The PIPEs Report - May 15, 2007

Some Issuers Keep Tapping Market, But Few Gain Share Price

The rip-snorting bull market and wider acceptance of PIPEs as a legitimate capital raising strategy have focused the spotlight recently on large issuers, who are driving up the PIPE market’s dollar volume to historic highs. But private placements are hardly a novel form of financing for hundreds of small and micro cap corporations that have tapped the market for years. Some, in fact, never seem to stop returning. They’re known as serial PIPE issuers, and they account for a small but consistent slice of the market. Full Story

P.R. Firm Provides Promotion and Research Reports Praising PIPE Issuer

Investor blogs and online forums have been abuzz about Rocket City Automotive Group, since the company announced its planned $10 million private stock offering. Commenters describe the company as everything from the next home run to a doomed pump-and-dump scam. A lot of the buzz about Rocket City is coming directly from the company and public relations services including BlueWave Advisors. Full Story

When the Food and Drug Administration chose not to approve Dendreon’s Provenge prostate cancer drug last week, the immune response researcher’s stock took a serious beating in an unforgiving market that also punished other PIPEfinanced biopharma companies, including Antigenics, IDM Pharma, Favrille, and Cell Genesys. Full Story

• Nasdaq to Offer Private Placement Trading Online
• Inverness Pulls out PIPE in Bidding War
• NBC Universal, Citadel in $100M ION Media Recap
• York Capital Buys Internet Commerce Debt
• SEC and Wireless Facilities Sue Former Stock Plan Administrator
• SEC Short Selling Fallout from Amaranth Meltdown
• Hirings & Firings