Legal
Ingen

Ingen Troubles Continue in NIR Fund Liquidation

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Money owed from a 2006 convertible PIPE issued by Ingen Technologies (IGNT) is still an issue for liquidators of NIR Group's AJW funds and New Millennium Capital Partners. AJW liquidators Ian Stokoe and David Walker filed suit against Ingen on May 10, and they are seeking relief related to a $2.6 million judgment from an earlier legal contest between AJW and Ingen.

The suit was filed in the New York State Supreme Court. The liquidators of several AJW offshore funds once managed by NIR Group obtained recognition of their proceedings in the U.S. through Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year. Former NIR head Corey Ribotsky has filed court papers objecting to claims and tactics of the liquidators. A suit by filed by regulators alleging accounting fraud against Ribotsky is pending.

Legal

Xumanii, Promoters Sued over Deluge of Spam Email

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While many people have learned to ignore spam emails touting microcap companies, San Diego resident George Sharp decided to take the issue to court. Sharp filed a lawsuit in San Diego’s Superior Court alleging wrongdoing on the part of numerous issuers including Xumanii (XUII) and Pharmagen (PHRX) and several publishers of stock promotion materials, including Centro Azteca S.A. and Victory Mark Corp. Ltd. “I am tired of the spam and the use of it to steal money from those who are easily susceptible to get-rich schemes, like seniors, students and single mothers,” Sharp told Growth Capital Investor. “The people who conduct these schemes deserve a special place in hell.”

Sharp contends that he received over 1,200 spam emails from promoters who ignored dozens of his attempts to unsubscribe from the email services.

Deals

Navios PIPEs Put New Ships in Action

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Navios Maritime Holdings (NM) fueled its growth plans with a pair of $60 million PIPEs in late May, when the company announced growing revenues and a six cent dividend. The Piraeus, Greece-based shipping company is acquiring four ships that cost some $66 million dollars. Affiliate Navios Maritime Partners (NMM) is a master limited partnership (MLP). In April the company announced plans with affiliates and HSH Nordbank AG to purchase ten ships for $130 million. Navios Maritime Acquisition Corp.

Markets
OTCQX

OTCQX: Does More Transparency Equal Better Terms?

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Small publicly traded growth companies inching toward a national exchange listing or looking for an alternative after delisting from one are frequently making the OTC Markets Group’s OTCQX trading platform their destination. The OTCQX tier requires companies to provide audited financial performance reports and to be advised by designated broker-dealers or law firms. That degree of transparency sets OTCQX companies apart from thousands of other unlisted issuers that trade over the counter. But when it comes to raising capital in an equity private placement (EPP), growth companies that meet the OTCQX criteria in many cases don’t accrue significantly better pricing or terms when compared with issuers on OTC trading tiers that require less transparency, according to an analysis of growth EPP trends for unlisted U.S. operating companies gleaned from PlacementTracker, Sagient Research’s EPP data service. (Growth EPPs are offerings of a least $1 million of stock or equity-linked debt that feature fixed purchase, conversion and warrant exercise price terms. Except where noted, the analysis included companies with market capitalizations from $10 million to $1 billion.)

New York-based OTC Markets launched OTCQX in 2006 but spent the early years establishing the platform as a trading vehicle for American Depositary Receipts and ordinary shares of international companies. Over the last few years, however, the firm has focused on beefing up the roster of U.S.-based companies.