Daily Archives: May 12, 2008

Petro-Canada, New Debt For Old Debt (PCZ)

Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) is selling a total $1.5 Billion in debt to a syndicate of underwriters in the United States.  Of the full offering, some $600 million in debt of 6.05% 10-year Notes due May 15, 2018 and $900 million US of 6.80% 30-year Notes due May 15, 2038.

The net proceeds of this debt offering will be used to repay short-term notes payable and existing outstanding debt under its credit facilities.  The balance will be used for additional working capital. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC are acting as joint book running managers for the offering, which should close on May 15, 2008.

The offering is being made in the U.S. under the company’s existing base shelf prospectus, which was dated March 31, 2008 and allowed for the issuance of up to $4 billion(U.S.) in debt securities.

The company also said it believes the debt securities are expected tobe assigned a rating of BBB (stable) by Standard & Poor’s RatingsServices and Baa2 (stable) by Moody’s Investors Service. 

As noted, new debt for old debt…. same ratings… no real change in either direction.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear about other special financings, mergers, IPO’s, spin-offs, secondary offerings, and other special situations.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 6:04 pm in Oil & Gas, Secondary Offering,

Southwest Airlines Takes Down New $600 Million Loan (LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) has disclosed in an SEC Fling that On May 6, 2008 the company entered into a term loan agreement with Citibank and seven European banks named as lenders to Southwest aggregating up to $600 million.

The consortium of banks have loaned the full $600.0 million to the air carrier on May 9.  These loans are all to be secured by first-lien mortgages of a total of 21 Boeing 737-700 aircraft that are owned by Southwest.

The loans mature on May 9, 2020 and are repayable quarterly in installments of principal and interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 0.95%.

After looking through the company’s latest books as of March 31, 2008, the company had listed liquidity as $4.370 Billion in cash and equivalents, $350 million in receivables, and $180 million in long-term investments.  Its current debt was broken down as 5.781 Billion in  current liabilities, $2.079 Billion long-term debt, and $2.986 Billion in deferred long-term liability charges; and the total liabilities are $10.846 Billion.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear about other special financings, mergers, IPO’s, spin-offs, secondary offerings, and other special situations.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 5:47 pm in Airlines,

Why Didn’t Dell (DELL) Buy EDS (EDS)?

Late word is that Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) plans to buy technology outsourcing company EDS (EDS) for something like $13 billion. Shares in EDS rose almost 28% on the rumor. HPQ has a market cap of $115 billion so the price for the acquisition is well within its reach.

The scuttlebutt is that owning EDS will better allow Hewlett-Packard to compete with IBM (IBM), which has driven much of its growth through services and software. The Hewlett-Packard financial statements for last quarter put the company’s services revenue at $4.4 billion up from $3.9 billion in 2007. That was against total revenue of $28.8 billion. EDS had revenue of just shy of $6 billion last year ($1.5 billion a quarter), so it makes a significant addition to the service sector at HPQ.

Owning EDS will round out part of the Hewlett-Packard business which is already successful. It does not add a operation. It enhances one.

If EDS is sold to HPQ, it will have been a lost opportunity for Dell (DELL) to enter a new part of the IT industry and diversify away from selling hardware. The core of Dell’s strength is PC and server sales to businesses but it has not augmented that with any significant outsourcing or consulting operation. Last year, in the US, Dell’s sales to businesses were almost five times the revenue it got from consumers. It is an ideal mix of customers to create and drive a services arm. 

It would not be hard to make the case that Dell needs EDS much more than Hewlett-Packard is. A purchase by Dell would have been more of a financial stretch, but Dell desperately needs stretching. It is not going anywhere with its current plans for digging out of a multi-year funk.

The EDS deal says more about Dell than it does Hewlett-Packard. Under CEO Mark Hurd, HPQ has been opportunistic and nimble. None of that can be said for Dell. The company has not challenged itself to move back to the growth rates it enjoyed in its hay day.

Saying anything more about Dell is just wasting words.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 5:23 pm in Mergers and Buy Outs, , ,

Whole Foods & Earnings… Luxury or Staple??? (WFMI)

Tuesday after the close, we’ll get to see earnings out of Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI). The estimates for the organic food grocer from First Call are $0.30 EPS on $1.89 billion in revenues.  Next quarter estimates are $0.35 EPS on $1.96 billion in revenues. Estimates for fiscal Sept-2008 are $1.28 EPS on $8.27 billion in revenues.

Analysts have an average price target north of $41.00.  Whole Foods Market Inc.’s 52-week trading range is $29.99 to $53.65.  In the last 90 days, shares have slid from over $40.00 down to $33.75 Monday, and that was after Monday’s gain of almost 3%.

What is obvious here is that the bar is being set very low going into earnings because of the recent performance.  At least if the company doesn’t do well on earnings, we might get mass message board postings from Rahodeb.

What we have to already expect is margin compression.  Whole Foods already charged much more for the exact same organic or healthy products that you have been able to buy at Kroger and elsewhere.  In the current environment where consumers are looking at ways to pinch pennies, we’ll find out if Whole Foods has remained a staple for the well to do or if it is becoming going to be categorized as luxury goods that the masses are priced out of.

For whatever it’s worth, I have never personally seen any real slide in the raw number of people there.  At the same time, the locations where Whole Foods stores are located in are often as recession proof as it gets.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 5:14 pm in Earnings, Food,

Electronic Arts…. Earnings Guidance or Merger?? (ERTS, TTWO)

After the close of trading on Tuesday, we’ll get to see earnings out of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS). The estimates for the video game software game giant from First Call are $0.00 EPS on $834.82 million in revenues.  Next quarter estimates are -$0.11 EPS on $591.13 million in revenues. Estimates for fiscal Mar-2009 are $0.94 EPS on $3.92 billion in revenues.

Analysts have an average price target north of $62.00; Electronic Arts Inc.’s 52-week trading range is $43.62 to $61.60.  Shares are still mostly in the middle of that range.

What is going to take center stage here is the pending acquisition of Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO).  Take-Two has so far successfully defended itself from getting acquired without destroying its market value.  As this is also thought of as on of the less important quarters, the focus will come around guidance and around the merger.  Stay tuned for a more detailed update on an earnings preview Tuesday.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 4:56 pm in Earnings, Video Games, ,

Can Solar Drive Applied Materials Earnings? (AMAT)

Tuesday after the close, we’ll get to see earnings out of Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT). The estimates for the semiconductor fabrication company from First Call are $0.22 EPS on $2.14 billion in revenues.  Next quarter estimates are $0.26 EPS on $2.28 billion in revenues. Estimates for fiscal Oct-2008 are $1.01 EPS on $8.95 billion in revenues.

Analysts have an average price target north of $24.00.  Applied Materials’ 52-week trading range is $16.13 to $23.00.  Shares are still in the middle of its 52-week trading range and it really just looks like the stock has support $1.00 under and resistance $1.00 higher based on its trading bands.

Shares closed up 3% Monday after the company described another win for its solar operations, and that is where we think the focus will be.  This one still has the multiple of a chip cap-ex and equipment player rather than a solar player.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 4:46 pm in Alternative Energy, Earnings, Semiconductor,

An Ignominious Death For Merged Sirius (SIRI) XM Satellite Radio (XMSR)

Over the last few weeks several state attorneys general have come out against the merger of Sirius (SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (XMSR). There has also been talk of a new competitor being set up to keep the combined company from being a monopoly. According to Broadcasting & Cable creating a new business would require "divestiture of sufficient spectrum to create a third satellite company to compete with the new, merged entity." That spectrum would come from the merged company.

The odd Congressman and Senator are also against the merger. They are probably getting campaign cash from regular radio stations which do not want a stronger satellite-based competitor. That does not make them bad people, just good politicians.

It is now too late for the proposed merger to do either company any good, so, the merger has fundamentally failed before it was consummated. The financial fortunes of SIRI and XMSR have now nearly collapsed. A marriage cannot animate what has already died.

Sirius announced its Q1 numbers today. The company’s subscriber growth rate is not what it used to be. The firm announced a a 33% increase in revenue to $270.4 million. Sirius ended first quarter 2008 with 8,644,319 subscribers, up 31% from 6,581,045 subscribers at the end of first quarter 2007. Apple (AAPL) is improving Mac sales at a better rate.

Sirius reported a first quarter 2008 net loss of $104.1 million, or $0.07 per share, an improvement of 28% over first quarter 2007 net loss of $144.7 million. Average monthly subscriber revenue was flat at just over $10. The company has no pricing leverage, and the conditions of any merger will likely prohibit the combined operation from raising rates. Sirius still carries over $1.2 billion in debt.

Results at XM were even worse. Revenue for the first quarter 2008 rose to $308 million, a 17 percent increase over first quarter 2007. XM ended first quarter 2008 with 9.33 million subscribers, an 18 percent increase. The firm is selling more subscriptions through car companies, pre-installed in new vehicles, but people often do not renew after the first year, so figures in 2009 could be very poor.

XM’s first quarter 2008 net loss was $129 million, compared to a first quarter 2007 net loss of $122 million. Average month revenue per subscriber was about the same as for Sirius, a little over $10. XM has long-term debt of nearly $1.7 billion.

And, that is the picture Wall St. is left with. Two companies with no pricing leverage. The company that the merger would create would need to rely solely on subscription growth, leaving out one of the two critical factors which allow companies to increase sales.

The average subscriber growth rate, if it means anything, between the two companies is about 25%, and that will drop as the market penetration of satellite radio rises.

And, there is the combined debt of $2.9 billion, sitting on a balance sheet during one of the most problematic credit period in decades.

The merger is not necessary because it cannot help

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 4:35 pm in Mergers and Buy Outs, , ,

Sirius & XM Earnings Come & GO… Next Stop, The FCC (SIRI, XMSR)

This afternoon we saw earnings out of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) and we saw earnings from XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) this morning before the open.  Unfortunately, it looks like everything is still going to be revolving around the pending merger and whether or not that is approved.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) has just posted numbers and the company posted a loss of $104.1 million or -$0.07 EPS on $270.4 million in revenues.  First Call had estimates at -$0.07 EPS on $272.3 million in revenues.  This also compares to a loss of -$0.10 EPS on $204 million in the same quarter last year.  The company also ended the quarter with 8.6 million subscribers, a gain of more than 30% from the 6.6 million reported in the same quarter in 2007.

This morning, merger partner XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) also reported its own first-quarter loss came in at $129.3 million or -$0.42 EPS, wider than the $122.4 million loss at -$0.40 EPS in the same quarter last year; its revenue grew 17% to $308 million. XM also finished March with 9.33 million subscribers, up 18% from the 7.9 million subscribers in the same quarter last year.

Neither company is offering any fixed longer-term guidance until after the FCC merger decision.  That means until you see the FCC approval or rejection, the horses still have their blinders on and the jockeys are idle.

Sirius Satellite Radio shares rose 5.1% at $2.87 in normal trading, and shares look down about 1% at $2.835 in after-hours trading; XM Satellite Radio shares closed up 4.2% at $12.30 in normal trading, and shares are indicated up 0.6% at $12.38 in after-hours.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear about other mergers, IPO’s, spin-offs, secondary offerings, and other special situations.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 4:07 pm in Earnings, Mergers and Buy Outs, Satellite, ,

H-P Confirms EDS Talks, Who’s Next? (EDS, HPQ, ACN, CSC, ACS, PER, UIS, ACXM, BE)

As traders look to the news covering whether or not Electronic Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: EDS), there was a release from Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) that confirmed the two companies were engaged in merger talks but there were no assurances that a deal could be reached. As a result, there are many other tech and IT-sourcing companies to look at that other players may take an interest in.  Keep in mind that many of these large tech companies do not want to be involved in being acquired and some of the companies will have stronger takeover provisions.  Everyone of these companies are different, yet all are in overlapping areas.  Here is a handful of names that could fall under that sort of tie-up if the deal comes to pass:

  • Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN), although maybe too large;
  • CA, Inc. (NYSE: CA);
  • Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC);
  • Affiliated Computer Services, (NYSE: ACS);
  • Perot Systems Corp. (NYSE: PER);
  • Unisys Corp. (NYSE: UIS);
  • Acxiom Corp. (NASDAQ: ACXM);
  • Bearingpoint, Inc. (NYSE: BE)…..

If we took the mid-point of the pricing at $12.5 Billion we would have a rough share price of $25.00 per share on EDS.  At that rough price, you would have a company that analysts expect to be priced at 18.2 times DEC-2008 earnings and 0.55-times revenue estimates.

Any such deal for EDS would likely have to come in the form of a friendly buyout.  This company doesn’t protect itself as hard as other companies, but Capital IQ does note the following tools the company has:

  • Removal of directors only for cause;
  • Board can change size of members;
  • Advanced Notice for director nominations;
  • Move by 50% of shareholders to remove directors;
  • Board Indemnification;
  • Blank Check Preferred Stock.

EDS is seemingly involved in more aspects of IT outsourcing and consulting than it isn’t.  Because of the rate that IT-workers come and go inside the Indian IT-outsourcing companies and because of laws restricting total foreign ownership in India, we did not include the public Indian-IT operations in this report 

You can join our open email distribution list to hear about other mergers, IPO’s, spin-offs, secondary offerings, and other special situations.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 3:17 pm in Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors, Technology Companies, , , , , , , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club (EVR)(PLA)(CMLS)(LGBT)

Evercore Partners (EVR) was knocked down to $12.54 against a 52-week high of $33.

Playboy Enterprises (PLA) sold off to $6.80 on a continuing poor reaction to earnings. The company has a 52-week high of $12.

Cumulus Media (CMLS) fell to $4.25 after a buy-out of the company fell apart. The 52-week high for the shares is $11.74.

Planet Out (LGBT) shares dropped to a 52-week low of $1.87 on now news. The company is supposed to be sold. The 52-week high for the shares is $23.30.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 2:48 pm in HI/LOW, , , ,

Citigroup (C) Can’t Be Fixed: A $10 Stock?

It may be that Citigroup (C) will never be fixed. According to Oppenheimer & Co analyst Meredith Whitney the bank "will be forced to announce the sale of major businesses toward the end of this year or in early 2009.," according to Bloomberg.

The news service reports the analyst said “I think it’s an impossible feat,” Whitney said. “They don’t have the revenue power, they don’t have the earnings power in so many of their businesses. In her opinion, Citi may not have any meaningful earnings for five years.

Most analysts see some recovery for Citi next year. The consensus of brokers following the bank is that it will have $2.85 EPS in 2009. That gives the bank a forward P/E of just over eight for a stock trading at $24.

If Citi cannot generate earnings for an extended period, its problems go beyond its P/E. It will almost certainly have to raise huge sums, perhaps tens of millions of dollars, or sell off its most profitable units.

The pessimist’s case would put the Citi shares closer to $10 than to $20 as the end of the year approaches.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 2:35 pm in Banking,

Market Talk: H-P & EDS??? (HPQ, EDS)

If you thought big tech mergers were over, there may be another one brewing.  Be sure to focus on the term "may"" in that.  The WSJ has reported that Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is in advanced talks to acquire Electronic Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: EDS) for between $12 Billion and $13 Billion.  CNBC has just now covered this as well.

You can also sign up for our open email distribution list to see about other mergers, secondary offerings, IPO’s, break-ups, spin-offs, and more.

H-P is down 2% at $47.94 today, and its market cap is $118 Billion. EDS shares are trading up 25% now at $23.54 and its market cap after this pop is just under $12 Billion; its 52-week trading range is $15.71 to $29.13.

Stay tuned….

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 2:10 pm in Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors, Technology Companies, ,

Biotech Business Daily (AMAG, CEGE, IMCL, XOMA, TRCA)

AMAG Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMAG) has been added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: NBI) beginning May 19, 2008. AMAG shares up $1.26 at $39.85. The 52-week range is $38.16 to $72.95.

Cell Genesys (NASDAQ: CEGE) offered 7.1 shares for $30 million in gross proceeds to a single institutional investor at $4.22 per share to finance product development and general corporate purposes. Shares are down 6% to $42.12. The 52-week is $30.34 to $49.18.

Imclone Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: IMCL) is down almost 5% after a downgrade by Morgan Stanley, citing belief that Erbitux will fail to reach expectations. Shares are trading at $42.31 in mid-day trading. The 52-week range is $30.34 to $49.18.

XOMA Ltd. (NASDAQ: XOMA) down over 8% after reporting larger than expected first quarter losses. They showed a loss of $14.2 million and revenues of $12.1 million, failing to hit estimates by Thomson of $16.4 million. Shares trading at $2.12. The 52-week range is $1.96 to $4.39.

Tercica Inc. (NASDAQ: TRCA) up almost 7% today in anticipation of positive first quarter earnings to be announced after market close. Shares trading at $4.77on a 52-week range of $4.30 to $8.11.

Rachel Lopez
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 1:21 pm in Biotech, , , , ,

Online Video Consumption Up, No One Making Money (GOOG)(VIA)(NWS)(MSFT)(YHOO)

Online videos viewed in March moved up to 11.5 billion, a 13% jump from the year before and a tremendous pop of 64% over the same month last year.

The question is whether anyone is making money from all that traffic. The answer is probably "no". The management of Google (GOOG) recently said they are working on ways to get substantial revenue from their YouTube site, the most visited video destination on the web. But, they have not gotten there yet.

In March, almost 4.4 billion videos were accessed at YouTube. Fox sites, owned by News Corp (NWS), were a distant second with 477 million views. They were followed by Yahoo! (YHOO), at 328 million, Viacom (VIA) at 249 million, and Microsoft (MSFT) at 225 million.

A canvass of most of these sites shows very little in the way for video advertising. YouTube is a mish-mash of content which looks more like a social network than a premium video site. Because most of the content is generated by users and is of poor quality, it is not likely to be attractive to marketers.

Online video is expensive for the companies that offer it, due to storage of files and the bandwidth required to move it from place to place.

The growth in impressive, but it is unlikely that any of the companies near the top of the list for video audiences is making a dime.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 1:15 pm in Internet, , , , ,

Clear Channel (CCU) Pistol Whips It Banks? (C)(DB)(MS)(CS)(RBS)(WB)

Clear Channel (CCU) has a leveraged buy-out in place. Of course, like many of these deals cut last years, the banks tried to walk out a side door. often claiming that the businesses they were buying had fallen apart, In most cases that was a convenient truth.

The LBO firms doing the deal, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, decided not to let its banks walk and took them to court, The case looked like a winner.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the banks backed down and got a very small concession in the process. The paper writes "Under the proposed settlement terms, the banks would fund Clear Channel’s buyout at $36 per share, down from the original price of $39.20." CCU says No settlement has been reached by the parties and there can be no assurance that any settlement will be reached. Clear Channel will not comment on any potential settlement terms or the likelihood that a settlement agreement will be reached." Sounds a bit legal.

If the settlement works, for Citigroup (C), Deutsche Bank (DB), Morgan Stanley (MS), Credit Suisse (CS), Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and Wachovia (WB) it is a set-back, but no one gave them permission to stick it to CCU. Now, the get to reap the fruits of that.

Douglas A, McIntyre

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 1:02 pm in Mergers and Buy Outs, , , , , , ,

SPAC Going Operational: GSC Acquisition Into Complete Energy (GGA)

With all the Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC’s) that have filed to come public, many SPAC’s haven’t proposed an actual business move they are designed to execute. Blank check company GSC Acquisition Company (AMEX: GGA) announced a proposed merger with Complete Energy, an independent power generation company with assets in California and the Southeast. GSC values Complete Energy at $1.3 billion. Complete Energy stakeholders will receive 44 million shares and GSC will own 42% of the new company on a fully diluted basis.

Hugh Tarpley, co-founder of Complete Energy, will act as CEO. GSC went public June 2007 for $10 per share and generated $167.4 million in proceeds. Shares are up over 1% today at $9.36. The market cap sits at approximately $235 million.

You can also sign up for our open email distribution list to see about other IPO’s, SPAC’s. mergers, secondary offerings, break-ups, spin-offs, and more.

Rachel Lopez
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 12:43 pm in Mergers and Buy Outs,

Oilsands Quest Wins On Private Placement (BQI)

Oilsands Quest Inc. (AMEX: BQI) is seeing a positive reaction to news that the company entered into an agreement with Sprott Asset Management Co. for a private placement of 11,904,761 treasury shares of common stock at $4.20 per share.

Gross proceeds for the placement total $50 million. A separate placement to other accredited investors totals $4.5 million. The total shares issued will reach 12,976,761 for total proceeds of $54.5 million. Proceeds will be used for general corporate and operation purposes.

Shares had been halted pending news, but have now been released.  Oilsands Quest shares are up almost 4% in mid-day trading at $4.25. The market cap currently sits at about $906 million.

You can also sign up to our open email distribution list to see about other secondary offerings, IPO’s, break-ups, spin-offs, and more.

Rachel Lopez
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 12:34 pm in Oil & Gas, Secondary Offering,

iPCS Suit Threatens Sprint & Clearwire (S, IPCS, CLWR)

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) already has issues coming up over its WiMAX scenario, and this could have long-term implications on all parties involved.  This isn’t even about earnings either.

The Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) $14.5 billion venture with Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) announced last week to form the first national WiMAX network is already getting some play in the legal system.  iPCS (NASDAQ: IPCS), the largest and one of the remaining only Sprint affiliates, has had issues with Sprint in the past about exclusivity agreements and this transaction prompted another lawsuit.

Anticipating an iPCS lawsuit, last Wednesday Sprint asked courts for judgment declaring that the venture will not violate exclusivity agreements with iPCS because the WiMAX network uses a different frequency.  Unfortunately it leaves many affiliate stores potentially in the lurch.

This morning, three iPCS subsidiaries are suing Sprint Nextel over the Clearwire transaction and consequential breaches of contractual agreements. iPCS noted believes that the transaction between WiMax and Clearwire breaches exclusivity provisions with Sprint. Additionally, iPCS sued Sprint because its failure to adhere to court judgments over the Sprint merger with Nextel in which the courts ruled that Sprint Nextel must cease owning, operating, and managing the Nextel networks iPCS territory.

This morning, Sprint Nextel reported earnings showing a loss of $505 million after losing 1 million customer to other carriers.  This suit is in reality a bad situation for all three parties.  Sprint’s issues of of stinking up Wall Street are not the fault of iPCS, but this is still iPCS’s problem.  The company sells Sprint Nextel exclusively in 81 markets and it has 640,600 subscribers out of an available population it lists as about 12 million residents being inside the existing coverage network.. 

iPCS is up over 6% to $28.88 in early afternoon trading. The 52-week range is "approximately $17.50 to $37.60.  Sprint Nextel is down almost 1% at $9.60 with a 52-week range of $5.48 to $23.42.  Clearwire is down over 9% to $12.78 with a 52-week range of $10.10 to $35.41.

You can also sign up to our open email distribution list to see about other secondary offerings, IPO’s, break-ups, spin-offs, and more.

Jon C. Ogg
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 11:47 am in Law, WiMAX, Wireless, , ,

After Huge IPO, Titan Goes Acquiring (TITN)

Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) has been one of the best IPO’s since the end of 2007, and its ties to agriculture machinery are to thank.  Recently, shares saw some pressure after it disclosed a secondary offering around the end of the lock-up period, but now the company has another announcement entirely.

The company has announced today that an agreement to acquire Mid-Land Equipment Company, L.C. has been signed. Mid-Land owns six dealerships in Iowa and Nebraska and earned $48.3 million in revenues in fiscal Dec-2007. The Fargo-based full-service agricultural and construction equipment store operator will own 48 stores after the completion of the transaction, which is expected to close May 30, 2008 pending customary closing conditions

Shares of Titan are up 2% to $20.57 in late morning trading. The post-IPO trading range is $11.50 to $24.50.

You can also sign up for our open email distribution list to see about other secondary offerings, IPO’s, break-ups, spin-offs, and more.

Rachel Lopez
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 10:39 am in Agriculture,

Cell Genesys Scores $30 Million Premium Financing (CEGE)

Cell Genesys, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEGE) plans to offer 7.1 million shares of common stock and warrants at an equivalent of $4.22 per share with a single institutional investor, for an equity offering valued at approximately $30 million.

The warrants will have a strike price of $10.00 and can purchase 8.5 million shares. The proceeds from the offering will be used to finance developmental products such as its GVAX treatment for prostate cancer, as well as for general corporate purposes.

The offering is expected to close Wednesday. Credit Suisse Securities LLC is the lead placement agent for the offering.

The cancer focused biotech company is trading down over 3% in early morning trading at $3.77. The market cap sits at approximately $300 million and the 52-week range spans $1.78 to $4.71.

You can also sign up to our open email distribution list to see about other secondary offerings, IPO’s, break-ups, spin-offs, and more.

Rachel Lopez
May 12, 2008

Posted on: May 12, 2008 – 9:43 am in Biotech, Secondary Offering,