The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Nicholas Geranio with masterminding a $35 million international boiler room scheme.
The Haleiwa, Hawaii, resident is accused of setting up of companies and installing management so that he could sell the companies' Regulation S shares through call centers that he operated in Spain, using high-pressure tactics and false and misleading information. More
Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group (RODM), the small-cap investment bank that is exiting the investment banking business to concentrate on its new DirectMarkets financial technology unit, may have to pursue a spinoff rather than a sale to maximize the banking unit's value, valuation professionals and attorneys said. More
Hedge fund management firm Magnetar Capital is being investigated by securities regulators in connection with its participation in the selection of a portfolio of mortgage bonds that blew up during the financial crisis, according to The Wall Street Journal. More
David Johnson, a long-time capital markets partner with O'Melveny & Myers, was named as the new head of the law firm's Hong Kong office. More
The special purpose acquisition company Hicks Acquisition Company II (HKAC) agreed to acquire paper manufacturer Appleton Papers in a transaction valued at $675 million. More
Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA (WEMU) has had its registration revoked by the Securities and Exchange Commission. More
Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group (RODM), the most active PIPE placement agent, said it plans to focus on developing its DirectMarkets automated electronic platform for private placements and is "assessing and exploring strategic alternatives for its investment banking business." More
Mackie Barch, the chief executive officer of vitamin distributor Sunpeaks Ventures (SNPK), sold a 74% stake in the shell company Georgetown Corp. (GTCP) for $25,000 after paying $383,000 to purchase the company last November. More
China Natural Gas (CHNG) and its former chief executive officer Qinan Ji are facing civil fraud charges as the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Ji lied about a pair of loans totaling $14.3 million that went to Ji's son, nephew and a friend. More
The Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading in 379 shell companies in a move that it said was meant to prevent "fraudsters" from harming investors through "reverse mergers and pump and dump schemes." More
Facebook (FB)
$10.6 B(IPO). Morgan Stanley & Co., JP Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, Allen & Co., Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, RBC Capital Markets, Wells Fargo Securities, Blaylock Robert Van, BMO Capital Markets, CL King & Associates, Cabrera Capital Markets, CastleOak Securities, Cowen & Co. More
Lazard is arranging a $50 million private placement of convertible debt and warrants to qualified institutional buyers for A123 Systems (AONE).
The financing is to be used for general corporate purposes, including development of A123 System's Nanophosphate lithium-ion phosphate batteries and systems. More
Reverse mergers "don't seem to be much of a business model moving forward," following the Securities and Exchange Commission's suspension in trading of 379 shell companies, said Crocker Coulson, president of microcap investor relations firm CCG Investor Relations. More
A123 Systems (AONE), a developer of lithium-ion phosphate batteries that is raising $50 million from a private placement of convertible debt, has hired a strategic adviser to help evaluate its prospects after the company posted $125 million loss in the first quarter due to a recall of battery packs to Fisker Automotive. More
Hudson Bay Capital Management is among a group investing $29.2 million in a private placement of common stock and warrants of KIT digital (KITD), a money losing provider of software to manage and distribute video content. More
Bullfrog Gold (BFGC) was granted full DTC eligibility after challenging a decision by the Depository Trust Co. More
C. K. Cooper & Co. and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. are arranging an $18.6 million private placement of common stock of Saratoga Resources (SARA), an oil and gas exploration and production company with assets in Louisiana, to accelerate its drilling program. More
New York State Supreme Court Judge Carol Edmead will close her courtroom on May 16 so a person associated with anonymous blogger Alfred Little can answer to allegations made by Deer Consumer Products (DEER) that Alfred Little wrote false reports about the company that caused the stock to plunge. More
JP Morgan Securities is underwriting a $75 million at-the-market offering facility for Otter Tail Corp. (OTTR), whose businesses include a regulated electric utility, wind power and infrastructure development, as it completes an overhaul that involved the sale of a number of businesses. More
Fund managers Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, Swank Capital and Salient Partners, and Greek shipping company Capital Maritime & Trading are investing $140 million in a private placement of convertible preferred units of master limited partnership Capital Products Partners (CPLP) that it will use to repay debt. More
Emera Inc., a regulated power company serving Nova Scotia, is investing another $105.5 million in a private placement financing by Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQUNF) to fund the Canadian utility company's acquisition of a stake in a 480-megawatt U.S. wind power portfolio and gas transmission businesses in the U.S. Midwest. More
MLV & Co. is underwriting a $20 million at-the-marketing offering facility for Echo Therapeutics (ECTE) to fund development of its technology to allow for painless, needle-free skin permeation for use in hospitals and critical care units and by people with diabetes. More
- Full Subscriber Access



