Jed Oil wraps $34.33 million convertible offering; Jones Soda secures $30 million from stock sale

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, June 2 - As oil prices ended the week up almost $2.00, Jed Oil Inc. sealed a $34,325,000 offering of 10% convertible notes.

The senior subordinated notes are due Feb. 1, 2008 and are convertible into common shares at $16.00 each, a 10.2% premium to the company's $14.52 closing stock price on Thursday.

The placement is the first tranche in a $50 million offering.

The Jed offering was announced Friday morning, and the stock ended the day up 6.13%, or 89 cents, to settle at $15.41 (Amex: JDO). By 10 a.m. ET, the stock had already gained 27 cents.

"We are very pleased with this financing, which gives Jed the ability to pursue its aggressive drilling program and our year-end production target," said Tom Jacobsen, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement. "We are currently drilling the first well of a multi-well program in the Pinedale/Jonah area of Wyoming and are continuing our multi-well program in the Ferrier area of Alberta."

Connected to the placement, $20 million in similar notes issued in August 2003 will be amended to reflect the same terms as the current notes.

In other news, Jed Oil intends to conclude a placement of $15,675,000 in convertible preferreds in the June 5 week. The terms of the preferreds are not currently available.

Proceeds from the notes will be used for the reduction of a senior credit facility and for the company's 2006 drilling program.

Looking to Jed's latest earnings statement, the company incurred a net loss of $22,095 for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a net income of $133,589 for the same quarter of 2005.

Calgary, Alta.-based Jed is an oil and natural gas exploration company.

In other oil news, another Calgary, Alta-based oil explorer, Fair Sky Resources Inc., priced a C$6 million private placement.

The non-brokered offering is comprised of up to 1.6 million flow-through shares at C$3.75 each.

The proceeds from the offering will be used for exploration on the company's properties in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

On Friday, the stock remained unchanged at C$2.90 (TSX Venture: FSK).

The two energy offerings were announced as oil prices jumped $1.99 to end the session at $72.33 per barrel.

A market source based in Vancouver, B.C., said the increase in oil prices might mean more energy and mineral offerings in the coming week, especially in Canada where these deals make up the majority of PIPE activity.

"It's a pretty nice climb," he said. "We may see more here and there."

Jones Soda's $30 million PIPE

Elsewhere Friday, Jones Soda Co. intends to wrap a $30 million stock deal by June 16.

Some institutional investors have agreed to purchase 3,157,895 shares at $9.50 each.

Piper Jaffray & Co. is the placement agent.

The proceeds from the deal will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

"We are pleased with the successful and quick execution of this equity financing," said Peter van Stolk, the company's chief executive officer, in a news release. "This financing will provide us with additional funding to accelerate our key corporate initiatives in North America and abroad."

The stock ended the session down 4.9%, or 52 cents, at $10.09 (Nasdaq: JSDA).

Seattle-based Jones Soda manufactures and bottles soda.

Neogen plans $13 million offering

In the biotech sector, Neogen Corp. arranged a $13 million direct placement of its stock and the sale of $3 million in stock by some of its shareholders.

In the direct offering, the company intends to sell 650,000 shares at $20.00 each, a 3.8% discount to the company's $20.79 closing stock price on Thursday.

On Friday, the stock fell 2.02%, or 42 cents, to end at $20.37 (Nasdaq: NEOG).

Also, a group of the company's shareholders will sell 150,000 shares at the same price. The shares will be offered under the company's shelf registration.

Roth Capital Partners, LLC and Stonegate Securities, Inc. are the placement agents.

Proceeds will be used for retire long-term debt; for acquisitions of complementary products, technologies and businesses; and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Lansing, Mich.-based Neogen develops diagnostic tests to detect food-borne bacteria, toxins, genetic modifications and food allergens.

Generex stock dips on PIPE

In other biotech news, Generex Biotechnology Corp. settled a stock offering for $7 million but saw its stock drop after the deal was announced Friday morning.

The stock fell 4.6%, or 9 cents, to close at $1.87 and lost another penny in after-hours trading (Nasdaq: GNBT).

Generex issued 3,414,636 shares at $2.05 each to four accredited investors. The investors received warrants for 2,416,980, exercisable at $2.45 each for five years.

Connected to the offering, Generex accelerated the expiry of warrants for 4,364,190 to June 1 from Aug. 28, 2006 and July 23, 2006. The warrants were exercisable at $1.25 and $1.60 each.

Toronto-based Generex develops oral drug delivery systems and technologies.

Avcorp plans C$12 million deal

Moving back to Canada, Avcorp Industries Inc. arranged a C$12 million private placement of convertible preferred stock.

The 9.25% preferreds are convertible into common shares at C$1.55 for the first year, C$1.75 each for the second year, at C$2.00 for the third year, at C$2.35 each for the fourth year and C$2.75 for the fifth year.

Dundee Securities Corp. is the placement agent.

On Friday, the company's stock slipped 7 cents, or 4.83%, to close at C$1.38 (Toronto: AVP).

The proceeds will be used to retire C$7 million in convertible debt. The rest will be used for working capital.

Based in Vancouver, B.C., Avcorp builds major airframe structures used by aircraft companies.

Also, Plazacorp Retail Properties Ltd. priced a C$5 million private placement of convertible debentures.

The 7% debentures mature July 31, 2011 and are convertible into common shares at C$4.00 each.

Plazacorp may redeem the debentures after June 30, 2009.

Proceeds will be used for acquisitions, debt retirement and general corporate purposes.

The stock remained unchanged at C$3.10 on Friday (TSX Venture: PLZ).

Based in Fredericton, N.B., Plazacorp develops real estate properties focused on shopping malls and strip plazas.

Endologix stock slips

A day after announcing a $20.13 million direct placement of its stock, Endologix, Inc.'s stock dropped by more than 1.5%.

The stock fell 1.55%, or 6 cents, to close at $3.82 and lost another 4 cents in after-hours trading (Nasdaq: ELGX).

On Thursday, when the placement was announced, the stock gained 7.48%, or 27 cents, to end at $3.88.

In the placement, a group of institutional investors agreed to buy shares of Endologix at $3.30 each, an 8.5% discount to the company's May 31 closing stock price of $3.61.

The shares are being offered under the company's shelf registration.

Canaccord Adams Inc. is the placement agent.

Located in Irvine, Calif., Endologix develops minimally invasive treatments for vascular diseases.

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