Itron secures $235 million from stock sale; Destiny Media wraps $2.16 million PIPE

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Feb. 26 - Two tech companies led PIPE news on Monday, headed by a $235 million stock offering from Itron, Inc. Meanwhile, the volume of resources offerings took off as uranium issuers flocked to the market.

The Itron offering comes as the company acquired Actaris Metering Systems of Luxembourg for $1.62 billion.

The acquisition news sent the company's stock up 4.7%, or $3.00, to close at $66.81 (Nasdaq: ITRI).

In the placement, Itron intends to sell 4,086,958 shares at $57.50 each to 10 institutions. The share price is a 5% discount to the five-day average closing stock price of $60.52 during the week of Feb. 12.

Itron expects the deal to close March 1.

Proceeds will be used to partially fund the acquisition.

Spokane, Wash.-based Itron develops hardware and software to monitor electricity, gas and water usage for utilities.

"This is easily the smartest acquisition I've seen so far this year," one trader said. "There are plenty of opportunities for cross selling these meters. No wonder the smart money is backing it up."

In the broader market, one sellsider said he feels tech issuers are here to stay, at least for now.

"There seems to be a lot of acquisition activity in the sector," he said. "And that seems to be pushing these [deals] through. We'll see what happens, but I think you'll see more and more in the coming weeks."

Destiny raises $2.16 million

In other tech news, Destiny Media Technologies closed a $2.16 million offering of units.

The company sold 5.4 million units at $0.40 each to new and existing investors.

Each unit includes one share and one warrant, and each warrant is exercisable at $0.50.

Bryant Park Capital, Inc. was the placement agent.

"We are thrilled with the reception we received from investors," said Steve Vestergard, the company's chief executive officer, in a news release. "This new capital gives us the confidence to exploit our current opportunities in the digital media space with our MPE, Clipstream and Radio Destiny technologies and to expand these revenue models."

Destiny's stock gained 4 cents to end at $0.64 Monday (OTCBB: DSNY).

Based in Vancouver, B.C., Destiny develops software and hardware used to distribute media over the internet.

Mena leads resources offerings

Looking to the natural resources sector, Mena Resources Inc. led a packed slate of offerings with a C$72,075,330 offering of subscription receipts.

The company issued 31,337,100 receipts at C$2.30 each. The receipts are exchangeable for units of one share and one half-share warrant once Mena settles its acquisition of Rusoro Mining Ltd. The whole warrants are exercisable at C$5.25 each.

The deal was placed through a syndicate of agents led by Canaccord Adams Inc. and including Haywood Securities Inc. and Pacific International Securities Inc.

Under the terms of the acquisition, one share and one warrant of Rusoro will be issued for every 1.7 shares of Mena outstanding. The Rusoro warrants are exercisable at C$5.25 each for five years.

Proceeds from the placement will be used for the development of Rusoro's properties. The rest will be used for working capital.

On Monday, Mena's stock gained 3.78%, or 7 cents, to settle at C$1.92 (TSX Venture: MEA).

Vancouver, B.C.-based Mena is a mineral exploration company.

Western Uranium prices shares

Western Uranium Corp. led a slate of uranium offerings that priced Monday following a jump in the price of uranium, according to one Vancouver, B.C.-based sellsider.

"Uranium is just soaring right now," he said. "If you're a uranium company and you need money, now is the time to get your deal done because you can get the best price."

In the Western Uranium offering, the company plans to raise up to C$20.14 million from the sale of 5.3 million shares at C$3.80 each.

Haywood Securities Inc. is the underwriter for the offering, which is expected to close March 12.

Western also plans to conduct a non-brokered deal for C$3.8 million, selling 1 million shares at the same price.

Proceeds from both deals will be used for exploration at the company's uranium properties in Nevada, New Mexico and the Thelon Basin of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

The stock closed unchanged at C$4.00 Monday (TSX Venture: WUC).

Western, based in Vancouver, B.C., is a uranium exploration company.

JNR Resources Inc., another uranium explorer, priced a C$15.12 million private placement on Monday.

That deal includes up to 1.6 million flow-through shares at C$4.70 each and up to 2 million non flow-through shares at C$3.80 each.

The deal is being placed through a syndicate of agents led by Wellington West Capital Markets Inc.

The placement is set to close March 20.

Proceeds from the flow-through shares will be used for Canadian exploration expenses. The rest will be used for other exploration efforts and for working capital.

On Monday, the company's stock gained 8 cents to settle at C$4.18 (TSX Venture: JNN).

JNR has headquarters in Saskatoon, Sask.

Searchlight raises $14.7 million

In other resources offerings, Searchlight Minerals Corp. sealed a $14,708,001 private placement.

The company sold 4,902,667 units at $3.00 each. The units consist of one share and one half-share warrant with each whole warrant exercisable at $4.50 for two years.

Searchlight also plans to conduct another offering under the same terms for another $7 million in proceeds.

Proceeds from this deal will be used to acquire 100% of the Clarkdale Slag project in Clarkdale, Ariz. The rest will be used for working capital and the initial construction costs for a precious and base metals recovery facility in Clarkdale.

The offerings sent the company's stock up 10.96%, or 40 cents, to end the day Monday at $4.05 (OTCBB: SRCH).

"With the completion of this financing, along with the recent acquisition of 100% of the Clarkdale Slag project, we believe that the company is now in a position to accelerate its development strategy on the Clarkdale Slag project and ultimately fulfill our goal of bringing the project to production as soon as possible," said Ian McNeil, the company's CEO, in a statement.

Searchlight is a mineral exploration company based in Henderson, Nev.

Olympus Pacific to raise C$12 millionl

Moving to gold offerings, Olympus Pacific Minerals Inc. intends to raise C$12 million from the sale of 21,428,571 shares at C$0.56 each.

The non-brokered deal is set to close March 19, and the proceeds will be used for ongoing exploration, feasibility studies and development on the company's mineral projects. The rest will be used for general corporate purposes.

Olympus' stock slipped by 2 cents Monday to end at C$0.64 (Toronto: OYM).

Toronto-based Olympus Pacific is a gold exploration company focused on properties in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Another gold exploration company, Timmins Gold Corp., plans to raise C$6 million in a placement of its own.

That deal includes up to 12 million units of one share and one half-share warrant with each whole warrant exercisable at C$0.70 through Sept. 30, 2007.

Bolder Investment Partners, Ltd. is the placement agent.

The proceeds will be used for a pre-feasibility study on the company's San Francisco property in Sonora, Mexico, as well as for the expansion and step-out exploration of that property. The remainder will be used for the acquisition of new projects.

The company's stock gave up 4 cents, or 6.78%, to settle at C$0.55 (TSX Venture: TMM).

Timmins is based in Vancouver, B.C.

Samex plans C$4.64 million deal

Finally in mineral offerings, Samex Mining Corp. plans to raise C$4.64 million from the sale of 5.8 million units of one share and one half-share warrant at C$0.80 each. The whole warrants associated with the deal are exercisable at C$1.00 each for two years.

Proceeds will be used for exploration on the company's mineral properties and for working capital.

Samex's stock lost 3 cents to end at C$0.79 (TSX Venture: SXG).

Based in Abbotsford, B.C., Samex is a mineral exploration company.

Cytori to close direct deal

Heading to the biotech sector, Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. secured $21.5 million from the registered direct sale of units.

Institutional investors have agreed to buy 3,745,645 units of one share and one half-share warrant at $5.74 each. The full warrants are exercisable at $6.25 each.

On Monday, Cytori's stock fell by 6.53%, or 3 cents, to close at $5.44 (Nasdaq: CYTX).

Piper Jaffray & Co. is the placement agent for the deal, set to close on Wednesday.

Proceeds will be used for clinical trials and commercialization expenses related to the company's investigational adipose stem and regenerative cell therapies for cardiovascular disease, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, gastrointestinal disorders and spine and orthopedic repairs. The rest will be used for preclinical research and other research and development expenses as well as for working capital.

San Diego-based Cytori develops stem and regenerative stem cell therapies used for cardiovascular disease, reconstructive surgery and other life-threatening conditions.

Ronda Fears contributed to this report.

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