Here to make money and always win
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
T
They have an internet phone system that rings in a lawyers office on Grove in Barrington. James Kwak has always had an extension on the system. It rings in the office, but is accessible via internet or phone.
There are no real ECOS dedicated desks in that office just a phone sitting on a desk. The office is about 24 feet by 10 feet.
My guess is that nothing has changed.
I drink to make forget that ECOS has gone silent. I have thought of channeling a psychic to find out what Kwak is doing but wine costs less and makes me feel better
typo I was drinking wine while posting
q3 2017 was the last q or k filing.
I think this still has promise. I don't see LRS merging with ECOS every day ECOS does their SEC compliance Kabookie dance (handley would never step into the liability they have created). That being said, the technology is good and has application.
Business Like ECOS (distributors) trade on multiples of sales (1-3x sales) or EBITDA (11-15X trailing EBITDA). If they reported something the market could actually value them.
I honestly would lend them money if they pledged the technology/distribution rights/JV as security and put a more competent person in charge of day to day ops that communicates and accomplishes something. Kwak if you are listening that is actually something I would do. Somebody needs to kick your respective asses
The first digester was not very profitable. You can see from the last set of financials ECOS filed (q3 2018) their cost of inventory (which was the digester) left them with a small margin and therefore small cash flow. MY best estimate is that their profit was likely less than $100k. They incurred more than that in rent and salaries over 2019.
Also remember Kwak fronted them the cash to pay for the digester parts from Korea through a loan. That loan would likely be repaid before they spent it on other things.
The loan was Kwak's biggest investment in ECOS.
ECOS obligation to report is driven by SEC rules and are not impacted by an agreements with LRS. ECOS still needs to report its share or income or loss from the LRS JV when it is earned (not when it is ditributed.
ECOS and LRS could have amended their JV or the supply agreement. Though since these are material contracts ECOS would need to file the amendments.
That being said ECOS has a long history of reporting when they want with no repercussion. That is the way of life in pennyland.
Most of those shares were issued back when Fife was converting debt into equity. Fife acquired his shares at a deep discount to market. 4bn of shares might have covered the conversion of $150-200k in debt. Nice profit if you can make it.
They also issued shares back then to pay salaries to some of their employees.
The good news is there will be no longer be any large issuances for debt conversion.
The next big potential issuance is if LRS exercises their option to acquire shares which has not happened and won't until the price increases to 3x to 5x current market.
That is certainly true.
In prior incarnations of ECOS they issued plenty of misleading PR's. Since they are the same team if you ask I am sure they can dream up something for you. Actually hope they don't Have a good weekend.
You are talking about ECOS. They will file and announce when they want to. SEC timelines for reporting are not important to them. They have proven that over the years.
This is no different than 90% of subpenny stocks.
IF today is the day, ECOS has until next Thursday under the 8-K rules to announce it and file the 8=-K.
always on Friday. Gets me primed for the Washington Trump Day parade.
Kenny Kenny
I think by now it is safe to assume the digester is running at California. I think the open questions are:
i
Kenny Kenny
I think by now it is safe to assume the digester is running at California. I think the open questions are:
i
No ECOS public company is in Nevada and that is the listed company. ECOS Illinois has nothing to do with the Nevada company or public ECOS.
No I think they have been paid for the digester and the tipping fees. I just don't think they have prepared financials.
JA
My suspicion is that ECOS might not have the cash to file financials.
Remember they need to pay their auditors to audit 2017 and 2018 before they file 2019. Their auditors cost about $25k per year. They stopped auditing after q3 2017.
Also in order to file they need to pay up their Nevada license fees for 2019 so they are in good standing. They owe about $24k to Nevada. If they don't pay up the license fees their auditor would have to qualify their opinion which nobody wants. They also likely can't do a corporate transaction while not in good standing.
Here is the snapshot from Nevada Secretary of State..
ECOLOCAP SOLUTIONS INC.
Business Entity Information
Status: Revoked File Date: 3/18/2004
Type: Domestic Corporation Entity Number: C6912-2004
JA
The SEC rules provide that even a person from a private company that facilitates or encourages a public entity or an officer of a public entity to not comply with SEC rules can themselves be deemed to violate the SEC rules. There are a long number of people who have gotten caught by these rules over the years.
JA
The idea that Handley is standing behind Kwak and encouraging to not report things is preposterous. That is the most blatant form of Securities Fraud there is. It smacks of aiding and abetting under the Securities Law.
If Handley were doing that he would never touch the ECOS shell because he would be dragging LRS and himself into a mess with the SEC (and his lawyers which are Class A lawyers would never let him do that).
You too. Trying to get down to my house in Naples for the 4th. Get away from Chicago rain
Not really. I have been averaging down since 2012. I never viewed this an investment. OTC stocks are lottery tickets.
no I just think the market they can attack gets a lot smaller in Chicago. Two of the other large waste players not have their own outlet for their recyclables. And United wants to take this model to their other large markets.
You are entitled to your opinion.
This a $660m deal which captures substantially more waste than the LRS digester and is backed by a lot of companies with big balance sheets.
The price of the output (jet fuel) is a lot more than fertilizer. produced
This deal means WM can extend the life of their existing landfills and will be able to divert a lot more tons of MSW than LRS/Ecopcap.
nope but this is a very big deal with much bigger hitters.
Their is substantially more money in the Fulcrum deal. The offtake fuel has a higher value and is substantially lengthens the WM and WC landfill sites.
I also explains why WM acquired Advance Disposal. Advance is big in Illinois and Indiana. Gives them more volume to divert to the Fulcrum deal.
Yhe interesting thing is that the MSW sdupply agreements are exclusive to WAste Mgmt and Waste Connections. WM has a right to approve other suppliers. WM actually produces enough MSW in the Midwest to supply the Gary facility.
Oh kids we have a new larger competitor on the LRS doorstep for waste diversion.
A west coast company called Fulcrum BioEnergy is building a $6000m municipal solid waste (including food waste) to fuel facility in Gary. The plant is fully financed and is going to be located near the BP Gary refinery site.
Their investors are Waste management, Waste Connections, BP, Cathay Pacific, Marathon Pacific, United Airlines and others. They have long term supply agreements with Waste Management and Waste connections to take their MSW. The MSW is priced to share with Fulcrum the avoided landfill costs and tipping fees. Due to the size of the offtake the cost savings are enormous. They have a take or pay with the airlines for the jet fuel produced which guaranties Fulcrum a return whichg is shared by Fulcrum and its investors. The technology is proven.
Their program materials say they are capable of digesting 4% of US MSW. Waste Connections has their territory in the Southern suburbs near Indiana and of course Waste Management is all over Indiana and Illinois.
This is a food plus strategy. BP and Waste Management are deep into this as is United and their Star Alliance partners. Their next target market is the east coast with the same partner group.
Since some of you like links here a few.
1) http://fulcrum-bioenergy.com/technology/our-process/
2) https://www.inc.com/magazine/201811/bill-saporito/fulcrum-bioenergy-waste-to-energy.html
3)https://www.wastedive.com/news/fulcrum-bioenergy-waste-to-fuel-gary-indiana/544401/
Fife is stuck
He holds convertible notes. His play was to lend money to OTCBB companies,convert the debt into shares at a deep discount and sell the shares in the open market. That was shutdown so now he is just a debt holder.
He still holds debt in ECOS which accrues default interest. He is just waiting like the rest of us.
He has transformed his business model
Guys Ecolocap Canada has been dead for years. It has no assets, no employees and no business activity. It hasn't even filed tax returns in Canada for years.
It used to hold a Canadian office of Ecolocap when Dr. Truong was running the show. He vaporized back in 2011/2012 and Siegel, Kwak and our current band of renown took over the show.
The Choice North deal died when they restructured a couple of years ago. I am confident there are no hidden digesters or bags of cash in Ecolocap Canada.
I paid a visit yesterday to the Barrington address that was used by ECOS & HansomK. The address is actually that of a small two person law firm. They told me ECOS and HanscomK use them as a mailing address. There is no room in the space for anyone but the two lawyers (unless the Kawk;s have been shrunk to pocket size).
My guess is ECOS after closing Oakton has gone virtual. I tried dialing the phone number on my way out and it doesn't ring to that office. My guess it is a web based telephone service.
The positive is they are not paying for office rental.
DS
Here is what is on the Nevada site for reinstatement of their charter (since they are in revoked status).
Reinstatement Fee $ 300.00
Annual List (due 3/31/2018) $ 11,125.00
Annual List Late Fee $ 75.00
Business License (due 3/31/2018) $ 500.00
Business License Late Fee $ 100.00
Annual List (due 3/31/2019) $ 11,125.00
Annual List Late Fee $ 75.00
Business License (due 3/31/2019) $ 500.00
Business License Late Fee $ 100.00
TOTAL* File Offline: Reinstatement Packet $ 23,900
This is before the Resident Agent fee which is likely another $1,000
Nevada is very user friendly. Generally, you can retrieve your charter for up to 5 years from the first date it goes delinquent.
DG
DS
If you click on the reinstatement calculator on the Nevada Secretary of State you would see they owe $25k to reinstate their charter.
Kenny
I agree with DS. The SEC has so many delinquent filers that ECOS is not a priority nor will they revoke their securities registration anytime soon. I had a client in the last year that filed three years of financials at once so they could enter into a bank facility. The SEC and FINRA merely heemed and hawed and said don't do it again.
ECOS lack of filing with the SEC only stops them from engaging in any M&A transaction, issuing more shares or doing an RS. The fact they can't issue shares or do an RS is positive for current shareholders.
What worries e more is their Nevada corporate registration. They are now 2 years delinquent, Once you go a year delinquent, the officers and directors no longer have the personal liability protection of being a corporation. If you are in default for 3 years the state can and often revokes your charter.
Just responding to Don's note about the battery. I agree that all they really have is the digester. Would nice to see the company say something. Checked the obits today. At least we know they are alive.
The battery technology is nothing unique. There were other US companies that have similar technology. Why deal with a middle man when you can go direct to the owner of the technology.
The battery technology is nothing unique. There were other US companies that have similar technology. Why deal with a middle man when you can go direct to the owner of the technology.
Don
This aspect of ECOS died years ago. They actually don't own any technology it was licensed to them from a Korean manufacturer. They never got traction with it since what they offered you could get from a number of other companies.
DG
Likely paying part of the salaries of the two Kwak's, Siegel and the other two employees.
If you read their past press releases.
- There was a time where they intimated the Government of the Ukraine was going to test their M Fuel system and deploy it. Nothing ever happened.
- They also issued press releases that they had a company in Florida and a customer in Chile going to test and deploy a power unit. The dea fell through.
- Finally they had signed up one of the largest operator of chicken farms in Korea to deploy their fuel system for heating chicken coops. This never occurred due to bird flu and bird flu and bird flu
Granted LRS might be bigger than the rest of these prior customers but all they have to show for this journey is one digester. They continue to accrue monthly expenses of at least $40-50k a month which are just running up debt to inside shareholders and Fife.
I have lived through this for 9 years and watched the story repeat itself. I would now be happy with .0002 or any form of communication from either Kwak.
Maybe because they have burned over the last ten years by the promise of a number of businesses that ECOS promoted as being on the cusp of greatness
J Heard
An NDA does not allow you to stop reporting to the SEC. SEC reporting rules are mandatory and you can't circumvent them by agreement with another private party.
They are not reporting since they haven't paid their accountant and haven't completed their financials. They also haven't paid Nevada for their annual fees for the corporation, $24k outstanding. You wouldn't do that if you have cash and profits.