On The Block

Oil and natural gas exploration company JMG Exploration Inc. has formed a committee of directors to explore strategic alternatives for the company. In a prepared statement, JMG CEO Joe Skeehan said the company has a substantial land base holding significant development and exploratory drilling opportunities. The Calgary, Alberta-based company holds more than 80,000 acres of land in Wyoming, North Dakota and Utah; about 64% of its working operations are set up in and around Pinedale, Wyo., where two of its wells are currently “on production.” JMG Exploration earlier agreed to sell its working interests in North Dakota for approximately $5.5 million. That sale is scheduled to close by the end of January.

Chances are good that the proposed acquisition of publicly-traded business solutions company eMerge Interactive Inc. (NASD: EMRG) by Prime BioSolutions LLC will not take place, and the struggling company is evaluating its options, which include a sale to another buyer, bankruptcy or liquidation. In a statement released by eMerge in December, the Sebastian, Fla.-based company said it had not received term sheets or definitive commitments for the $70 million of equity financing required to complete the sale to Prime BioSolutions. Under the agreement, Prime BioSolutions was required to obtain term sheets for the financing by Nov. 15, 2006, and definitive commitments for it by Dec. 15; otherwise, eMerge could terminate the merger agreement at any time thereafter. If the deal is not closed, eMerge likely will not have the liquidity to continue pursuing its long-term business plan, and “may not have the liquidity to repay its $1.5 million loan from The Biegert Family Irrevocable Trust, dated June 11, 1998,” the company said.

Toronto-based media broadcasting and production company Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. is open to the idea of new ownership, and has hired Capital Markets and Bennett Jones LLP to serve as financial advisor and legal counsel, respectively. Alliance Atlantis, whose controlling shareholder is Southhill Strategy Inc., offers the Canadian marketplace 13 specialty TV channels, including BBC Canada, National Geographic Canada and Food Network Canada. The Company also co-produces and distributes programs like the CSI franchise, in addition to holding a 51% limited partnership interest in Motion Picture Distribution LP, a distributor of movies including the recent “Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny” and “The Queen.”

Wireless broadband company Kite Networks Inc. has hired BB&T Capital Markets to help it explore alternatives, including a potential spin-off of Kite from its parent company MobilePro Corp. The BB&T team is being led by Managing Director Joe Cecin. Kite Networks serves thousands of wireless broadband customers in more than 15 markets throughout the United States. Last month, the company completed the initial phase of deployment for its Longmont, Colo., Wi-Fi network, which will cover approximately 22 square miles of Longmont.