Pico gears up to settle $104.45 million stock offering; National Coal secures $13.95 million from PIPE

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, March 1 - Pico Holdings, Inc. headed up PIPE activity on Thursday, announcing the imminent completion of a $104.451 million stock sale.

The offering sent the company's stock down 7.65%, or $3.22, to close at $38.88 Thursday (Nasdaq: PICO). The stock gained 6 cents in after-hours trading.

The company plans to sell 2.823 million shares at $37.00 each to a group of institutional investors.

ThinkEquity Partners LLC is the placement agent.

Pico expects the deal to close soon.

"There was substantial interest for this offering, which we placed with several premier financial institutions," said Pico chief John Hart in a news release. "The proceeds will be used primarily by our water resource subsidiary, Vidler Water Co., to acquire further strategic water assets for groundwater development in the southwest United States as well as to provide for infrastructure costs to improve, expand and develop production, storage and reclamation activities to generate additional water supplies.

"As growth continues to occur in the Southwest, demand for scarce water resources increases. With this additional capital and as a leading private developer of water resources, Vidler is well-positioned to help resolve these shortages."

Pico, based in La Jolla, Calif., acquires businesses that are identified as undervalued.

National Coal to raise $13.95 million

Elsewhere in PIPE action, National Coal Corp. is gearing up to close a $13.95 million offering of 3 million shares.

Two institutional investors and National's chief executive officer, Daniel Roling, agreed to buy the shares at $4.65 each. Roling will buy 200,000 of the shares.

The deal is set to close Friday.

Proceeds will be used for growth initiatives.

"This placement will significantly strengthen the company's financial position and enable us to remain focused on future growth opportunities," said Roling in a statement. "My personal investment in the company reflects my confidence in its financial health and long-term growth prospects."

The company's stock fell by 4 cents Thursday to end at $4.61 (Nasdaq: NCOC).

Based in Knoxville, Tenn., National Coal is a coal-mining exploration company.

Petaquilla Copper plans C$40 million deal

Despite a drop in copper prices, Petaquilla Copper Ltd. wrapped the first tranche of a planned C$40 million non-brokered offering.

"Obviously it didn't stop them," said one market source based in Vancouver, B.C. "I think we may see some tapering of copper deals in the coming weeks though."

In the initial tranche, the company sold 6,014,800 units at C$2.00 each for proceeds of C$12,029,600.

The company intends to sell up to 20 million units of one share and one half-share warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable at C$3.50 for five years.

Proceeds will be used for the advancement of the company's copper project in Panama and for working capital.

Petaquilla's stock fell 5 cents to end at C$2.10 (Toronto: PTQ).

Based in Vancouver, B.C., Petaquilla Copper is a copper exploration company.

Sierra Geothermal prices C$10 million deal

Elsewhere in PIPE news, Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. intends to raise up to C$10 million from a private placement of units.

The offering includes up to 20 million units of one share and one warrant with each warrant exercisable at C$0.70 for two years.

Jacob & Co. Securities Inc. is the placement agent.

The company's stock gave up 8.33%, or 5 cents, to end at C$0.55 Thursday (TSX Venture: SRA).

Proceeds will be used for exploration and advancement of the company's geothermal properties and for working capital.

Vancouver, B.C.-based Sierra develops geothermal properties.

Caprius raises $2.5 million

In other PIPE news, Caprius, Inc. closed a $2.5 million private placement of series E convertible preferred stock.

The company sold 10,000 shares of the preferreds at $250.00 each to four institutional investors. The preferreds are initially convertible into 6.25 million at $0.40 each. The investors received warrants for 3.125 million shares, exercisable at $0.50 each for five years.

Equity Source Partners, LLC was the placement agent.

Proceeds will be used to repay a $100,000 bridge loan. The rest will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

"Over the past four quarters, we have seen sequential revenue growth as a result of increasing market acceptance of our SteriMed Systems," said CEO Dwight Morgan in a statement. "This financing provides the resources we need to continue to drive market penetration and take advantage of the exciting new opportunities that lie ahead of us."

The stock closed unchanged at $0.65 Thursday (OTCBB: CAPS).

Based in Hackensack, N.J., Caprius develops equipment to disinfect and dispose of infectious medical waste.

Accentia stock slips

In secondary market news, Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.'s stock fell on Thursday after the company announced the completion of a private placement of $24.7 million in convertible debentures.

The stock fell 4 cents to close at $3.62 (Nasdaq: ABPI). On Wednesday, when the deal as announced, the stock dropped 4.44%, or 17 cents, to close at $3.66 after gaining 27 cents in pre-market activity.

The 8% debentures are due in four years and are convertible at $4.25 each.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC was the placement agent for the deal, which is set to close Thursday.

Proceeds will be used for clinical development and for the acquisition of late-stage drug candidates.

Tampa, Fla.-based Accentia develops late-stage clinical products, mostly for drugs that have already been approved, in new formulations or indications.

Patch stock falls

Elsewhere in secondary market activity, Patch International Inc. saw its stock dip on Thursday, a day after the company closed a $20,131,687 private placement of special warrants.

The company's stock fell 4 cents to end at $2.40 (OTCBB: PTCH). On Wednesday, the stock gained 19 cents to settle at $2.44.

In the placement, the company issued special warrants at $1.50 each and flow-through special warrants at $1.65 each. The warrants are exchangeable for units of one share and one warrant for one-tenth of a share.

Canaccord Capital Corp. was the lead agent with Wellington West Capital Markets Inc. as co-agent.

Proceeds will be used for exploration and development of the company's oil and natural gas properties and for working capital.

Patch is an oil and natural gas exploration company based in Vancouver, B.C.

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