ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Organization
We (as used herein, “we,”
“our,” “Capstone” and “the Company” mean Capstone Financial Group, Inc. unless the context
indicates otherwise) were incorporated in Nevada on July 10, 2012 as Creative App Solutions, Inc. On August 23,
2013, we amended our articles of incorporation and changed our name to Capstone Financial Group, Inc.
In August and September 2013,
Darin Pastor and George Schneider obtained from our then controlling stockholder, for nominal consideration, 80,000,000 (post-split)
shares of common stock amounting to approximately 89% of our then outstanding common stock, and they became our two senior officers.
Mr. Pastor continues to own a substantial majority of our common stock, is our chief executive officer and chairman, and is the
controlling person of the Company.
In September 2013, we effectuated
a 20-for-1 forward split of the Company’s issued and unissued common stock. By virtue of the forward split, the number of
shares issued and outstanding increased to 90,200,000, and the number of authorized common shares increased from 100,000,000 to
2,000,000,000.
General Business Development
Our current business focus is to invest
in stock of other companies. We seek to discover, unlock and grow value in privately-held or illiquid companies, including through
the exercise of friendly influence at a company in support of operational improvements and strategic initiatives. In some cases
we might be one of the largest shareholders of the other company.
We seek to work closely and constructively
with the management and boards of the other companies. While we do not manage the day-to-day operations of these companies, we
seek to maintain a thorough understanding of how they operate and evaluate their performance and prospects on an ongoing basis.
We may also seek to actively trade in
our strategic investment positions and/or enter into private securities transactions with regard to those positions, to capitalize
on price fluctuations and realize profits or minimize losses.
We were initially formed to design and
sell mobile apps for smart phones and other mobile platforms such as tablets. We never launched an active business based on this
focus. (Throughout 2012, we had not commenced significant operations and, in accordance with ASC Topic 915, we were considered
a development stage company. During 2013, we exited the development stage.)
During the third quarter of 2013, we
refocused ourselves as a financial services company.
On January 15, 2014, in support
of our financial services business focus, we effected a reverse triangular merger whereby Capstone Affluent Strategies, Inc.
(“Affluent”), a California corporation, became our wholly owned subsidiary. Affluent, a financial services company,
had been wholly owned by Darin Pastor.
In March 2014, we refocused ourselves
again, to our current business model.
On May 14, 2014, we effectively
unwound the Affluent transaction, due to Affluent’s inability to produce audited financial statements as required and the
change in our business focus. In October 2014, we acquired from Darin Pastor certain Affluent assets and assumed certain Affluent
liabilities. (Affluent had been dissolved earlier in 2014.)
Currently, our primary strategic investment
position is in securities of Twinlab Consolidated Holdings, Inc. (“Twinlab”). In August 2014, we purchased
10,987,500 shares of common stock of Twinlab in private transactions from 25 shareholders, for nominal consideration. Additionally,
in August 2014, we purchased options to acquire 8,743,000 currently-outstanding shares of Twinlab’s common stock (collectively,
the “Call Options”) from 14 shareholders in a private transaction, for nominal consideration. The Call Options exercise
price is $0.0001 per share and the Call Options expire in August 2015. In February 2015, we exercised the Call Options.
Optionors honored the exercise as to 7,244,500 Twinlab shares. Other optionors have not yet honored the exercise, as to at least
1,498,500 Twinlab shares.
On September 30, 2014, Twinlab
issued to us a Series A Warrant to purchase up to 52,631,579 shares of Twinlab common stock at an exercise price of $0.76
per share (the “Series A Warrant”), and a Series B Warrant to purchase up to 22,368,421 shares of Twinlab
common stock at an exercise price of $0.76 per share (the “Series B Warrant”). The Series A Warrant and the
Series B Warrant were both exercisable from October 2014 through October 2017.
Twinlab and we also entered into a Common
Stock Put Agreement, dated as of September 30, 2014, as amended on December 15, 2014 (the “Put Agreement”).
Pursuant to the Put Agreement, if we did not exercise the Series A Warrant by February 16, 2015 and thereafter at a rate
of no less than 1,461,988 shares of Twinlab common stock (the “Minimum Amount”) per month (the “Minimum Rate”)
over the term of the Series A Warrant, Twinlab had the right (subject to certain conditions) to require us to exercise the
Series A Warrant at the Minimum Rate for the duration of the Series A Warrant. In the event Twinlab exercised its right
to require us to exercise the Series A Warrant, the purchase price per share of Twinlab common stock thereunder would be $0.775.
We did not exercise the “Minimum Amount” of shares per the agreement. In April 2015 we exercised the Series A
Warrant as to 657,895 Twinlab shares.
On October 28, 2014, we entered
into a transaction in which we acquired from Darin Pastor certain assets which had been assets of Affluent and assumed certain
liabilities which had been liabilities of Affluent, including liabilities under notes in favor of Darin Pastor. At December 31,
2015, the outstanding principal amount of and accrued interest on such assumed notes was $68,416. In addition, as part of the transaction
we forgave the $1,089,617 net receivable from Darin Pastor under the crossing lines of credit entered into between Affluent and
us in 2013, and the crossing lines of credit were cancelled. As a result of the October 28, 2014 transactions, we recorded
an expense item of $1,089,617 and we were deemed to have paid a dividend to Darin Pastor in the amount of $1,484,204.
In November 2014, we sold 436,681
of our Twinlab shares for approximately $1.0 million.
In 2015, we sold an aggregate of 3,976,647
units of Twinlab securities to various unrelated third party accredited investors. Each unit consisted of one share of (unrestricted)
Twinlab common stock and a detachable call option (“Third-Party Call Options”) to purchase from us, for $1.00 per share,
one (restricted) share of Twinlab common stock. The term of each such call option was three years from the respective unit sale
date. In each case, the sale price per unit was $0.76 and the call option was valued at $0.156 per call option. (Our references
to “unrestricted” shares mean free-trading shares, and our references to “restricted” shares mean shares
that are not free-trading.)
In addition, in 2015 we sold 2,078,255
Twinlab shares (without any associated Third-Party Call Options) for $1,579,480.
In total, during 2015 we sold Twinlab
securities for $4,601,732.
On May 28, 2015, we entered into
a Compromise Agreement and Release and an Amendment No. 1 to Series B Warrant, each between Twinlab and us. Pursuant to these
two agreements:
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The Put Agreement was terminated.
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We surrendered the entire remaining-unexercised portion of the Series A Warrant (51,973,684 warrants).
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We surrendered 4,368,421 of the warrants under the Series B Warrant.
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The remaining 18,000,000 warrants under the Series B Warrant were deemed divided into four tranches, each with an associated date beyond which it would no longer be exercisable: one tranche for 2,000,000 warrant shares (no longer exercisable after November 30, 2015); one for 4,000,000 warrant shares (no longer exercisable after March 31, 2016); one for 6,000,000 warrant shares (no longer exercisable after July 31, 2016); and another for 6,000,000 warrant shares (no longer exercisable after November 30, 2016);
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We granted Twinlab three contingent call options, at $0.01 per share, to acquire Twinlab shares from us to the extent that upon effective expiration of the second, third and fourth tranches we had not exercised the warrants within such tranches (the “Contingent Call Options”). The three Contingent Call Options would be for a number of Twinlab shares equal to 25% of such unexercised warrants (i.e., a maximum of 1,000,000 shares if we exercised no warrants from the second tranche, a maximum of 1,500,000 shares if we exercised no warrants from the third tranche and a maximum of 1,500,000 shares if we exercised no warrants from the fourth tranche). In addition, Twinlab could not exercise a Contingent Call Option unless it had satisfied such option’s “Liquidity Condition,” namely that for each of the three or four months before the tranche’s effective expiration date Twinlab must have a financial position sufficient to show a 1.15x fixed charge coverage ratio for a certain trailing period, all as defined by Twinlab’s Credit and Security Agreement dated January 22, 2015.
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Given that we have identified, and may in the future identify, to Twinlab on a confidential basis persons to whom we might sell our Twinlab shares, Twinlab agreed that it shall not, without our prior written consent, privately place Twinlab equity securities to any persons theretofore or thereafter first introduced to Twinlab by us (the “Noncircumvention Provision”); provided that Twinlab may, without our consent, privately place Twinlab equity securities to such a person at any time after the earlier of (a) the date the entire Series B Warrant has expired and/or been exercised, or (b) the first anniversary of such particular introduction.
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As a result of these two agreements, our
investment position in Twinlab as of immediately after the two agreements was as follows:
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We had no further potential cash obligation to Twinlab under the Put Agreement; an imminent cash obligation to Twinlab of approximately $40.8 million was thereby avoided.
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We retained all of our 14,476,567 outstanding
Twinlab shares (13,818,672 unrestricted, free-trading Twinlab shares and 657,895 restricted Twinlab shares).
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Later in 2015 (i.e., after May 28, 2015) we sold an additional 1,749,307 unrestricted, free-trading
Twinlab shares and 328,948 restricted Twinlab shares to accredited investors.
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We obtained an additional 526,316 restricted Twinlab shares upon a partial exercise of the
Series B Warrant on July 7, 2015.
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We obtained an additional 131,579 restricted Twinlab shares upon a partial exercise of the
Series B Warrant on July 23, 2015.
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Our obligations to our accredited-investor counterparties under the 3,976,647 Third-Party Call options continued unchanged.
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We retained 18,000,000 warrants under the Series B
Warrant, at an unchanged $0.76 per share exercise price, with effective expiration dates ranging from November 30, 2015 to
November 30, 2016 (and with then at least 14 months of remaining term for 12,000,000 of the warrants).
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We exercised 526,316 of such warrants on July 7, 2015.
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We exercised 131,579 of such warrants on July 23, 2015.
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1,342,105 of such warrants expired on November 30, 2015.
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An additional 4,000,000 of such warrants expired on March 31, 2016.
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The Registration Rights Agreement remains in full force and effect to enable the Securities Act registration of all Twinlab shares issued upon exercise of the Series B Warrant.
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Under the Contingent Call Options, we undertook
a contingent obligation to deliver to Twinlab (at $0.01 per share) up to 4,000,000 Twinlab shares, but the obligation would be
reduced or entirely eliminated to the extent we exercise the last three deemed tranches of the Series B Warrant and/or to
the extent that Twinlab fails to meet a required fixed charge coverage ratio for certain months. The redelivered Twinlab shares
would not have to be free-trading Twinlab shares.
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As noted below, the Contingent Call Options were eliminated on October 1, 2015.
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On July 5, 2015, Twinlab and we entered
into an Agreement for Limited Waiver of Noncircumvention Provision (the “Limited Waiver Agreement”), pursuant to which
we agreed to waive the Noncircumvention Provision as to a particular potential investor (B. Thomas Golisano) whom we had introduced
to Twinlab in June 2015 and to whom the Noncircumvention Provision would otherwise apply, in exchange for substantial compensation
in cash and Twinlab warrants calculated on the basis of the size and pricing of such investor’s purchase(s) of Twinlab securities.
On October 1, 2015, Twinlab and
we entered into an Amendment No. 1 to Agreement for Limited Waiver of Non-Circumvention Provision and to Compromise Agreement and
Release, pursuant to which the Limited Waiver Agreement was amended to remove our right to any compensation for the waiver of the
Noncircumvention Provision as to B. Thomas Golisano and his affiliates, and the Compromise Agreement and Release was amended
to eliminate the three Contingent Call Options.
As of December 31, 2015 our position
in Twinlab securities was as follows, and we had no contingent liabilities to Twinlab:
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We held 13,056,207 outstanding Twinlab shares (12,069,365 unrestricted,
free-trading Twinlab shares and 986,842 restricted Twinlab shares).
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We held 16,000,000 warrants under the Series B Warrant, at a
$0.76 per share exercise price, with various effective expiration dates throughout 2016.
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4,000,000 of such warrants expired on March 31, 2016.
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The Registration Rights Agreement remains in full force and effect
to enable the Securities Act registration of all Twinlab shares issued upon prior or future exercises of our Warrants.
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We have a claim against third-party optionors for delivery to us
of 1,498,500 Twinlab shares against the Call Options which they granted to us and which we have exercised.
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We are contingently obligated to our accredited-investor counterparties
under the 3,976,647 Third-Party Call options.
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We have no actual or potential Put liability or Contingent Call Option
liability.
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At December 31, 2015, the fair
value of the liability under the 3,976,647 Third-Party Call Options was recorded on our balance sheet at $619,122.
In July 2015, in exchange for $277,500,
we acquired a 20% interest in privately-held Western New York real estate companies LC Strategic Realty, LLC and LC Strategic
Holdings, LLC, as well as in all other business conducted by the firms’ majority holders to the extent such other business
has a primary focus on (a) real estate (subject to the exclusion of certain specified projects), (b) media/entertainment/show business,
or (c) endorsements/advertisements/personal appearances/use of likeness/ monetization of celebrity.
On June 17 and 18, 2015, we filed
a Form 4 and an amended Schedule 13D statement to report a June 10, 2015 sale by us of 13,157,895 shares of Twinlab common
stock to a third party. The third party did not timely honor its payment obligation under the sale contract and we have treated
the transaction as a non-event for financial reporting purposes. On December 18, 2015, we terminated the sale contract.
We currently are considering electing
to become a Business Development Company and/or filing (or causing an affiliated company to file) an application with the United
States Small Business Administration to become a Small Business Investment Company. We can give no assurance that such an application
will be filed or that, if filed, it will be granted.
In addition, we are working toward substantial
energy-related development projects and substantial international minerals trading projects. We can give no assurance that such
projects will come to fruition or, if any one or more of them do come to fruition, that they will be successful.
We continuously investigate possible
acquisitions of positions in new businesses, securities and assets, and evaluate the retention and disposition of our existing
holdings. Changes in the mix of our businesses and investments should be expected. We have in the past taken preliminary
steps toward acquisitions and investments in various companies, which transactions were never completed, and we have made an unsuccessful
investment (in Blackcraft Cult, Inc. common stock) which we continue to hold but have written down to a zero valuation.
Current Strategic Investment: Twinlab
Consolidated Holdings Inc.
Twinlab Corporation has been the trusted
leader for innovative, high performance health and wellness products since 1968. In addition to the extensive line of vitamins,
minerals and sports nutrition formulas of its namesake brand, Twinlab Corporation also manufactures and sells other category leaders,
including the Metabolife line of diet and energy products, the Reserveage Nutrition family of nutritional supplements, and Alvita
teas. Twinlab Corporation’s plant in American Fork, Utah, is a NSF® GMP registered facility from which it manufactures,
packages and distributes over 1,000 premium quality products. Twinlab Corporation also operates a research and development facility
in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Twinlab products are currently available in over 55 countries worldwide.
Twinlab Consolidated Holdings, Inc.,
the parent company of Twinlab Corporation, has been established to act as a consolidator in the highly fragmented nutrition segment
of the health and wellness industry. Using Twinlab Corporation’s assets and the expertise and experience of its management
team, Twinlab intends to capitalize on current market imbalances by combining multiple companies and operations into one larger,
cohesive entity. Twinlab believes that the resulting synergies in distribution, manufacturing, advertising and global marketing
would increase market share and maximize profitability, establishing Twinlab as a market leader.
Competition
A large number of entities compete with
us to make the types of investments that we target as part of our business focus. We compete for such investments with
a large number of venture capital funds, private equity firms, mutual funds, pension and other institutional investors, investment
banks and advisory firms with managed assets. Many of our competitors are substantially larger than us and have considerably greater
financial, research, technical, marketing and reputational resources than we do.
There can be no assurance that the competitive
pressures we face will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Also,
as a result of this competition, we may not be able to take advantage of certain attractive investment opportunities, and we can
offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and make investments that are consistent with our investment objective.
Personnel
As of the date of this filing, we have
four full-time employees.
Available Information
We electronically file annual, quarterly
and other reports and other information with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You
can read these SEC filings and reports over the Internet at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or on our website at www.capstonefinancialgroupinc.com.
The public may read or copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington,
DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
We will provide a copy of our annual report to security holders, including audited financial statements, at no charge upon receipt
of a written request to us at Capstone Financial Group, Inc., 8600 Transit Road, East Amherst, NY 14051.
ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS
This item is not applicable,
as we are classified as a smaller reporting company. To better inform the readers of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, however,
we provide the following limited disclosures.
In the course of conducting our
business operations, we are exposed to a variety of risks that are inherent to the business and financial services industry. The
following paragraphs discuss some of the key inherent risk factors that could affect our business and operations, as well as other
risk factors which are particularly relevant to us. Other factors besides those discussed below or elsewhere in this report also
could adversely affect our business and operations, and these risk factors should not be considered a complete list of potential
risks that may affect us.
We recently changed our
business focus.
Since March 2014, our business
focus has been to use our own capital to acquire the outstanding stock of other companies.
During the third quarter of 2013, we
had refocused ourselves as a financial services company.
We were initially formed to design and
sell mobile apps for smart phones and other mobile platforms such as tablets, but we never launched an active business based on
this focus.
We have a limited business history,
especially in regard to our current business focus.
It is possible that our business
focus could widen or change further. In the second half of 2015 and in 2016 we have explored significant transactions in the areas
of energy products refining and international minerals trading.
We may need additional
capital in the future to finance our operations, which we may not be able to raise -- or it may only be available on terms unfavorable
to us and or our stockholders.
We do not have substantial liquid
capital resources. Additional financing might not be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. If adequate funds were not
available or were not available on acceptable terms, our ability to fund our operations, take advantage of unanticipated opportunities,
develop or enhance our business or otherwise respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited.
Our management has concluded
that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Material weaknesses in our internal control over financial
reporting could cause our financial reporting to be unreliable and could lead to misinformation being disseminated to the public.
We have had to restate our financial statements and amend certain of our SEC reports.
Our management concluded that
as of December 31, 2015 our internal control over financial reporting was not effective, and that material weaknesses existed
in the following areas as of December 31, 2015:
(1)
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we do not employ full time in-house personnel with the technical knowledge to identify and address some of the reporting issues surrounding certain complex or non-routine transactions. With respect to material, complex and non-routine transactions, management has and will continue to seek guidance from third-party experts and/or consultants to gain a thorough understanding of these transactions;
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we have inadequate segregation of duties consistent with the control objectives including but not limited to the disbursement process, transaction or account changes, and the performance of account reconciliations and approval;
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we have ineffective controls over the period end financial disclosure and reporting process caused by reliance on third-party experts and/or consultants and insufficient accounting staff; and
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we do not have a functioning audit committee of the Board of Directors and our Board of Directors, in its performance of the functions generally associated with audit committees, lacks a majority of (indeed, lacks any) independent members and lacks a majority of (indeed, lacks any) outside directors, resulting in ineffective oversight in the establishment and monitoring of required internal controls, approvals and procedures.
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Ineffectiveness of and material
weaknesses in our internal controls could result in our financial reporting being unreliable and lead to misinformation being disseminated
to the public. Investors relying upon this misinformation may make an uninformed investment decision. Errors in financial reporting
might subject us to lawsuits. Moreover, if investors do not have confidence in our financial reporting, they may be relatively
unwilling to buy or hold our stock, which could negatively affect our stock price and our access to capital.
Our Board of Directors concluded
on November 13, 2014 that the audited financial statements and other financial information contained in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the 2013 fiscal year failed to properly account for certain financial information and that for comparative
purposes the previously issued unaudited financial statements and certain other financial information contained in certain previously-filed
periodic reports should no longer be relied upon. We reported this conclusion on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC that day. Since
then, we have filed amended quarterly and annual reports (Forms 10-Q/10-K) with the SEC for the fiscal quarters ended March 31,
June 30 and September 30, 2014 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 including (among other things) restatements
of the originally-filed financial statements.
We may not be able to add and
retain the key personnel we need to sustain and grow our business.
We are thinly staffed and we
expect that we will need to add qualified personnel in order to expand our business. Currently we are heavily dependent on the
services of Darin Pastor, our Chairman/chief executive officer. We face intense competition for qualified employees from many companies
in our industry who have greater resources than we do to identify, recruit and retain valued employees.
Our performance is highly dependent
upon our ability to attract, retain, and motivate highly skilled, talented employees. Given our relatively small size,
the performance of our business may be especially adversely affected if we cannot do so.
Our common stock currently
has low trading volume and any sale of a significant number of shares is likely to depress the trading price.
Our common stock is quoted on
the OTCQB marketplace operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. To date, the trading volume of the common stock has been limited. Because
of this limited trading volume, holders of our securities may not be able to sell quickly any significant number of such shares,
and any attempted sale of a large number of our shares will likely have a material adverse impact on the price of our common stock.
Because of the limited number of shares being traded, the price per share is subject to volatility and may continue to be subject
to rapid price swings in the future.
If the trading price of
our common stock is below $5.00 per share it will be deemed a low-priced “penny” stock and an investment in our common
stock should be considered high risk and subject to marketability restrictions.
If our common stock becomes/remains
a penny stock, as defined in Rule 3a51-1 under the Securities Exchange Act, it will be more difficult for investors to liquidate
their investment in the common stock. Until the trading price of the common stock rises above $5.00 per share, if ever, trading
in the common stock is subject to the penny stock rules of the Securities Exchange Act specified in Rules 15g-1 through 15g-10.
Those rules require broker-dealers, before effecting transactions in any penny stock, to:
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Deliver to the customer, and obtain a written receipt for, a disclosure document;
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Disclose certain price information about the stock;
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Disclose the amount of compensation received by the broker-dealer or any associated person of the broker-dealer;
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Send monthly statements to customers with market and price information about the penny stock; and
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In some circumstances, approve the purchaser’s account under certain standards and deliver written statements to the customer with information specified in the rules.
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Consequently, the penny stock
rules may restrict the ability or willingness of broker-dealers to sell the common stock and may affect the ability of holders
to sell their common stock in the secondary market and the price at which such holders can sell any such securities. These additional
procedures could also limit our ability to raise additional capital in the future.
FINRA sales practice requirements
may also limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our stock.
In addition to the “penny
stock” rules described above, the Financial Industry Regulatory Association (FINRA) has adopted rules that require that in
recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable
for that customer. Before recommending speculative low priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must
make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and
other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low priced
securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. The FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to
recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our stock and have an adverse
effect on the market for our shares.
Two individuals hold a
majority of our outstanding voting securities and they can, without the votes of any other stockholders, elect all directors who
in turn elect all officers.
Our Chief Executive Officer Darin
Pastor and our President George Schneider collectively own a substantial majority of our outstanding voting securities and are
the only members of our Board of Directors and, accordingly, have effective control of us and may have effective control of us
for the near and long term future. Votes and wishes of other stockholders can have little effect when we are managed by our
Board of Directors and operated through our officers, all of whom can be elected by these two individuals.
We have the ability to
issue additional shares of our common stock and shares of preferred stock without asking for stockholder approval, which could
cause our stockholders’ investment to be diluted.
Our articles of incorporation
authorize the Board of Directors to issue up to 2,000,000,000 shares of common stock and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock. The
power of the Board of Directors to issue shares of common stock, preferred stock or warrants or options to purchase shares of common
stock or preferred stock is generally not subject to shareholder approval. Accordingly, any additional issuance of our
common stock, or preferred stock that may be convertible into common stock, may have the effect of diluting one’s investment.
We do not expect to pay
dividends to our stockholders in the near future.
We do not expect to declare or
pay any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. The declaration and payment in the future of any cash or stock
dividends on the common stock will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors.
We may be subject to additional
regulatory requirements.
We are not registered as an investment
company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Although our management believes we are not required to register under that Act,
the consequences of being required to register and not having done so would be seriously adverse for our business. In addition,
if we registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, we would be subject to additional regulatory
requirements thereunder which would impose cost and other burdens on our business.
Our success depends, in
significant part, on the results of the companies in which we invest.
Our ability to achieve our business
objectives will depend on our ability to effectively manage and deploy our capital, which will depend, in turn, on our management’s
ability to identify, evaluate, invest in, and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria. If a major investment has business
setbacks it would adversely affect our financial results. Currently we depend heavily on Twinlab. Twinlab, for its part, is subject
to very significant risks. Among many other examples of risks, on March 16, 2016 Twinlab replaced much of its senior management
team, including its chief executive officer.
Many firms compete with
us for investment opportunities, and they may have the ability to outcompete us.
A large number of entities compete with
us to make the types of equity investments that we target as part of our business focus. We compete for such investments with a
large number of venture capital funds, private equity firms, mutual funds, pension and other institutional investors, investment
banks and advisory firms with managed assets. Many of our competitors are substantially larger than us and have considerably greater
financial, research, technical, marketing and reputational resources than we do. As a result of this competition, we can offer
no assurance that we will be able to make investments that are consistent with our investment objective.
Our stockholders will not necessarily
have the opportunity to evaluate our strategic investments or trading positions.
We have only recently begun to identify
potential strategic investments and to trade positions we have acquired. Stockholders will not necessarily be able to
evaluate the economic merits, transaction terms or other financial or operational data concerning our strategic investments and
trading positions; often these things will not be fully available to the public. You must rely on us and our board of
directors to implement our trading policies, to evaluate our investment and trading opportunities and to structure the terms of
our strategic investments.
Our stockholders must depend on
our Board of Directors for their decisions concerning our strategic investments.
Our Board of Directors makes all decisions
regarding the acquiring, holding, and partial or complete disposition of our strategic investments. You may not agree with the
decisions they reach. In addition, because we have only two Directors, any disagreement between them could result in a deadlock.
Our due diligence investigation
of prospective investee companies may fail to uncover relevant details that lead to a partial or total loss of the strategic investment.
Our access to information about our
current and prospective investee companies and their businesses may be limited or imperfect. Even where issuers file public reports
with the SEC, such reporting cannot guarantee the identification or accuracy of relevant success factors for a company.
A significant portion of our trading
positions will be recorded at fair value as determined in good faith by our board of directors (rather than at public-trading-market
value) and, as a result, there may be uncertainty as to the true value of our strategic investments and trading positions.
We carry our strategic investments at
market value or, if there is no readily available market value, at fair value as determined by our board of directors in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the accounting and financial
reporting conventions of the investment company industry. Typically, there is not a liquid public market for the securities of
the companies in which we intend to invest. Where a liquid public market exists we would simply use market value, but where there
is no public market or where the public market is illiquid (with the result that the reported public trading is not a reliable
indicator of true value), we will value these securities quarterly at fair value as determined in good faith by our board of directors.
Because such valuations are inherently
uncertain, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ
materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these securities existed. Due to this uncertainty, our
determinations of the fair value of our trading positions on a given date may be materially understated or overstated compared
to the value that we may ultimately realize upon the sale of those positions. Indeed, our determinations might be inaccurate even
as of the determination date.
There is no guarantee that we will be
able to realize the fair value as evaluated by our Board of Directors upon disposition of the asset.
Given that a large percentage of our
assets and net income are based on our fair value figures for Twinlab securities, readers should be especially aware of the risk.
The determination of the fair value
of our Twinlab stock and derivative securities as of December 31, 2015 is highly significant to our balance sheet and our income
statement. In determining the fair value, our Board of Directors relied upon a valuation report dated March 2, 2016 by FFG Valuations,
Inc. of Costa Mesa, California. This valuation report, which we commissioned, values Twinlab common stock at $0.758 per share as
of December 31, 2015. Twinlab stock is essentially illiquid; accordingly, valuations such as FFG’s are opinions, and other
observers might have valued Twinlab stock differently if they chose to emphasize other factors than FFG did. For example, Twinlab
issued significant numbers of shares in the second half of 2015 at prices well below $0.758 per share. If we used in our 2015 financial
statements a valuation of Twinlab stock (as of December 31, 2015) which was well below $0.758 per share, with corresponding valuations
for our Twinlab derivative securities, our net assets as of December 31, 2015 would have been significantly reduced and we would
have had significantly larger net losses in 2015.
Our strategic investments may
be subject to practical limitations and/or legal restrictions on resale, and we may not be able to sell the positions we hold when
we wish to for amounts equal to their recorded value, if at all.
Some of our strategic investments may
be or become comprised of thinly traded public companies or remain private companies, resulting in their being illiquid. Also,
at any given time a substantial portion of our current strategic investments and trading positions may be subject to legal restrictions
on resale. We cannot assure you that we will be able to sell our positions for amounts equal to the values that we have
ascribed to them or at the time we desire to sell.
Our
strategic
investments in private companies and/or in “thinly traded” public companies are extremely risky, and we could lose
all our part of our investment.
Many uncontrollable factors within such
companies and in their environments, as well as their typically limited resources, result in stability risk. When we invest in
such companies, we inherently assume a high degree of risk without the ability to mitigate such risk.
Our investments are not diversified
among various asset classes; to date, our strategic investments are in equities of illiquid private and thinly traded public companies.
Our entire portfolio is invested in
this extremely risky asset class. Investing in any single asset class (let alone one which itself is risky) deprives us of the
risk mitigation which could be provided by investing in a portfolio which is diversified among several asset classes. Some of our
strategic investments may never develop a liquid public market.
A lack of diversification (even
within our single asset class) increases risk of loss.
We hold strategic investments in only
a few companies and therefore we cannot gain the risk mitigation benefits of portfolio diversification. We do not have the resources
to materially increase the number of our strategic investments. The absence of diversification creates concentration in all risk
variables associated with these positions.
Equity positions in strategic
investments do not provide the degree of security associated with lending.
Equity investments, particularly in
illiquid, leveraged and/or untested companies such as our current strategic investments, are very high risk. Equity investments
have no contractual right of repayment, no guarantees, and no collateral. Our business model is based upon making equity investments.
We may not realize any dividend
or capital gain return from our individual strategic investment or trading positions.
The companies comprising our trading
positions may all fail and cause a total loss of our investment. In addition, our investee companies typically would not be expected
to pay dividends to their stockholders.
We generally will not control
companies comprising our strategic investments.
We do not expect to control most of
the companies that will comprise our future strategic investments, even in any cases in which we have board representation or board
observation rights. As a result, we will be subject to the risk that a company in which we take a position may make business
decisions with which we disagree and the management of such company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our
interests as investors. As a result, a company in which we take a position may make decisions that could decrease the
value of that position. Our strategic investments may be relatively illiquid, and we may not be able to dispose of our positions
as readily as we would like, at optimal times, or at an appropriate valuation.
Our lack of control over the management
of a company comprising one of our strategic investments could leave us at risk that the management could make decisions or engage
in activities that decrease or destroy the value of that strategic investment.
Even though we hope to work closely
and constructively with management and boards of the companies that comprise our trading positions, there is no guarantee the management
and boards of these companies will heed our advice or act as we would wish. Therefore, decisions or activities by the
management of such a company can adversely affect the value of our strategic investment.
Our decision to file reports
using the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and/or smaller reporting companies may make our
common stock less attractive to investors.
We qualify as an “emerging
growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (“JOBS Act”), and we take advantage
of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging
growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports
and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and
shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Many of the exemptions available
for emerging growth companies are also available to smaller reporting companies (generally, those having less than $75 million
of common stock held by non-affiliates); we qualify as a “smaller reporting company.”
We cannot predict if investors
will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less
attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be reduced and/or
be more volatile.
ITEM 1B.