Digital Angel Corporation said Tuesday that it has hired an investment banking firm to provide advice on “alternative strategies.”

New York-based AgriCapital Corporation was hired to provide an independent valuation of the company, to evaluate outside interest, and to advise the company's board on “all available strategic alternatives,” including maintaining its independence.

Last month, South St. Paul-based Digital Angel announced its intent to hire a financial advisor explore its options. That announcement came at the same time that the company rejected a $16.9 million buyout offer from a former subsidiary-Delray Beach, Florida-based PositiveID Corporation.

Digital Angel's board of directors unanimously rejected the proposal, which the company described as “inadequate” and “highly opportunistic.” Digital Angel claimed that the move was an attempt to take advantage of its low stock price. The company also contended that the proposed offer did not “accurately reflect the value of a company with an annual revenue stream of $35 million to $40 million” and that it didn't account for recent growth or “the intrinsic benefits of ongoing restructuring tactics.”

At the time of the rejection, Digital Angel said that its board had received “other informal indications of interest”-which could include offers to purchase the company-that it deemed more attractive.

Earlier this month, Digital Angel stopped trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange and began trading on the OTC Bulletin Board market. Over the past several months, the company had received several warning letters indicating that its share price had been closing below Nasdaq's $1 minimum requirement. In order to stay listed, Nasdaq said that its stock needed to reach at least $1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. In late July, a Nasdaq panel granted the company's request for continued listing, but the company didn't comply with Nasdaq stipulation that it implement a reverse stock split if it was unable to meet the $1 share-price requirement.

Digital Angel provides GPS and identification technology solutions to keep track of pets, wildlife, and livestock. It is among Minnesota's 80-largest public companies based on its revenue, which totaled $49.5 million in revenue in 2009.