ITEM 1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
As discussed under Explanatory Note, this report covers the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. As such, the information relating to our business and related matters set forth below includes information for each of those years. However, as a result of the significant changes we have made to our business in the interim, the information in this Item 1 focuses on our more recent periods and also includes certain updated information for periods after December 31, 2016.
Company Background:
During the years from 1999 to 2016 Pacific WebWorks was an application service provider and software development firm that developed business software technologies and services for business merchants and organizations using Internet and other technologies. We specialized in turnkey applications allowing small to medium sized businesses to expand over the Internet. Our product family included tools for web site creation, management and maintenance, electronic business storefront hosting and Internet payment systems for the small to medium sized business and organization. From 2011 to 2016 the Company expanded operations to also include an investment and business consulting arm to seek opportunities in synergistic industries or businesses.
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The Companys business declined precipitously in the second half of 2015 and
on February 23, 2016 the Company filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah, and soon afterwards ceased its business activities. On August 19, 2016 the Company proposed a Plan of Liquidation and on November 28, 2016 the Court entered an order confirming the Plan of Liquidation and establishing a Liquidating Trust. On December 28, 2016 all remaining assets and liabilities of the Company were transferred to the Liquidating Trust. In 2017 the Liquidating Trust, with Court approval, collected or sold all remaining assets and made payments to all secured and unsecured creditors such that those claims were paid in full. As a result of these transfers the Company became an empty shell company, with no assets and no liabilities.
The Company
was incorporated in the state of Nevada on May 18, 1987, as Asphalt Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Pacific WebWorks, Inc. in January 1999. From 1999 to 2016 it operated as an application service provider and software development firm. As noted above, it filed for bankruptcy in February 2016.
Description of Current Business:
The Companys sole officer and director has determined that the Company lacks the resources to re-enter the software development business. Therefore,
the Companys sole officer and director has determined to seek a merger or an acquisition with a larger, better capitalized entity that will benefit current shareholders. Therefore, as of the date hereof, the Company can be defined as a "shell" company, an entity which is generally described as having no or nominal operations and with no or nominal assets. As a shell company, our purpose at this time, described more fully below, is to negotiate a business agreement or combination with a larger entity which will bring greater value to our shareholders. As of the date hereof, we have not identified any potential merger or acquisition partner.
The Companys sole officer and director believes that a potential merger or acquisition target will be a business which seeks the benefits of our shareholder base or status as a reporting issuer. The Companys sole officer and director will not restrict its search to any specific industry or geographic location. The Companys sole officer and director anticipates that the Company may be able to participate in only one potential business venture because a business partner might require exclusivity. This lack of diversification should be considered a substantial risk to our shareholders because it will not permit us to offset potential losses from one venture against gains from another.
We may seek a business opportunity with entities which have recently commenced operations, or which wish to expand into new products or markets, to develop a new product, or to utilize the public marketplace in order to raise additional capital. This discussion of the proposed business is purposefully general and is not meant to be restrictive of our discretion to search for and enter into potential business opportunities.
We anticipate that the selection of a business opportunity in which to participate will be complex and extremely risky due to general economic conditions, rapid changes in the business environment, and shortages of available capital. The
Companys sole officer and director believes that there are numerous firms seeking the benefits of a reporting issuer, but this is by no means certain.
It is our present intent to file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2017, June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017 as soon as possible and thereafter to timely comply with all of the reporting requirements under the 1934 Act. The Companys sole officer and director, Daniel Masters, has agreed to provide the necessary funds, without interest, for the Company to comply with the 1934 Act reporting requirements, provided he is an officer and director of the Company when the obligation is incurred. The officer has not, as of the date hereof, set a maximum dollar amount that he is willing to provide to the Company.
It is anticipated that we will incur nominal expenses in the implementation of the business plan described herein.
Because we have no capital with which to pay these anticipated expenses, the Companys sole
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officer and director will pay these charges with his personal funds, as interest free loans to the Company or as capital contributions. However, if loans, the only opportunity which he will have for repayment of these loans will be from a prospective merger or acquisition candidate.
Acquisition Opportunities:
The sole officer and director of the Company will seek out business combination opportunities through his personal business contacts. Our President regularly attends meetings of the National Investment Banking Association, the San Diego Venture Group, the Los Angeles Venture Association, and similar groups where businesses seeking to expand and investors and related professionals (e.g. consultants, accountants, and attorneys) meet in hopes of working together. The sole officer and director of the Company will not be limited in his search to these groups but believes that these groups will provide a networking platform from which to seek business combination opportunities.
In implementing a structure for a particular business venture, we may become a party to a merger, consolidation, reorganization, joint venture, or licensing agreement with another corporation or entity. We may also acquire stock or assets of an existing business. On the consummation of an agreement, it is probable that the present officer and director and the present shareholders of the Company will no longer be in control of the Company. In addition, and especially if there is a business combination, our sole director may, as part of the terms of the acquisition or merger, resign and be replaced by new directors without a vote of our shareholders or may sell their stock in the Company. It is anticipated that any securities issued by our Company in any such reorganization would be issued in reliance upon an exemption from registration under applicable federal and state securities laws.
We will participate in a business opportunity only after the negotiation and execution of appropriate written agreements. Although the terms of such agreements cannot be predicted, generally such agreements will require some specific representations and warranties by all of the parties thereto, will specify certain events of default, will detail the terms of closing and the conditions which must be satisfied by each of the parties prior to and after such closing, will outline the manner of verifying revenue and bearing costs, including costs associated with the Companys attorneys and accountants, will set forth remedies on default and will include miscellaneous other terms.
It is our present intent that we will not submit a potential merger, acquisition, or similar reorganization to our shareholders for approval. We are incorporated under the laws of Nevada and Nevadas Revised Statutes, Section 78.320, provides that
any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the stockholders may be taken without a meeting if, before or after the action, a written consent thereto is signed by stockholders holding at least a majority of the voting power
In no instance where action is authorized by written consent need a meeting of stockholders be called or notice given.
Our President, Daniel Masters, owns 66.8% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock; thus his written consent to a potential merger or acquisition constitutes more than the minimum number of votes necessary to authorize such a reorganization under Nevada law. Prompt notice of any such action will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K and also on Forms PREM14C and DEFM14C and copies of these filings will be sent by first class mail, postage pre-paid, to each of our shareholders.
Our present intent is that we will not enter into a business combination agreement with an entity which cannot provide independent audited financial statements at the time of closing of the proposed transaction and supply other information that is normally disclosed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We are subject to all of the reporting requirements included in the 1934 Act. These rules are intended to protect investors by deterring fraud and abuse in the securities markets through the use of shell companies. Included in these requirements is the affirmative duty of the Company to file independent audited financial statements as part of its Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission upon consummation of a merger or acquisition, as well as the Companys audited financial statements included in its annual report on Form 10-K. In addition, in the
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filing of the Form 8-K that we file to report an event that causes us to cease being a shell company, we are required to include that information that is normally reported by a company in its original Form 10.
We do not intend to hire an investment banker, a business broker, or a similar professional specializing in business acquisitions. Once a potential acquisition has been identified we do intend to utilize the services of an attorney experienced in business acquisitions to prepare or review the merger or acquisition agreements and documents. Because we have no capital with which to pay legal fees our President, Daniel Masters, has agreed to pay these fees with personal funds, as an interest free loan to the Company or as a capital contribution. However, this is a voluntary agreement; Mr. Masters is not contractually obligated to pay this expense.
Accounting in the Event of a Business Combination
Future business combinations will be recorded in accordance with the FASB Accounting Standards Codification 805 (ASC 805).
We have been informed that most business combinations will be accounted for as a reverse acquisition with us being the surviving registrant. As a result of any business combination, if the acquired entitys shareholders will exercise control over us, the transaction will be deemed to be a capital transaction where we are treated as a non-business entity. Therefore, the accounting for the business combination is identical to that resulting from a reverse merger, except no goodwill or other intangible assets will be recorded. For accounting purposes, the acquired entity will be treated as the accounting acquirer and, accordingly, will be presented as the continuing entity.
Issuer Status
Based upon our proposed future business activities, it is likely that we will be deemed a blank check company (see Risk Factors). The Securities and Exchange Commission definition of such a company is a development stage company that has no specific business plan or purpose, or has indicated that its business plan is to engage in a merger or acquisition with an unidentified company or companies, or other entity or person, and is issuing penny stock.
A penny stock security is any equity security other than a security (i) that is a reported security (ii) that is issued by an investment company (iii) that is a put or call issued by the Option Clearing Corporation (iv) that has a price of $5.00 or more (except for purposes of Rule 419 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) (v) that is registered on a national securities exchange (vi) that is authorized for quotation on the NASDAQ Stock Market, unless other provisions of the defining rule are not satisfied, or (vii) that is issued by an issuer with (a) net tangible assets in excess of $2,000,000, if in continuous operation for more than three years or $5,000,000 if in operation for less than three years or (b) average revenue of at least $6,000,000 for the last three years. Our stock will likely be deemed a penny stock.
JOBS Act
The United States Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act), which provides for certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to public companies that are reporting companies and are emerging growth companies. We qualify as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act. As a result, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements. For so long as we are an emerging growth company we will not be required to:
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have an auditor report on our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
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comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditors report providing
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additional information about the audit and the financial statements (i.e., an auditor discussion and analysis);
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submit certain executive compensation matters to shareholder advisory votes, such as say-on-pay and say-on-frequency; and
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disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the Chief Executives compensation to median employee compensation.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of our first sale of common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our total annual gross revenues exceed $1 billion, (ii) the date that we become a large accelerated filer as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which would occur if the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three year period.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards pursuant to Section 107(b) and the election is irrevocable.
Competition:
We will compete with a wide variety of public shell companies seeking reverse acquisitions. These competitors range from operating companies to companies like ours which have no operations, and from companies with substantial assets including substantial cash deposits to companies like ours with no assets.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business is subject to numerous risk factors, including the following:
1. We currently have no operating history and no revenues or earnings from operations.
We have no assets. We will, in all likelihood, sustain operating expenses without corresponding revenues, at least until the consummation of a business combination. This may result in us incurring a net operating loss that will increase continuously until we can consummate a business combination with a profitable business entity. There is no assurance that we can identify such a business entity and consummate such an agreement or combination.
2. We may not be able to continue to operate as a going concern.
Our auditor has expressed the opinion that we may not be able to continue as a going concern. Their opinion letter and the notation in the financial statements indicate that we do not have revenues, cash reserves, or other material assets and that we are relying on advances from stockholders, officers and directors to meet our limited operating expenses. We may become insolvent if we are unable to pay our debts in the ordinary course of business as they become due.
3. Our proposed plan of operation is speculative.
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The success of our proposed plan of operation will depend to a great extent on the operations, financial condition and management of the business opportunity which we identify, if any is identified. While our sole officer and director intends to seek business agreement(s) or combination(s) with entities having established operating histories, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in locating candidates meeting such criteria. In the event we complete a business agreement or combination, of which there can be no assurance, the success of our operations may be dependent upon management of the successor firm or venture partner firm and numerous other factors beyond our control.
4. We face intense competition for business combination opportunities.
We are and will continue to be an insignificant participant in the business of seeking mergers with, joint ventures with and acquisitions of small private and public entities. A large number of established and well-financed entities, including venture capital firms and investment banks, are active in mergers and acquisitions of companies that may be our desirable target candidates. Nearly all such entities have significantly greater financial resources, technical expertise and managerial capabilities than we have and, consequently, we will be at a competitive disadvantage in identifying possible business opportunities and successfully completing a business combination. Moreover, we will also compete in seeking merger or acquisition candidates with numerous other small public companies.
5. We have no agreements for a business combination or licensing transaction and
have established no standards for such transactions.
We have no arrangement, agreement or understanding with respect to entering into an agreement or engaging in a merger with, joint venture with or acquisition of, a private or public entity. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in identifying and evaluating suitable business opportunities or in concluding a business transaction. Our two officers and directors have not identified any particular business for our evaluation. There is no assurance that we will be able to negotiate a business combination on terms favorable to us. We have not established a specific length of operating history or a specified level of earnings, assets, net worth or other criteria which we will require a target business opportunity to have achieved, and without which we would not consider a business transaction in any form with such business opportunity. Accordingly, we may enter into a business agreement or a business combination with a business having no significant operating history, losses, limited potential or no potential for earnings, limited assets, negative net worth or other negative characteristics.
6. Our success is dependent on our sole officer and director who has other full time employment, has limited experience, and will only devote limited time (part time) to working for the Company, all of which makes our future even more uncertain.
Daniel Masters is the President and sole officer and director of the Issuer. Mr. Masters will serve without pay while maintaining other employment. As of the date hereof, he is devoting no more than one hour per week to the affairs of the Company, however, he expects to spend approximately five hours per week on the affairs of the Company and the search for a suitable merger or acquisition partner after the filing of this annual report. Notwithstanding the limited availability of our sole officer, loss of his services would adversely affect development of our business and its likelihood of continuing in operation.
7. Our sole officer and director has limited experience in mergers and acquisitions, which
makes our ability to complete a successful merger or acquisition more uncertain.
Although our President, Daniel Masters, has experience in business reorganizations, he has limited direct experience in negotiating mergers and acquisitions. This lack of experience makes our ability to complete a successful merger or acquisition more uncertain.
8. Our sole officer and director may have a conflict of interest in selecting a merger or acquisition target because of loans he may make to our Company.
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As noted above, the Companys sole officer and director has agreed that he will pay the Companys anticipated operating expenses with personal funds, making interest free loans to the Company or capital contributions. If he makes interest free loans to the Company, the only opportunity he will have for repayment of these loans will be from a prospective merger or acquisition candidate. This may result in a conflict of interest in selecting a merger candidate as the officer may prefer a candidate which will repay his loans over one which will not.
9. The reporting requirements under federal securities law may delay or prevent us from making certain acquisitions.
Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the "1934 Act"), require companies subject thereto to provide certain information about significant acquisitions, including certified financial statements for the company acquired, covering one, two, or three years, depending on the relative size of the acquisition. The time and additional costs that may be incurred by some target entities to prepare such statements may significantly delay or essentially preclude consummation of an otherwise desirable acquisition by the Company. Acquisition prospects that do not have or are unable to obtain the required audited statements may not be appropriate for acquisition so long as the reporting requirements of the 1934 Act are applicable.
In addition to the audited financial statements, in the filing of the Form 8-K that we file to report an event that causes us to cease being a shell company, we will be required to include that information that is normally reported by a company in a Form 10. The time and additional costs that may be incurred by some target entities to prepare and disclose such information may significantly delay or essentially preclude consummation of an otherwise desirable acquisition by the Company.
10. An acquisition could create a situation wherein we would be required to register under The Investment Company Act of 1940 and thus be required to incur substantial additional costs and expenses.
Although we will be subject to regulation under the 1934 Act, our two officers and directors believe the Company will not be subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, insofar as we will not be engaged in the business of investing or trading in securities. In the event we engage in a business combination that results in us holding passive investment interests in a number of entities, we could be subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. In such event, we would be required to register as an investment company and could be expected to incur significant registration and compliance costs. We have obtained no formal determination from the Securities and Exchange Commission as to the status of our Company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and, consequently, any violation of such Act would subject us to material adverse consequences.
11. A merger, acquisition, or similar agreement would most likely be exclusive, resulting in a lack of diversification.
Our sole officer and director anticipates that the Company may be able to participate in only one potential business venture because a business partner might require exclusivity. This lack of diversification should be considered a substantial risk to our shareholders because it will not permit us to offset potential losses from one venture against gains from another.
12. Our sole officer and director most likely will not remain after we complete a business combination or will have little power to influence the direction of business development.
A business combination will, in all likelihood, result in management of the acquired business determining the timing and funding of our development. Our current officer and director will have little to do except monitor business activity, if he remains in management at all. A business combination involving the issuance of our Common Stock will, in all likelihood, result in shareholders of a private company obtaining a controlling interest in us. Any such business combination may require our officer and director to sell or transfer all or a portion of the Company's Common Stock held by him, and/or resign as a member of the
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Board of Directors. The resulting change in our control could result in removal the present officer and director and a corresponding reduction in or elimination of his participation in our future affairs.
13. If we do any business combination, each shareholder will most likely hold a substantially lesser percentage ownership in the Company.
If we enter a business combination with a private concern, that, in all likelihood, would result in the Company issuing securities to shareholders of any such private company. The issuance of our previously authorized and unissued stock would result in reduction in percentage of shares owned by our present and prospective shareholders and may result in a change in our control or in our management.
14. As a shell company, we face substantial additional adverse business and legal consequences if we enter a business combination.
We may enter into a business combination with an entity that desires to establish a public trading market for its shares. A business opportunity may attempt to avoid what it deems to be adverse consequences of undertaking its own public offering by seeking a business combination with us. Such consequences may include, but are not limited to, time delays of the registration process, significant expenses to be incurred in such an offering, conditions and restrictions imposed by underwriters, and the costs to comply with various state (Blue Sky) securities laws.
On June 29, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules amending the Form S-8 and the Form 8-K for shell companies like us. The amendments expand the definition of a shell company to be broader than a company with no or nominal operations/assets or assets consisting of cash and cash equivalents. The amendments prohibit the use of a Form S-8 (a form used by a corporation to register securities issued to an employee, director, officer, consultant or advisor), under certain circumstances, and revise the Form 8-K to require a shell company to include current Form 10 information, including audited financial statements, in the filing on Form 8-K that the shell company files to report the acquisition of the business opportunity. This initial filing must be made within four days of the acquisition and the Form 8-K filing may be reviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The prospects of certain disclosures, or the lack of the ability to issue securities using a Form S-8, or the requirement of audited financial statements, or the unwillingness to assume the significant costs of compliance, may make an otherwise appropriate acquisition target unwilling to enter a business combination with us.
15. The requirement of audited financial statements may disqualify some business opportunities seeking a business combination with us.
Our sole officer and director believes that any potential business combination opportunity must provide audited financial statements for review, for the protection of all parties to the business combination. One or more attractive business opportunities may choose to forego the possibility of a business combination with us, rather than incur the expenses associated with preparing audited financial statements.
16. Our sole officer is also our principal shareholder and he will be able to approve all corporate actions without shareholder consent and will control our Company.
Our principal shareholder, Daniel Masters, currently owns approximately 66.8% of our Common Stock. Because of this, he will have the controlling vote in all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, but not requiring the approval of the minority shareholders. In addition, he is now the Companys President and sole officer and director. Because he is the majority shareholder, he will be able to elect all of the members of our board of directors, allowing him to exercise significant control of our affairs and management. In addition, he may transact corporate business requiring shareholder approval, including approval of the acquisition of, or merger with, an operating company, by written consent, without soliciting the votes of other shareholders.
17. Our Common Stock may never be widely traded and holders may have little or no ability to sell their shares.
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There is only a limited public trading market for our shares of Common Stock on the OTC Pink market under the trading symbol PWEB.
There can be no assurance that a more active market for our Common Stock will be established or that, if established, a market will be sustained. Therefore, if you purchase our Common Stock you may be unable to sell the shares. Accordingly, you should be able to bear the financial risk of losing your entire investment.
Only market makers can apply to quote securities. A market maker who desires to initiate quotations in the OTC market system must complete an application (Form 211) (unless an exemption is applicable) and by doing so, will have to represent that it has satisfied all applicable requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 15c2-11 and the filing and information requirements promulgated under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("Finra") Bylaws. The OTC Pink market will not charge us a fee for being quoted on the service. Finra rules prohibit market makers from accepting any remuneration in return for quoting issuers' securities on the OTC market or any similar medium. Finra will review the market maker's application (unless an exemption is applicable). If cleared, it cannot be assumed by any investor that any federal, state or self-regulatory requirements other than certain Finra rules and Rule 15c2-11 have been considered by Finra. Furthermore, the clearance should not be construed by any investor as indicating that Finra, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any state securities commission has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the documents contained in the submission.
The OTC Pink market is a market maker or dealer-driven system offering quotation and trading reporting capabilities - a regulated quotation service - that displays real-time quotes, last-sale prices, and volume information in OTC equity securities. The OTC Pink securities are not listed and traded on the floor of an organized national or regional stock exchange. Instead, OTC Pink securities transactions are conducted through a telephone and computer network connecting market makers or dealers in stocks.
18. If our Common Stock does not meet blue sky resale requirements, certain shareholders may be unable to resell our Common Stock.
The resale of Common Stock must meet the blue sky resale requirements in the states in which the proposed purchasers reside. If we are unable to qualify the Common Stock and there is no exemption from qualification in certain states, the holders of the Common Stock or the purchasers of the Common Stock may be unable to sell them.
19. Our shareholders may face significant restrictions on the resale of our Common Stock due to state "blue sky" laws or if we are determined to be a "blank check" company.
Current shareholders, and persons who desire to purchase the Common Stock in any trading market that may develop in the future, should be aware that there might be significant state restrictions upon the ability of new investors to purchase the Common Stock.
Blue sky laws, regulations, orders, or interpretations place limitations on offerings or sales of securities by "blank check" companies or in "blind-pool" offerings, or if such securities represent "cheap stock" previously issued to promoters or others. Our majority shareholder, because he received stock at a price of $.0001 for each share, may be deemed to hold "cheap stock." These limitations typically provide, in the form of one or more of the following limitations, that such securities are:
(a)
Not eligible for sale under exemption provisions permitting sales without registration to accredited investors or qualified purchasers;
(b)
Not eligible for the transaction exemption from registration for non-issuer transactions by a registered broker-dealer;
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(c)
Not eligible for registration under the simplified small corporate offering registration (SCOR) form available in many states;
(d)
Not eligible for the "solicitations of interest" exception to securities registration requirements available in many states;
(e)
Not permitted to be registered or exempted from registration, and thus not permitted to be sold in the state under any circumstances.
Virtually all 50 states have adopted one or more of these limitations, or other limitations or restrictions affecting the sale or resale of stock of blank check companies or securities sold in "blind pool" offerings or "cheap stock" issued to promoters or others. Specific limitations on such offerings have been adopted in:
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Alaska
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Nevada
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Tennessee
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Arkansas
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NewMexico
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Texas
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California
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Ohio
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Utah
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Delaware
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Oklahoma
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Vermont
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Florida
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Oregon
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Washington
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Georgia
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Pennsylvania
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Idaho
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RhodeIsland
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Indiana
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SouthCarolina
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Nebraska
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SouthDakota
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Any secondary trading market which may develop, may only be conducted in those jurisdictions where an applicable exemption is available or where the shares have been registered.
20. Our Common Stock will be subject to significant restriction on resale due to federal penny stock restrictions.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted rules that regulate broker or dealer practices in connection with transactions in penny stocks. Penny stocks generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on the Nasdaq system, provided that current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange system). The penny stock rules require a broker or dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document prepared by the Securities and Exchange Commission that provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker or dealer also must provide the customer with bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker or dealer, and its salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer's account. The penny stock rules also require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from such rules, the broker or dealer must make a special written determination that a penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser's written agreement to the transaction.
These disclosure requirements will have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in any secondary market for our stock, and accordingly, shareholders of our Common Stock will find it difficult to sell their securities, if at all.