OTTAWA – Patent licencer Wi-LAN Inc. is selling eight million common shares for gross proceeds of $16.4 million preparatory to buying more intellectual property. The firm says it has entered into a bought-deal agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by Paradigm Capital Inc. and Wellington West Capital Markets Inc. in an initial bid to raise a total of $18 million. “Expanding our intellectual property portfolio is an important part of our business strategy,” says CEO Jim Skippen, without indicating exactly what property the company is pursuing. “In the current business environment we are seeing a number of interesting acquisition opportunities and this additional financing further enhances our ability to move quickly to purchase those high-quality assets that we believe will help grow our business.” The underwriters, which also include CIBC World Markets Inc. and Haywood Securities Inc., have the option to buy another 800,000 common shares for additional gross proceeds of $1.64 million. The offering is expected to close on or around July 16.