Texas. The company's stock closed down 10 cents, or 2.99%, at $3.25 on Thursday (OTCBB: URME).

Lucy's Cafe closes $10.24 million offering

In technology company news, Lucy's Cafe, Inc. wrapped a private placement of shares for $10.235 million as it announced a reverse merger with InterMetro Communications, Inc.

The company sold 10.235 million shares at $1.00 each.

Hunter World Markets, Inc. acted as the company's placement agent.

Based in Simi Valley, Calif., Lucy's Cafe had no operations before the acquisition. Following the reverse merger, the company plans to "become a significant provider of VoIP infrastructure services to carriers and retail customers," according to a news release.

The company's stocks did not move in response to news of the acquisition and placement, ending Thursday unchanged at $2.20 (OTCBB: LCYC).

Modtech settles $5 million placement

Modtech Holdings, Inc. sold a $5 million secured term note in a private placement with Laurus Master Fund, Ltd., the company announced in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

The note will bear interest at Prime rate plus 250 basis points. It matures on Dec. 28, 2009.

The note may be prepaid in whole, but not in part, at any time for 124% of the then-outstanding principal amount plus accrued interest.

Laurus also received warrants for 192,029 shares at an exercise price of $5.06 per share, 192,029 shares at $5.29 per share and 192,028 shares at $6.53 per share. The warrants will expire on Dec. 28, 2013.

Based in Perris, Calif., Modtech designs and manufactures modular buildings.

The company's shares lost 5 cents, or 1.03%, to end the day at $4.80 (Nasdaq: MODT).

EBT Mobile China secures £7.4 million

Moving to London, EBT Mobile China plc completed a private placement of shares for £7.4 million.

The company sold 33,566,300 ordinary shares to new and existing institutional investors for 22p per share, a 12% discount to the shares' Jan. 3 closing middle market price.

Proceeds will be used to finance an accelerated rollout of the company's business expansion. That is expected to include an extended relationship with China Mobile, a cooperation agreement with a handset manufacturer, a partnership with an international retailer and the acquisition of a local mobile phone

retailer.

"We are excited about our expansion plans under our strategy of 'Win with Winners'," chief executive officer Zhang Ge said in a news release.

"The partnership opportunities we are funding expand our addressable customer base as well as provide additional retail locations. In aggregate, the opportunities being pursued are key steps towards positioning EBT Mobile as one of the top mobile retailers in China in 2008."

Based in London, EBT Mobile China sells mobile phones and other wireless products and services in China.

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