Markets

Iroquois Gets Active with Gale Force Petroleum

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Gale Force Petroleum (GFPMF), a Canadian energy explorer, has elicited an activist investor effort from longtime PIPE market investor Iroquois Capital. On April 25, Iroquois sent a letter to the Gale Force board of directors and criticized its performance and its credentials for managing an oil company. "In today's letter to the Board, Iroquois outlines its serious concerns regarding the Company's abysmal underperformance under the stewardship of the current Board and management, including the severe mismanagement of Gale Force's otherwise valuable assets," Iroquois said. According to Iroquois' letter, the hedge fund owns 7.6% of Gale Force's stock. "We believe the Company lags behind its peers in nearly every relevant metric, leaving Gale Force as an underperformer in the marketplace," the letter said.

Markets
Biotech

Sabby Brings New Deal Flow to Growth EPPs

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Sabby Management is one of the new crop of growth capital investors that have entered the PIPE market as it has evolved into a space where ATM and CMPO deals have become more common -- and small unregistered offerings have fallen off. According to data from Sagient Research, so far this year funds managed by Sabby have invested in seven deals, more than any other investor including active traditional PIPE funds such as Hudson Bay Capital Management, which has been involved in five transactions to date. In terms of capital deployed, Sabby invested a total of $24.6 million, while Hudson Bay invested $7 million. (Some long-time PIPEs players like Hudson Bay are still active. Deerfield Management, an active PIPEs investor since at least 2000, has been one of the bigger buyers in terms of dollars this year, putting $36.5 million into four PIPEs.)

N.J.-based Sabby's Sabby Healthcare Volatility Master Fund and Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund have invested $35.6 million in 35 deals since December 2011.

Markets
Michael Vasinkevich

Former Rodman Exec Vasinkevich Revs Up H.C. Wainwright

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A pair of April registered direct offerings placed by a retooled H.C. Wainwright & Co. marked the return of former Rodman & Renshaw principal Michael Vasinkevich to the PIPE market. Wainwright served as lead agent for a $3.17 million offering from Wave Systems Corp. (WAVX) and as exclusive agent for a $10 million offering from Northwest Biotherapeutics (NWBO). In addition to Vasinkevich, FINRA records show, principals of the resurrected Wainwright include former Rodman executives Vincent Sarnatora and Mark Viklund, along with former Digital Lightwave (DIGL) chief exec and Scientologist Bryan Zwan.

Deals

RMG Networks Taps Capital Markets via SPAC

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RMG Networks (RMGN) materialized as a publicly traded company through a merger between SPAC SCG Financial Acquisition Corp. (SCGQ) and RMG's private predecessor Reach Media Group Holdings. The deal affords growth capital access to RMG, whose rapid revenue growth in recent years has been dragged down by increasing costs. The companies first announced plans to merge in January and recently provided final terms and escrow plans in a regulatory filing. The deal closed on April 8.