Maui Land & Pineapple wraps $15 million from stock offering; Lighting Science raises $4 million

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, March 12 - Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc. said "aloha" to a $15 million investment from an entity controlled by the founder of eBay, Inc. and another investor.

The two investors - Ohana Holdings LLC, which is controlled by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and ZG Ventures, LLC - bought 517,242 shares at $29.00 each

"Maui Land & Pineapple is a transformative company, emphasizing long-term planning and local self reliance," said Omidyar in a statement. "I value their sound leadership and business practices, as well as their ethic of stewardship toward local communities."

On Monday, the company's stock gave up 35 cents to close at $30.25, but gained 8 cents in after-hours trading (Amex: MLP).

Based in Kahului, Hawaii, Maui Land & Pineapple manages agricultural and resort properties.

In the broader market, one sellside market source said he feels the PIPE market is off to a good start this week.

"Stocks seem to be stabilizing somewhat, so that's good news for us," he said. "Already I think things are better than they were last week. Of course that's not saying much."

The market source said that in the week to come, offerings from the tech sector and the biotech sector can be expected in particular.

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 42.30 to close at 12,318.62 and the Nasdaq composite index climbed 14.74 to settle at 2,402.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 composite index edged up 3.75 to end at 1,406.60.

Lighting Science's $4 million deal

In other PIPE news Monday, Lighting Science Group Corp. secured $4 million from a stock offering.

The company plans to issue 13,333,333 shares at $0.30 each to a group of institutional investors.

The investors will receive warrants for 10 million shares, exercisable at $0.35 each for five years.

The investors also will have the option to buy another 13,333,333 shares and receive another 10 million warrants under the same terms. The option must be exercised before the 90th day following the effective date of the registration statement.

Proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Canaccord Adams Inc. was the placement agent.

The company's stock gave up 8.11%, or 3 cents, to close at $0.34 Monday (OTCBB: LSGP).

Dallas-based Lighting Science Group develops environmentally friendly lighting products.

OmniComm closes two deals

In the tech sector, OmniComm Systems, Inc. closed a private placement for $2.5 million and cancelled $900,000 in convertible notes.

The company sold 5 million shares.

OmniComm announced that chief executive officer Cornelis F. Wit and a director, Guus van Kesteren, converted $3.2 million in promissory notes into 6.4 million common shares.

Noesis Capital Corp. was the placement agent for both deals.

"This private placement funding will allow us to expand our operations in both the U.S. and overseas to meet with the rapid growth that we have been experiencing over the last six months," said Wit in a news release. "We are now in a better position to globally support our clients' demands for traditional hosted ASP trial services and to offer a phased approach for clients that want to bring our EDC solution in house.

"The capital raised in this transaction and the reduction of short- and long-term liabilities of the company through the conversion of the debt at year-end 2006 provide us with a strong financial structure from which to build our business and enhanced flexibility for funding and operating our future growth.

Two of our primary objectives during 2006 were to continue building the corporate and operating infrastructure required for significant growth in the near-term and to solidify our balance sheet by improving our capital structure and working capital positions. We feel very strongly that these transactions are an important part of accomplishing those objectives."

Proceeds will be used for working capital.

The company's stock remained unchanged at $0.61 (OTCBB: OMCM).

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., OmniComm provides web-based solutions for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, research and medical device sectors.

Metalline raises $5.6 million

In the resources sector, Metalline Mining Co. wrapped a private placement for $5,671,891.

The company sold 1,206,785.5 units at $4.70 each.

The units consist of two shares and one warrant. The warrants are exercisable at $2.42 each through March 6, 2011.

News of the deal sent Metalline's stock up 7.5%, or 18 cents, to close at $2.58 (Amex: MMG). The stock, however, gave up 9 cents in after-hours activity.

Based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Metalline is a mineral exploration company focused on properties in Mexico.

Arapahoe plans C$10.5 million deal

In other resources news, Arapahoe Energy Corp. negotiated the terms of a C$10.5 million private placement of convertible debenture units.

For every C$1.00 invested in the deal, investors will receive C$1.50 in principal of the debentures and one warrant.

The debentures are due Aug. 30, 2007 and are convertible into common shares at C$1.00 each. The debentures will accrue interest at 20% annually after the first year.

The warrants associated with the offering are exercisable at C$0.125 each for two years.

D&D Securities Co. is the placement agent.

The deal is set to close March 30.

The company's stock gained half a penny on Monday (TSX Venture: AAO).

Arapahoe, based in Calgary, Alta., is an oil and natural gas exploration company.

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