e424b4
Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-135174
PROSPECTUS
1,800,000 Units
Each unit consisting of one share of common stock,
one redeemable Class A warrant,
and one non-redeemable Class B warrant
This
is a firm commitment initial public offering of
1,800,000 units by Converted Organics Inc. Each unit
consists of one share of common stock, one redeemable
Class A warrant and one non-redeemable Class B
warrant, each warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The
common stock and warrants will trade only as part of a unit for
30 days following the date of this prospectus, after which
the common stock and warrants will trade separately.
Prior
to this offering, there has been no public market for our
securities. The units, the common stock, the Class A public
warrants and the Class B public warrants will be listed and
traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market and the Boston Stock
Exchange under the symbols COINU, COIN, COINW and COINZ,
respectively.
The
initial public offering price of our units is $5.50 per
unit. The aggregate price of the units offered hereby, excluding
units that may be sold on exercise of the underwriters
over-allotment option, is $9,900,000.
The
closing of this offering is contingent upon the concurrent
closing of a $17.5 million bond issue of the New Jersey
Economic Development Authority, the net proceeds from which,
together with a substantial portion of the net proceeds from
this offering, will permit us to complete our first organic
waste conversion facility in Woodbridge, New Jersey.
These
are speculative securities. Investing in the units involves
significant risks. You should purchase these securities only if
you can afford a complete loss of your investment. See
Risk Factors beginning on page 5.
NEITHER
THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES
COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR
PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY
REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
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Per Unit | |
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Total | |
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Initial public offering price
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$ |
5.50 |
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$ |
9,900,000 |
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Underwriting discount
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$ |
0.385 |
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$ |
693,000 |
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Proceeds to us, before expenses
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$ |
5.115 |
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$ |
9,207,000 |
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The
expenses of this offering will include a non-accountable expense
allowance of 3% of the gross proceeds of this offering payable
to Paulson Investment Company, Inc., the underwriter.
Additionally, we have granted the underwriter a
45-day option to
purchase up to an additional 270,000 units to cover
over-allotments and have agreed to issue to the underwriter a
warrant to purchase 180,000 units.
Paulson Investment Company, Inc.
The date of this prospectus is February 13, 2007.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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F-1 |
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Until March 10, 2007 (the 25th day after the date of
this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in our
units, whether or not participating in this offering, may be
required to make available a prospectus. This is in addition to
the obligation of dealers to make available a prospectus when
acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold
allotments or subscriptions.
Notice to California investors: Each purchaser of
securities in California must meet one of the following
suitability standards: (1) annual gross income of at least
$65,000, plus liquid net worth (exclusive of home, home
furnishings and automobile) of at least $250,000; or
(2) liquid net worth of at least $500,000, regardless of
annual gross income.
Notice to Idaho investors: Each purchaser of securities
in Idaho must meet one of the following suitability standards:
(1) annual gross income of at least $65,000, plus liquid
net worth (exclusive of home, home furnishings and automobile)
of at least $65,000; or (2) liquid net worth of at least
$150,000 (exclusive of home, home furnishings and automobile).
i
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
The following summary highlights selected information
contained in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all
the information that may be important to you. You should read
the more detailed information contained in this prospectus,
including but not limited to, the risk factors beginning on
page 5. References to we, us,
our, Converted Organics or the
company mean Converted Organics Inc. and its
wholly owned subsidiary.
Our Company
Converted Organics is a development stage company seeking to use
organic food waste as raw material to manufacture
all-natural soil
amendment products combining both nutritional and disease
suppression characteristics. We plan to sell and distribute our
products in the agribusiness, turf management, and retail
markets. Our proposed process, which has been demonstrated in a
pilot manufacturing facility, uses heat and bacteria to
transform food waste into a natural fertilizer.
A substantial portion of the net proceeds of this offering,
together with the net proceeds of an approximately
$17.5 million bond issue of the New Jersey Economic
Development Authority that is to close simultaneously with the
closing of this offering, will be used to develop and construct
an organic waste conversion facility in Woodbridge, New Jersey.
We expect this facility to be operational approximately
12 to 15 months from the date of the closing of
this offering and the bond issue.
Our revenue will come from two sources: tip fees and
product sales. Waste haulers will pay us tip fees for accepting
food waste generated by food distributors such as grocery
stores, produce docks, fish markets and food processors, and by
hospitality venues such as hotels, restaurants, convention
centers and airports. Revenue will also come from the customers
who purchase our products. Our planned products will possess a
combination of nutritional, disease suppression and soil
amendment characteristics. The products will be sold in both dry
and liquid form and will be stable with an extended shelf life
compared to other organic fertilizers. Among other uses, the
liquid product is expected to be used to mitigate powdery
mildew, a leaf fungus that restricts the flow of water and
nutrients to the plant. These products can be used either on a
stand-alone basis or in
combination with more traditional petrochemical-based
fertilizers and crop protection products. Based on growth trial
performance, increased environmental awareness, trends in
consumer food preferences and company-sponsored research, we
believe our products will have substantial demand in the
agribusiness, turf management and retail markets. We also expect
to benefit from increased regulatory focus on organic waste
processing and on environmentally friendly growing practices.
Our initial facility will collect raw material from the New
York-Northern New Jersey metropolitan area. It is located near
the confluence of two major highways in northern New Jersey,
providing efficient access for the delivery of feedstock from
throughout this geographic area. The facility is within a
special recycling zone and has been approved for inclusion in
the Middlesex County New Jersey Solid Waste Management Plan.
When fully operational, the Woodbridge facility is expected to
process approximately 78,000 tons of organic food waste, which
will be diverted from landfills, and produce approximately 7,500
tons of dry product and 6,700 tons of liquid concentrate
annually. We are in the process of negotiating options to lease
property for additional facilities in Massachusetts, New York
and Rhode Island. Completion of these additional facilities will
require additional capital.
Our principal business office is located at 7A Commercial
Wharf West, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, and our telephone
number is
(617) 624-0111.
Our website address is www.convertedorganics.com. Information
contained on our website or any other website does not
constitute part of this prospectus.
1
This Offering
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Securities offered |
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1,800,000 units. Each unit consists of one share of common
stock, one redeemable Class A public warrant and one
non-redeemable
Class B public warrant, each warrant to purchase one share
of common stock. The common stock and warrants will trade only
as a unit for 30 days following the date of this
prospectus, after which the common stock and warrants will each
trade separately. |
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Class A public warrants |
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The Class A public warrants included in the units will be
exercisable to purchase one share of common stock commencing
30 days after the date of this prospectus. The exercise
price of each Class A warrant is $8.25. The Class A
warrants expire on the fifth anniversary of the date of this
prospectus, but if the warrants are not exercisable at that time
because a current registration statement for the underlying
shares is not available, then the expiration date will be
extended for 30 days following notice from us that the
warrants are again exercisable. Nevertheless, there is a
possibility that the warrants will never be exercisable when
in-the-money or otherwise, and that warrant holders will never
receive shares or payment of cash in settlement of the warrants.
See page 13 of Risk Factors for more details. |
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We will have the right to redeem the Class A warrants,
beginning six months after the closing of this offering, at a
redemption price of $0.25 per warrant at any time after the
date on which the closing price of our common stock, as reported
on the Nasdaq Capital Market, has equaled or exceeded $9.35 for
five consecutive trading days. We are required to provide
30 days prior written notice to the Class A
warrant holders of our intention to redeem the warrants. |
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Class B public warrants |
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The Class B public warrants included in the units will be
exercisable to purchase one share of common stock commencing
30 days after the date of this prospectus. The exercise
price of a Class B warrant is $11.00. The Class B
warrants expire on the fifth anniversary of the date of this
prospectus, but if the warrants are not exercisable at that time
because a current registration statement for the underlying
shares is not available, then the expiration date will be
extended for 30 days following notice from us that the
warrants are again exercisable. Nevertheless, there is a
possibility that the warrants will never be exercisable when
in-the-money or otherwise, and that warrant holders will never
receive shares or payment of cash in settlement of the warrants.
See page 13 of Risk Factors for more details. |
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The Class B warrants are not redeemable by us. |
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Stock dividend |
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Holders of record of our common stock at the end of each
calendar quarter, beginning with the first quarter of 2007, will
receive a 5% common stock dividend until the Woodbridge facility
has commenced commercial operations. |
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Common stock outstanding after this offering |
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3,426,969 shares, including shares underlying units issued
to certain bridge lenders. |
2
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Use of proceeds |
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To purchase capital equipment and pay engineering and design
fees for the construction of our first processing line; to pay
fees to the technology licensor; and for working capital
purposes. |
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Nasdaq Capital Market and Boston Stock Exchange symbols |
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Units: COINU
Common
stock: COIN
Class A warrants: COINW
Class B
warrants: COINZ |
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Risk factors |
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Investing in these units involves a high degree of risk. As an
investor you should be able to bear a complete loss of your
investment. You should carefully consider the information set
forth in the Risk Factors section of this
prospectus. |
We have 1,333,333 shares of common stock issued and
outstanding as of January 1, 2007. Unless the context
indicates otherwise, all share and
per-share common stock
information in this prospectus:
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assumes the initial public offering price of $5.50 per unit; |
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assumes the issuance of up to 275,455 units to certain
bridge lenders and the issuance of up to 18,181 units to High
Capital Funding, LLC (HCF) as reimbursement for
costs incurred by HCF in preparing legal documents in connection
with the bridge transaction; |
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assumes no exercise of the warrants underlying the units issued
to certain bridge lenders or HCF; |
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assumes no exercise of the Class A and Class B
warrants; |
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assumes no exercise of the underwriters
over-allotment option
to purchase up to 270,000 units; |
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assumes no exercise of the underwriters warrants; |
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assumes no issuance of stock dividends pursuant to our stock
dividend program; and |
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excludes 666,667 shares reserved under our 2006 Stock
Option Plan. |
Because each unit offered hereby consists of one share of common
stock, one Class A public warrant and one Class B
public warrant, whenever there is a reference in this prospectus
to the per share price of the unit sold in this
offering, the price refers to the price of the one share of
common stock contained in the unit, with no value allocated to
the warrants.
Concurrent Bond Issue
The closing of this offering is dependent upon the closing of a
$17.5 million bond issue of the New Jersey Economic
Development Authority, which bond issue will be conducted on an
all-or-none, best-efforts basis and will close, if at all,
simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The net
proceeds of the bonds will be used by Converted Organics of
Woodbridge, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, to
develop and construct our initial facility in Woodbridge,
New Jersey. The
20-year bonds will bear
interest at 8.0% and will be secured by a leasehold
mortgage and a first lien on equipment at the New Jersey
facility and other assets of our subsidiary in favor of the
bondholders. In connection with the bond issue, our subsidiary
will establish and maintain: (i) a 15-month capitalized
interest reserve; (ii) a debt service reserve fund equal to
$1.75 million (which amount shall be set aside and not be
made available for development of the facility); (iii) a
debt service coverage ratio where earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) will
equal two times the principal and interest payable on the bonds;
(iv) an operating reserve fund of approximately
60 days cash requirements; (v) a lease payment
reserve equal to $195,000; and (vi) a maintenance reserve
equal to $1.2 million. The bonds also impose the following
restrictions: (i) until our subsidiarys EBITDA
exceeds 1.2 times maximum annual debt service as defined in the
bond offering documents (MADS) for 12 months,
we may not pay off our bridge loans, shareholder loans,
short-term loans and other current obligations, which
obligations totaled approximately $2.8 million at
3
February 1, 2007, unless the obligations are repaid using
the proceeds from equity funding other than this offering or the
proceeds from new debt that will also be subject to this
restriction; (ii) until EBITDA exceeds 1.5 times MADS over
one fiscal year, our subsidiary may not make cash distributions
to us; and (iii) until EBITDA exceeds 1.2 times MADS over
one fiscal year, we will guarantee our subsidiarys
obligation to repay the bonds.
4
RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of
risk and many uncertainties. You should carefully consider the
specific factors listed below, together with the cautionary
statement that follows this section and the other information
included in this prospectus, before purchasing our units in this
offering. If one or more of the possibilities described as risks
below actually occur, our operating results and financial
condition would likely suffer and the trading price of our
securities could fall, causing you to lose some or all of your
investment in the securities we are offering. The following is a
description of what we consider the key challenges and material
risks to our business and an investment in our securities.
Risks Related to the Development of Our Business
Our auditors have substantial doubt about our ability to
continue as a going concern.
In their report prepared in connection with our 2005 financial
statements, our auditors included an explanatory paragraph
stating that, because we have not earned any revenue, have
incurred net losses and have a working capital deficiency as of
December 31, 2005, there is substantial doubt about our
ability to continue as a going concern. Our continued existence
will depend in large part upon our ability to successfully
secure additional financing to fund future operations. This
offering is a principal element of our plan to move toward
profitable operations. Even after this offering, if in the
future we are not able to achieve positive cash flow from
operations or to secure additional financing as needed, we may
again experience the risk that we will not be able to continue
as a going concern. If we cannot successfully continue as a
going concern, our stockholders may lose their entire
investment. Persons who cannot afford to lose their entire
investment should not invest in this offering.
We are an early-stage venture with no operating history,
and our prospects are difficult to evaluate.
We have not operated any facility, nor have we sold any
products. Our activities to date have been limited to developing
our business, and consequently there is no historical financial
information related to operations available upon which you may
base your evaluation of our business and prospects. The revenue
and income potential of our business is unproven. If we are
unable to develop our business, we will not achieve our goals
and could suffer economic loss or collapse, in which case you
may lose your entire investment.
We expect to incur significant losses until we commence
operations and perhaps for some time thereafter, and we may
never operate profitably.
For the period from May 2, 2003 (inception of our
predecessor companies) through September 30, 2006, we
incurred an accumulated net loss of $5,884,362. We will continue
to incur significant losses until we successfully complete
construction and commence operations at our proposed Woodbridge,
New Jersey facility. There is no assurance that we will be
successful in our efforts to build and operate an organic waste
conversion facility. Even if we successfully meet our objectives
and begin operations at the Woodbridge facility, there is no
assurance that we will be able to operate profitably.
If we are unable to manage our transition to an operating
company effectively, our operating results will be adversely
affected.
Failure to manage effectively our transition to an operating
company will harm our business. To date, substantially all of
our activities and resources have been directed at developing
our business plan, arranging financing, licensing technology,
obtaining permits and approvals, and securing a lease for our
first facility and options for additional facilities. The
transition to a converter of waste and manufacturer and vendor
of fertilizer products will require effective planning and
management. Our management does not have extensive experience in
operating a manufacturing facility. In addition, future
expansion will be expensive and will likely strain our
management and other resources. We may not be able to easily
transfer our skills to operating a facility or otherwise
effectively manage our transition to an operating company.
5
Our plan to develop relationships with strategic partners
and vendors may not be successful.
As part of our business strategy, we will need to develop short-
and long-term
relationships with strategic partners and vendors to conduct
growth trials and other research and development activities, to
assess technology, to engage in marketing activities, and to
enter into waste collection, real estate development and
construction agreements. For these efforts to succeed, we must
identify partners and vendors whose competencies complement
ours. We must also enter into agreements with them on attractive
terms and integrate and coordinate their resources and
capabilities with our own. If we are unsuccessful in our
collaborative efforts, our ability to develop and market
products could be severely limited or delayed.
If we fail to finalize important agreements or the final
agreements are unfavorable compared with what we currently
anticipate, the development of our business may be harmed in
ways that could significantly reduce the value of your
investment.
This prospectus refers to agreements and documents that are not
yet final or executed, permits that have not yet been obtained,
and plans that have not yet been implemented. In some instances,
such agreements or permits are not yet in draft form. The
definitive versions of those agreements, permits, plans or
proposals may not materialize or, if they do materialize, may
not prove profitable to the company, in which case the value of
your investment will be reduced.
We may be unable to effectively implement new transaction
accounting, operational and financial systems.
To manage our expected operations, we will be required to
implement complex transaction accounting, operational and
financial systems, procedures and controls, and to retain
personnel experienced in the use of these systems. Deficiencies
in the design and operation of our systems, procedures and
controls, including internal controls, could adversely affect
our ability to record, process, summarize and report material
financial information. Our planned systems, procedures and
controls may be inadequate to support our future operations.
Our future success is dependent on our existing key
employees, and hiring and assimilating new key employees, and
our inability to attract or retain key personnel in the future
would materially harm our business and results of
operations.
Our success depends on the continuing efforts and abilities of
our current management team. In addition, our future success
will depend, in part, on our ability to attract and retain
highly skilled employees, including management, technical and
sales personnel. The loss of services of any of our key
personnel, the inability to attract or retain key personnel in
the future, or delays in hiring required personnel could
materially harm our business and results of operations. We may
be unable to identify and attract highly qualified employees in
the future. In addition, we may not be able to successfully
assimilate these employees or hire qualified personnel to
replace them.
Risks Related to Completion of Our Initial Facility
Constructing and equipping our manufacturing facility may
take longer and cost more than we expect.
Equipping and completing our initial facility will require a
significant investment of capital and substantial engineering
expenditures, and is subject to significant risks, including
risks of delays, equipment problems, cost overruns, including
the cost of raw materials such as stainless steel, and other
start-up and operating
difficulties. Our conversion processes will use
custom-built, patented
equipment that may not be delivered and installed in our
facility in a timely manner for many reasons, including but not
limited to the inability of the supplier of this equipment to
perform. In addition, this equipment may take longer and cost
more to debug than planned and may never operate as designed. If
we experience any of these or similar difficulties, we may be
unable to complete our facilities, and you would lose your
entire investment.
6
We have little or no experience in the organic waste or
fertilizer industries, which increases the risk of our inability
to build and operate our facilities.
We are currently, and are likely for some time to continue to
be, dependent upon our present management team. Most of these
individuals are experienced in business generally, but have
little experience in raising capital from the public, organizing
the construction, equipping and start up of an organic waste
conversion facility, and governing and operating a public
company. In addition, none of our directors has any experience
in the organic waste or fertilizer products industries. As a
result, we may not develop our business successfully, in which
case you may lose your entire investment.
We will depend on contractors unrelated to us to build our
organic waste conversion facility, and their failure to perform
could harm our business, hinder our ability to operate
profitably and decrease the value of your investment.
We have entered into guaranteed maximum price contracts with
construction, mechanical, and electrical contractors to build
our Woodbridge facility. Although we believe each of these
companies is qualified, we have no prior experience with any of
them. If any company were to fail to perform, there is no
assurance that we would be able to obtain a suitable replacement
on a timely basis.
We license technology from a third party, and our failure
to perform under the terms of the license could result in
material adverse consequences.
We intend to use certain licensed technology and patented pieces
of process equipment in our Woodbridge facility that will be
obtained from International
Bio-Recovery
Corporation (IBRC). The license contains various
performance criteria, and if we fail to perform under the terms
of the license, the license may be terminated by the licensor,
and we will have to modify our process and employ other
equipment that may not be available on a timely basis or at all.
If we are unable to use different technology and equipment, we
may not be able to operate the Woodbridge facility successfully.
If the license agreement is terminated or held invalid for any
reason, or if it is determined that IBRC has improperly licensed
its process to us, the occurrence of such event would adversely
affect our operations and revenues.
The technology we will use to operate our facilities is
unproven at the scale we intend to operate.
While IBRC has operated a facility in British Columbia using the
Enhanced Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion process, its
plant is smaller than our planned Woodbridge facility. IBRC
developed the initial drawings for our Woodbridge facility, but
neither IBRC nor we have operated a plant of the proposed size.
Our Woodbridge facility site may have unknown
environmental problems that could be expensive and time
consuming to correct, which may delay construction and delay our
ability to generate revenue.
There can be no assurance that we will not encounter hazardous
environmental conditions at the Woodbridge facility site or any
additional facility sites that may delay the construction of our
organic waste conversion facilities. Upon encountering a
hazardous environmental condition, our contractor may suspend
work in the affected area. If we receive notice of a hazardous
environmental condition, we may be required to correct the
condition prior to continuing construction. The presence of a
hazardous environmental condition will likely delay construction
of the particular facility and may require significant
expenditures to correct the environmental condition. If we
encounter any hazardous environmental conditions during
construction that require time or money to correct, such event
could delay our ability to generate revenue and reduce the value
of your investment.
7
Risks Related to Operations, Marketing and Sales
We may not be able to successfully operate our
manufacturing facility.
Although we intend to hire a firm with substantial operational
experience to operate our Woodbridge facility, we have not
developed or operated any manufacturing facilities of any kind.
Our Woodbridge facility, if completed, would be the first
commercial facility of its kind in the United States and may not
function as anticipated. In addition, the control of the
manufacturing process will require operators with extensive
training and experience which may be difficult to attain.
Our lack of business diversification could result in a
decline in the value of your investment.
We expect to have only two planned products to sell to customers
to generate revenue: dry and liquid soil amendment products. We
do not expect to have any other products. Although we also
expect to receive tip fees, our lack of
business diversification could cause our stock price to decline
or cause you to lose all or some of your investment if we are
unable to generate revenues from the sale of our
two products.
We may not be able to manufacture our products in
commercial quantities or sell them at competitive prices.
To date, we have not produced any products. We may not be able
to manufacture the planned products in commercial quantities or
sell them at prices competitive with other similar products.
We may be unable to establish marketing and sales
capabilities necessary to commercialize and gain market
acceptance for our potential products.
We currently have no sales and marketing capabilities. We will
need to either hire sales personnel with expertise in the
markets we intend to address or contract with others to provide
sales support.
Co-promotion or other
marketing arrangements to commercialize our planned products
could significantly limit the revenues we derive from our
products, and these parties may fail to commercialize these
products successfully. Our planned products address different
markets and can be offered through multiple sales channels.
Addressing each market effectively will require sales and
marketing resources tailored to the particular market and to the
sales channels that we choose to employ, and we may not be able
to develop such specialized marketing resources.
Pressure by our customers to reduce prices and agree to
long-term supply arrangements may adversely affect our net sales
and profit margins.
Our potential customers, especially large agricultural
companies, are often under budgetary pressure and are very price
sensitive. Our customers may negotiate supply arrangements with
us well in advance of delivery dates, thereby requiring us to
commit to product prices before we can accurately determine our
final costs. If this happens, we may have to reduce our
conversion costs and obtain higher volume orders to offset lower
average sales prices. If we are unable to offset lower sales
prices by reducing our costs, our gross profit margins will
decline, which could have a material negative effect on the
value of your investment.
The fertilizer industry is highly competitive, which may
adversely affect our ability to generate and grow sales.
Chemical fertilizers are manufactured by many companies and are
plentiful and relatively inexpensive. In addition, the number of
fertilizer products registered as organic with the
Organic Materials Review Institute increased by approximately
50% from 2002 to 2005. If we fail to keep up with changes
affecting the markets that we intend to serve, we will become
less competitive, adversely affecting our financial performance.
8
Defects in our products or failures in quality control
could impair our ability to sell our products or could result in
product liability claims, litigation and other significant
events with substantial additional costs.
Detection of any significant defects in our products or failure
in our quality control procedures may result in, among other
things, delay in
time-to-market, loss of
sales and market acceptance of our products, diversion of
development resources, and injury to our reputation. The costs
we may incur in correcting any product defects may be
substantial. Additionally, errors, defects or other performance
problems could result in financial or other damages to our
customers, which could result in litigation. Product liability
litigation, even if we prevail, would be time consuming and
costly to defend. We do not presently maintain product liability
insurance, and any product liability insurance we may obtain may
not be adequate to cover claims.
Energy and fuel cost variations could adversely affect
operating results and expenses.
Energy costs, particularly electricity and natural gas, are
expected to constitute a substantial portion of our operating
expenses. The price and supply of energy and natural gas are
unpredictable and fluctuate based on events outside our control,
including demand for oil and gas, weather, actions by OPEC and
other oil and gas producers, and conflict in
oil-producing
countries. Price escalations in the cost of electricity or
reductions in the supply of natural gas could increase operating
expenses and negatively affect our results of operations. We may
not be able to pass through all or part of the increased energy
and fuel costs to our customers.
We may not be able to obtain sufficient organic
material.
Competing disposal outlets for organic food waste and increased
demand for applications such as biofuels may develop and
adversely affect our business. To fully utilize the tip floor
and to manufacture our products, we are dependent on a stable
supply of organic food waste. Insufficient food waste feedstock
will adversely affect our efficiency and may cause us to
increase our tip fee discount from prevailing rates, likely
resulting in reduced revenues and net income.
Our license agreement with IBRC restricts the territory
into which we may sell our planned products and grants a
cooperative a right of first refusal to purchase our
products.
We have entered into a license agreement with IBRC which among
other terms contains a restriction on our right to sell our
planned products outside a territory defined generally as the
Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The license agreement
also grants a proposed cooperative of which IBRC is a member a
right of first refusal to purchase the products sold from our
Woodbridge facility under certain circumstances. While we
believe that the territory specified in the license agreement is
broad enough to easily absorb the amount of product we plan to
produce and that the right of first refusal will not impair our
ability to sell our products, these restrictions may have a
material adverse effect on the volume and price of our product
sales. We may in addition become completely dependent on a third
party for the sale of our products.
Our fertilizer products will be sold under an unproven
name.
Our licensing agreement with IBRC requires that we market our
planned products from our Woodbridge facility under the brand
name Genica. No fertilizer products have been sold
in our geographic market under that name, and the name may not
be accepted in our marketplace.
Successful infringement claims by third parties could
result in substantial damages, lost product sales and the loss
of important proprietary rights.
We may have to defend ourselves against patent and other
infringement claims asserted by third parties regarding the
technology we have licensed, resulting in diversion of
management focus and additional expenses for the defense of
claims. In addition, as a result of a patent infringement suit,
we may be forced to stop or delay developing, manufacturing or
selling potential products that are claimed to infringe a patent
covering a third partys intellectual property unless that
party grants us rights to use its intellectual property. We may
be unable to obtain these rights on terms acceptable to us, if
at all. If we cannot obtain all necessary licenses on
commercially reasonable terms, we may be unable to continue
selling such products. Even if we
9
are able to obtain rights to a third partys patented
intellectual property, these rights may be
non-exclusive, and
therefore our competitors may obtain access to the same
intellectual property. Ultimately, we may be unable to
commercialize our potential products or may have to cease some
or all of our business operations as a result of patent
infringement claims, which could severely harm our business.
Our license agreement with IBRC imposes obligations on us
related to infringement actions that may become burdensome or
result in termination of our license agreement.
If our use of the licensed technology is alleged to infringe the
intellectual property of a third party, we may become obligated
to defend such infringement action. Although IBRC has agreed to
bear the costs of such defense, if the licensed technology is
found by a court to be infringing, IBRC may terminate the
license agreement, which may prevent us from continuing to
operate our conversion facility. In such an event, we may become
obligated to find alternative technology or to pay a royalty to
a party other than IBRC to continue to operate.
If a third party is allegedly infringing any of the licensed
technology, then either we or IBRC may attempt to enforce the
IBRC intellectual property rights. In general, our possession of
rights to use the
know-how related to the
licensed technology will not be sufficient to prevent others
from employing similar technology that we believe is infringing.
Any such enforcement action against alleged infringers, whether
by us or by IBRC, may be required to be maintained at our
expense under the terms of the license agreement. The costs of
such an enforcement action may be prohibitive, reduce our net
income, if any, or prevent us from continuing operations.
Risks Related to Execution of Our Financing Plan
Development of our business is dependent on our ability to
obtain additional debt financing which may not be available on
acceptable terms.
We must obtain significant debt financing in order to develop
manufacturing facilities and begin production of our products.
Each facility will likely be individually financed and require
considerable debt. While we believe state government-sponsored
debt programs will be available to finance our requirements,
market rate or
non-government
sponsored debt could also be used. However, public or private
debt may not be available at all or on terms acceptable
to us.
We will need to obtain additional debt and equity
financing to complete subsequent stages of our business
plan.
We will need to obtain additional debt and equity financing to
complete subsequent phases of our business plan. We may issue
additional securities in the future with rights, terms and
preferences designated by our Board of Directors, without a vote
of stockholders, which could adversely affect your rights.
Additional financing will likely cause dilution to our
stockholders and could involve the issuance of securities with
rights senior to the outstanding shares. There is no assurance
that such funds will be sufficient, that the financing will be
available on terms acceptable to us and at such times as
required, or that we will be able to obtain the additional
financing required, if any, for the continued operation and
growth of our business. Any inability to raise necessary capital
will have a material adverse effect on our ability to meet our
projections, deadlines and goals and will have a material
adverse effect on our revenues and net income.
Our agreements with our bond investors may hinder our
ability to operate our business by imposing restrictive loan
covenants, which may prohibit us from paying dividends or taking
other actions to manage or expand our business.
The closing of this offering is contingent upon our obtaining
industrial revenue bond financing in connection with the
construction of our first facility in Woodbridge, and we plan to
obtain similar financing in connection with the construction of
our additional facilities. The agreements entered into in
connection
10
with the debt financing for these facilities and our resulting
debt load could place limitations on our ability to operate
including our ability to:
|
|
|
|
|
repay existing indebtedness and incur additional indebtedness; |
|
|
|
pay dividends; |
|
|
|
make certain types of investments; |
|
|
|
create liens on our assets; |
|
|
|
utilize the proceeds of asset sales; and |
|
|
|
merge, consolidate or sell all or substantially all of our
assets. |
These restrictions may impair our ability to obtain additional
equity capital, refinance all or a portion of our debt, or raise
funds through asset sales, all of which could adversely affect
our ability to operate our facility or facilities. In addition,
we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with all of
these requirements or the financial covenants associated with
our bond financing, or that the cost of such compliance will not
prove to be a substantial competitive disadvantage
vis-à-vis our
privately held competitors as well as our larger public
competitors.
Mandatory redemption of our bonds could have a material
adverse effect on our liquidity and cash resources.
The bonds when issued will be subject to mandatory redemption by
us if the Woodbridge facility is condemned, we cease to operate
the facility, the bonds become taxable, a change in control of
the company occurs and under certain other circumstances.
Depending upon the circumstances, such an event could require a
payment to our bondholders ranging between 100% and 110% of the
principal amount of the bonds outstanding, plus interest. If we
are unable to obtain additional financing from other sources,
the requirement that we pay cash in connection with such
mandatory redemption will have a material adverse effect on our
liquidity and cash resources, and may impair our ability to
continue to operate.
Risks Related to Government Regulation of Our Business
The communities where our facilities may be located may be
averse to hosting waste handling and manufacturing
facilities.
Local residents and authorities in communities where our
facilities may be located may be concerned about odor, vermin,
noise, increased truck traffic, air pollution, decreased
property values, and public health risks associated with
operating a manufacturing facility in their area. These
constituencies may oppose our permitting applications or raise
other issues regarding our proposed facilities.
Our facilities will require certain permits to operate,
which we may not be able to obtain or obtain on a timely
basis.
For our Woodbridge facility, we must obtain various permits and
approvals to operate a recycling center and a manufacturing
facility, including among others a Class C recycling
permit, land use and site plan approval, an air quality permit,
a water discharge permit, a storm water runoff permit, and
building construction permits. We may not be able to secure all
the necessary permits on a timely basis or at all, which may
prevent us from operating the facility according to our business
plan.
For our additional facilities, we may need certain permits to
operate solid waste or recycling facilities as well as permits
for our sewage connection, water supply, land use, air emission,
and wastewater discharge. The specific permit and approval
requirements are set by the state and the various local
jurisdictions, including but not limited to city, town, county,
township and state agencies having control over the specific
properties. Lack of permits to construct, operate or maintain
our facilities will severely and adversely affect our business.
11
Changes in environmental regulations or violations of such
regulations could result in increased expense and reduce the
value of your investment.
We will be subject to extensive air, water and other
environmental regulations and will need to obtain a number of
environmental permits to construct and operate our planned
facilities. If for any reason any of these permits are not
granted, construction costs for our organic waste conversion
facilities may increase, or the facilities may not be
constructed at all. Additionally, any changes in environmental
laws and regulations, both at the federal and state level, could
require us to invest or spend considerable resources in order to
comply with future environmental regulations. The expense of
compliance could be significant enough to reduce our net income
and the value of your investment.
Risks Related to Investment in Our Securities
As a public company, we will be subject to complex legal
and accounting requirements that will require us to incur
substantial expense and will expose us to risk of
non-compliance.
As a public company, we will be subject to numerous legal and
accounting requirements that do not apply to private companies.
The cost of compliance with many of these requirements is
substantial, not only in absolute terms but, more importantly,
in relation to the overall scope of the operations of a small
company. Our inexperience with these requirements may increase
the cost of compliance and may also increase the risk that we
will fail to comply. Failure to comply with these requirements
can have numerous adverse consequences including, but not
limited to, our inability to file required periodic reports on a
timely basis, loss of market confidence, delisting of our
securities, and governmental or private actions against us. We
cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with all of
these requirements or that the cost of such compliance will not
prove to be a substantial competitive disadvantage
vis-à-vis our
privately held competitors as well as our larger public
competitors.
There currently is no public trading market for our
securities, and an active market may not develop or, if
developed, be sustained. If a public trading market does not
develop, you may not be able to sell any of your
securities.
There is currently no public trading market for our common stock
or public warrants, and we can provide no assurance that an
active market will develop or be sustained. If an active public
trading market for our securities does not develop or is not
sustained, it may be difficult or impossible for you to resell
your shares or warrants at any price. Even if a public market
does develop, the market price could decline below the amount
you paid for your units.
The Class A warrants may be redeemed on short notice,
which may have an adverse effect on their price.
We may redeem the Class A warrants, beginning six months after
the closing of this offering, for $0.25 per warrant (subject to
adjustment in the event of a stock split, dividend or the like)
on 30 days notice at any time after the last reported sale
price per share of our common stock as reported by the principal
exchange or trading facility on which our common stock trades
equals or exceeds $9.35 for five consecutive trading days. If we
give notice of redemption, holders of our Class A warrants will
be forced to sell or exercise the Class A warrants they hold or
accept the redemption price. The notice of redemption could come
at a time when, under specific circumstances or generally, it is
not advisable or possible for holders of our public warrants to
sell or exercise the Class A warrants they hold.
While the Class A and Class B warrants are
outstanding, it may be more difficult to raise additional equity
capital.
During the term that the Class A warrants and Class B
warrants are outstanding, the holders of those warrants are
given the opportunity to profit from a rise in the market price
of our common stock. In addition, the Class B warrants are
not redeemable by us. We may find it more difficult to raise
additional equity
12
capital while these warrants are outstanding. At any time during
which these public warrants are likely to be exercised, we may
be able to obtain additional equity capital on more favorable
terms from other sources.
If we issue shares of preferred stock, your investment
could be diluted or subordinated to the rights of the holders of
preferred stock.
Our Board of Directors is authorized by our Certificate of
Incorporation to establish classes or series of preferred stock
and fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the
shares of each such class or series without any further vote or
action by our stockholders. Any shares of preferred stock so
issued could have priority over our common stock with respect to
dividend or liquidation rights. Although we have no plans to
issue any shares of preferred stock or to adopt any new series,
preferences or other classification of preferred stock, any such
action by our Board of Directors or issuance of preferred stock
by us could dilute your investment in our common stock and
warrants or subordinate your holdings to the shares of preferred
stock.
Future issuances or sales, or the potential for future
issuances or sales, of shares of our common stock may cause the
trading price of our securities to decline and could impair our
ability to raise capital through subsequent equity
offerings.
We have agreed to pay a 5% common stock dividend to holders of
record of our common stock at the end of each calendar quarter,
beginning with the first quarter of 2007, until the Woodbridge
facility has commenced commercial operations. The additional
shares of our common stock distributed pursuant to such stock
dividends could cause the market price of our common stock to
decline and could have an adverse effect on our earnings per
share, if and when we become profitable. In addition, future
sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock or
other securities in the public markets, or the perception that
these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our
common stock and our Class A and Class B Warrants to
decline, and could materially impair our ability to raise
capital through the sale of additional securities.
If we do not maintain an effective registration statement
or comply with applicable state securities laws, you may not be
able to exercise the Class A or Class B
warrants.
For you to be able to exercise the Class A or Class B
warrants, the shares of our common stock to be issued to you
upon exercise of the Class A or Class B warrants must
be covered by an effective and current registration statement
and qualify or be exempt under the securities laws of the state
or other jurisdiction in which you live. We cannot assure you
that we will continue to maintain a current registration
statement relating to the shares of our common stock underlying
the Class A or Class B warrants. If at their
expiration date the warrants are not currently exercisable, the
expiration date will be extended for 30 days following
notice to the holders of the warrants that the warrants are
again exercisable. If we cannot honor the exercise of warrants,
and the securities underlying the warrants are listed on a
securities exchange or if there are three independent market
makers for the underlying securities, we may, but are not
required to, settle the warrants for a price equal to the
difference between the closing price of the underlying
securities and the exercise price of the warrants. In summary,
the company and you may encounter circumstances in which you
will be unable to exercise the Class A or Class B
warrants. In those circumstances, we may, but are not required
to, redeem the warrants by payment in cash. Consequently, there
is a possibility that you will never be able to exercise the
Class A or Class B warrants, and that you will never
receive shares or payment of cash in settlement of the warrants.
This potential inability to exercise the Class A or
Class B warrants, and the possibility that we will never
elect to settle warrants in shares or cash, may have an adverse
effect on demand for the warrants and the prices that can be
obtained from reselling them.
13
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We make forward-looking statements in this prospectus that are
subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking
statements include information about possible or assumed future
results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results
of operations, plans and objectives. In some cases, you may
identify forward-looking statements by words such as
may, should, plan,
intend, potential, continue,
believe, expect, predict,
anticipate and estimate, the negative of
these words or other comparable words. These statements are only
predictions. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are
qualified by their terms and/or important factors, many of which
are outside our control, involve a number of risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results
and events to differ materially from the statements made. The
forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions
and expectations of our future performance, taking into account
information currently available to us. These beliefs,
assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many
possible events or factors, including those events and factors
described in Risk Factors, not all of which are
known to us. Neither we nor any other person assumes
responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of these
statements. We will update this prospectus only to the extent
required under applicable securities laws. If a change occurs,
our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of
operations may vary materially from those expressed in our
forward-looking statements.
14
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that, at a per unit price of $5.50, the net proceeds
from the sale of the 1,800,000 units in this offering will
be approximately $7.96 million, after deducting the
estimated underwriting discount of $693,000 and estimated
offering expenses of approximately $1.25 million.
Approximately $4.5 million of this equity offering,
together with $800,000 of previously invested capital, will be
used in conjunction with proceeds from a solid waste revenue
bond issue by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
to construct the Woodbridge facility. The combined
$22.8 million capitalization of the Woodbridge facility
will be used as follows:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amount | |
|
Percent | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Sources of Funds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bond issue
|
|
$ |
17,500,000 |
|
|
|
77 |
% |
|
Equity offering (including $800,000 of previously invested
capital)
|
|
|
5,300,000 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total sources of funds allocated to Woodbridge
|
|
$ |
22,800,000 |
|
|
|
100 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Uses of Funds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equipment purchase
|
|
$ |
11,862,000 |
|
|
|
52 |
% |
|
General construction, construction management fee and bonding
expense
|
|
|
1,908,000 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
Capitalized interest on bond issue (15 months)
|
|
|
1,794,000 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
Debt service reserve fund (10% of issue)
|
|
|
1,750,000 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
Estimated issuance expenses for bonds
|
|
|
983,000 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
Development expense
|
|
|
800,000 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
Construction contingency
|
|
|
800,000 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
Lease payment reserve
|
|
|
195,000 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
Working capital
|
|
|
2,708,000 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total uses of funds
|
|
$ |
22,800,000 |
|
|
|
100 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The proceeds of the proposed New Jersey solid waste revenue bond
offering will be used to purchase equipment and complete
construction and rehabilitate certain buildings on the leased
property. The debt service reserve fund, which equals 10% of the
bond amount, is not available for general operating needs.
Capitalized interest for 15 months has been reserved to
service the debt during the construction period through the
start-up phase.
The balance of this equity offering, approximately
$3.5 million, will be used for the development of
additional facility sites, as well as general and administrative
costs, including salaries, accounting and legal fees, rent and
other facilities expenses, the payment of $202,000 in fees to
International Bio-Recovery Corporation (IBRC), the
licensor of technology to be used in our Woodbridge facility,
and other working capital expenses.
The foregoing information is an estimate based on our current
business plan. We may find it necessary or advisable to
re-allocate portions of
the net proceeds reserved for one category of uses to another,
and we will have broad discretion in doing so. Pending these
uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds of this offering in
short-term,
interest-bearing securities.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have approved the payment of a 5% common stock dividend to
all holders of record of our common stock at the end of each
calendar quarter, beginning with the first quarter of 2007,
until the Woodbridge facility has commenced commercial
operations. Pursuant to this stock dividend program, we will not
issue fractional shares or shares with respect to the calendar
quarter in which we commence commercial operations.
15
We have not declared or paid any cash dividends and do not
intend to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We
intend to retain any future earnings for use in the operation
and expansion of our business. The terms of our New Jersey
bond issue will restrict our ability to pay cash dividends. Any
future decision to pay cash dividends on common stock will be at
the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon,
in addition to the terms of the New Jersey bond financing
as well as any future bond or bank financings, our financial
condition, results of operations, capital requirements and other
factors our board of directors may deem relevant.
16
CAPITALIZATION
The following table is derived from our unaudited financial
statements as of September 30, 2006 set forth elsewhere in
this prospectus and sets forth our:
|
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|
|
Actual capitalization as of September 30, 2006; |
|
|
|
Pro forma capitalization as of September 30, 2006 after
giving effect to: (i) the sale of 1,800,000 units at
the initial public offering price of $5.50 per unit, less
the underwriting discount and offering expenses; (ii) the
issuance of 275,455 units to certain bridge lenders and the
issuance of 18,181 units to HCF; and (iii) the sale of
a $17.5 million bond issue of the New Jersey Economic
Development Authority; and |
|
|
|
Recognition to accumulated deficit of remaining bridge loan
discount and deferred financing costs. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 30, 2006 | |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Pro Forma | |
|
|
Actual | |
|
as Adjusted | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
DEBT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Term notes
|
|
$ |
500,000 |
|
|
$ |
500,000 |
|
|
Bridge loan, net of unamortized discount of $73,643
|
|
|
1,441,358 |
|
|
|
1,441,358 |
|
|
New Jersey bonds
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
17,500,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total debt
|
|
$ |
1,941,358 |
|
|
$ |
19,441,358 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY (DEFICIT)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value: 25,000,000 shares
actual authorized; no shares issued and outstanding
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
Common stock, $0.0001 par value: 75,000,000 shares
actual authorized; 1,333,333 shares issued and outstanding
September 30, 2006 actual; 3,426,469 shares issued and
outstanding pro forma as adjusted
|
|
|
133 |
|
|
|
343 |
|
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
|
|
4,113,385 |
|
|
|
12,073,385 |
|
|
Accumulated deficit
|
|
|
5,884,362 |
|
|
|
5,884,362 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total capitalization
|
|
$ |
(1,770,844 |
) |
|
$ |
6,189,366 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This table should be considered in conjunction with the sections
of this prospectus captioned Use of Proceeds
and Plan of Operation as well as the financial
statements and related notes included elsewhere in this
prospectus.
17
DILUTION
If you invest in our units, your interest will be diluted to the
extent of the difference between the public offering price per
share of our common stock and the as adjusted net tangible book
value per share of our capital stock after this offering. For
purposes of the dilution computation and the following tables,
we have allocated the full purchase price of a unit to the share
of common stock included in the unit and nothing to the warrants
included in the unit; allocation of value to the warrants would
result in less dilution to the new investors who purchase units
in this offering. Our net tangible book value as of
September 30, 2006 was a negative $(1,770,844), or a
deficiency of $(1.33) per share of outstanding common
stock. Without giving effect to any changes in the net tangible
book value after September 30, 2006 other than (i) the
sale of 1,800,000 units in this offering at the initial
public offering price of $5.50 per unit, and (ii) the
issuance of 293,636 units and the common stock and warrants
to purchase common stock underlying such units, issued to bridge
investors and HCF concurrently with this offering, our
pro forma net tangible book value as of September 30,
2006 was $6,186,386, or $1.81 per share of outstanding
capital stock. Dilution in net tangible book value per share
represents the difference between the amount per share paid by
the purchasers of our units in this offering and the net
tangible book value per share of our capital stock immediately
afterwards. This represents an immediate increase of
$3.32 per share of capital stock to existing stockholders
and an immediate dilution of $3.69 per share of common
stock to the new investors, or approximately 67% of the assumed
initial public offering price of $5.50 per share. The
following table illustrates this per share dilution:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Initial price to public
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
5.50 |
|
Net tangible book value (deficiency) as of
September 30, 2006
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
(1.33 |
) |
|
|
|
|
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bridge investor conversion
|
|
$ |
0.02 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New investors
|
|
|
3.30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase in net tangible book value per share to existing
stockholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.32 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.81 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
3.69 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the underwriters
over-allotment option
is exercised in full, dilution per share to new investors would
be $3.83 per share of common stock.
The following table summarizes the differences between the
existing stockholders and the new investors with respect to the
number of shares of common stock purchased, the total
consideration paid, and the average price per share paid:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares Purchased | |
|
Total Consideration | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Average Price | |
|
|
Number | |
|
Percent | |
|
Amount | |
|
Percent | |
|
Per Share | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Existing stockholders
|
|
|
1,333,333 |
|
|
|
38.91% |
|
|
$ |
133 |
|
|
|
0.001% |
|
|
$ |
0.00 |
|
Bridge investors
|
|
|
293,636 |
|
|
|
8.57% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
1,626,969 |
|
|
|
47.48% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New investors
|
|
|
1,800,000 |
|
|
|
52.52% |
|
|
|
9,900,000 |
|
|
|
99.99% |
|
|
|
5.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
3,426,969 |
|
|
|
100.00% |
|
|
$ |
9,900,133 |
|
|
|
100.00% |
|
|
$ |
2.89 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
18
PLAN OF OPERATION
The following discussion of our plan of operation should be
read in conjunction with the financial statements and related
notes to the financial statements included elsewhere in this
prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements
that relate to future events or our future financial
performance. These statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. These risks and other factors
include, among others, those listed under Risk
Factors and those included elsewhere in this
prospectus.
Introduction
Converted Organics is a development stage company that seeks to
construct processing facilities that will use organic food waste
as raw material to manufacture all-natural soil amendment
products combining nutritional and disease suppression
characteristics. We plan to sell and distribute our products in
the agribusiness, turf management, and retail markets. We have
obtained a long-term lease for a site in a portion of an
industrial building in Woodbridge, New Jersey that we will
modify and equip as our initial organic waste conversion
facility. We currently have no operations and do not expect to
generate any revenue until the facility is completely
operational.
This offering is dependent upon the closing of an offering of
tax-exempt New Jersey Economic Development Authority Solid Waste
Revenue Bonds in the principal amount of $17.5 million,
which debt offering will close simultaneously with the closing
of this offering. The proceeds of the bonds will be used to
develop and construct our initial facility in Woodbridge. The
20-year bonds will bear
interest at 8.0% annually and will be secured by a leasehold
mortgage and a first lien on equipment and other assets at the
New Jersey facility in favor of the bondholders. The borrower
under the bond issue will be Converted Organics of Woodbridge,
LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company of which we are the
sole member. Converted Organics of Woodbridge, LLC will develop
and operate the New Jersey facility.
When fully operational, the Woodbridge facility is expected to
process approximately 78,000 tons of organic food waste and
produce approximately 7,500 tons of dry product and
6,700 tons of liquid concentrate annually. We expect that
it will take approximately 12 to 15 months from the closing
of this offering to complete construction and begin
start-up operations.
The total cash required to reach stabilized operations,
including various reserves required under the terms of the bond
issue and $800,000 of previously invested capital, is
approximately $22.8 million.
We were incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware in
January 2006. In February 2006, the company merged with its
predecessor organizations, Mining Organics Management, LLC and
Mining Organics Harlem River Rail Yard, LLC, in transactions
accounted for as a recapitalization.
Since the formation of one of our predecessors on May 2,
2003 through September 30, 2006, we and our predecessor
organizations have spent approximately $3.2 million of seed
capital and $826,000 of bridge loan proceeds to accomplish the
following:
|
|
|
|
|
acquire the technology license; |
|
|
|
develop engineering plans; |
|
|
|
identify appropriate sites for development; |
|
|
|
enter into a lease for the site for our Woodbridge facility; |
|
|
|
contract for third-party evaluation and validation of the
technology; |
|
|
|
contract for two third-party studies analyzing the pricing and
market demand for our products; |
19
|
|
|
|
|
pursue various environmental permits and licenses; |
|
|
|
negotiate a long-term supply contract for source-separated
organic waste; |
|
|
|
garner public/ community support; |
|
|
|
develop markets for our products by meeting with distributors of
organic products, wholesalers, and prior users of similar
products; and |
|
|
|
sponsor growth and efficacy trials for products produced by the
licensor. |
These activities have been funded through a combination of
contributions of capital by our founders, private sales of
interests in our predecessor companies, and borrowings. Weston
Solutions, Inc. contributed approximately $2.3 million in
cash; ECAP, LLC, a boutique investment firm, of which William A.
Gildea, a director of the company, is the managing member,
contributed $300,000 in cash; and the balance came from
borrowings of $250,000 in 2004 and again in 2005 from individual
lenders at annual interest rates of 12% and 15%, respectively.
These notes were due on December 30, 2006 and continue to
accrue interest. Our bonds prohibit repayment of these
obligations until our subsidiarys EBITDA exceeds
1.2 times MADS for 12 months, unless these obligations
are repaid using the proceeds of equity funding other than this
offering or the proceeds from new debt that will also be subject
to this restriction.
We have begun plant pre-construction activities. Our process
engineers, Weston Solutions, Inc., have substantially completed
the design, mass balance, energy balance, and process flow
drawings for the Woodbridge facility. This work formed the basis
for soliciting bids for a guaranteed maximum price contracts for
the construction of the Woodbridge facility; these contracts
place responsibility on the contractors for delivering a turnkey
project within 12 to 15 months.
|
|
|
Construction and
Start-up Period |
Upon completion of this offering, management will initially
focus primarily on constructing the Woodbridge facility,
conducting start-up
trials and bringing operations to full-scale production as
quickly as practicable. We have budgeted approximately
$14.6 million for the design, building, and testing of our
facility, including related non-recurring engineering costs,
according to the following development calendar. The capital
outlays shown in the following table represent an estimated
schedule of payments to be made in connection with the
construction of the Woodbridge facility. The amounts shown below
include the related portions of construction management,
engineering and design, contingency, bonding and similar fees.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Development Stage |
|
Milestone | |
|
Estimated Cost | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Award GMP (design & non-recurring engineering costs)
|
|
|
Q1 2007 |
|
|
$ |
415,000 |
|
Order long-lead time equipment
|
|
|
Q1 2007 |
|
|
|
2,055,000 |
|
General construction
|
|
|
Q2 2007 |
|
|
|
1,157,000 |
|
Install equipment
|
|
|
Q3 2007 |
|
|
|
4,452,000 |
|
Install mechanical, electrical and piping
|
|
|
Q1 2008 |
|
|
|
6,490,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
14,569,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
During the construction and
start-up period, we
plan to negotiate and execute a plant management agreement prior
to commencement of facility operations. We will continue to
develop relationships and negotiate purchase agreements for our
end products in the agribusiness, turf management, and retail
markets. We have discussed our products with manufacturers
representatives that sell products to big box
retailers as well as other appropriate retail outlets. We are
developing a comprehensive retail-marketing plan that will
likely also include electronic marketing and Internet sales
sites as distribution channels. Alternatively, we may elect to
join a proposed marketing cooperative called Genica, established
to support IBRC plant licensees who, like us, intend to produce
all-natural soil amendment products using the IBRC process. IBRC
plans to form Genica to serve as the marketing, sales,
distribution, research and development organization for products
produced globally using IBRCs technology.
20
Operations will begin by processing 50 tons of organic waste per
day, with the expectation that initial design capacity of 250
tons per day will be reached within
four-to-six weeks. Upon
commencement of operations, there will be two revenue streams:
(i) tip fees that in our potential markets range from $50
to $100 per ton, and (ii) product sales. Tip fees are
paid to the company to receive the organic waste stream from the
waste hauler; the hauler pays the company, instead of a
landfill, to take the waste. If the haulers source separate and
pay in advance, they will be charged tip fees that are up to 20%
below market. Operations are expected to be stabilized at design
capacity within three-to-six months of commencement. After
stabilization, operating cash flow should be available to invest
in the development of future projects.
Subject to the availability of development capital, we intend to
commence development and construction of other facilities while
completing construction of our Woodbridge facility. The timing
of our next facility is dependent on many factors, including
locating property suited for our use, negotiating favorable
terms for lease or purchase, obtaining regulatory approvals, and
procuring raw material at favorable prices.
We anticipate that our next facility will be located in
Massachusetts, New York or Rhode Island. We have commenced
negotiation of a lease and services agreement with the Rhode
Island Resource Recovery Agency for a proposed facility in
Johnston, Rhode Island. Other locations may be considered as
determined by management.
In each contemplated market, we have started development
activity to secure a facility location. We have also held
preliminary discussions with state and local regulatory
officials and raw material suppliers. We believe that this
preliminary development work will allow the company to develop
and operate a second facility within 24 months from the
closing of this offering, subject to the availability of debt
financing. We will be able to use much of the engineering and
design work done for our first facility for subsequent
facilities, thus reducing both the time and costs associated
with these activities. We expect to form a separate wholly owned
subsidiary for each facility to facilitate necessary bond
financing and manage risk. We anticipate the contribution to
gross revenue and coverage of expenses with respect to future
facilities to be approximately the same as the Woodbridge
facility.
Trends and Uncertainties Affecting our Operations
We will be subject to a number of factors that may affect our
operations and financial performance. These factors include, but
are not limited to, the available supply and price of organic
food waste, the market for liquid concentrate and organic
fertilizer in the Eastern United States, increasing energy
costs, the unpredictable cost of compliance with environmental
and other government regulation, and the time and cost of
obtaining USDA, state or other product labeling designations.
Demand for organic fertilizer and the resulting prices customers
are willing to pay also may not be as high as our market studies
suggest. In addition, supply of organic fertilizer products from
the use of other technologies or other competitors may adversely
affect our selling prices and consequently our overall
profitability.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At September 30, 2006, we had total assets of $1,071,234,
consisting primarily of cash, deferred financing and issuance
costs, intangible assets and prepaid and other assets, and
current liabilities of $2,842,078, consisting primarily of
accounts payable, accrued expenses, term notes payable, and
bridge loan payable. The company has accumulated a net loss from
inception through September 30, 2006 of $5,884,362.
Stockholders equity (deficit) at September 30, 2006
was $(1,770,844). Since inception, we have generated no revenue
from operations, and for the year ended December 31, 2005
and the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006, we had
operating losses of $628,681 and $3,320,710, respectively,
primarily due to our start-up costs and stock option expenses.
21
In view of our working capital deficiency, accumulated deficit
and absence of revenues, our auditors have added an explanatory
paragraph to their report on our financial statements at
December 31, 2005 stating that there is substantial doubt
about our ability to continue as a going concern. In this
regard, management has adopted a plan for the development of our
manufacturing process and Woodbridge facility, completed our
bridge financing and undertaken this offering and the debt
offering. There is no assurance that this offering and the debt
offering will be completed or that we will achieve profitable
operations. The financial statements do not include any
adjustments that might result from the outcome of this
uncertainty.
We currently do not have manufacturing capabilities or other
means to generate revenues or cash. The net proceeds from this
offering, in conjunction with the net proceeds of the proposed
debt offering, will be used to build our Woodbridge facility,
which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008.
We believe that the net proceeds from this offering and from the
bond issue will be sufficient to sustain our operations until
then.
Subsequent to the closing of this offering and the concurrent
bond issue, we plan to pay approximately $202,000 of fees to a
technology licensor. Under the terms of the bonds, until our
subsidiarys EBITDA exceeds 1.2 times MADS for
12 months, we may not pay approximately $2.8 million
in current liabilities, including payment of principal and
interest to certain bridge lenders, repayment of shareholder
loans and short-term loans and other current obligations, unless
the obligations are repaid using the proceeds of equity funding
other than this offering or the proceeds from new debt that will
also be subject to this restriction. Other than payment of these
current liabilities, our principal commitments will then consist
of approximately $17.5 million of the New Jersey Economic
Development Authority bonds, involving annual payments of
approximately $1.4 million of interest only until 2012 and
thereafter approximately $2.05 million in principal and
interest until maturity in 2027, and our
10-year lease (with one
10-year option) for the
Woodbridge facility site calling for initial monthly payments of
$32,500 subject to annual increases after the first five years.
During years 2 through 10 of the lease, we will pay an
additional $45,401 per month for the cost of the buildout of the
space. In addition, we estimate we will spend approximately
$14.6 million to build the Woodbridge facility.
We also expect to enter into a lease for a site for a second
conversion facility in Massachusetts, New York or Rhode Island
in the first half of 2007.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The Plan of Operation is based, in part, upon the companys
financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation
of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles requires management to make estimates and
assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and
liabilities, including the recoverability of tangible and
intangible assets, disclosure of contingent assets and
liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, and the
reported amounts of expenses during the periods. A summary of
accounting policies that have been applied to the historical
financial statements can be found in the notes to financial
statements.
We evaluate our estimates on an on-going basis. The most
significant estimates relate to intangible assets, deferred
financing and issuance costs, and the fair value of financial
instruments. We base our estimates on historical company and
industry experience and on various other assumptions that we
believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of
which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying
values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent
from other sources. Actual results may differ materially from
those estimates.
22
The following is a brief discussion of the critical accounting
policies and methods, and the judgments and estimates used by us
in their application:
We account for our long-lived assets (excluding goodwill) in
accordance with SFAS No. 144, Accounting for the
Impairment of Long-lived Assets and for Long-lived Assets to be
Disposed of, which requires that long-lived assets and
certain intangible assets be reviewed for impairment whenever
events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying
amount may not be recoverable, such as technological changes or
significant increased competition. If undiscounted expected
future cash flows are less than the carrying value of the
assets, an impairment loss is to be recognized based on the fair
value of the assets, calculated using a discounted cash flow
model. There is inherent subjectivity and judgments involved in
cash flow analyses such as estimating revenue and cost growth
rates, residual or terminal values and discount rates, which can
have a significant impact on the amount of any impairment.
Other long-lived assets, such as identifiable intangible assets,
are amortized over their estimated useful lives. These assets
are reviewed for impairment whenever events or circumstances
provide evidence that suggests that the carrying amount of the
assets may not be recoverable, with impairment being based upon
an evaluation of the identifiable undiscounted cash flows. If
impaired, the resulting charge reflects the excess of the
assets carrying cost over its fair value. As described
above, there is inherent subjectivity involved in estimating
future cash flows, which can have a significant impact on the
amount of any impairment. Also, if market conditions become less
favorable, future cash flows (the key variable in assessing the
impairment of these assets) may decrease and as a result we may
be required to recognize impairment charges in the future.
Deferred expenditures for offering costs are dependent upon the
successful completion of the equity and debt offerings. We defer
the costs incurred to raise equity until that event occurs. At
the time we issue new equity, we will net these costs against
the equity proceeds received. Alternatively, if the equity event
does not occur, we will expense the offering costs. This
estimate is likely to change in the near term.
Deferred financing and broker fees are amortized over the life
of the respective loans.
|
|
|
Fair Value of Financial Instruments |
We have issued various debt and equity instruments, some of
which have required a determination of their fair value, where
quoted market prices were not published or readily available. We
base our determinations on valuation techniques that require
judgments and estimates, including discount rates used in
applying present value analyses, the length of historical
look-back used in determining the stock volatility, expected
future interest rate assumptions and probability assessments.
From time to time, we may hire independent valuation specialists
to perform and/or assist in the fair value determination of such
instruments. Actual results may differ from our estimates and
assumptions which may require adjustments to the fair value
carrying amounts and result in a charge or credit to our
statement of operations.
In December 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 123(R),
Share-Based Payment, which is a revision of
SFAS No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation.
SFAS No. 123(R) is effective for public companies for
interim or annual periods beginning after June 15, 2005,
supersedes APB Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued
to Employees, and amends SFAS No. 95, Statement of
Cash Flows.
23
SFAS No. 123(R) requires all share-based payments,
including grants of stock options and issuances of stock to
employees, to be recognized in the income statement based on
their fair values. Pro forma disclosure is no longer an
alternative. We adopted the new standard effective
January 1, 2006, which had no significant impact on the
company.
In connection with the valuation of our stock on
January 13, 2006, we followed guidance provided by the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(AICPA) Task Forces Audit and Accounting
Practice Aid Valuation of
Privately-Held-Company
Equity Securities Issued as Compensation (the AICPA
Practice Aid). As a development stage company without
significant resources and no current revenue-generating
operations, we concluded that the expenditure of limited
available funds to engage an outside valuation specialist to
perform contemporaneous and comprehensive valuations on
January 13, 2006 was not an appropriate use of our
financial resources. We instead derived relevant valuations
internally using the AICPA Practice Aid and evaluated those
figures in light of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to
establish book values for our accounting and book purposes.
24
PROPOSED BUSINESS
Overview
Converted Organics is a development stage company seeking to use
organic food waste as raw material to manufacture all-natural
soil amendment products combining both disease suppression and
nutrition characteristics. We plan to sell and distribute our
products in the agribusiness, turf management, and retail
markets. Our proposed process, which has been demonstrated in a
pilot manufacturing facility, uses heat and bacteria to
transform food waste into a natural fertilizer.
A substantial portion of the net proceeds of this offering,
together with the net proceeds of an approximately
$17.5 million bond issue of the New Jersey Economic
Development Authority that is to close simultaneously with the
closing of this offering, will be used to develop and construct
an organic waste conversion facility in Woodbridge, New Jersey.
We expect this facility to be operational approximately
12 to 15 months from the date of the closing of
this offering and the bond issue.
Our revenue will come from two sources: tip fees and
product sales. Waste haulers will pay us tip fees for accepting
food waste generated by food distributors such as grocery
stores, produce docks, fish markets and food processors, and by
hospitality venues such as hotels, restaurants, convention
centers and airports. Revenue will also come from the customers
who purchase our products. Our planned products will possess a
combination of nutritional, disease suppression and soil
amendment characteristics. The products will be sold in both dry
and liquid form and will be stable with an extended shelf life
compared to other organic fertilizers. Among other uses, the
liquid product is expected to be used to mitigate powdery
mildew, a leaf fungus that restricts the flow of water and
nutrients to the plant. These products can be used either on a
stand-alone basis or in combination with more traditional
petrochemical-based fertilizers and crop protection products.
Based on growth trial performance, increased environmental
awareness, trends in consumer food preferences and
company-sponsored research, we believe our products will have
substantial demand in the agribusiness, turf management and
retail markets. We also expect to benefit from increased
regulatory focus on organic waste processing and on
environmentally friendly growing practices.
Our initial facility will collect raw material from the New
York-Northern New Jersey metropolitan area. It is located near
the confluence of two major highways in northern New Jersey,
providing efficient access for the delivery of feedstock from
throughout this geographic area. The facility is within a
special recycling zone and has been approved for inclusion in
the Middlesex County New Jersey Solid Waste Management Plan.
When fully operational, the Woodbridge facility is expected to
process approximately 78,000 tons of organic food waste,
which will be diverted from landfills, and produce approximately
7,500 tons of dry product and 6,700 tons of liquid
concentrate annually. We are in the process of negotiating
options to lease property for additional facilities in
Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. Completion of these
additional facilities will require additional capital.
Environmental Impact of Our Business Model
Organic food waste, the raw material of our manufacturing
process, comes from a variety of sources. Prior to preparation,
food must be grown or raised, harvested, packaged, shipped,
unpacked, sorted, selected and repackaged before it finds its
way into markets, restaurants or home kitchens. Currently, this
process creates a large amount of food waste, particularly in
densely populated metropolitan areas such as New York City,
Northern New Jersey, and Eastern Massachusetts. Traditionally,
the majority of food waste is disposed of in either landfills or
incinerators that do not produce a product from this recyclable
resource. We intend to use a demonstrated technology that is
environmentally benign to convert waste into valuable
all-natural soil amendment products.
Food waste comprises 15 to 20% of the nations waste
stream. Disposing of or recycling food waste should be simple,
since organic materials grow and decompose readily in nature.
However, the high concentrations of food wastes and the lack of
available land near most urban areas to be used for traditional
recycling methods, such as composting, pose challenges to
disposal of food wastes. Waste is most commonly disposed of in
landfills and incinerators. Landfill capacity is a significant
concern, particularly in densely populated areas. In addition,
landfills may create negative environmental effects including
liquid wastes
25
migrating into groundwater, landfill gas, consumption of open
space, and air pollution associated with trucking waste to more
remote sites. The alternative of incineration may produce toxic
air pollutants and climate-changing gases, as well as ash
containing heavy metals. Incineration also fails to recover the
useful materials from organic wastes that can be recycled. The
composting alternative is a slow process to complete, requires
considerable land to locate a high volume facility, may generate
offensive odors, and may attract vermin. In addition, composting
usually creates an inconsistent product with lower economic
value than the fertilizer products we will produce.
Our proposed process uses heat and bacteria to convert waste
into all-natural soil amendment products with nutritional and
disease suppression characteristics. The process occurs in
enclosed digestors housed within a building that
will use effective emissions control equipment, resulting in
minimal amounts of dust, odor, and noise. By turning food waste
into a fertilizer product using an environmentally benign
process, we anticipate that we will be able to reduce the total
amount of solid waste that goes to landfills and incinerators,
which may in turn reduce the release of greenhouse gases such as
methane and carbon dioxide.
The following table summarizes some of the advantages of our
proposed process compared with currently available methods
employed to dispose of organic food waste:
|
|
|
|
|
Comparison of Methods for Managing Food Waste |
|
Method |
|
Environmental Impacts |
|
Products |
|
|
|
|
|
Landfilling
|
|
Loss of land
Groundwater threat
Methane gas
Air pollution from trucks
Useful materials not recycled
Undesirable land use |
|
Landfill gas (minimal energy generation at some landfills) |
Incineration
|
|
Air pollution
Toxic emissions
Useful materials not recycled
Disposal of ash still required |
|
Electricity (only at some facilities) |
Composting
|
|
Groundwater threat
Odor
Vermin
Slow
Substantial land required |
|
Low value compost |
Converted Organics
|
|
No air pollution or solid waste
No harmful by-products
Removal of waste from waste stream
Consumption of electricity and natural gas
Discharge of treated wastewater into sewage system |
|
Natural fertilizer |
Environmental regulators and other governmental authorities in
our target markets have also focused more recently on the
potential benefits of recycling increased amounts of food waste.
For example, the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (the NJDEP) estimates nearly
1.5 million tons, or just over 15% of the states
total waste stream, is food waste. In 2003, only
221,000 tons, or 15%, of the estimated 1,466,000 tons
of food waste generated in the state were recycled. The 2005
NJDEP Statewide Solid Waste Management Plan focuses particularly
on the food waste recycling stream as one of the
most effective ways to create significant increases in recycling
tonnages and rates. In New York, state and local environmental
agencies are taking measures to encourage the diversion of
organics from landfills and are actively seeking processes
consistent with health and safety codes. The goal is to further
reduce the amount of waste going to landfills and other
traditional disposal facilities, particularly waste that is
hauled great distances, especially in densely populated areas in
the Northeast. In 2005, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery
Corporation began an examination of the bulk food waste
processing technology of our technology licensor to determine
whether using our licensed technology would be economically
feasible, cost-effective,
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practicable, and an appropriate application in Rhode Island. In
Massachusetts, the State Solid Waste Master Plan has also
identified a need for increased organics-processing capacity
within the state and has called for a streamlined regulatory
approval path.
The Fertilizer Industry
Fertilizers are classified as either chemical or organic. While
chemical, or synthetic, fertilizers continue to dominate the
market, an increased realization of the economic benefits of
organic fertilizers coupled with increased growth in the demand
for organic foods has expanded the market for high-quality
organic fertilizers.
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Chemical fertilizers: Chemical fertilizers dominate the
conventional farming, landscaping and gardening markets because
of their high nutrient content and low cost. Chemical
fertilizers are made from mined or synthetic chemicals such as
urea, ammonium nitrate, super phosphate and potash, and have a
high content of the nutrients nitrogen, phosphorous and
potassium (NPK). They are produced in large quantities and are
generally less expensive than organic fertilizers. In the
conventional approach to plant fertilization, a soil scientist
prescribes the amount of each nutrient necessary per unit of
growing area and then selects combinations of chemical
fertilizers to provide these nutrient levels at the lowest cost. |
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Organic fertilizers: Organic fertilizers include compost
and products derived from animal and vegetable proteins. Compost
results from the natural decomposition of organic materials such
as animal manure, plants, fruits and vegetables. Compost is
inexpensive relative to chemical fertilizers but does not have
the high nutrient concentration of chemical fertilizers.
Protein-based organic fertilizers, such as bone meal, fish meal,
cottonseed meal and blood meal, can be used alone or mixed with
chemical additives to create highly formulated fertilizer blends
that target specific soil and crop needs. Organic fertilizers
tend to be more expensive than chemical fertilizers. |
Chemical fertilizers have several significant disadvantages
compared with organic fertilizers. The nutrients found in
chemical fertilizers tend to become highly soluble, and runoff
water can remove them from the soil. Organic fertilizers release
nutrients into the soil at a slower rate, making them less
likely to be leached from the soil system by rainwater. In
addition, chemical fertilizers do not contain organic matter.
Organic matter builds soil structure, which allows more air to
reach plant roots and increases the soils ability to
retain water, resulting in healthier crops. In addition, organic
fertilizers provide nutrients for soil microorganisms, which in
turn make mineral nutrients available to plants.
Concern among farmers, gardeners and landscapers about nutrient
runoff, soil health and other long-term effects of conventional
chemical fertilizers has resulted in growth in the organic
fertilizer market. The number of fertilizer products registered
as organic with the Organic Materials Review
Institute has increased by approximately 50% from 2002 to 2005.
Demand for organic food has also driven the demand for organic
fertilizers. Following the release of the U.S. Department
of Agricultures organic certification standards and
labeling program in 2002, the market for organic foods reached
over $10 billion by 2003. With major agribusiness companies
now carrying organic food lines, farms across the country are
converting acreage to organic. To maximize yields, managers of
organic farms are looking to fertilizer options that are more
sophisticated than compost and are beginning to use commercially
produced organic fertilizers.
Our Proposed New Jersey Facility
Converted Organics of Woodbridge, LLC (Woodbridge),
a New Jersey limited liability company and wholly owned
subsidiary of the company, was formed for the purpose of owning,
constructing and operating the Woodbridge, New Jersey facility.
Woodbridge has had no assets, liabilities or operations to date.
We have entered into a
10-year lease with one
10-year renewal option
for approximately 60,000 square feet of space in a portion
of an existing building. The existing building will be upgraded
to accommodate the conversion process and will house our
processing equipment. The fertilizer products produced at the
facility are expected to be delivered by truck and rail to
customers. The property has been recently surveyed and does not
lie within any special flood hazard area.
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Our process engineer, Weston Solutions, Inc., has substantially
completed the design for the Woodbridge facility. We have
entered into guaranteed maximum price contracts to build the
processing facility with construction, mechanical and electrical
contractors. A guaranteed maximum price contract is a contract
to construct the facility that is guaranteed by a bond obtained
by the contractor.
We have entered into an agreement with Royal Waste Services,
Inc. of Hollis, New York to provide up to 200 tons of
organic food waste per day to the facility. We have also had
discussions with several other solid waste-hauling companies and
numerous waste generators regarding additional feedstock for the
facility. The property is and will be able to receive feedstock
by truck over local roads.
Our conversion process has been approved for inclusion in the
Middlesex County New Jersey Solid Waste Management Plan. We have
submitted our application for a Class C recycling permit,
which is the primary environmental permit for this project. The
remaining required permits are primarily those associated with
the construction and operation of any manufacturing business.
The facility is expected to use significant amounts of
electricity, natural gas and steam. We will use the services of
an energy management firm to purchase natural gas and
electricity, and water will be provided by the Town of
Woodbridge. Wastewater will be treated and discharged by permit
into the local sewage system.
We expect the Woodbridge facility to be completed 12 to
15 months from the closing of this offering. During that
time, we will spend approximately $14.6 million on
structural improvements and equipment.
Business Strategy
In addition to our Woodbridge facility, we intend to develop and
construct facilities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New
York. To operate these facilities using the licensed process, we
will require additional licenses from IBRC and additional
capital. We anticipate that we will be able to use much of the
engineering and design work done for the Woodbridge facility for
subsequent facilities, thus reducing both the time and cost
required to develop additional facilities.
In each of our contemplated locations, we have:
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Engaged a local businessperson well acquainted with the
community to assist us in the permitting process and develop
support from community groups; |
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Participated in numerous meetings with state, county and local
regulatory bodies as well as environmental and economic
development authorities; and |
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Identified potential facility sites. |
As new facilities commence production, we also anticipate we
will achieve economies of scale in marketing and selling our
fertilizer products as the cost of these activities is spread
over a larger volume of product. As the overall volume of
production increases, we also believe we may be able to more
effectively approach larger agribusiness customers who may
require larger quantities of fertilizer in order to efficiently
utilize their distribution systems.
To date, we have undertaken the following activities in the
following markets to prepare to develop additional facilities:
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In Massachusetts, we have performed initial development work in
connection with construction of a proposed
15,000-ton per year
manufacturing facility to serve the eastern Massachusetts
market. Our proposal to develop this facility is currently under
review by the property owner. The Massachusetts Strategic
Envirotechnology Partnership Program has completed a favorable
review of our technology. |
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In Rhode Island, we have proposed to construct a 10,000-ton per
year manufacturing facility to service the entire Rhode Island
market. We are working with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery
Corporation, the agency responsible for managing solid waste in
the state, to build a facility on state-owned and operated
landfill, thereby greatly reducing the time associated with
permitting and construction. The Rhode Island Resource Recovery
Corporation has reviewed the technology we have |
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licensed and has included it as an option in the 2006 update to
its solid waste plan. We are negotiating a term sheet with the
Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation for a facility and
expect to reach an agreement during the first quarter of 2007. |
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In New York City, we have proposed to construct a 15,000-ton per
year manufacturing facility in the South Bronx to service the
New York City market. We have held discussions with both the New
York City Department of Environmental Protection and the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and we are
currently negotiating with the landlord for the proposed site. |
Conversion Process
The process that converts food waste into our solid and liquid
fertilizer products is based on technology called Enhanced
Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion
(EATAD). The EATAD process was developed by
International Bio Recovery Corporation (IBRC), a
British Columbia company which possesses technology in the form
of know-how integral to the process and which has licensed to us
their technology for organic waste applications in certain
locations. In simplified terms, EATAD means that once the
prepared feedstock is heated to a certain temperature, it
self-generates additional heat (autothermal), rising to very
high, pathogen-destroying temperature levels (thermophilic).
Bacteria added to the feedstock consume vast amounts of oxygen
(aerobic) converting the food waste (digestion) to a rich blend
of nutrients and single cell proteins. Foodstock selection and
preparation, digestion temperature, rate of oxygen addition,
acidity and inoculation of the microbial regime are carefully
controlled to produce a product that is highly consistent from
batch to batch.
The conversion process technology works as follows:
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Organic food wastes arrive at a facility using the technology
and any remaining inorganic contaminants are removed. |
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A macerator machine pulps and screens the organic food wastes,
and adjusts its water content, acidity level (pH) and
temperature, as needed for optimal digestion of the resulting
pulp. |
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The resulting pulp is fed into a digester where it remains for
three to four days. During that time, high temperatures and
bacterial microbes convert the pulp to simple nutrients and
proteins. The technology uses a patented aeration device (a
shearator) that allows operation at higher temperatures than
similar processes. The higher operating temperature accelerates
the digestion process and destroys potential pathogens. |
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The digested material is then placed in a press that separates
its solid and liquid components. The solids are dried and
pelletized; the liquids are concentrated in a solution. On
average, the process produces approximately
20 tons in roughly equal proportions of liquid
and solid components for every 100 tons of
organic waste feedstock input into the system. |
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The following diagram describes the EATAD process as it is
expected to be applied in our conversion facilities:
Fertilizer Products
The products we plan to manufacture using our process will be
positioned as:
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A stand-alone fertilizer with plant nutrition, disease
suppression and soil enhancements (amendment) benefits. The
solid and liquid forms have a nutrient composition of
approximately 3% nitrogen, 2% phosphorous and 1% potassium
(3-2-1 NPK); or |
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A blend to be added to conventional fertilizers and various soil
enhancements to improve the soil as required by the end users. |
The efficacy of our products has been demonstrated both in
university laboratories and multi-year growth trials funded by
us and by IBRC. These field trials have been conducted on more
than a dozen crops including potatoes, tomatoes, squash,
blueberries, grapes, cotton and turf grass. The results of these
trials are available at no charge by contacting us at
7A Commercial Wharf West, Boston, Massachusetts 02110.
These studies have not been published, peer-reviewed or
otherwise subject to third-party scrutiny. Based on these trials
and other data, we believe our solid and liquid products will
have several valuable attributes:
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Plant nutrition. Historically, growers have focused on
the nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and
potassium (K) content of fertilizers. As agronomists have
gained a better understanding of the importance of soil culture,
they have turned their attention to humic and fulvic acids,
phytohormones and other micronutrients and growth regulators not
present in petrochemical-based fertilizers. Our products will
have NPK content of approximately
3-2-1 and will be rich
in micronutrients. Both products can be modified or fortified to
meet specific user requirements. |
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Disease suppression. Based on field trials using product
produced by the licensed technology, we believe our products
will combine nutrition with disease suppression characteristics
to eliminate or significantly reduce the need for fungicides and
other crop protection products. The products disease
suppression properties have been observed under controlled
laboratory conditions and in documented field trials. We also
have other field reports that have shown the liquid concentrate
to be effective in reducing the severity of powdery mildew on
grapes, reducing verticillium pressure on tomatoes and reducing
scab in potatoes. |
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Soil amendment. As a result of their slow-release nature,
our dry fertilizer product increases the organic content of
soil, improving granularity and water retention and thus
reducing NPK leaching and run-off. |
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Pathogen-free. Due to high processing temperatures, our
products are virtually pathogen-free and have extended shelf
life. |
Nexant ChemSystems, Inc., a process engineering and strategic
marketing research firm, evaluated our products projected
economic yield the market value of the crop less the
costs of production to the end user and concluded
based on review of various growth trials that the economic yield
of crops grown with fertilizer produced by our licensor using
the EATAD process increased by an average of 11.3% with respect
to the liquid product and 16.4% with respect to the dry product
compared with control groups. With respect to cotton, potatoes
and blueberries, economic yield increased by 16%, 19% and 30%,
respectively, compared with control groups.
We plan to apply to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the
USDA) and various state agencies to have our
products labeled as an organic fertilizer or separately as an
organic fungicide. We expect organic labeling, if obtained, to
have a significant positive impact on pricing. Unlike many
organic fertilizers, our products will be fully converted during
the EATAD process and therefore have consistent quality, be
stable, odor-free and convenient for storage and shipping. They
will also have a relatively high nutrient content and will be
free of pathogens. Our products will be positioned for the
commercial market as a fertilizer supplement or as a material to
be blended into traditional nutrition and disease suppression
applications.
Marketing and Sales
The concern of farmers, gardeners and landscapers about nutrient
runoffs, soil health and other long-term effects of conventional
chemical fertilizers has increased demand for organic
fertilizer. We have identified three target markets for our
products:
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Agribusiness: horticulture, hydroponics and aquaculture; |
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Turf management: golf courses, sod farms and commercial,
institutional and government facilities; and |
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Retail sales: home improvement outlets, garden supply
stores, nurseries, Internet sales and shopping networks. |
Agribusiness: Today, the focus is on reducing the use of
chemical pesticides and at the same time meeting the demand for
cost-effective, environmentally responsible alternatives. This
change in focus is the result of:
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Consumer demand for safer, higher quality food. |
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The restriction on use of registered chemical pesticides.
Several U.S. government authorities, including the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug
Administration, and the USDA, regulate the use of pesticide.
There are more than 14 separate regulations governing the use of
pesticides. |
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Environmental concerns and the demand for sustainable
technologies. |
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Demand for more food for the growing world population. |
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The cost effectiveness and efficacy of non-chemical based
products to growers. |
Consumer demand for organic food products increased throughout
the 1990s at approximately 20% or more per annum. In the wake of
USDAs implementation of national organic standards in
October 2002, the organic food industry has continued to grow.
According to the Nutrition Business Journal, annual sales
of organic foods have expanded almost four-fold from
$3.6 billion in 1997 and averaged annual growth of 19.4%
over the six-year period of 1998 to 2003. Organic foods were 61%
of the $22.8 billion natural and organic foods market in
2005 and 2.5% of the $557 billion U.S. foods market
(excluding food service), up from a penetration rate of 0.8% of
the U.S. food market in 1997.
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Farmers are facing pressures to change from conventional
production practices to more environmentally friendly practices.
U.S. agricultural producers are turning to certified
organic farming methods as a potential way to lower production
costs, decrease reliance on nonrenewable resources such as
chemical fertilizers, increase market share with an
organically grown label and capture premium prices,
thereby boosting farm income.
Turf management: We believe golf courses will continue to
reduce their use of chemicals and chemical-based fertilizers to
limit potentially harmful effects, such as chemical fertilizer
runoff. The United States Golf Association (USGA)
provides guidelines for effective environmental course
management. These guidelines include using nutrient products and
practices that reduce the potential for contamination of ground
and surface water. Strategies include using slow-release
fertilizers and selected organic products and the application of
nutrients through irrigation systems. Further, the USGA advises
that the selection of chemical control strategies should be
utilized only when other strategies are inadequate. We believe
that our all-natural, slow-release fertilizer products will be
well received in this market.
Retail sales: According to The Freedonia Group, a
business research company, the $6 billion US market for
packaged lawn and garden consumables will grow 4.5% annually
through 2008. Fertilizers, mulch and growing media will lead
gains, especially rubber mulch, colored mulch and premium soils.
The growth of organic consumables is expected to be nearly
double the rate of growth of conventional products but remain a
small segment.
Products manufactured at our Woodbridge facility will be sold
under the names Genica
SG-100 for the solid
fertilizer and Genica
LC-200 for the liquid
fertilizer. Our license with IBRC restricts the sale of products
from this facility to the Eastern Seaboard states, including
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
We plan to sell and distribute our products in the agribusiness,
turf management, and retail markets, by creating a sales
organization or joining a proposed marketing cooperative. Our
sales organization will target large purchasers of fertilizer
products for distribution in our target geographic and product
markets. Key activities of the sales organization will include
introduction of the company and our products and the development
of relationships with targeted clients. In addition, we have had
preliminary discussions with manufacturers representatives
to explore sales of our products in appropriate retail outlets.
IBRC is planning to form a marketing cooperative called Genica
which is proposed to support IBRCs plant licensees. Genica
is designed to serve as the marketing, sales, distribution,
research and development organization for products produced
using the IBRC technology. As a plant licensee, we are eligible
to join Genica. The cooperative may offer several strategic
advantages. The cooperative would allow us to sell our end
products through proposed marketing, sales and distribution
channels. If we join, we expect to benefit from research and
development functions performed by the cooperative as well as
from what IBRC has accomplished in the past.
IBRC License
Pursuant to a know-how license agreement dated July 15,
2003, as amended, IBRC granted us an exclusive license for a
term of 40 years to use its proprietary EATAD technology
for the design, construction and operation of facilities within
a 31.25 mile radius from City Hall in New York City for the
conversion of organic waste into solid and liquid organic
material. The license permits us to use the technology at our
Woodbridge facility site; restricts the ability of IBRC and an
affiliated company, Shearator Corporation, to grant another
know-how or patent license related to the EATAD technology
within the exclusive area; and restricts our ability to
advertise or contract for a supply of organic waste originating
outside the same exclusive area. The licensed know-how relates
to machinery and apparatus used in the EATAD process.
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We are obligated to pay to IBRC an aggregate royalty equal to
nine percent of the gross revenues from the sale of our products
produced by the facility. In addition, we are obligated to pay
Cdn$238,000 to IBRC upon the closing of this offering for a
non-refundable deposit on a second plant license agreement and
for growth trials, and pay Cdn$264,000 to IBRC in equal monthly
installments over the twelve months following this offering for
market analysis and other services. The license agreement may be
terminated at IBRCs option if we do not commence
continuous operation of the Woodbridge facility, as defined in
the license agreement, by July 1, 2008. We are also
obligated to purchase IBRCs patented macerators and
shearators as specified by or supplied by IBRC or Shearator
Corporation. If we can demonstrate sufficient demand in the area
of exclusivity for the construction of additional plants, we may
build the plants, assuming certain completion dates are met,
upon payment of license fees for each plant based on
dollar-per-ton of capacity of the proposed plants at the then
current IBRC initial license fee.
The license agreement restricts the sale of products from the
facilities covered by the license to the Eastern Seaboard. Also,
pursuant to the license agreement, we have granted a proposed
cooperative called Genica, which has yet to be formed and of
which IBRC will be a member, a right of first refusal to market
all of our products in accordance with the terms and upon
payment to us of the price listed on our then current price
list. If we propose to sell end products to a third party for a
price lower or otherwise on terms more favorable than such
published price and terms, Genica also has the first right of
refusal to market such products on the terms and upon payment to
us of the price proposed to the third party. The license
agreement does not specify the duration of such rights.
Competition
We believe we will be operating in a very competitive
environment in our businesss three dimensions
organic wastestream feedstock, technology and end
products each of which is quickly evolving. We
believe we will nevertheless be able to compete effectively
because of the abundance of the supply of food waste in our
proposed geographic markets, the pricing of our tip fees and the
quality of our proposed products and technology.
Organic Wastestream. Competition for the organic waste
stream feedstock includes landfills, incinerators and
traditional composting operations. Organic waste streams are
generally categorized as pre- and post-consumer food waste, lawn
and garden waste, and bio-solids, including sewage sludge or the
by product of wastewater treatment. Some states, including New
Jersey, have begun to regulate the manner in which food waste
may be composted. New Jersey has created specific requirements
for treatment in tanks, and we believe our proposed Woodbridge
facility will be the first approved in-vessel processing
facility in the state. In Massachusetts, state regulators are
considering a ban on the disposal of organic materials at
landfills and incinerators once sufficient organic processing
capacity exists within the state, which if adopted would provide
a competitive advantage for our process.
Technology. There are a variety of technologies used to
treat organic wastes including composting, digestion, hydrolysis
and thermal processing. Companies using these technologies may
compete with us for organic material.
Composting is a natural process of decomposition that can be
enhanced by mounding the waste into windrows to retain heat,
thereby accelerating decomposition. Large-scale compost
facilities require significant amounts of land for operations
that may not be readily available or that may be only available
at significant cost in major metropolitan areas. Given the
difficulties in controlling the process or the consistent
ability to achieve germ-killing temperatures, the resulting
compost is often inconsistent and generally would command a
lower market price than our product.
Digestion may be either aerobic, like the EATAD process, or
anaerobic. Anaerobic digestion is, in simple terms, mechanized
in-vessel composting. In addition to compost, most anaerobic
digestion systems are designed to capture the methane generated.
While methane has value as a source of energy, it is generally
limited to on-site use,
as it is not readily transported.
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Hydrolysis is an energy-intensive chemical process that produces
a byproduct, most commonly ethanol. Thermal technologies extract
the Btu content of the waste to generate electricity. Food
waste, which is typically 75-90% water, is generally not a
preferred feedstock. Absent technological breakthroughs, neither
hydrolysis nor thermal technologies are expected to be accepted
for organic foodwaste processing on a large-scale in the near
term.
End Products. The organic fertilizer business is
relatively new, highly fragmented, under-capitalized and growing
rapidly. We are not aware of any dominant producers or products
currently in the market. There are a number of single input,
protein-based products, such as fish, bone and cottonseed meal,
that can be used alone or mixed with chemical additives to
create highly formulated fertilizer blends that target specific
soil and crop needs. In this sense they are similar to our
products but have odor, stability and shelf life or seasonality
problems.
Most of the 50 million tons of fertilizer consumed annually
in North America is mined or derived from petroleum. These
petroleum-based products generally have higher nutrient content
(NPK) and cost less than organic fertilizers. However, as
agronomists better understand how soil, root and stem/leaf
systems interact, the importance of micronutrients is more
highly valued. Petrochemical additives have been shown to deaden
the soil, which ironically contributes to higher nutritional
requirements. Traditional petrochemical fertilizers are highly
soluble and readily leach from the soil. Slow release products
that are coated or specially processed command a premium.
However, the economic value offered by petrochemicals,
especially for field crops including corn, wheat, hay and
soybeans, will not be supplanted in the foreseeable future.
Despite a large number of new products in the end market, we
believe that our products have a unique set of characteristics.
Positioning and branding the combination of nutrition and
disease suppression characteristics will differentiate our
products from other organic fertilizer products to develop
market demand, while maintaining or increasing pricing. In view
of the barriers to entry created by the supply of organic waste,
regulatory controls and the cost of constructing facilities, we
do not foresee a dominant manufacturer or product emerging in
the near term.
Government Regulation
Our end products may be regulated or controlled by state, county
and local governments as well as various agencies of the Federal
government, including the Food and Drug Administration and the
Department of Agriculture.
In addition to the regulations governing the sale of our end
products, our facilities will be subject to extensive
regulation. We will need certain permits to operate solid waste
or recycling facilities as well as permits for our sewage
connection, water supply, land use, air emission, and wastewater
discharge. The specific permit and approval requirements are set
by the state and the various local jurisdictions, including but
not limited to city, town, county, and township and state
agencies having control over the specific properties.
For our Woodbridge facility, we must obtain various permits and
approvals to operate a recycling center and a manufacturing
facility, including among others a Class C recycling
permit, land use and site plan approval, an air quality permit,
a discharge permit, treatment works approval and a storm water
runoff permit, building construction permits and a soil
conservation district permit.
Environmental regulations will also govern the operation of our
facilities. Our facilities will most likely be located in urban
industrial areas where contamination may be present. Regulatory
agencies may require us to remediate environmental conditions at
our locations.
Employees
As of January 1, 2007, we had four full-time employees, all
of whom were in management and administration. Once the
Woodbridge facility reaches its initial design capacity of 250
tons per day, we expect to have approximately 17 full-time
employees at the facility, working in the areas of general plant
management, equipment operation, quality control, maintenance,
laborers, and administrative support.
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Property
We have entered into a
10-year lease, with an
option to renew for an additional 10 years, for property
located in a recycling center in Woodbridge, New Jersey. This is
the site upon which our initial plant will be constructed. The
lease covers 60,000 square feet of a 300,000 square
foot building. The rent is $32,500 per month for the first
5 years of the
10-year term. In
year 6, the rent is increased by 5% and will increase 2% a
year in years 7 through 10. During years 2 through 10, we
will pay an additional $45,401 per month for the cost of the
buildout of the space. In year 11, if we exercise our
option to renew, the rent would increase by 5% and would
increase an additional 2% per year in years 12 through 15.
The rent would increase 5% in year 16 and thereafter would
increase 2% per year through the remainder of the term. We
are responsible for payment of common area maintenance fees and
taxes based upon our percentage of use relative to the whole
facility and for our separately metered utilities.
We currently lease, on a month-to-month basis, approximately
2,500 square feet of office space for our headquarters in
Boston, Massachusetts. We pay rent of $2,500 per month and
a shared services fee of $1,000 per month. We may terminate
the office lease at any time upon 30 days advance written
notice.
Legal Proceedings
We do not know of any pending or threatened legal proceedings to
which we are or would be a party or any proceedings being
contemplated by governmental authorities against us, or any of
our executive officers or directors relating to their services
on our behalf.
Company History
Converted Organics Inc. was incorporated in January 2006 under
the laws of the state of Delaware. In February 2006, the company
merged with its predecessor organizations, Mining Organics
Management, LLC (MOM) and Mining Organics Harlem
River Rail Yard, LLC (HRRY). MOM and HRRY were
organized as Massachusetts limited liability companies in May
2003 and July 2003, respectively.
The members of MOM included a limited liability company the
managing member of which is the companys current director
William A. Gildea, another limited liability company the
sole member of which is consultant John E. Tucker and the
companys current Chief Financial Officer Thomas R.
Buchanan. Weston Solutions, Inc. and MOM were equal members of
HRRY. Each of MOM and HRRY was formed to promote the principal
business objective of Converted Organics that is, to
implement licensed technology to facilitate the conversion of
organic food waste into solid and liquid fertilizer products.
MOM was originally intended to be the principal operating
entity, and HRRY was a location-specific entity that was formed
to develop business opportunities in New York City.
Thereafter, to consolidate the various related entities,
Converted Organics was formed and each of HRRY and MOM was
merged into it. As a result of the merger of Converted Organics
and HRRY, each of the members of HRRY received 300,000 shares of
Converted Organics common stock. MOM subsequently distributed
the 300,000 shares that it received as a result of the merger to
its members; as a result, Messrs. William Gildea and Tucker
each received 135,000 shares of Converted Organics common stock
and Mr. Buchanan received 30,000 shares. No shares of
Converted Organics common stock were issued in connection with
the merger between Converted Organics and MOM because MOM did
not contribute any value as of the date of the merger.
Converted Organics of Woodbridge, LLC, a New Jersey limited
liability company, was formed for the purpose of owning,
constructing and operating the Woodbridge, New Jersey facility.
This company has had no assets, liabilities or operations to
date.
Our principal executive offices are located at
7A Commercial Wharf West, Boston, Massachusetts 02110.
Our telephone number is
(617) 624-0111.
Our website address is www.convertedorganics.com. The
information on, or that can be accessed through, our website is
not a part of this prospectus.
35
MANAGEMENT
Directors and Executive Officers
Our directors and executive officers, and their ages as of
January 1, 2007, are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Age | |
|
Position |
|
|
| |
|
|
Edward J. Gildea
|
|
|
55 |
|
|
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer |
Thomas R. Buchanan
|
|
|
56 |
|
|
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
John A. Walsdorf
|
|
|
59 |
|
|
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer |
John P. Weigold
|
|
|
39 |
|
|
Vice President Development/Operations |
David R. Allen
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
Director |
Robert E. Cell
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
Director |
John P. DeVillars
|
|
|
57 |
|
|
Director |
William A. Gildea
|
|
|
51 |
|
|
Director |
Edward J. Gildea has been our Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer since January 2006. From 2001 to 2005,
he held several executive positions including Chief Operating
Officer, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business
Development, and General Counsel of QualityMetric Incorporated,
a private health status measurement business. During that
period, Mr. Gildea was also engaged in the private practice
of law representing business clients and held management
positions in our predecessor companies. He holds an
A.B. degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a J.D.
degree from Suffolk University Law School. Mr. Gildea is
William A. Gildeas brother.
Thomas R. Buchanan has been our Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer since January 2006. Until 2001,
Mr. Buchanan was Director of Merchant Banking at Dilmun
Investments, Inc., a registered securities advisor. Since 2001,
he has consulted to our predecessor companies and to several
non-profit organizations. He holds a B.A. degree from the
University of Virginia.
John A. Walsdorf has been our Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer since January 2006. He joined one of our
predecessor companies in 2003. From November 2001 to June 2003,
he was responsible for the development of select real estate
markets for Amerada Hess Corporation, a regional energy company.
Until 2001, Mr. Walsdorf held a similar position with
Trammell Crow Company, a commercial real estate company.
Mr. Walsdorf has a degree in Finance from Southern Illinois
University and an M.B.A. from Loyola University of Chicago.
John P. Weigold has been our Vice President
Development/ Operations since January 2006. He joined one of our
predecessor companies in 2003. From September 1997 to March
2002, Mr. Weigold served as a vice president of State
Street Bank. Mr. Weigold holds a B.S. degree from the State
University of New York at Geneseo and an M.B.A. from
Northeastern University.
David R. Allen has been a director since June 2006. Until
2004, he was the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial
Officer of Millbrook Press Inc., a publicly held publisher of
childrens books. Millbrook Press Inc. filed for bankruptcy
in the District of Connecticut in February 2004 in a liquidation
proceeding in which all creditors were paid in full. Since 2004,
Mr. Allen has acted as a management consultant and advisor
to small public companies. Mr. Allen holds a
B.S. degree and an M.S. degree from Bentley College in
Waltham, Massachusetts. Mr. Allen is a Certified Public
Accountant.
Robert E. Cell has been a director since June 2006. In
2006, he became the President and Chief Executive Officer of
RubiconSoft, a preferenced-based marketing company. From 2004 to
2005, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Cool Sign Media
Inc., a provider of digital advertising and signage. From 2000
to 2004, he held several executive positions, including Chief
Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, at Blue Martini
Software, Inc., a publicly held provider of client relationship
management software applications. Since 2005, Mr. Cell has
acted as a consultant to several public and private companies.
Mr. Cell holds a B.S. degree and an M.B.A. from the
University of Michigan.
36
John P. DeVillars has been a director since June 2006. He
is a founder and managing partner of BlueWave Strategies LLC, an
environmental and renewable energy consulting firm established
in 2003, and is a managing partner of its affiliated investment
group, BlueWave Capital. Until 2003, Mr. DeVillars held the
position of Lecturer in Environmental Policy in the Department
of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; he continues to lecture at MIT, the Harvard Graduate
School of Design and the Kennedy School of Government. From 2000
to 2003, Mr. DeVillars was Executive Vice President of
Brownfields Recovery Corporation, a real estate investment and
development firm focused on environmentally impacted properties
known as brownfields. Mr. DeVillars holds a
B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.A.
from Harvard University.
William A. Gildea has been a director since January 2006.
From 2000 to present, he has managed ECAP, LLC, a boutique
investment firm that specializes in the funding and development
of clean technologies, and held management positions in our
predecessor companies. Mr. Gildea has also held positions
at Connecticut Bank and Trust and Phoenix Investment Council. He
earned a B.A. degree from Westfield State College in Westfield,
Massachusetts and an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, New York. Mr. Gildea is Edward J.
Gildeas brother.
Board of Directors
Our Bylaws provide that the authorized size of our Board of
Directors, which currently is five members, is to be determined
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors, but
shall consist of at least two and no more than eight members.
Our Board of Directors is divided into three classes as nearly
equal in number as possible. Each year the shareholders elect
the members of one of the three classes to three-year terms of
office. Currently, Messrs. Allen and Cell serve as
Class 1 directors, whose terms expire in 2007,
Messrs. DeVillars and William Gildea serve as Class 2
directors, whose terms expire in 2008, and Mr. Edward
Gildea serves as a Class 3 director, whose term expires in
2009. We intend to maintain at least two independent directors
on our Board of Directors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors has three standing committees: an Audit
Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and
Governance Committee.
Audit Committee. Our Audit Committee oversees our
accounting and financial reporting processes, internal systems
of accounting and financial controls, relationships with
independent auditors, and audits of financial statements.
Specific responsibilities include the following:
|
|
|
|
|
selecting, hiring and terminating our independent auditors; |
|
|
|
evaluating the qualifications, independence and performance of
our independent auditors; |
|
|
|
approving the audit and non-audit services to be performed by
our independent auditors; |
|
|
|
reviewing the design, implementation, adequacy and effectiveness
of our internal controls and critical accounting policies; |
|
|
|
overseeing and monitoring the integrity of our financial
statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory
requirements as they relate to financial statements or
accounting matters; |
|
|
|
with management and our independent auditors, reviewing any
earnings announcements and other public announcements regarding
our results of operations; and |
|
|
|
preparing the audit committee report that the Securities and
Exchange Commission requires in our annual proxy statement. |
Our Audit Committee is comprised of Messrs. Allen, Cell and
DeVillars. Mr. Allen serves as Chairman of the Audit
Committee. The Board has determined that all members of the
Audit Committee are independent under the rules of the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nasdaq Stock Market
and that Mr. Allen qualifies as an audit committee
financial expert, as defined by the rules of the
Commission.
37
Compensation Committee. Our Compensation Committee
assists our Board of Directors in determining the development
plans and compensation of our officers, directors and employees.
Specific responsibilities include the following:
|
|
|
|
|
approving the compensation and benefits of our executive
officers; |
|
|
|
reviewing the performance objectives and actual performance of
our officers; and |
|
|
|
administering our stock option and other equity compensation
plans. |
Our Compensation Committee is comprised of Messrs. Allen,
Cell and DeVillars. Mr. Cell serves as Chairman of the
Compensation Committee. The Board has determined that all
members of the Compensation Committee are independent under the
rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Nominating and Governance Committee. Our Nominating and
Governance Committee assists the Board by identifying and
recommending individuals qualified to become members of our
Board of Directors, reviewing correspondence from our
stockholders, and establishing, evaluating and overseeing our
corporate governance guidelines. Specific responsibilities
include the following:
|
|
|
|
|
evaluating the composition, size and governance of our Board of
Directors and its committees and making recommendations
regarding future planning and the appointment of directors to
our committees; |
|
|
|
establishing a policy for considering shareholder nominees for
election to our Board of Directors; and |
|
|
|
evaluating and recommending candidates for election to our Board
of Directors. |
Our Nominating and Governance Committee is comprised of
Messrs. Allen, Cell and DeVillars. Mr. DeVillars
serves as Chairman of our Nominating and Governance Committee.
The Board has determined that all members of the Nominating and
Governance Committee are independent under the rules of the
Nasdaq Stock Market.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider
Participation
None of the members of our Compensation Committee will be one of
our officers or employees. None of our executive officers
currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of
the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity
that has one or more executive officers serving on our Board of
Directors or Compensation Committee.
Director Compensation
Each non-employee director is expected to receive an annual fee
of $5,000 for service on the Board and its committees, plus
$1,000 for each meeting of the Board of Directors or board
committee that the director attends in person and $1,000 for
each meeting attended by telephone or videoconference. Each
non-employee director also will receive reimbursement of travel
and other expenses incurred to attend a meeting in person. Upon
election or appointment to the Board, each non-employee
independent director will be granted an option to
purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock at the
then-current market price as compensation for service on the
Board.
Executive Compensation
Our Chief Executive Officer received no compensation from us or
any of our predecessors in the fiscal years ended
December 31, 2003, 2004 or 2005. Also, none of our
executive officers has earned more than $100,000 in total
compensation from us or any of our predecessors during any of
the three years. For information about a current annual
compensation arrangements with our executive officers, see
Employment Agreements.
38
Option Grants in 2005
No stock options were granted to our Chief Executive Officer in
the year ended December 31, 2005. For information about
later option grants, see Employment Agreements.
Option Exercises and Holdings
As of December 31, 2005, our Chief Executive Officer did
not hold any exercisable or unexercisable stock options. During
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, our Chief
Executive Officer did not receive any shares of common stock
upon exercise of options.
Employment Agreements
We have executive employment agreements with Edward J. Gildea,
our President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas R. Buchanan,
our Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, John A.
Walsdorf, our Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and
John P. Weigold, our Vice President Development/
Operations. The executive employment agreements become effective
upon the closing of this offering. Each executive employment
agreement has a term of three years. Under the terms of his
agreement, Mr. Gildea will receive base salary of
$220,000 per year and has been granted an option to
purchase 100,000 shares of common stock.
Mr. Buchanan will receive base salary of $180,000 per
year and has been granted an option to
purchase 100,000 shares of common stock.
Mr. Walsdorf will receive base salary of $180,000 per
year and has been granted an option to
purchase 100,000 shares of common stock.
Mr. Weigold will receive base salary of $180,000 per
year and has been granted an option to
purchase 95,000 shares of common stock. All such stock
options have been granted with an exercise price per share equal
to the fair value of our common stock on the date of grant, as
determined by our Board of Directors. If, during the term of the
executive officers employment, the Board of Directors
approves any company bonus plan, each executive officer shall be
eligible to receive a bonus under such plan. Each agreement may
be terminated by the company for, or without, cause or upon the
executive officers death or disability. Further, if any
executive officer is terminated without cause, or as the result
of his death or disability, he will be entitled to receive
severance pay consisting of twelve months base salary and
benefits, and all of the shares of common stock and options held
by such executive officer shall become fully vested. In the case
of a termination due to a change in control, the executive
officer shall be entitled to severance pay consisting of
36 months of base salary and benefits, in addition to any
bonus which would have been payable in the year of such
termination, and all shares of common stock and options held by
such executive officer shall become fully vested.
Stock Option Plan
In June 2006, our Board of Directors and stockholders approved
our 2006 Stock Option Plan. The option plan authorizes the grant
and issuance of options and other equity compensation to
employees, officers and consultants. A total of
666,667 shares of common stock are reserved for issuance
under the option plan.
The option plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of
the Board of Directors. Subject to the provisions of the option
plan, the Committee determines who will receive the options, the
number of options granted, the manner of exercise and the
exercise price of the options. The term of incentive stock
options granted under the option plan may not exceed ten years,
or five years for options granted to an optionee owning more
than 10% of our voting stock. The exercise price of an incentive
stock option granted under the option plan must be equal to or
greater than the fair market value of the shares of our common
stock on the date the option is granted. The exercise price of a
non-qualified option granted under the option plan must be equal
to or greater than 85% of the fair market value of the shares of
our common stock on the date the option is granted. An incentive
stock option granted to an optionee owning more than 10% of our
voting stock must have an exercise price equal to or greater
than 110% of the fair market value of our common stock on the
date the option is granted.
As of January 1, 2007, there were outstanding options to
purchase 643,000 shares of common stock under the option
plan at an average exercise price of $3.75 per share and an
average term of five years. The options vested on the date of
grant.
39
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
Our certificate of incorporation, as amended (Certificate
of Incorporation), contains provisions that limit the
liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest
extent permitted by Delaware law. Consequently, our directors
will not be personally liable to us or our shareholders for
monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as
directors, except liability for the following:
|
|
|
|
|
Any breach of their duty of loyalty to our company or our
stockholders. |
|
|
|
Acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional
misconduct or a knowing violation of law. |
|
|
|
Unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or
redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware
General Corporation Law. |
|
|
|
Any transaction from which the director derived an improper
personal benefit. |
Our Bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our
directors and officers and may indemnify our employees and other
agents to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our
Bylaws also provide that we shall advance expenses incurred by a
director or officer before the final disposition of any action
or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking from or on behalf
of that director or officer to repay the advance if it is
ultimately determined that he or she is not entitled to be
indemnified. We have entered and expect to continue to enter
into agreements to indemnify our directors, executive officers
and other employees as determined by the Board of Directors.
These agreements provide for indemnification for related
expenses including attorneys fees, judgments, fines and
settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any
action or proceeding. We believe that these provisions and
indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain
qualified persons as directors and officers. We intend to obtain
directors and officers liability insurance.
The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in
our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws may discourage
shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for
breach of their fiduciary duty. They may also reduce the
likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and
officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us
and other stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholders
investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay
the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and
officers as required by these indemnification provisions. At
present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving
any of our directors, officers or employees regarding which
indemnification is sought, and we are not aware of any
threatened litigation that may result in claims for
indemnification.
Insofar as we may permit indemnification for liabilities arising
under the Securities Act to directors, officers, and controlling
persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we
have been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy, as expressed in the
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
40
PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
Set forth below is information regarding the beneficial
ownership of our common stock, as of January 1, 2007 and as
adjusted to reflect the sale of 1,800,000 units in this
offering and the issuance of 293,636 units to bridge
lenders and HCF, by (i) each person whom we know owned,
beneficially, more than 5% of the outstanding shares of our
common stock, (ii) each of our directors, (iii) our
Chief Executive Officer, and (iv) all of the current
directors and executive officers as a group. We believe that,
except as otherwise noted below, each named beneficial owner has
sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares
listed. Unless otherwise indicated herein, beneficial ownership
is determined in accordance with the rules of the Commission,
and includes voting or investment power with respect to shares
beneficially owned. Shares of common stock to be received upon
conversion of preferred stock, or subject to options or warrants
currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of
January 1, 2007, are deemed outstanding for purposes of
computing the percentage ownership of the person holding such
options or warrants, but are not deemed outstanding for purposes
of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No. of Shares | |
|
Before This | |
|
|
Name of Beneficial Owner |
|
Beneficially Owned | |
|
Offering(1) | |
|
After This Offering | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Officers and Directors (2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
William A. Gildea(3)
|
|
|
354,551 |
|
|
|
25.0 |
% |
|
|
10.1 |
% |
John A. Walsdorf(4)
|
|
|
210,000 |
|
|
|
14.7 |
|
|
|
6.0 |
|
Edward J. Gildea(4)
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
|
14.0 |
|
|
|
5.7 |
|
Thomas R. Buchanan(4)
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
|
14.0 |
|
|
|
5.7 |
|
John P. Weigold(5)
|
|
|
195,000 |
|
|
|
13.7 |
|
|
|
5.5 |
|
David R. Allen(6)
|
|
|
10,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
Robert E. Cell(6)
|
|
|
10,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
John P. DeVillars(6)
|
|
|
10,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
All directors and officers as a group (eight persons)(7)
|
|
|
1,189,551 |
|
|
|
64.6 |
% |
|
|
30.2 |
% |
5% Stockholders
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weston Solutions, Inc.(8)
|
|
|
300,000 |
|
|
|
22.5 |
% |
|
|
8.8 |
% |
John E. Tucker(2)(3)
|
|
|
314,851 |
|
|
|
22.2 |
|
|
|
9.0 |
|
|
|
(1) |
Assumes 1,333,333 shares outstanding prior to this offering. |
|
(2) |
Address of those listed is c/o Converted Organics Inc., 7A
Commercial Wharf West, Boston, MA 02110. |
|
(3) |
Includes options to purchase 83,000 shares that are
exercisable within 60 days of January 1, 2007. |
|
(4) |
Includes options to purchase 100,000 shares that are
exercisable within 60 days of January 1, 2007. |
|
(5) |
Includes options to purchase 95,000 shares that are
exercisable within 60 days of January 1, 2007. |
|
(6) |
Includes options to purchase 10,000 shares that are
exercisable within 60 days of January 1, 2007. |
|
(7) |
Includes options to purchase 508,000 shares that are
exercisable within 60 days of January 1, 2007. |
|
(8) |
Address is One Weston Way, West Chester, PA 19830. Arnold
Borish, Sr. Vice President - General Counsel of Weston
Solutions, Inc., has the power to vote and dispose of the shares. |
41
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
As payment for compensation accrued and not paid since
April 1, 2006 and expenses incurred but not reimbursed
since April 1, 2006, we intend to pay in the future, out of
available cash, a total of $300,000 to the following executive
officers, directors and consultants, each of whom will receive
$50,000: Edward J. Gildea, Thomas R. Buchanan, John A. Walsdorf,
John P. Weigold, William A. Gildea and John E. Tucker.
We have entered into a services agreement dated May 29,
2003, as modified October 6, 2004, with one of our
principal stockholders, Weston Solutions, Inc. Weston has been
engaged to provide engineering and design services in connection
with the construction of the Woodbridge organic waste
conversation facility. The total amounts invoiced by Weston for
services provided to the company were $70,000 in 2003, $434,454
in 2004, $90,888 in 2005, $0 for the nine months ended
September 30, 2005 and $46,490 for the nine months ended
September 30, 2006. We paid Weston $75,376 in 2003 and
$80,000 in the first nine months of 2006.
The company is renting its premises at 7A Commercial Wharf West,
Boston, Massachusetts under an agreement with ECAP, LLC. The
managing member of ECAP, LLC is a director and shareholder of
the company and is also the brother of the companys
President and Chief Executive Officer. The rental agreement
provides for rent, as agreed between the company and ECAP, LLC
and for reimbursement of expenses by the company for office and
other expenses. The total amounts paid by the company to ECAP,
LLC for rental and reimbursement expenses were $125,500 in 2003,
$42,496 in 2004, $71,711 in 2005, $40,212 for the nine months
ended September 30, 2005 and $27,500 for the nine months
ended September 30, 2006.
We have executive employment agreements with Edward J. Gildea,
our President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas R. Buchanan,
our Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, John A.
Walsdorf, our Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and
John P. Weigold, our Vice President Development/
Operations. Please see Employment Agreements for a
summary of these employment agreements.
We believe the transactions described above were made on terms
at least as favorable as those generally available from
unaffiliated third parties. The transactions have been ratified
by a majority of the members of our Board of Directors who are
independent directors. Future transactions with our officers,
directors or greater than five percent stockholders will be on
terms no less favorable to us than could be obtained from
unaffiliated third parties, and all such transactions will be
reviewed and subject to approval by our Audit Committee, which
will have access, at our expense, to our or independent legal
counsel.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
Our authorized capital stock consists of 75,000,000 shares
of common stock, $0.0001 par value, and
25,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par
value. As of January 1, 2007, we had 1,333,333 shares
of common stock and no shares of preferred stock outstanding.
After this offering, we will have 3,426,969 shares of
common stock outstanding, including shares issued to our bridge
lenders. If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, we
will have 3,696,969 shares outstanding.
The following is a summary of the rights of our capital stock as
provided in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, as they
will be in effect upon the closing of this offering. For more
detailed information, please see our Certificate of
Incorporation and Bylaws, which have been filed as exhibits to
the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Units
Each unit consists of one share of common stock, one redeemable
Class A warrant and one non-redeemable Class B
warrant, each warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The
public warrants will trade only as part of a unit for
30 days following the date of this prospectus. After
separation of the units, the common stock and public warrants
will trade as separate securities, and trading of the units
shall cease.
At the closing of this offering, we will deliver certificates
representing the units to the underwriter through the facilities
of the Depository Trust Company. Thereafter, investors may
request physical delivery of unit certificates at any time
before the public warrants begin trading separately from the
common stock
42
included in the units. An investor also may request delivery of
separate physical certificates for the public warrants and the
common stock comprising the units, but we will not be obligated
to make delivery of the separate certificates until after the
public warrants begin trading separately from the common stock.
Until the common stock and public warrants begin trading
separately, investors will be unable to make separate delivery
of certificates for the public warrants and common stock
comprising a unit and will be unable to settle trades in those
securities.
Class A Warrants
General. The Class A warrants issued in this
offering may be exercised after they become separately tradable
until the expiration date, which is the fifth anniversary of the
date of this prospectus. Each warrant entitles the holder to
purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of
$8.25 per share, which is 150% of the public offering price
of the units. This exercise price will be adjusted if specific
events, summarized below, occur. A holder of warrants will not
be deemed a holder of the underlying stock for any purpose until
the warrant is exercised. If at their expiration date the
Class A warrants are not currently exercisable, the
expiration date will be extended for 30 days following
notice to the holders of the warrants that the warrants are
again exercisable. If we cannot honor the exercise of
Class A warrants and the securities underlying the warrants
are listed on a securities exchange or if there are three
independent market makers for the underlying securities, we may,
but are not required to, settle the warrants for a price equal
to the difference between the closing price of the underlying
securities and the exercise price of the warrants. Because we
are not required to settle the warrants by payment of cash, and
because there is a possibility that warrant holders will not be
able to exercise the warrants when they are
in-the-money or
otherwise, there is a risk that the warrants will never be
settled in shares or payment of cash. This may have an adverse
effect on the demand for the warrants and the prices that can be
obtained from reselling them.
Redemption. We will have the right to redeem the
Class A warrants, beginning six months after the closing of
this offering, at a price of $0.25 per warrant, after
providing 30 days prior written notice to the Class A
warrantholders, at any time after the closing price of our
common stock, as reported on Nasdaq, equals or exceeds $9.35,
which is 170% of the public offering price of the units, for
five consecutive trading days. We will send a written notice of
redemption by first class mail to holders of the Class A
warrants at their last known addresses appearing on the
registration records maintained by the transfer agent. No other
form of notice or publication will be required. If we call the
warrants for redemption, the holders of the warrants will then
have to decide whether to sell warrants, exercise them before
the close of business on the business day preceding the
specified redemption date or hold them for redemption.
Class B Warrants
General. The Class B warrants issued in this
offering may be exercised after they become separately tradable
until the expiration date, which is the fifth anniversary of the
date of this prospectus. Each Class B warrant entitles the
holder to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise
price of $11.00 per share, which is 200% of the public
offering price of the units. This exercise price will be
adjusted if specific events, summarized below, occur. A holder
of warrants will not be deemed a holder of the underlying stock
for any purpose until the warrant is exercised. If at their
expiration date the Class B warrants are not currently
exercisable, the expiration date will be extended for
30 days following notice to the holders of the warrants
that the warrants are again exercisable. If we cannot honor the
exercise of Class B warrants and the securities underlying
the warrants are listed on a securities exchange or if there are
three independent market makers for the underlying securities,
we may, but are not required to, settle the warrants for a price
equal to the difference between the closing price of the
underlying securities and the exercise price of the warrants.
Because we are not required to settle the warrants by payment of
cash, and because there is a possibility that warrant holders
will not be able to exercise the warrants when they are
in-the-money or
otherwise, there is a risk that the warrants will never be
settled in shares or payment of cash. This may have an adverse
effect on the demand for the warrants and the prices that can be
obtained from reselling them.
No Redemption. The Class B warrants are
non-redeemable.
43
Provisions Applicable to the Class A and Class B
Warrants
Exercise. The holders of the warrants may exercise them
only if an appropriate registration statement is then in effect.
To exercise a warrant, the holder must deliver to our transfer
agent the warrant certificate on or before the expiration date
or the redemption date, as applicable, with the form on the
reverse side of the certificate executed as indicated,
accompanied by payment of the full exercise price for the number
of warrants being exercised. Fractional shares of common stock
will not be issued upon exercise of the warrants.
Adjustments in Certain Events. We will make adjustments
to the terms of the warrants if certain events occur. If we
distribute to our stockholders additional shares of common stock
through a dividend or distribution, or if we effect a stock
split of our common stock, we will adjust the total number of
shares of common stock purchasable on exercise of a warrant so
that the holder of a warrant thereafter exercised will be
entitled to receive the number of shares of common stock the
holder would have owned or received after such event if the
warrant holder had exercised the warrant before the event
causing the adjustment. The aggregate exercise price of the
warrant will remain the same in that circumstance, but the
effective purchase price per share of common stock purchasable
upon exercise of the warrant will be proportionately reduced
because a greater number of common stock shares will then be
purchasable upon exercise of the adjusted warrant. We will make
equivalent changes in warrants if we effect a reverse stock
split.
In the event of a capital reorganization or reclassification of
our common stock, the warrants will be adjusted so that
thereafter each warrant holder will be entitled to receive upon
exercise the same number and kind of securities that such holder
would have received if the warrant had been exercised before the
capital reorganization or reclassification of our common stock.
If we merge or consolidate with another corporation, or if we
sell our assets as an entirety or substantially as an entirety
to another corporation, we will make provisions so that warrant
holders will be entitled to receive upon exercise of a warrant
the kind and number of securities, cash or other property that
would have been received as a result of the transaction by a
person who was our stockholder immediately before the
transaction and who owned the same number of shares of common
stock for which the warrant was exercisable immediately before
the transaction. No adjustment to the warrants will be made,
however, if a merger or consolidation does not result in any
reclassification or change in our outstanding common stock.
Preferred Stock
Our Board of Directors is authorized by our Certificate of
Incorporation to establish classes or series of preferred stock
and fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the
shares of each such class or series and the qualifications,
limitations or restrictions thereof without any further vote or
action by our stockholders. Any shares of preferred stock so
issued would have priority over our common stock with respect to
dividend or liquidation rights. Any future issuance of preferred
stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a
change in our control without further action by our stockholders
and may adversely affect the voting and other rights of the
holders of our common stock. At present we have no plans to
issue any additional shares of preferred stock or to adopt any
new series, preferences or other classification of preferred
stock.
The issuance of shares of preferred stock, or the issuance of
rights to purchase such shares, could be used to discourage an
unsolicited acquisition proposal. For instance, the issuance of
a series of preferred stock might impede a business combination
by including class voting rights that would enable a holder to
block such a transaction. In addition, under certain
circumstances, the issuance of preferred stock could adversely
affect the voting power of holders of our common stock. Although
our Board of Directors is required to make any determination to
issue preferred stock based on its judgment as to the best
interests of our stockholders, our Board could act in a manner
that would discourage an acquisition attempt or other
transaction that some, or a majority, of our stockholders might
believe to be in their best interests or in which such
stockholders might receive a premium for their stock over the
then market price of such stock. Our Board presently does not
intend to seek stockholder approval prior to the issuance of
currently authorized stock, unless otherwise required by law or
applicable stock exchange rules.
44
Securities Issued in Connection with Bridge Loans
In June 2006, we completed a $1.515 million bridge loan
from lenders to help us meet our working capital needs. The
loans accrued interest at an annual rate of 8% until
October 16, 2006 and thereafter accrue interest at 18%
until paid. Under the terms of the bridge notes as amended
effective October 16, 2006, the loans are due and payable
on the earlier of the completion of a public offering of equity
securities with gross proceeds of at least $5.0 million or
January 19, 2007. At the closing of a public offering on or
before January 19, 2007, bridge lenders will be entitled to
receive units identical to the units being offered in this
offering. Each bridge lender will be entitled to receive that
number of units equal to the principal of the lenders note
divided by the initial public offering price of the units. As of
February 7, 2007, we had entered into amendments of bridge
notes totaling $843,000 extending the January 19, 2007 due
date to March 19, 2007; we expect to enter into the same
amendment of notes representing the remaining $672,000 of bridge
loans prior to the closing of this offering. The amended notes
also provide that, at the companys option, each bridge
lender will be entitled to receive that number of units equal to
the interest that has accrued on the lenders note from
October 17, 2006 until the closing of the offering divided
by the initial public offering price of the units. If a public
offering with gross proceeds of at least $5.0 million is
not completed by the applicable due date, then each bridge
lender has the right to convert the unpaid principal into the
number of shares that can be obtained by dividing the principal
amount of the note by $3.00 per share plus an equal number
of non-callable warrants exercisable at $3.00 per share for
a period of five years.
We will not pay principal or interest on the bridge loans until
the earlier of (i) the date our subsidiarys EBITDA
exceeds 1.2 times MADS for 12 months, unless we use
the proceeds from equity funding other than this offering or the
proceeds of new debt that will also be subject to this
restriction; (ii) the date we have raised new debt
subordinated to the bonds or have raised equity other than this
offering, the proceeds of which exceed the amount of principal
and interest to be repaid; (iii) a date agreed to among us,
HCF and the bridge lenders; (iv) the date that HCF provides
us with a bank stand-by letter of credit for up to
$1.665 million, which we may draw upon within 30 days
after one year from the closing of this offering in an amount
that exceeds the principal and interest to be paid to HCF and
the bridge lenders; or (v) a date agreed to by the holder
or holders of the bonds.
2006 Stock Option Plan
Our 2006 Stock Option Plan currently authorizes the grant of up
to 666,667 shares of common stock (subject to adjustment
for stock splits and similar capital changes) in connection with
restricted stock awards, incentive stock option grants and
non-qualified stock option grants. Employees and, in the case of
nonqualified stock options, directors, consultants or any
affiliate are eligible to receive grants under our plans. As of
January 1, 2007, there were outstanding options to
purchase 643,000 shares under our Option Plan.
Authorized but Unissued Shares
The authorized but unissued shares of common and preferred stock
are available for future issuance without stockholder approval.
These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate
purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional
capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The
existence of authorized but unissued shares could hinder or
discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a
proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of Delaware Law
and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws contain a number of
provisions that could make our acquisition by means of a tender
or exchange offer, a proxy contest or otherwise more difficult.
These provisions are summarized below.
Removal of Directors. Our Bylaws provide that our
directors may only be removed by the affirmative vote of the
shares entitled to vote at an election of directors; provided,
however, that if less than the entire board of directors is to
be removed, no one director may be removed if the vote cast
against his removal would be sufficient to elect him if then
cumulatively voted at an election of the entire Board of
Directors. Although our Bylaws do not give the Board the power
to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations for the
election of directors or of any other business stockholders
desire to conduct at an annual or any other
45
meeting, the Bylaws may have the effect of precluding a
nomination for the election of directors or precluding the
conduct of business at a particular annual meeting if the proper
procedures are not followed, or discouraging or deterring a
third party from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect
its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain
control, even if the conduct of that solicitation or attempt
might be beneficial to our stockholders.
Staggered Board. Staggered terms tend to protect against
sudden changes in management and may have the effect of
delaying, deferring or preventing a change in our control
without further action by our stockholders. Our Board of
Directors is divided into three classes, with one class of
directors elected at each years annual stockholder meeting.
Special Meetings. Our Bylaws provide that special
meetings of stockholders can be called by the President, at the
request of a majority of the Board of Directors at the written
request of holders of at least 50% of the shares outstanding and
entitled to vote.
Undesignated Preferred Stock. The ability to authorize
undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our Board of
Directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights
or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to
acquire us. The ability to issue preferred stock may have the
effect of deferring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in
control or management of our company.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute. We will be subject to the
provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General
Corporation Law regulating corporate takeovers. In general,
Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation
from engaging under certain circumstances in a business
combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three
years following the date the person became an interested
stockholder unless:
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Prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors of
the corporation approved either the business combination or the
transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an
interested stockholder. |
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Upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the
stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the stockholder
owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation
outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for
purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding
(1) shares owned by persons who are directors and also
officers and (2) shares owned by employee stock plans in
which employee participants do not have the right to determine
confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be
tendered in a tender or exchange offer. |
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On or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business
combination is approved by the board and authorized at an annual
or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent,
by the affirmative vote of at least
662/3%
of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the
interested stockholder. |
Generally, a business combination includes a merger, asset or
stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial
benefit to the interested stockholder. An interested stockholder
is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns
or, within three years prior to the determination of interested
stockholder status, did own 15% or more of a corporations
outstanding voting securities. We expect the existence of this
provision to have an anti-takeover effect with respect to
transactions our Board of Directors does not approve in advance.
We also anticipate that Section 203 may also discourage
attempted acquisitions that might result in a premium over the
market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.
The provisions of Delaware law, our Certificate of Incorporation
and our Bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from
attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they may
also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our
common stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile
takeover attempts. These provisions may also have the effect of
preventing changes in our management. It is possible that these
provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish
transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their
best interests.
Transfer Agent, Warrant Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock and
warrant agent for the public warrants is Computershare
Shareholder Services, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary,
Computershare Trust Company, N.A., 250 Royall Street, Canton,
Massachusetts 02021.
46
Listing
Our units, common stock, Class A warrants and Class B
warrants will be listed and traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market
and the Boston Stock Exchange under the symbols COINU, COIN,
COINW and COINZ, respectively.
47
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our
stock. Sales of our common stock in the public market after the
restrictions lapse as described below, or the perception that
those sales may occur, could cause the prevailing market price
to decrease or to be lower than it might be in the absence of
those sales or perceptions.
This Offering
Upon completion of this offering, we expect to have
3,426,969 shares of common stock outstanding. This number
assumes no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment
option, the public warrants, the underwriters warrants or
any other outstanding options and warrants. We expect to have
3,696,969 shares of common stock outstanding if the
underwriters over-allotment is exercised in full.
The 1,800,000 shares of common stock issued as part of the
units sold in this offering, together with the up to
3,600,000 shares issued upon exercise of the Class A
warrants and Class B warrants comprising part of the units
sold in this offering, will be freely tradable, except by any of
our affiliates as defined in Rule 144 under the
Securities Act, without restriction or registration under the
Securities Act. After completion of this offering, we intend to
register the 293,636 shares, 293,636 Class A warrants
and 293,636 Class B warrants underlying the units to
be issued to certain bridge lenders. All remaining shares, and
all shares subject to outstanding options and warrants, were
issued and sold by us in private transactions and are eligible
for public sale if registered under the Securities Act or sold
in accordance with Rule 144 or Rule 701 under the
Securities Act. These 1,333,333 remaining shares are considered
restricted within the meaning of Rule 144.
Restricted Stock, Lock-Up Agreements and Rule 144
The 1,333,333 shares of restricted stock may not be sold in
the absence of registration under the Securities Act unless an
exemption from registration is available, including the
exemption from registration offered by Rule 144. The
holders of these shares have agreed not to sell or otherwise
dispose of any of their shares of common stock (or any
securities convertible into shares of common stock) for a period
of one year after completion of this offering, without the prior
written consent of Paulson Investment Company, Inc., the
underwriter, subject to certain limited exceptions. After the
expiration of this
lock-up period, or
earlier with the prior written consent of Paulson Investment
Company, Inc., all of the outstanding restricted shares subject
to the lock-up may be
sold in the public market pursuant to Rule 144.
In general, under Rule 144, as currently in effect,
beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, a
person who has beneficially owned restricted shares for at least
one year, including a person who may be deemed to be our
affiliate, may sell within any three-month period a number of
shares of common stock that does not exceed a specified maximum
number of shares. This maximum is equal to the greater of 1% of
the then outstanding shares of our common stock or the average
weekly trading volume in the common stock during the four
calendar weeks immediately preceding the sale. Sales under
Rule 144 are also subject to restrictions relating to
manner of sale, notice and availability of current public
information about us. In addition, under Rule 144(k) of the
Securities Act, a person who is not our affiliate, has not been
an affiliate of ours within three months prior to the sale and
has beneficially owned shares for at least two years would be
entitled to sell such shares immediately without regard to
volume limitations, manner of sale provisions, notice or other
requirements of Rule 144.
Stock Options
As of January 1, 2007, we had granted and had outstanding
stock options to purchase 643,000 shares of common
stock under our Option Plan. A total of 666,667 shares of
common stock currently are reserved for issuance under our
Option Plan, and we intend to file a registration statement on
Form S-8 to
register these shares under the Securities Act. However, none of
the shares registered on
Form S-8 will be
eligible for resale until expiration of the
lock-up agreements to
which they are subject.
48
Bridge Securities
In June 2006, we completed a $1.515 million bridge loan
from lenders to help us meet our working capital needs. The
loans accrued interest at an annual rate of 8% until
October 16, 2006 and thereafter accrue interest at 18%
until paid. Under the terms of the bridge notes as amended
effective October 16, 2006, the loans are due and payable
on the earlier of the completion of a public offering of equity
securities with gross proceeds of at least $5.0 million or
January 19, 2007. At the closing of a public offering on or
before January 19, 2007, bridge lenders will be entitled to
receive units identical to the units being offered in this
offering. Each bridge lender will be entitled to receive that
number of units equal to the principal of the lenders note
divided by the initial public offering price of the units. As of
February 7, 2007, we had entered into amendments of bridge
notes totaling $843,000 extending the January 19, 2007 due
date to March 19, 2007; we expect to enter into the same
amendment of notes representing the remaining $672,000 of bridge
loans prior to the closing of this offering. The amended notes
also provide that, at the companys option, each bridge
lender will be entitled to receive that number of units equal to
the interest that has accrued on the lenders note from
October 17, 2006 until the closing of the offering divided
by the initial public offering price of the units. If a public
offering with gross proceeds of at least $5.0 million is
not completed by the applicable due date, then each bridge
lender has the right to convert the unpaid principal of the
lenders note into the number of shares that can be
obtained by dividing the principal amount of the note by
$3.00 per share plus an equal number of non-callable
warrants exercisable at $3.00 per share for a period of
five years from such issuance. These warrants will have a
cashless exercise feature applicable at any time after one year
from the first closing when the underlying shares of common
stock are not covered by an effective registration statement
with a current prospectus available. We have agreed to file a
registration statement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission covering the resale of the units being issued to the
bridge lenders within 180 days of the closing of this
offering and cause it to be effective no later than
270 days after the closing.
Underwriters Warrants
In connection with this offering, we have agreed to issue to the
underwriter warrants to purchase 180,000 units. The
underwriters warrants will be exercisable for units at any
time beginning one year after the date of this prospectus until
the fifth anniversary of the date of this prospectus. However,
neither the underwriters warrants nor the underlying
securities may be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or
hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale,
derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the
effective economic disposition of the securities by any person
for a period of one year immediately following the date of
effectiveness or commencement of sales of this offering, except
to any member participating in the offering and the officers or
partners thereof, and only if all securities so transferred
remain subject to the one-year
lock-up restriction for
the remainder of the
lock-up period. We have
agreed to file one registration statement to register the
securities underlying the underwriters warrants during the
period commencing on the first anniversary of the effective date
of the offering and ending on the fifth anniversary of the
effective date of the offering. The common stock and public
warrants issued to the underwriter upon exercise of these
underwriters warrants will be freely tradable.
49
UNDERWRITING
Paulson Investment Company, Inc. is the underwriter of this
offering. We and the underwriter have entered into an
underwriting agreement with respect to the units being offered.
In connection with this offering and subject to the terms and
conditions of the underwriting agreement, the underwriter named
below has agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell, the
number of units set forth opposite its name.
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Underwriter |
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Number of Units | |
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Paulson Investment Company, Inc.
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1,800,000 |
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Total
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1,800,000 |
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The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriter is
obligated to purchase all of the units offered by this
prospectus, other than those covered by the over-allotment
option, if any units are purchased. The underwriter is offering
the units when, as and if issued to and accepted by it, subject
to a number of conditions, including:
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the closing of the concurrent bond issue of the New Jersey
Economic Development Authority; |
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receipt by the underwriter of an auditors letter and
officers certificate; |
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no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the registration
statement in effect and no proceedings for such purpose
instituted or threatened; |
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approval of legal matters by counsel for the underwriter,
including the validity of the shares; and |
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the underwriters right to reject orders in whole or in
part. |
The underwriter has advised us that it proposes to offer our
units to the public initially at the offering price set forth on
the cover page of this prospectus and to selected dealers at
that price less a concession of not more than $0.22 per
unit. The underwriter and selected dealers may reallow a
concession to other dealers, including the underwriter, of not
more than $0.10 per unit. After completion of the public
offering of the units, the offering price, the concessions to
selected dealers and the reallowance to their dealers may be
changed by the underwriter.
The underwriter has informed us that it does not expect to
confirm sales of our units offered by this prospectus on a
discretionary basis.
We have been advised by the underwriter that it intends to make
a market in our securities but that it is not obligated to do so
and may discontinue making a market at any time without notice.
In connection with the offering, the underwriter or certain of
the securities dealers may distribute prospectuses
electronically.
Over-allotment Option
Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, we have granted the
underwriter an option, exercisable for 45 days from the
date of this prospectus, to purchase up to an additional
270,000 units on the same terms as the other units being
purchased by the underwriter from us. The underwriter may
exercise the option solely to cover over-allotments, if any, in
the sale of the units that the underwriter has agreed to
purchase. If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the
total public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds
to us before offering expenses will be $11,385,000, $796,950 and
$10,588,050, respectively.
Stabilization
The rules of the SEC generally prohibit the underwriter from
trading in our securities on the open market during this
offering. However, the underwriter is allowed to engage in some
open market transactions and other activities during this
offering that may cause the market price of our securities to be
above or
50
below that which would otherwise prevail in the open market.
These activities may include stabilization, short sales and
over-allotments, syndicate covering transactions and penalty
bids.
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Stabilizing transactions consist of bids or purchases made by
the managing underwriter for the purpose of preventing or
slowing a decline in the market price of our securities while
this offering is in progress. |
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Short sales and over-allotments occur when the underwriter, on
behalf of the underwriting syndicate, sells more of our units
than it purchases from us in this offering. In order to cover
the resulting short position, the underwriter may exercise the
over-allotment option described above or may engage in syndicate
covering transactions. There is no contractual limit on the size
of any syndicate covering transaction. The underwriter will make
available a prospectus in connection with any such short sales.
Purchasers of units sold short by the underwriter are entitled
to the same remedies under the federal securities laws as any
other purchaser of units covered by the registration statement. |
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Syndicate covering transactions are bids for or purchases of our
securities on the open market by the underwriter in order to
reduce a short position incurred by the underwriter. |
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Penalty bids permit the underwriter to reclaim a selling
concession from a syndicate member when the units originally
sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate
covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. |
If the underwriter commences these activities, it may
discontinue them at any time without notice. The underwriter may
carry out these transactions on the Nasdaq Capital Market, the
Boston Stock Exchange or otherwise.
Indemnification
The underwriting agreement provides for indemnification between
us and the underwriter against specified liabilities, including
liabilities under the Securities Act, and for contribution by us
and the underwriter to payments that may be required to be made
with respect to those liabilities. We have been advised that, in
the opinion of the SEC, indemnification for liabilities under
the Securities Act is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Underwriters Compensation
We have agreed to sell the units to the underwriter at the
initial offering price of $5.115 per unit, which represents
the initial public offering price of the units set forth on the
cover page of this prospectus less the 7% underwriting discount.
The underwriting agreement also provides that Paulson Investment
Company, Inc. will be paid a non-accountable expense allowance
equal to 3% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the units
offered by this prospectus, excluding any units purchased on
exercise of the over-allotment option. We have paid Paulson
Investment Company, Inc. a $35,000 advance against the
non-accountable expense allowance which, if the offering is
terminated, will be returned to us to the extent it is not
applied to expenses actually incurred by the underwriter.
On completion of this offering, we will issue to the underwriter
warrants to purchase up to 180,000 units at a price of per
unit equal to 120% of the initial offering price of the units.
The underwriters warrants will be exercisable for units at
any time beginning one year after the date of this prospectus,
and will expire on the fifth anniversary of the date of this
prospectus. However, neither the underwriters warrants nor
the underlying securities may be sold, transferred, assigned,
pledged, or hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging,
short sale, derivative, put, or call transaction that would
result in the effective economic disposition of the securities
by any person for a period of one year immediately following the
date of effectiveness or commencement of sales of the offering,
except to any member participating in the offering and the
officers or partners thereof, and only if all securities so
transferred remain subject to the one year
lock-up restriction for
the remainder of the
lock-up period.
51
The holder of these warrants will have, in that capacity, no
voting, dividend or other stockholder rights. Any profit
realized on the sale of the units issuable upon exercise of
these warrants may be deemed to be additional underwriting
compensation. The securities underlying these warrants are being
registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this
prospectus is a part. During the term of these warrants, the
holder thereof is given the opportunity to profit from a rise in
the market price of our common stock. We may find it more
difficult to raise additional equity capital while these
warrants are outstanding. At any time at which these warrants
are likely to be exercised, we may be able to obtain additional
equity capital on more favorable terms.
The following table summarizes the underwriting discount and the
non-accountable expense allowance we will pay to the
underwriter. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise
and full exercise of the underwriters over-allotment
option.
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Without Over- | |
|
With Over- | |
|
|
Per Unit | |
|
Allotment | |
|
Allotment | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Underwriting discount
|
|
$ |
0.385 |
|
|
$ |
693,000 |
|
|
$ |
796,950 |
|
Non-accountable expense allowance
|
|
|
0.165 |
|
|
|
297,000 |
|
|
|
297,000 |
|
Lock-Up Agreements
Our officers, directors and all stockholders (including holders
of securities convertible into common stock) have agreed that
for a period of one year from the date this registration
statement becomes effective they will not sell, contract to
sell, grant any option for the sale or otherwise dispose of any
of our equity securities, or any securities convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for our equity securities, other
than through existing
Rule 10b5-1
trading plans, intra-family transfers or transfers to trusts for
estate planning purposes, without the consent of Paulson
Investment Company, Inc. which consent will not be unreasonably
withheld. Paulson Investment Company, Inc. may consent to an
early release from the one-year
lock-up period if, in
its opinion, the market for the common stock would not be
adversely affected by sales and in cases of an officer, director
or other stockholders financial emergency. We are unaware
of any officer, director or current stockholder who intends to
ask for consent to dispose of any of our equity securities
during the lock-up
period.
Determination of Offering Price
The public offering price of the units offered by this
prospectus and the exercise price of the public warrants have
been determined by negotiation between us and the underwriter.
Among the factors considered in determining the public offering
price of the units and the exercise price of the warrants were:
|
|
|
|
|
our history and our prospects; |
|
|
|
the industry in which we operate; |
|
|
|
the status and development prospects for our proposed products; |
|
|
|
the previous experience of our executive officers; and |
|
|
|
the general condition of the securities markets at the time of
this offering. |
The offering price stated on the cover page of this prospectus
should not be considered an indication of the actual value of
the units. That price is subject to change as a result of market
conditions and other factors, and we cannot assure you that the
units, or the common stock and warrants contained in the units,
can be resold at or above the initial public offering price.
LEGAL MATTERS
Holland & Knight LLP, Portland, Oregon will pass upon
the validity of the common stock offered by this prospectus on
our behalf. The underwriter has been represented by Tonkon Torp
LLP, Portland, Oregon.
52
EXPERTS
Our financial statements for the period ended December 31,
2003 and the years ended December 31, 2004 and 2005
included in this prospectus have been audited by Carlin,
Charron & Rosen, LLP, independent registered public
accountants, to the extent set forth in their report, and are
set forth in this prospectus in reliance upon such report given
upon the authority of them as experts in auditing and accounting.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
In connection with the units offered by this prospectus, we have
filed a registration statement on
Form SB-2 under
the Securities Act with the SEC. This prospectus, filed as part
of the registration statement, does not contain all of the
information included in the registration statement and the
accompanying exhibits and schedules. For further information
with respect to our units, shares and warrants, and us you
should refer to the registration statement and the accompanying
exhibits and schedules. Statements contained in this prospectus
regarding the contents of any contract or any other document are
not necessarily complete, and you should refer to the copy of
the contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the
registration statement. You may inspect a copy of the
registration statement and the accompanying exhibits and
schedules without charge at the SECs public reference
facility, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, and
you may obtain copies of all or any part of the registration
statement from this office for a fee. You may obtain information
on the operation of the public reference facility by calling the
SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
The SEC maintains a web site that contains reports, proxy and
information statements and other information regarding
registrants that file electronically. The address of the site is
http://www.sec.gov.
You should rely only on the information contained in this
prospectus and in any free writing prospectus that states that
it has been provided with our approval. We have not, and the
underwriter has not, authorized any other person to provide you
with different information. If anyone provides you with
different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on
it. Information contained on our website does not constitute a
part of this prospectus. The information in this prospectus may
only be accurate as of the date appearing on the cover page of
this prospectus, regardless of the time this prospectus is
delivered or our units are sold.
We are not, and the underwriter is not, making an offer to sell
the units in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not
permitted. No action is being taken in any jurisdiction outside
the United States to permit a public offering of our securities
or the possession or distribution of this prospectus in any such
jurisdiction. Persons who come into possession of this
prospectus in jurisdictions outside of the United States are
required to inform themselves about and to observe any
restrictions as to this offering and the distribution of this
prospectus applicable in that jurisdiction.
We own no registered trademarks. Brand names or trademarks
appearing in this prospectus are the property of their
respective owners.
53
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page | |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
F-2 |
|
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-3 |
|
|
Consolidated Statements of Operations,
May 2, 2003 (inception) through December 31, 2003
(Audited), January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004
(Audited), January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005
(Audited), May 2, 2003 (inception) through
December 31, 2005 (Audited), January 1, 2005 through
September 30, 2005 (Unaudited), January 1, 2006
through September 30, 2006 (Unaudited), and May 2,
2003 (inception) through September 30, 2006
(Unaudited)
|
|
|
F-4 |
|
|
Consolidated Statements of Changes in
Owners Equity (Deficiency), May 2, 2003
(inception) through December 31, 2003 (Audited),
January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004 (Audited),
January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005 (Audited),
and January 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006
(Unaudited)
|
|
|
F-5 |
|
|
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows,
May 2, 2003 (inception) through December 31, 2003
(Audited), January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004
(Audited), January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005
(Audited), May 2, 2003 (inception) through
December 31, 2005 (Audited), January 1, 2005 through
September 30, 2005 (Unaudited), January 1, 2006
through September 30, 2006 (Unaudited), and May 2,
2003 (inception) through September 30, 2006
(Unaudited)
|
|
|
F-6 |
|
|
|
|
|
F-8 |
|
F-1
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
Converted Organics Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of
Converted Organics Inc. (a development stage company) as of
December 31, 2003, December 31, 2004, and
December 31, 2005 and the related consolidated statements
of operations, changes in owners equity
(deficiency) and cash flows for the periods from
May 2, 2003 (inception) through December 31,
2003, January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004,
January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005, and
cumulative from May 2, 2003 (inception) through
December 31, 2005. These consolidated financial statements
are the responsibility of the companys management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated
financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial
statements are free of material misstatement. The company is not
required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of
its internal control over financial reporting. Our audits
included consideration of internal control over financial
reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of
expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the companys
internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we
express no such opinion. An audit includes examining, on a test
basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the
consolidated financial statements, assessing the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management, as
well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.
We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our
opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred
to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of Converted Organics Inc. (a development stage
company) as of December 31, 2003, December 31, 2004,
and December 31, 2005, and the results of its operations
and its cash flows for the periods from May 2, 2003
(inception) through December 31, 2003, January 1,
2004 through December 31, 2004, January 1, 2005
through December 31, 2005, and cumulative from May 2,
2003 (inception) through December 31, 2005 in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been
prepared assuming that the company will continue as a going
concern. As shown in the accompanying consolidated financial
statements, the company has a working capital deficiency of
$845,162 as of December 31, 2005, has not earned any
revenues, and has incurred a net loss since its inception
totaling $2,563,652 through December 31, 2005. These
factors raise substantial doubt about the companys ability
to continue as a going concern. Managements plans
regarding these matters are described in Note 1. These
consolidated financial statements do not include adjustments
that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
/s/ Carlin, Charron & Rosen, LLP
Glastonbury, Connecticut
June 2, 2006, except for Note 10, as to which the date
is June 15, 2006
F-2
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2006 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
ASSETS |
|
CURRENT ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
|
|
$ |
75,403 |
|
|
$ |
7,366 |
|
|
$ |
371 |
|
|
$ |
27,940 |
|
|
Prepaid rent
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
35,000 |
|
|
Prepaid insurance
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,625 |
|
|
Deferred financing and issuance costs, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
64,110 |
|
|
|
316,294 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total current assets
|
|
|
75,403 |
|
|
|
7,366 |
|
|
|
64,481 |
|
|
|
399,859 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OTHER ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other security deposit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
65,000 |
|
|
Intangible asset license
|
|
|
660,000 |
|
|
|
660,000 |
|
|
|
660,000 |
|
|
|
660,000 |
|
|
Less: accumulated amortization
|
|
|
(8,250 |
) |
|
|
(24,750 |
) |
|
|
(41,250 |
) |
|
|
(53,625 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
651,750 |
|
|
|
635,250 |
|
|
|
618,750 |
|
|
|
671,375 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total assets
|
|
$ |
727,153 |
|
|
$ |
642,616 |
|
|
$ |
683,231 |
|
|
$ |
1,071,234 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIABILITIES AND OWNERS EQUITY (DEFICIENCY) |
|
LIABILITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts payable and other accrued expenses
|
|
$ |
23,063 |
|
|
$ |
151,829 |
|
|
$ |
324,843 |
|
|
$ |
481,357 |
|
|
Accrued compensation officers, directors and
consultants
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
300,000 |
|
|
Accrued legal fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29,110 |
|
|
|
48,755 |
|
|
Accrued interest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,518 |
|
|
|
55,690 |
|
|
|
70,608 |
|
|
Term notes payable
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
500,000 |
|
|
|
500,000 |
|
|
Bridge loan payable, net of discount
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,441,358 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total current liabilities
|
|
|
23,063 |
|
|
|
412,347 |
|
|
|
909,643 |
|
|
|
2,842,078 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OWNERS EQUITY (DEFICIENCY)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred stock, $.0001 par value, authorized
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25,000,000 shares; no shares issued and outstanding
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock, $.0001 par value, authorized
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
75,000,000 shares
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
133 |
|
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4,113,385 |
|
|
Members equity
|
|
|
2,092,040 |
|
|
|
2,165,240 |
|
|
|
2,337,240 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deficit accumulated during the development stage
|
|
|
(1,387,950 |
) |
|
|
(1,934,971 |
) |
|
|
(2,563,652 |
) |
|
|
(5,884,362 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total owners equity (deficiency)
|
|
|
704,090 |
|
|
|
230,269 |
|
|
|
(226,412 |
) |
|
|
(1,770,844 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total liabilities and owners equity (deficiency)
|
|
$ |
727,153 |
|
|
$ |
642,616 |
|
|
$ |
683,231 |
|
|
$ |
1,071,234 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
consolidated financial statements.
F-3
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cumulative | |
|
|
|
|
|
Cumulative | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
from | |
|
|
|
|
|
from | |
|
|
May 2, 2003 | |
|
|
|
|
|
May 2, 2003 | |
|
|
|
|
|
May 2, 2003 | |
|
|
(Inception) | |
|
January 1, | |
|
January 1, | |
|
(Inception) | |
|
January 1, | |
|
January 1, | |
|
(Inception) | |
|
|
through | |
|
2004 through | |
|
2005 through | |
|
through | |
|
2005 through | |
|
2006 through | |
|
through | |
|
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2006 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
REVENUES
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COSTS AND EXPENSES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and development costs
|
|
|
964,975 |
|
|
|
377,239 |
|
|
|
154,598 |
|
|
|
1,496,812 |
|
|
|
142,893 |
|
|
|
170,337 |
|
|
|
1,667,149 |
|
|
General and administrative expenses
|
|
|
414,725 |
|
|
|
142,764 |
|
|
|
394,411 |
|
|
|
951,900 |
|
|
|
243,370 |
|
|
|
2,256,052 |
|
|
|
3,207,952 |
|
|
Amortization of intangible asset license
|
|
|
8,250 |
|
|
|
16,500 |
|
|
|
16,500 |
|
|
|
41,250 |
|
|
|
12,375 |
|
|
|
12,375 |
|
|
|
53,625 |
|
|
Amortization of deferred financing fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
73,599 |
|
|
|
73,599 |
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,518 |
|
|
|
50,172 |
|
|
|
60,690 |
|
|
|
26,803 |
|
|
|
798,547 |
|
|
|
859,237 |
|
|
Bad debt expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
13,000 |
|
|
|
13,000 |
|
|
|
9,800 |
|
|
|
9,800 |
|
|
|
22,800 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,387,950 |
|
|
|
547,021 |
|
|
|
628,681 |
|
|
|
2,563,652 |
|
|
|
435,241 |
|
|
|
3,320,710 |
|
|
|
5,884,362 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss before provision for income taxes
|
|
|
(1,387,950 |
) |
|
|
(547,021 |
) |
|
|
(628,681 |
) |
|
|
(2,563,652 |
) |
|
|
(435,241 |
) |
|
|
(3,320,710 |
) |
|
|
(5,884,362 |
) |
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
$ |
(1,387,950 |
) |
|
$ |
(547,021 |
) |
|
$ |
(628,681 |
) |
|
$ |
(2,563,652 |
) |
|
$ |
(435,241 |
) |
|
$ |
(3,320,710 |
) |
|
$ |
(5,884,362 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
consolidated financial statements.
F-4
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN OWNERS EQUITY
(DEFICIENCY)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common Stock | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Additional | |
|
Deficit Accumulated | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares Issued | |
|
|
|
Paid-In | |
|
During the | |
|
Members | |
|
Total Owners | |
|
|
and Outstanding | |
|
Amount | |
|
Capital | |
|
Development Stage | |
|
Equity | |
|
Equity(Deficiency) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Balance, May 2, 2003 (Inception)
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
Members contributions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,099,500 |
|
|
|
2,099,500 |
|
Members distributions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(7,460 |
) |
|
|
(7,460 |
) |
Net loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,387,950 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,387,950 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance, December 31, 2003 (Audited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,387,950 |
) |
|
|
2,092,040 |
|
|
|
704,090 |
|
Members contributions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
73,200 |
|
|
|
73,200 |
|
Net loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(547,021 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(547,021 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance, December 31, 2004 (Audited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1,934,971 |
) |
|
|
2,165,240 |
|
|
|
230,269 |
|
Members contributions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
172,000 |
|
|
|
172,000 |
|
Net loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(628,681 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(628,681 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance, December 31, 2005 (Audited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2,563,652 |
) |
|
|
2,337,240 |
|
|
|
(226,412 |
) |
Recapitalization of members equity (Unaudited)
|
|
|
600,000 |
|
|
|
60 |
|
|
|
2,337,180 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2,337,240 |
) |
|
|
|
|
Issuance of common stock to founders (Unaudited)
|
|
|
733,333 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
73 |
|
Stock options issued as compensation (Unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,018,705 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,018,705 |
|
Bridge loan rights (Unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
757,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
757,500 |
|
Net loss (Unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(3,320,710 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(3,320,710 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance, September 30, 2006 (Unaudited)
|
|
|
1,333,333 |
|
|
$ |
133 |
|
|
$ |
4,113,385 |
|
|
$ |
(5,884,362 |
) |
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
(1,770,844 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
consolidated financial statements.
F-5
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cumulative | |
|
|
|
|
|
Cumulative | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
from | |
|
|
|
|
|
from | |
|
|
May 2, 2003 | |
|
January 1, | |
|
January 1, | |
|
May 2, 2003 | |
|
January 1, | |
|
January 1, | |
|
May 2, 2003 | |
|
|
(Inception) | |
|
2004 | |
|
2005 | |
|
(Inception) | |
|
2005 | |
|
2006 | |
|
(Inception) | |
|
|
through | |
|
through | |
|
through | |
|
through | |
|
through | |
|
through | |
|
through | |
|
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2006 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
$ |
(1,387,950 |
) |
|
$ |
(547,021 |
) |
|
$ |
(628,681 |
) |
|
$ |
(2,563,652 |
) |
|
$ |
(435,241 |
) |
|
$ |
(3,320,710 |
) |
|
$ |
(5,884,362 |
) |
|
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization of intangible asset license
|
|
|
8,250 |
|
|
|
16,500 |
|
|
|
16,500 |
|
|
|
41,250 |
|
|
|
12,375 |
|
|
|
12,375 |
|
|
|
53,625 |
|
|
|
|
Amortization of deferred financing fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
73,599 |
|
|
|
73,599 |
|
|
|
|
Amortization of discount on bridge loan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
683,858 |
|
|
|
683,858 |
|
|
|
|
Stock option compensation expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,018,705 |
|
|
|
1,018,705 |
|
|
|
|
Compensation expense pursuant to common stock issued to founders
at incorporation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
Changes in assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Increase) decrease in:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prepaid expenses and other assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(100,000 |
) |
|
|
(100,000 |
) |
|
|
|
Prepaid insurance
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(20,625 |
) |
|
|
(20,625 |
) |
|
|
Increase (decrease) in:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts payable and other accrued expenses
|
|
|
23,063 |
|
|
|
128,766 |
|
|
|
173,014 |
|
|
|
324,843 |
|
|
|
134,579 |
|
|
|
176,159 |
|
|
|
501,002 |
|
|
|
|
Accrued compensation officers, directors and
consultants
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
300,000 |
|
|
|
300,000 |
|
|
|
|
Accrued interest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,518 |
|
|
|
45,172 |
|
|
|
55,690 |
|
|
|
26,803 |
|
|
|
14,918 |
|
|
|
70,608 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash used in operating activities
|
|
|
(1,356,637 |
) |
|
|
(391,237 |
) |
|
|
(393,995 |
) |
|
|
(2,141,869 |
) |
|
|
(261,484 |
) |
|
|
(1,161,648 |
) |
|
|
(3,303,517 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase of license
|
|
|
(660,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(660,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(660,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(660,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(660,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(660,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
consolidated financial statements.
F-6
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Continued)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cumulative | |
|
|
|
|
|
Cumulative | |
|
|
May 2, 2003 | |
|
|
|
|
|
from Inception | |
|
|
|
|
|
from Inception | |
|
|
(Inception) | |
|
January 1, | |
|
January 1, | |
|
(May 2, 2003) | |
|
January 1, | |
|
January 1, | |
|
(May 2, 2003) | |
|
|
through | |
|
2004 through | |
|
2005 through | |
|
through | |
|
2005 through | |
|
2006 through | |
|
through | |
|
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
September 30, | |
|
|
2003 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2006 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Members contributions
|
|
|
2,099,500 |
|
|
|
73,200 |
|
|
|
172,000 |
|
|
|
2,344,700 |
|
|
|
172,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,344,700 |
|
|
Proceeds from term notes payable
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
500,000 |
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
500,000 |
|
|
Proceeds from bridge loan, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,434,250 |
|
|
|
1,434,250 |
|
|
Members distributions
|
|
|
(7,460 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(7,460 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(7,460 |
) |
|
Payments made for deferred issuance costs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(35,000 |
) |
|
|
(35,000 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(245,033 |
) |
|
|
(280,033 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by financing activities
|
|
|
2,092,040 |
|
|
|
323,200 |
|
|
|
387,000 |
|
|
|
2,802,240 |
|
|
|
422,000 |
|
|
|
1,189,217 |
|
|
|
3,991,457 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH
|
|
|
75,403 |
|
|
|
(68,037 |
) |
|
|
(6,995 |
) |
|
|
371 |
|
|
|
160,516 |
|
|
|
27,569 |
|
|
$ |
27,940 |
|
CASH, beginning of period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
75,403 |
|
|
|
7,366 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7,366 |
|
|
|
371 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CASH, end of period
|
|
$ |
75,403 |
|
|
$ |
7,366 |
|
|
$ |
371 |
|
|
$ |
371 |
|
|
$ |
167,882 |
|
|
$ |
27,940 |
|
|
$ |
27,940 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NON-CASH FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred legal fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
29,110 |
|
|
$ |
29,110 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
245,033 |
|
|
$ |
274,143 |
|
|
Discount bridge equity notes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
757,500 |
|
|
|
757,500 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these
consolidated financial statements.
F-7
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
NATURE OF OPERATIONS
Converted Organics Inc. (a development stage company) (the
company) is seeking to use organic waste as a
feedstock to manufacture, sell and distribute all-natural soil
amendment products combining disease suppression and nutrition
characteristics. Converted Organics of Woodbridge, LLC
(Woodbridge), a New Jersey limited liability company
and wholly owned subsidiary of the company, was formed for the
purpose of owning constructing and operating the Woodbridge, New
Jersey facility. Woodbridge has had no assets, liabilities or
operations to date.
The company was incorporated in the State of Delaware on
January 4, 2006. On February 21, 2006, the company
merged with Mining Organics Management LLC (MOM) and
Mining Organics Harlem River Rail Yard LLC (HRRY).
As discussed in Note 6, the mergers were accounted for as a
recapitalization. MOM and HRRY had been previously organized as
Massachusetts limited liability companies on May 2, 2003
and July 29, 2003, respectively. The members of MOM
included a limited liability company, the managing member of
which is the companys current director William A.
Gildea, another limited liability company, the sole member of
which is consultant John E. Tucker, and the companys
current Chief Financial Officer Thomas R. Buchanan. Weston
Solutions, Inc. and MOM were equal members of HRRY. Each of MOM
and HRRY was formed to promote the principal business objective
of Converted Organics Inc. that is, to implement
licensed technology to facilitate the conversion of organic food
waste into solid and liquid fertilizer products. MOM was
originally intended to be the principal operating entity, and
HRRY was a location-specific entity that was formed to develop
business opportunities in New York. Thereafter, to consolidate
the various related entities, Converted Organics Inc. was formed
and each of HRRY and MOM was merged into it. As a result, the
historical financial results of MOM and HRRY have been reflected
in the companys consolidated financial statements. As a
result of the merger of Converted Organics Inc. and HRRY, each
of the members of HRRY received 300,000 shares of Converted
Organics Inc. common stock. MOM subsequently distributed the
300,000 shares that it received as a result of the merger
to its members; as a result, Mr. William Gildea and
Mr. Tucker each received 135,000 shares of Converted
Organics common stock and Mr. Buchanan received
30,000 shares. No shares of Converted Organics Inc. common
stock were issued in connection with the merger between
Converted Organics Inc. and MOM because MOM did not contribute
any value as of the date of the merger.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE
COMPANY
The company is considered a development stage company as defined
by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
(SFAS) No. 7, as it has no principal operations or
revenue from any source. Operations from the companys
inception have been devoted primarily to strategic planning,
raising capital and developing revenue-generating opportunities.
GOING CONCERN/
MANAGEMENTS PLAN
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been
prepared assuming that the company will continue as a going
concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the
settlement of liabilities and commitments in the normal course
of business. As shown in the accompanying consolidated financial
statements, the company has a working capital deficiency of
$845,162 and $2,442,219 as of December 31, 2005 (Audited)
and September 30, 2006 (Unaudited), respectively, has not
earned any revenues, and has incurred a net loss since its
inception totaling $2,563,652 and $5,884,362 as of
December 31, 2005 (Audited) and September 30, 2006
(Unaudited), respectively. These factors raise substantial doubt
about the companys ability to continue as a going concern.
These consolidated financial statements do not include
adjustments that might result from the outcome of this
uncertainty.
F-8
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
The company is contemplating an initial public offering of
2,000,000 units. Each unit consists of one share of common
stock, one redeemable Class A warrant and one
non-redeemable Class B warrant, each warrant to purchase
one share of common stock. A portion of the contemplated initial
public offering, together with the proceeds of an approximately
$17.5 million solid waste revenue bond offering that is
expected to close simultaneously with the closing of this
offering, will be used principally to develop and construct a
facility in Woodbridge, New Jersey that will convert organic
food waste into soil amendment products. The company expects
this facility to be operational approximately one year from the
date of the closing of these contemplated offerings.
The companys revenues are expected to come from two
sources: tip fees and product sales. Waste haulers will pay the
company tip fees for accepting food waste generated
by food distributors such as grocery stores, produce docks and
fish markets, food processors, and hospitality venues such as
hotels, restaurants, convention centers and airports. Revenue
will also come from the sale of the companys fertilizer
products. The companys products will possess a combination
of nutritional, disease suppression and soil amendment
characteristics. The companys initial facility is designed
to service the New York-Northern New Jersey metropolitan area.
USE OF ESTIMATES
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures
in the consolidated financial statements. Actual results could
differ from those estimates.
UNAUDITED INTERIM FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
The accompanying interim financial information as of
September 30, 2006 and for the nine month periods ended
September 30, 2006 and 2005 and the period from inception
(May 2, 2003) through September 30, 2006 was taken
from the companys books and records without audit.
However, in the opinion of management, such information includes
all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring accruals)
which are necessary to properly reflect the financial position
of the company as of September 30, 2006 and the results of
operation for the nine month periods ended September 30,
2006 and 2005 and the period from inception (May 2, 2003)
through September 30, 2006. The results of operations for
the nine months ended September 30, 2006 are not
necessarily indicative of those to be expected for the year
ended December 31, 2006.
CASH AND CASH
EQUIVALENTS
The company considers financial instruments with a maturity date
of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash
equivalents. The company had no cash equivalents at
December 31, 2003 (Audited), December 31, 2004
(Audited), December 31, 2005 (Audited) and
September 30, 2006 (Unaudited).
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
COSTS
Research and development costs include the costs of engineering,
design, feasibility studies, outside services, personnel and
other costs incurred in development of the companys
manufacturing facilities. All such costs are charged to expense
as incurred.
F-9
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
INCOME TAXES
The company recognizes deferred tax liabilities and assets for
the expected future tax consequences of events that have been
included in the consolidated financial statements or tax
returns. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined
based on the differences between the financial statement and tax
bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in
effect for the year in which the differences are expected to
reverse. Differences between the financial statement and tax
bases of assets, liabilities, and other transactions did not
result in a provision for current or deferred income taxes for
the periods from January 4, 2006 through September 30,
2006 (Unaudited).
No provision for federal or state income taxes is recognized for
MOM and HRRY as those entities are limited liability companies.
As such, taxable income, losses, deductions and credits pass
through to the members to be reported on their tax returns.
RECENT ACCOUNTING
PRONOUNCEMENTS
In February 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board
(FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards (SFAS) No. 155, Accounting for
Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments an amendment of
FASB Statements No. 133 and 140. In May 2005, the
FASB issued SFAS No. 154, Accounting Changes and
Error Corrections a replacement of APB opinion
No. 20 and FASB Statement No 3. In December 2004, the
FASB issued SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004),
Share-Based Payment. In December 2004, the FASB
issued SFAS No. 153, Exchange of Non-monetary
Assets, an Amendment of APB Opinion No 29. In December
2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 152, Accounting
for Real Estate Time-Sharing Transactions an
amendment of APB opinion No. 29. The company is not
significantly impacted by these statements and does not expect
their implementation to have a material impact on the
companys consolidated financial statements.
NOTE 2 FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL
INSTRUMENTS
CONCENTRATIONS OF CREDIT
RISK
The companys financial instrument that is exposed to a
concentration of credit risk is cash. The company places its
cash with a high credit quality institution. At
December 31, 2005 (Audited), the companys cash
balance on deposit did not exceed federal depository insurance
limits. At September 30, 2006 (Unaudited), the
companys cash balance on deposit did not exceed federal
depository insurance limits.
FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL
INSTRUMENTS
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
(SFAS) No. 107, Fair Value of Financial
Instruments, requires disclosure of the fair value of
financial instruments for which the determination of fair value
is practicable. SFAS No. 107 defines the fair value of
a financial instrument as the amount at which the instrument
could be exchanged in a current transaction between willing
parties. The carrying amount of the companys financial
instruments consisting of cash, accounts payable, and accrued
expenses approximate their fair value because of the short
maturity of those instruments. The fair value of the term notes
payable was estimated by discounting the future cash flows using
current rates offered by lenders for similar borrowings with
similar credit ratings. The fair value of term notes payable
approximated their carrying value. The companys financial
instruments are held for other than trading purposes.
NOTE 3 DEFERRED FINANCING AND ISSUANCE
COSTS, NET
In October 2005, the company capitalized prepaid financing costs
in the amount of $35,000 that were paid to an underwriter in
anticipation of a proposed public offering and has capitalized
legal costs totaling
F-10
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
$29,110 and $274,143 at December 31, 2005 (Audited), and
September 30, 2006 (Unaudited), respectively, in
anticipation of a proposed public offering (see Note 1).
The company also paid $80,750 in financing and broker fees
during 2006 in connection with its bridge financing. The
deferred financing and broker fees are being amortized over the
life of the bridge loan (Note 5). Amortization of deferred
financing fees totaled $73,599 for the nine months ended
September 30, 2006 (Unaudited).
NOTE 4 INTANGIBLE ASSET
LICENSE
Pursuant to a license agreement with an effective date of
July 15, 2003 and amended effective February 9, 2006,
the company entered into an exclusive license to use its
enhanced Autogenous Thermophylic Aerobic Digestion process
(EATAD) technology for the design, construction and
operation of facilities for the conversation of organic waste
into solid and liquid organic material. The license is stated at
cost. Amortization is provided using the straight-line method
over the life of the license. Amortization expense for the
periods from May 2, 2003 (inception) through
December 31, 2003 (Audited), January 1, 2004 through
December 31, 2004 (Audited), January 1, 2005 through
December 31, 2005 (Audited), January 1, 2005 through
September 30, 2005 (Unaudited) and January 1, 2006
through September 30, 2006 (Unaudited) was $8,250, $16,500,
$16,500, $12,375 and $12,375, respectively. The company expects
the licenses annual amortization expense to be $16,500
until fully amortized at the end of the 40 year license
period.
Intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or
other changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount
may not be recoverable. An impairment charge is recognized if a
reporting units intangible asset carrying amount exceeds
its implied fair value.
NOTE 5 DEBT
TERM NOTES
The company has two term notes payable: (1) unsecured term
note dated August 27, 2004 in the amount of $250,000 due on
demand (with a stated maturity date of September 30,
2006 also see Note 12), plus accrued interest
at 12%, and (2) unsecured term note dated September 6,
2005 in the amount of $250,000 due on demand (with a stated
maturity date of September 15, 2006 also see
Note 12), plus accrued interest at 15%.
A schedule of outstanding principal amounts of the term notes is
as follows:
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December 31, |
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December 31, | |
|
December 31, | |
|
September 30, | |
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2003 |
|
2004 | |
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2005 | |
|
2006 | |
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| |
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| |
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| |
|
|
(Audited) |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Audited) | |
|
(Unaudited) | |
Term note dated August 27, 2004
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
250,000 |
|
|
$ |
250,000 |
|
|
$ |
250,000 |
|
Term note dated September 6, 2005
|
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|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
250,000 |
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|
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250,000 |
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500,000 |
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500,000 |
|
Less: current portion
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(250,000 |
) |
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(500,000 |
) |
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(500,000 |
) |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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BRIDGE FINANCING
On March 2, 2006, the company completed a $500,000 bridge
loan (Bridge Financing) from lenders (Bridge
Noteholders) to help meet the companys working
capital needs. The loans (Bridge Loans) accrue
interest at an annual rate of 8%, which is payable in arrears
quarterly, and are due and payable on the
F-11
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
earlier of October 16, 2006 (also see Note 12) or
the completion of a public offering of equity securities
(Qualified Public Offering). If a Qualified Public
Offering is not completed by October 16, 2006, the company
shall issue to the Bridge Noteholders alternative bridge equity
units consisting of that number of shares of common stock of the
company as shall equal the principal amount of the bridge notes
divided by $3.00 plus an equal number of non-callable warrants
exercisable at $3.00 per share for a period of five years
from such issuance, and which have a cashless exercise feature
applicable at any time after one year from the first closing
when the underlying shares of common stock are not covered by an
effective registration statement with a current prospectus
available. The placement agent for the Bridge Financing received
a commission equal to 5% of the gross proceeds from the Bridge
Financing. The company received the $500,000 Bridge Financing
net of the commission to the placement agent of $25,000. The
company has classified this cost as deferred financing costs.
In April, May and June 2006, the company received additional
proceeds totaling $1,015,000 (net of a $50,750 commission to the
placement agent) from a series of promissory notes issued under
the terms of the Financing Terms Agreement dated March 2,
2006.
In connection with the Bridge Loans, the company issued bridge
notes (Bridge Notes) and securities of the company
(Bridge Equity Units) to the Bridge Noteholders. If
a Qualified Public Offering occurs before October 16, 2006,
the Bridge Noteholders will be entitled to receive Bridge Equity
Units consisting of securities identical in form to the
securities being offered in the Qualified Public Offering. Each
Bridge Noteholder will be entitled to receive Bridge Equity
Units equal to the principal of the Bridge Noteholders
bridge loan divided by the initial public offering price of the
securities comprising the Bridge Equity Unit.
The Bridge Loans and the Bridge Equity Units were allocated for
accounting purposes based on the relative fair values at the
time of issuance of (i) the Bridge Loans without the Bridge
Equity Units and (ii) the Bridge Equity Units themselves.
The fair value of the Bridge Loans and the Bridge Equity Units
was computed at $1,515,000 (Unaudited) each, for a total value
of $3,030,000 (Unaudited). The $1,515,000 fair value of the
Bridge Equity Units was computed as follows: in June 2006, the
company completed a $1,515,000 bridge loan from lenders. At the
closing of a public offering on or before October 16, 2006,
bridge lenders will be entitled to receive units identical to
the units being offered in the companys initial public
offering. Each bridge lender will be entitled to receive that
number of units equal to the principal of the lenders note
divided by the initial public offering price. Stated
differently, upon closing of an initial public offering on or
before October 16, 2006, the company will be obligated to
issue to the bridge lenders a number of units with a market
value of $1,515,000. Since they were of equal value, the
$1,515,000 of cash proceeds was allocated 50% to the Bridge
Loans and 50% to the Bridge Equity Units. The Bridge Equity
Units of $757,500 were accounted for as paid-in capital
(Unaudited). The Bridge Loans of $1,515,000 are reflected on the
balance sheet net of the $757,500 discount on the Bridge Loans
(Unaudited). The discount for the Bridge Equity Units ($757,500)
is being amortized into interest expense over the life of the
Bridge Loans. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006
(Unaudited), the company recorded $683,858 in interest expense
related to this discount.
The company has not yet issued any Bridge Equity Units. The
future issuance of any Bridge Equity Units would not serve as an
exchange for the Bridge Loans or Bridge Notes, and would be
incremental to those securities.
BOND FINANCING
(unaudited)
In 2006, the company entered into a non-binding letter of intent
to place an offering of approximately $17.5 million of tax
exempt New Jersey Economic Development Authority Solid Waste
Revenue Bonds. The proceeds of these bonds are to be used to
fund the construction and equipping of an approximately
F-12
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
60,000 square foot plant for the production of agricultural
supplements to be located in Woodbridge, New Jersey.
NOTE 6 OWNERS EQUITY (DEFICIT)
The company is authorized to issue 75,000,000 shares of
$0.0001 par value common stock. Of the authorized shares,
733,333 of the authorized shares were issued to the founders of
the company (founders shares) on
January 13, 2006 (Unaudited). The company did not receive
any consideration for the founders shares. Because the
company had a negative estimated value on January 13, 2006,
the company recognized compensation expense at par value
totaling $73 in connection with the issuance of the
founders shares as par value represents the statutory
minimum share value in the state of Delaware.
On February 21, 2006 (Unaudited), the company merged with
MOM and HRRY. At that time, MOM was a fifty-percent owner of
HRRY. The mergers were accounted for as a recapitalization of
the company. As a result of the recapitalization,
600,000 shares were issued to the members of HRRY, with
300,000 shares distributed to Weston Solutions, Inc. and 300,000
shares distributed among the individual members of MOM, each of
whom was a founder of the company.
NOTE 7 INCOME TAXES
At September 30, 2006 (Unaudited), the company had start-up
costs of approximately $3,000,000 (Unaudited) that may be offset
against future taxable income, if any, ratably through 2026.
The company has fully reserved the approximate $1,200,000
(Unaudited) tax benefit of these costs by a valuation allowance
of the same amount, because the likelihood of realization of the
tax benefit cannot be determined.
There is no current or deferred tax provision for the period
from January 4, 2006 to September 30, 2006
(Unaudited). No provision for federal or state income taxes is
recognized for MOM and HRRY as those entities are limited
liability companies. As such, taxable income, losses, deductions
and credits pass through to the members to be reported on their
tax returns.
NOTE 8 SEGMENT REPORTING
In June 1997, SFAS 131, Disclosure about Segments of
an Enterprise and Related Information was issued, which
amends the requirements for a public enterprise to report
financial and descriptive information about its reportable
operating segments. Operating segments, as defined in the
pronouncement, are components of an enterprise about which
separate financial information is available that is evaluated
regularly by the company in deciding how to allocate resources
and in assessing performance. The financial information is
required to be reported on the basis that is used internally for
evaluating segment performance and deciding how to allocate
resources to segments. The company has no reportable segments at
December 31, 2003 (Audited), December 31, 2004
(Audited), December 31, 2005 (Audited), September 30,
2005 (Unaudited) and September 30, 2006 (Unaudited).
NOTE 9 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The company is located at 7A Commercial Wharf West, Boston,
Massachusetts. The company is renting the premises under a
verbal agreement with ECAP, LLC. The managing member of ECAP,
LLC is a director and shareholder of the company and is also the
brother of the companys President and CEO. The rental
agreement provides for rent and support, as agreed between the
company and ECAP, LLC and for reimbursement of expenses by the
company for office and other expenses. These expenses totaled
$125,500 in
F-13
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
2003 (Audited), $42,496 in 2004 (Audited), $71,711 in 2005
(Audited), $40,212 for the nine months ended September 30,
2005 (Unaudited) and $27,750 for the nine months ended
September 30, 2006 (Unaudited).
The company has entered into a services agreement dated
May 29, 2003, as modified October 6, 2004, with one of
its principal stockholders, Weston Solutions, Inc.
(Weston). Weston has been engaged to provide
engineering and design services in connection with the
construction of the Woodbridge organic waste conversation
facility. The total amounts recorded by the company for services
provided by Weston were $70,000 in 2003 (Audited), $434,454 in
2004 (Audited), $90,888 in 2005 (Audited), $-0- for the nine
months ended September 30, 2005 (Unaudited) and $46,490 for
the nine months ended September 30, 2006 (Unaudited).
During the years ended December 31, 2003 (Audited) and 2004
(Audited), the company incurred legal fees totaling $9,352 and
$10,875, respectively, to a law firm affiliated with the
companys President and CEO and partially owned by a
brother of the companys CEO. Fees of $10,875 remained
unpaid at September 30, 2006 (Unaudited) and are included
in the balance sheets in accounts payable and other accrued
expenses. The fees of $9,352 were paid in 2003 (Audited).
As payment for compensation accrued and not paid for the period
April 1, 2006 to September 30, 2006 and expenses
incurred but not reimbursed since April 1, 2006, the
company has agreed to distribute a total of $300,000 of the
proceeds of this offering among the following executive
officers, directors and consultants, each of whom will receive
$50,000: Edward J. Gildea, Thomas R. Buchanan, John A. Walsdorf,
John P. Weigold, William A. Gildea and John E. Tucker. The
company has recorded accrued compensation and
expenses officers, directors and consultants
totaling $300,000 in the consolidated balance sheets at
September 30, 2006 (Unaudited) which represents
managements estimate of compensation earned and expenses
incurred but not reimbursed at September 30, 2006
(Unaudited).
NOTE 10 STOCK OPTION PLAN
In June 2006, the companys Board of Directors and
stockholders approved the 2006 Stock Option Plan (the
Option Plan). The Option Plan authorizes the grant
and issuance of options and other equity compensation to
employees, officers and consultants. A total of
666,667 shares of common stock are reserved for issuance
under the Option Plan.
The Option Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of
the Board of Directors. Subject to the provisions of the Option
Plan, the Committee determines who will receive the options, the
number of options granted, the manner of exercise and the
exercise price of the options. The term of incentive stock
options granted under the Option Plan may not exceed ten years,
or five years for options granted to an optionee owning more
than 10% of our voting stock. The exercise price of an incentive
stock option granted under the Option Plan must be equal to or
greater than the fair market value of the shares of our common
stock on the date the option is granted. The exercise price of a
non-qualified option granted under the Option Plan must be equal
to or greater than 85% of the fair market value of the shares of
our common stock on the date the option is granted. An incentive
stock option granted to an optionee owning more than 10% of our
voting stock must have an exercise price equal to or greater
than 110% of the fair market value of our common stock on the
date the option is granted.
On June 15, 2006, the Compensation Committee of the Board
of Directors granted 643,000 options to purchase shares of the
companys common stock. The options vested on the grant
date, have an exercise price of $3.75 (Unaudited) per share and
expire five years from the grant date. The exercise price was
based on an assumed public offering price of $5.00 per unit less
the fair value for the two warrants included in the unit
(Class A warrant fair value of $0.75 (Unaudited),
Class B warrant fair value of $0.50 (Unaudited)). The fair
value of the Class A and B warrants was estimated on
June 15, 2006 for purposes of valuing the individual
F-14
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
components of the unit so that the options could be valued. The
fair value of the warrants was estimated using a Black-Scholes
pricing model with the following assumptions: risk-free interest
rate of 5.07%; no dividend yield; volatility factor of 38.816%;
and an expiration period of 1,825 days.
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STOCK OPTIONS VALUATION (UNAUDITED) |
The fair value for the stock options was estimated at the date
of grant using a Black-Scholes pricing model with the following
assumptions: risk-free interest rate of 5.07%; no dividend
yield; volatility factor of 38.816%; and an expiration period of
five years. The companys stock option compensation expense
determined under the fair value based method totaled $1,018,705
and has been included in general and administrative expenses in
the statement of operations for the period January 1, 2006
through September 30, 2006.
Stock option activity for the period January 1, 2006
through September 30, 2006 is as follows:
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Weighted | |
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Exercise | |
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Weighted | |
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Average | |
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Stock | |
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Price per | |
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Average | |
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Remaining | |
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Options | |
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Share | |
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Exercise Price | |
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Life (Years) | |
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Outstanding at January 1, 2006
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-0- |
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Granted
|
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643,000 |
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$ |
3.75 |
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$ |
3.75 |
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5.00 |
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Expired
|
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-0- |
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Exercised
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-0- |
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Outstanding at September 30, 2006
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643,000 |
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$ |
3.75 |
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$ |
3.75 |
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4.95 |
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NOTE 11 LEASE (UNAUDITED)
In June 2006, the company signed a lease for its New Jersey
operations. The lease term is for ten years with an option to
renew for an additional ten years. Future minimum lease payments
under this lease are approximately: $97,500 from
September 30, 2006 to December 31, 2006; $390,000 in
2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010; $398,000 in 2011; $413,000 in 2012;
$421,000 in 2013; $430,000 in 2014; $438,000 in 2015; and
$259,000 from January 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016.
NOTE 12 SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (UNAUDITED)
TERM NOTES
The maturity dates of the term notes (Note 5) have been
extended to December 30, 2006. The company plans to repay
these notes from the proceeds of its equity offering.
BRIDGE FINANCING
In June 2006, the company completed a $1.515 million bridge
loan from lenders to help us meet our working capital needs. The
loans accrued interest at an annual rate of 8% until
October 16, 2006 and thereafter accrue interest at 18%
until paid. Under the original terms of the bridge notes, the
loans are due and payable on the earlier of the completion of a
public offering of equity securities with gross proceeds of at
least $5.0 million or October 16, 2006. At the closing
of a public offering on or before October 16, 2006, bridge
lenders will be entitled to receive units identical to the units
being offered in this offering. Each bridge lender will be
entitled to receive that number of units equal to the principal
of the lenders note divided by the initial public offering
price of the units. As of October 24, 2006, the company had
entered into amendments of bridge notes totaling
$1.465 million extending the October 16, 2006 due date
to January 19, 2007; the company expects to enter into the
same amendment of notes representing the remaining $50,000 of
bridge loans prior to the closing of this
F-15
CONVERTED ORGANICS INC.
(A DEVELOPMENT STAGE COMPANY)
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS (Continued)
offering. The amended notes also provide that, at the
companys option, each bridge lender will be entitled to
receive that number of units equal to the interest that has
accrued on the lenders note from October 17, 2006
until the closing of the offering divided by the initial public
offering price of the units. If a public offering with gross
proceeds of at least $5.0 million is not completed by the
applicable due date, then each bridge lender has the right to
convert the unpaid principal into the number of shares that can
be obtained by dividing the principal amount of the note by
$3.00 per share plus an equal number of non-callable
warrants exercisable at $3.00 per share for a period of
five years.
F-16
1,800,000 Units
PROSPECTUS
Paulson Investment Company, Inc.
February 13, 2007