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ECM Flash News: InterOil (IOC/$35.75/Strong Buy): $70 MM Private Placement Provides Means to Ramp Drilling Activity; Strengthens Hand in Negotiation Process.

• InterOil has announced a private placement of just over 2 million common shares at a price of $34.98/share – a penny above yesterday’s close. Proceeds come out to $70.4 million. The offering was drawn from the company’s open shelf registration statement.
• This capital raise isn’t altogether surprising given InterOil’s stated desire to accelerate its drilling activity following the string of positive drilling results at Antelope-1. The addition of a workover (or development) rig would significantly drive forward the delineation of the Elk/Antelope structure while enabling the current rig to be redeployed to other exploration prospects.
• From a liquidity standpoint, InterOil wasn’t in a cash crunch by any means, but we view this equity offering as an astute move as the company intensifies its partnership talks. The additional capital should strengthen InterOil’s negotiating position in its ongoing discussions with prospective strategic partners – with the timeline for decisions still pointing towards later this summer, possibly into the fall.