Boston-based law firm Ropes & Gray said May 7 that it opened a Hong Kong office, adding three new lawyers and relocating one other. Full Story
The Office of the Inspector General of the Securities and Exchange Commission is going forward with an audit of how the commission has investigated allegations of naked short selling, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The audit, which is starting this week, will look into the process the SEC's Division of Enforcement uses in responding to naked short selling complaints and referrals. Full Story
President Bush intends to nominate Troy Paredes, a law professor who has advocated for relatively light regulation of hedge funds, to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Full Story
MCF Corp., parent company of placement agent Merriman Curhan Ford, swung to a $7.05 million loss in the first quarter, compared with a $69,256 profit the same quarter last year.
"The first quarter of 2008 was one of the toughest periods I've seen," CEO Jon Merriman said in a May 6 statement. Full Story
Jayhawk Capital Management and its principal owner Kent McCarthy filed a defamation lawsuit against Orinda, Calif.-based Primarius Capital and its principal Patrick Lin on May 2 in the federal court in Kansas City, Mo. Full Story
With losses mounting, giant-screen theater operator IMAX Corp. will raise $18 million with a common stock PIPE as part of its financing for the roll-out of digital projector systems. Full Story
Medical device maker Minrad International, based in Buffalo, N.Y., received commitments for $40 million in PIPE financing to pay off debt and fund its operations. Full Story
Universal Express CEO Richard Altomare is incarcerated in the New York Metropolitan Correctional Center where he will remain until he coughs up at least $1.7 million, or proves that he can't, court documents and prison records show.
Altomare was ordered to jail May 2 by a federal court in New York where he was found in contempt after failing to pay disgorgement and interest, or at least proving that he was unable to pay. Full Story
Longwood, Fla.-based investment bank Jesup & Lamont named James Fellus as CEO of its broker-dealer subsidiary Jesup & Lamont Securities. Full Story
Cranford, N.J.-based scrap metal processor Metalico said it secured $100 million through a private placement of senior convertible debt.
A fund managed by Ramius Capital Group invested an undisclosed amount, and Morgan Joseph acted as the placement agent. Full Story
Remaining Funds Get More Selective
For the sorts of companies that the PIPE market was built on, these are particularly difficult times. Many funds that invest in small cap company PIPEs are hurting or pulling out of the market altogether. Full Story
Lack of New Offerings Means Fewer PIPE Candidates
PIPE investors and placement agents should probably get used to seeing the same names in the market for the foreseeable future. The credit crunch and early-year broad market swoon have chased institutional investors to the sidelines. Subsequently, initial public offerings among operating companies have plunged.
The glum climate has been particularly hard on biotechnology IPOs. Full Story
Move Could Ease Capital-Raising
The Securities and Exchange Commission is said to be developing rules to allow so-called "finders" of capital to register with the commission.
Gerald Laporte, chief of the SEC's Office of Small Business Policy, confirmed that such a rule was in the works during a panel discussion at the American Bar Association's spring meeting, according to two other participants in the panel discussion. Full Story
- Large Canadian PIPE Investor Going Public
- JPC Capital to Go Private Via Spin-Off in Reverse Merger
- SEC Fines Short Seller Over False Rumors
- SEC Ordered to Release Documents from Investigation of Pequot, Mack
- Morgan Joseph's New Convertible Team Closes $100M Convert
- Overstock Fight with Gradient, Rocker in Discovery
- Hirings & Firings



