Integrity Bancshares arranges $15 million offering; volume picks up on higher stocks

By Sheri Kasprzak

Atlanta, May 19 - Integrity Bancshares, Inc. led private placement news Thursday, with volume continuing to pick up as the stock market made a comeback for the second straight day.

Integrity said it plans to head to the private placement market with up to 652,174 shares offered to accredited investors at $23 each.

"Not familiar with the company, but it looks like a good premium," said one market source. "I think if they can sell at $23, it will be good for them."

The offering was priced at a 4% premium to the company's closing stock price of $22.10 Wednesday. The company's stock remained unchanged at $22.10 at market close Thursday.

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

Elsewhere in the private placement market, volume continued to make a comeback, sell-siders said, as stocks rose for the second day in a row.

"It's not bad," said one sell-sider. "There have been busier days, but given market conditions, I think it's a good sign."

That sell-sider said he felt two straight days of a stronger stock market may be boosting issuer confidence to put out offerings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day up 28.74 at 10,493.19; the Nasdaq composite index gained 11.93 to close at 2,042.58 and the S&P 500 edged up 5.52 to close at 1,191.08.

"But I do think it has something to do with sectors," he noted. "This does tend to be a business ruled by sectors and some are stronger than others right now. I'd say you're seeing more biopharmaceutical companies, maybe more resources deals."

In Canada, despite continued drops in oil prices, three oil companies put deals on the table Thursday.

One market source north of the border said two of those three deals have flow-through shares attached to them, making them more appealing to investors in spite of a lackluster oil market.

"Those deals themselves aren't particularly attractive given the market conditions we're in," said that source. "But flow-through shares give investors a reason to buy because of the tax incentives."

White Fire Energy Ltd. said it plans to raise more than C$10 million in a deal comprised of both flow-through and non flow-through common shares. Eastshore Energy Ltd. announced its plans to raise more than C$6 million in an offering of only flow-through shares.

Still, according to the Canadian sell-sider, the fact that those three energy companies have announced deals may be a sign of improvement in the Canadian PIPE market, which has suffered because of the oil-price slump.

That oil slump continued on Thursday, with prices dropping $0.33 to close at $46.92.

GlobalNet raises $1.25 million

In one of the many convertible offerings that have flooded the PIPE market in the past two weeks, GlobalNet Corp. wrapped a convertible note deal for $1.25 million.

The company sold the 12% notes to four institutional investors.

The notes mature in two years and are initially convertible into common shares at $0.0004 each.

After the deal was first announced Thursday morning, GlobalNet's stock dipped $0.0003, or 20%, to close at $0.0012.

GlobalNet is a telecommunications company based in The Woodlands, Texas. The proceeds will be used to pay a service provider.

Dynasty closes downsized deal

Dynasty Gold Corp. wrapped a C$1,448,000 private placement, a deal reduced from the originally announced C$1.47 million offering.

In a statement, the company's president Brian McEwen said market conditions forced the company to reduce the price of the units offered in the deal.

The downsized deal included 4,826,665 units at C$0.30 each.

The units are comprised of one share and one warrant. The warrants allow for an additional share at C$0.40 each for two years.

The price of the units was dropped from the originally announced C$0.32 each. On March 22, the deal was announced as a C$1.47 million offering comprised of 4.2 million units at C$0.32 each. The strike price of the warrants was also reduced from C$0.50 each.

"We are happy that, despite the current financial market conditions, we are able to complete this placement so that we can move forward with our exploration programs," McEwen said in a statement. "We are excited about this year's programs and look forward to updating our shareholders as the season progresses."

Based in Vancouver, B.C., Dynasty is a gold exploration, acquisition and development company. The proceeds will be used for exploration programs at the Hatu and Red Valley properties in China.

On Thursday, Dynasty's stock closed unchanged at C$0.27.

B + H Ocean Carrier's stock drops

A day after receiving agreements for its $60 million private placement, B + H Ocean Carrier Ltd.'s stock slipped.

The company's stock closed down $1.05, or 5.3%, to end at $18.75 Thursday.

After the deal was 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.

Omni Energy's stock closes down

After a busy day of settling lawsuits and closing a $5 million private placement Wednesday, Omni Energy Services Corp.'s stock closed down on Thursday.

The company's stock dropped $0.19, or 9.9%, to close at $1.73 Thursday.

On Wednesday, after the company closed a private placement of series C convertible preferred stock with a conversion price at $1.95 - and settling a legal dispute with several of its debenture holders by issuing stock, cash and notes - Omni's stock rose $0.14, or 7.87%, to close at $1.92.

Based in Carencro, La., Omni Energy Services provides seismic drilling services to geophysical companies.

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