Whitehaven to raise A$185 million; D'Aguilar plans internal placement; Armistice eyes PIPE

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., July 31 - Whitehaven Coal Ltd. brought one of the day's biggest placements to market Friday, announcing its intent to raise about A$185 million.

The company will sell equity to raise the funds. Proceeds will go toward growth and strategic initiatives.

In other news from Down Under, D'Aguilar Gold Ltd. said it would take in A$1.54 million. A company director is the sole investor.

Armistice Resources Corp. also announced a larger deal. The company said it plans to raise more than C$17 million via a sale of both equity and debt.

In the pharmaceutical arena, Antigenics Inc. said it would sell stock in its effort to bring in $10 million. The deal also includes warrants for additional shares.

PharmAthene Inc. meanwhile said it completed its $19.3 million placement of convertible debentures. The deal originally priced on July 27.

Whitehaven to raise A$185 million

Whitehaven Coal brought the day's largest deal, announcing an A$185.08 million private placement of equity.

The company will issue approximately 60.68 million shares at A$3.05 per share.

Proceeds will help the company fund its growth and strategic initiatives, as well as to increase working capital and improve the company's balance sheet.

Whitehaven's stock (Australia: WHC) ended at A$3.12. Market capitalization is A$1.27 billion.

Whitehaven Coal is a Sydney, Australia-based coal mine developer in the Gunnedah region of New South Wales.

D'Aguilar plans internal placement

Brisbane, Australia-based D'Aguilar Gold said it would sell A$1.54 million ordinary shares to its managing director.

Nicholas Mather will purchase 44 million shares at A$0.035 per share.

"This allotment, if approved, will take Mr. Mather's direct and indirect holding in DGR to approximately 19%," according to a press release.

Shareholders will vote on the proposed financing at a general meeting in September.

"The funding will provide the D'Aguilar Group with sufficient working capital to meet its next nine months worth of recurring expenses," the company said in the release. "Additional capital initiatives continue to be pursued in the group subsidiaries in line with the DGR Group strategy. The board and management continue to be confident in the ability of the group to deliver value to shareholders in relation to its prospective tenements and projects."

D'Aguilar's stock (Australia: DGR) closed at A$0.036.

D'Aguilar Gold is a mineral exploration company focused on copper, gold, nickel, molybdenum, iron ore and uranium.

Armistice to sell equity, debt

Armistice Resources is planning to raise C$17.2 million via a sale of common and flow-through shares, as well as debt.

The company will sell the common shares at C$0.13 per share and the flow-through shares at C$0.15 per share, according to the deal arranged with Sandfire Securities Inc. The company will raise C$2.2 million through the equity sale.

In addition, Sandfire will conduct a best efforts placement of C$15 million of units. The units will contain C$1,000 principal amount of senior secured notes, as well as a yet-to-be-determined numbers of common shares. Armistice plans to issue 15,000 units.

Proceeds will fund exploration at the company's McGarry project, as well as for working capital. Settlement is expected by Aug. 15.

Armistice's shares (TSX: AZ) improved C$0.025, or 16.67%, to C$0.175. Market capitalization is C$11.61 million

Armistice Resources is a Toronto-based gold exploration company.

Antigenics aims for $10 million

Antigenics, a Lexington, Mass.-based biotechnology company focusing on developing treatments for cancers and infectious diseases, said it entered into an agreement to sell $10 million through a stock sale.

The company plans to sell 5 million shares at $2.00 per share.

In addition, the investor will receive six-month warrants good for an additional 2.5 million shares at a strike price of $2 per share. The deal also includes four-year warrants for 2.2 million additional shares, exercisable at $2.30 per share.

Proceeds will fund key commercial and regulatory efforts, "including the support of Antigenics' efforts with Oncophage (vitespen) in Russia, Europe and other territories," the company said in a press release.

Settlement is expected Aug. 3.

Antigenics' equity (Nasdaq: AGEN) dropped 19 cents, or 7.98%, to $2.19 on Friday. Market capitalization is $151 million.

PharmAthene closes convertibles sale

Among settled transactions, PharmAthene wrapped its $19.3 million placement of convertible debentures and common stock warrants, the company announced.

Under the terms of the deal originally announced July 27, the company issued two-year 10% unsecured senior convertible notes. The notes are convertible into common stock at $2.541667 per share.

Also, the company issued warrants equal to 2.6 million common shares. The five-year warrants are exercisable at $2.50 per share.

PharmAthene used the proceeds to repay short-term debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

"The company estimates that at its currently projected rate of net cash consumption, the net proceeds from this financing along with existing sources of cash will be sufficient to fund operations through the end of 2010," the company said in a press release.

PharmAthene's shares (Amex: PIP) gained a penny, or 0.40%, to $2.51 on Friday.

PharmAthene is an Annapolis, Md.-based biopharmaceutical company.

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