Table of Contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
x
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
|
|
|
For the quarterly period ended February 28,
2010
|
|
|
OR
|
|
|
o
|
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
|
For the
transition period
from to
Commission File Number 0-22972
CLST HOLDINGS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
|
75-2479727
|
(State or other
jurisdiction of
|
|
(I.R.S. Employer
|
incorporation or
organization)
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Identification
No.)
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|
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17304
Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420
|
|
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Dallas,
Texas
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75252
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(Address of
principal executive offices)
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(Zip Code)
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(972) 267-0500
(Registrants telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to
such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes
x
No
o
Indicate by check mark
whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate
Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and
posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter)
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to submit and post such files). Yes
o
No
o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See
definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, and smaller
reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer
o
|
|
Accelerated filer
o
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|
|
|
Non-accelerated filer
o
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|
Smaller reporting company
x
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(Do not check if a smaller
reporting company)
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|
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act.). Yes
o
No
x
On April 12,
2010, there were 23,949,282
outstanding
shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share.
Table of Contents
PART IFINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
CLST HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
|
|
February 28,
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November 30,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
2009
|
|
ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
$
|
3,159
|
|
$
|
4,761
|
|
Notes receivable, net -
current
|
|
4,961
|
|
6,473
|
|
Accounts receivable -
other
|
|
1,073
|
|
2,741
|
|
Prepaid expenses and
other current assets
|
|
684
|
|
414
|
|
Total current assets
|
|
9,877
|
|
14,389
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Notes receivable, net -
long-term
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31,241
|
|
32,459
|
|
Property and equipment,
net
|
|
7
|
|
7
|
|
Deferred income taxes
|
|
4,786
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|
4,786
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|
Other assets
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|
662
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|
721
|
|
|
|
$
|
46,573
|
|
$
|
52,362
|
|
|
|
|
|
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LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
|
|
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Current liabilities:
|
|
|
|
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Accounts payable
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$
|
15,138
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$
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14,705
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|
Accrued expenses
|
|
634
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|
377
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|
Income taxes payable
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122
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|
99
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|
Loans payable - current
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|
29,917
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|
33,663
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|
Notes payable - related
parties - current
|
|
107
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|
107
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|
Total current
liabilities
|
|
45,918
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|
48,951
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes payable - related
parties
|
|
380
|
|
391
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|
Total liabilities
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|
46,298
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|
49,342
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Commitments and
contingencies
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|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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Stockholders equity:
|
|
|
|
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Preferred stock, $.01
par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued
|
|
|
|
|
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Common stock, $.01 par
value, 200,000,000 shares authorized; 24,583,306 shares issued and 23,949,282
shares outstanding
|
|
246
|
|
246
|
|
Additional paid-in
capital
|
|
127,029
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|
127,014
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|
Accumulated other
comprehensive income-foreign currency translation adjustments
|
|
217
|
|
217
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|
Accumulated deficit
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|
(125,570
|
)
|
(122,810
|
)
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|
|
1,922
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|
4,667
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|
Less: Treasury stock
(634,024 shares at cost)
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|
(1,647
|
)
|
(1,647
|
)
|
|
|
275
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|
3,020
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
46,573
|
|
$
|
52,362
|
|
See accompanying notes to unaudited consolidated financial statements.
3
Table of Contents
CLST HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Three months ended February 28, 2010 and 2009
(unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share data)
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Three
months ended
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February
28,
|
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2010
|
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2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Revenues:
|
|
|
|
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Interest income
|
|
$
|
1,340
|
|
$
|
1,530
|
|
Other
|
|
57
|
|
91
|
|
Total revenues
|
|
1,397
|
|
1,621
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loan servicing fees
|
|
243
|
|
307
|
|
Provision for doubtful
accounts
|
|
1,096
|
|
703
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
572
|
|
536
|
|
General and
administrative expenses
|
|
2,241
|
|
661
|
|
Operating loss
|
|
(2,755
|
)
|
(586
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other income:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other, net
|
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
Total other income
|
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss before income
taxes
|
|
(2,753
|
)
|
(583
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income tax expense
(benefit)
|
|
7
|
|
(130
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
$
|
(2,760
|
)
|
$
|
(453
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Basic and diluted:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss per share
|
|
$
|
(0.12
|
)
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted average number
of shares:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
Basic and diluted
|
|
23,547
|
|
21,261
|
|
See accompanying notes to unaudited consolidated financial statements.
4
Table of Contents
CLST HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY AND
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Three months ended February 28, 2010 and 2009
(Unaudited)
(In thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accumulated
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
other
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common Stock
|
|
Treasury Stock
|
|
Additional
|
|
comprehensive
|
|
Accumulated
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares
|
|
Amount
|
|
Shares
|
|
Amount
|
|
paid-in capital
|
|
income
|
|
deficit
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at
November 30, 2009
|
|
24,583
|
|
$
|
246
|
|
(634
|
)
|
$
|
(1,647
|
)
|
$
|
127,014
|
|
$
|
217
|
|
$
|
(122,810
|
)
|
$
|
3,020
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comprehensive loss:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2,760
|
)
|
(2,760
|
)
|
Total comprehensive loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2,760
|
)
|
Amortization of
restricted stock
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15
|
|
|
|
|
|
15
|
|
Balance at
February 28, 2010
|
|
24,583
|
|
$
|
246
|
|
(634
|
)
|
$
|
(1,647
|
)
|
$
|
127,029
|
|
$
|
217
|
|
$
|
(125,570
|
)
|
$
|
275
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at
November 30, 2008
|
|
21,187
|
|
$
|
212
|
|
(634
|
)
|
$
|
(1,647
|
)
|
$
|
126,034
|
|
$
|
217
|
|
$
|
(117,616
|
)
|
$
|
7,200
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comprehensive loss:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(453
|
)
|
(453
|
)
|
Total comprehensive loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(453
|
)
|
Grant of restricted
stock
|
|
900
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
|
|
(9
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cancellation of
restricted stock
|
|
(300
|
)
|
(3
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization of
restricted stock
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
55
|
|
|
|
|
|
55
|
|
Stock issuance for notes
receivable
|
|
2,496
|
|
25
|
|
|
|
|
|
874
|
|
|
|
|
|
899
|
|
Balance at
February 28, 2009
|
|
24,283
|
|
$
|
243
|
|
(634
|
)
|
$
|
(1,647
|
)
|
$
|
126,957
|
|
$
|
217
|
|
$
|
(118,069
|
)
|
$
|
7,701
|
|
See accompanying notes to unaudited consolidated financial statements.
5
Table of Contents
CLST HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Three months ended February 28, 2010 and 2009
(Unaudited)
(In thousands)
|
|
2010
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from
operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
$
|
(2,760
|
)
|
$
|
(453
|
)
|
Adjustments to
reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stock based
compensation
|
|
15
|
|
55
|
|
Provision for doubtful
accounts
|
|
1,096
|
|
703
|
|
Depreciation
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
Non-cash interest
expense
|
|
27
|
|
10
|
|
Amortization of notes
receivable acquisition costs
|
|
17
|
|
22
|
|
Changes in operating
assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts receivable -
other
|
|
1,668
|
|
(458
|
)
|
Prepaid expenses and
other current assets
|
|
(270
|
)
|
|
|
Other assets
|
|
32
|
|
43
|
|
Accounts payable
|
|
433
|
|
(262
|
)
|
Income taxes payable
|
|
23
|
|
(130
|
)
|
Accrued expenses
|
|
257
|
|
(19
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by
(used in)operating activities
|
|
539
|
|
(488
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from investing
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchases of property
and equipment
|
|
(1
|
)
|
|
|
Notes receivable
principal collections
|
|
1,601
|
|
2,298
|
|
Acquisition of notes
receivable
|
|
|
|
(2,865
|
)
|
Additions to notes
receivable acquisition costs
|
|
|
|
(173
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by
(used in) investing activities
|
|
1,600
|
|
(740
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash flows from
financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments on notes
payable
|
|
(3,741
|
)
|
(2,092
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash used in
financing activities
|
|
(3,741
|
)
|
(2,092
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net decrease in cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
(1,602
|
)
|
(3,320
|
)
|
Cash and cash
equivalents at beginning of period
|
|
4,761
|
|
9,754
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash
equivalents at end of period
|
|
$
|
3,159
|
|
$
|
6,434
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-Cash Investing and
Financing Activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition of notes
receivable for common stock
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
899
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition of notes
receivable for debt
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
4,909
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition of notes
receivable for accounts receivable, other
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
336
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Returned notes
receivable in exchange for reduction of debt
|
|
$
|
16
|
|
$
|
23
|
|
See accompanying notes to unaudited consolidated financial statements.
6
Table of Contents
CLST HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
(1) Summary
of Significant Accounting Policies
(a)
Basis for Presentation
Although the interim
consolidated financial statements of CLST Holdings, Inc., formerly
CellStar Corporation, and its subsidiaries (the
Company
)
are unaudited, Company management is of the opinion that all adjustments
(consisting of only normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair
presentation of the results have been reflected therein. Net income (loss) for
any interim period is not necessarily indicative of results that may be
expected for any other interim period or for the entire year.
In accordance with
the Companys plan of dissolution that was previously approved by our
stockholders, on March 26, 2010 the Company filed a certificate of
dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State to be effective on June 24,
2010. Immediately after the close of
business on June 24, 2010, the Company will close its stock transfer
books; accordingly it is expected that the trading of its stock on the Pink
Sheets will cease at the same time. The
amount and timing of any distributions paid to stockholders in connection with
the liquidation and dissolution of the Company are subject to uncertainties and
depend on the resolution of certain contingencies. The Companys financial
statements have been prepared on a going-concern basis and the asset and liability
carrying amounts do not purport to present the net realizable or settlement
values in the event of the dissolution and liquidation of the Company.
From November 2008
through February 2009, the Company consummated three acquisitions of
consumer notes receivable portfolios. On
November 10, 2008, the Company, through CLST Asset I, LLC (
CLST Asset I
), a wholly owned
subsidiary of CLST Financo, Inc. (
Financo
),
which is one of our direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of FCC Investment
Trust I (
Trust I
) from a third party
(the
Trust I Purchase Agreement
). The purchase price payable in the Trust I
Purchase Agreement was financed pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth
in the credit agreement, dated November 10, 2008, among Trust I, Fortress
Credit Co LLC, as lender (
Fortress
),
FCC Finance, LLC (
FCC
), as the initial
servicer, the backup servicer, and the collateral custodian (the
Trust I
Credit Agreement
). On December 12, 2008 we, through
CLST Asset Trust II (
Trust II
),
a newly formed trust wholly owned by CLST Asset II, LLC (
CLST
Asset II
), a wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, entered into a
purchase agreement to acquire
certain receivables, installment
sales contracts and related assets owned by
SSPE Investment Trust I (
SSPE
Trust
) and SSPE, LLC (
SSPE
).
Funding for Trust II included a non-recourse, revolving loan, which Trust II
entered into with Summit Consumer Receivables Fund, L.P. (
Summit
), as originator, and
SSPE and SSPE Trust, as co-borrowers, Summit and Eric J. Gangloff, as
Guarantors, Fortress Credit Corp. (
Fortress Corp
.),
as the lender, Summit Alternative Investments, LLC, as the initial servicer,
and various other parties (
Trust II Credit Agreement
). On February 13, 2009, we, through CLST
Asset III, LLC (
CLST Asset III
), a newly
formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, entered into a purchase agreement
to acquire certain assets owned by Fair Finance Company, an Ohio corporation (
Fair
), James F. Cochran,
Chairman and Director of Fair, and by Timothy S. Durham, Chief Executive
Officer and Director of Fair and an officer, director and stockholder of our
Company. Messrs. Durham and Cochran own all of the outstanding equity of Fair. For more information regarding each of these
acquisitions please refer to Business2009 Business in the Companys Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2009.
The Companys
consolidated financial statements include the Companys accounts and those of
the majority-owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany balances and
transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Unconsolidated subsidiaries
and investments are accounted for under the equity method. Certain prior year financial amounts have
been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
The report of our independent registered public
accounting firm with respect to our financial statements as of November 30,
2009 and for the year then ended contains an explanatory paragraph with respect
to our ability to continue as a going concern. This concern has been raised due
to the higher than anticipated defaults on the notes receivable included in
CLST Asset I which has resulted in a default under the Trust I Credit Agreement
and an approximately $3.5 million increase in the allowance for doubtful
accounts during the twelve months ended November 30, 2009, with an
additional $1.1 million increase in the allowance for doubtful accounts through
February 28, 2010. As a result of the Companys default under the Trust I
Credit Agreement, the amount due to Fortress under this agreement has been
classified as current as of November 30, 2009 and February 28, 2010.
The Company has also been engaged in several lawsuits which have resulted in
the Company incurring significant legal fees. The combination of the increase
in the allowance for doubtful accounts and high legal fees resulted in the
Company incurring a net loss of approximately $5.2 million and $2.8 million during
the twelve months ended November 30, 2009 and the three months ended February 28,
2010, respectively. The Company is continuing discussions to resolve the
default under the Trust I Credit Agreement and a potential default under the
Trust II Credit Agreement. The Company has made a claim under its directors and
officers liability insurance policy for reimbursement of legal fees incurred in
excess of our $1.0 million self retention amount. It is uncertain whether the
Company can
7
Table of Contents
continue
as a going concern if it continues to incur net losses and if the Company loses
the CLST Asset I and CLST Asset II consumer receivables as a result of the
default under the Trust I Credit Agreement and the potential default under the
Trust II Credit Agreement.
(b)
Notes
Receivable
The following
table shows certain information as of February 28, 2010 for each of CLST
Asset I, CLST Asset II and CLST Asset III.
A more detailed description of the results for each of these entities is
provided in Item 2 Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations. Amounts presented are in thousands, except
for the approximate number of customer accounts and the average outstanding
principal balance per account.
|
|
CLST
Asset I
|
|
CLST
Asset II
|
|
CLST
Asset III
|
|
|
|
Principal Balance
|
|
% of Total
|
|
Principal Balance
|
|
% of Total
|
|
Principal Balance
|
|
% of Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Receivables Aging
(Principal)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current 0-30 Days
|
|
$
|
26,920
|
|
81.0
|
%
|
$
|
6,714
|
|
95.6
|
%
|
$
|
1,270
|
|
77.1
|
%
|
31 - 60 Days
|
|
1,140
|
|
3.4
|
%
|
105
|
|
1.5
|
%
|
176
|
|
10.7
|
%
|
61 - 90 Days
|
|
821
|
|
2.5
|
%
|
66
|
|
0.9
|
%
|
64
|
|
3.9
|
%
|
91 + 120
|
|
547
|
|
1.6
|
%
|
50
|
|
0.7
|
%
|
47
|
|
2.9
|
%
|
120+
|
|
3,819
|
|
11.5
|
%
|
87
|
|
1.3
|
%
|
89
|
|
5.4
|
%
|
Total Receivables
|
|
33,247
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
7,022
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
1,646
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Allowance for doubtful
Accts
|
|
(4,639
|
)
|
-14.0
|
%
|
(150
|
)
|
-2.1
|
%
|
|
|
0.0
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Receivables
|
|
28,608
|
|
86.0
|
%
|
6,872
|
|
97.9
|
%
|
1,646
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discount
|
|
(493
|
)
|
-1.5
|
%
|
(596
|
)
|
-8.5
|
%
|
(51
|
)
|
-3.1
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition fees
|
|
155
|
|
0.5
|
%
|
23
|
|
0.3
|
%
|
38
|
|
2.3
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
28,270
|
|
85.0
|
%
|
$
|
6,299
|
|
89.7
|
%
|
$
|
1,633
|
|
99.2
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts Receivable
Other
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
302
|
|
|
|
$
|
150
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes Payable and Loans
Outstanding
|
|
$
|
25,072
|
|
|
|
$
|
4,845
|
|
|
|
$
|
487
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Approximate Number of Customer
Accounts
|
|
4,980
|
|
|
|
953
|
|
|
|
1,676
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average Outstanding
Principal Balance per Account
|
|
$
|
6,676
|
|
|
|
$
|
7,368
|
|
|
|
$
|
982
|
|
|
|
The majority of
the notes receivable have collateral in various forms, which may include a
second lien position on the borrowers home or property. Notes receivable are recorded at the
historical cost paid at the date of acquisition net of any purchase discounts.
Subsequent to the date of acquisition, notes receivable are reduced by any
principal payments made by the customer. Purchase discounts are recorded based
on the negotiated difference between the face value and the amount paid for the
notes receivable. Purchase discounts are recognized as revenue, using the
effective interest method, as principal payments are collected.
The Company
establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts for receivables where the
customer has not made a payment for the most recent 120 day and 90 period for
CLST Asset I and CLST Asset II, respectively.
The Company specifically analyzes notes receivable using historical
activity, current economic trends, changes in its customer payment terms,
recoveries of previously reserved notes and collection trends when evaluating
the adequacy of its allowance for doubtful accounts. Any change in the
assumptions used in analyzing a specific note receivable may result in an
additional allowance for doubtful accounts being recognized in the period in
which the change occurs. During the
fourth quarter of 2009, the Company modified its reserve policy due to recent
market trends. Additional reserves are accrued based on account balances that are
over 60 days past due with the reserve amount dependent on the overall
performance of the portfolio. The Company may also establish an additional
reserve for any portfolio that, in managements judgment, may need to be
discounted at a future date in order to sell the portfolio in its entirety. Any
reserve amount may be reduced based upon any offset rights or claims the
Company may have against parties who initially sold the portfolio to the
Company. The
8
Table of Contents
Company may from time to
time make additional increases to the allowance based on the foregoing factors.
Once a note receivable has been reserved due to nonpayment, the Company will no
longer accrue, for financial reporting purposes, interest earned on the note
receivable. Should the note receivable return to a performing status, then the
Company will resume accruing interest on the note receivable. Recoveries are recorded
against the allowance when payments are received. Notes receivable are charged off against the
allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and a legal
determination has been rendered that less than the full amount of the note receivable
will be collected. Recoveries of notes
receivable, which were previously charged off, are recorded to income when
payments are received.
The following
table details the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts for the three
months ended February 28, 2010 and 2009:
|
|
For
the three months ended
|
|
|
|
February
28,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beginning balance
|
|
$
|
3,668
|
|
$
|
144
|
|
Additions to allow for
doubtful accounts
|
|
1,096
|
|
703
|
|
Recoveries
|
|
25
|
|
|
|
Charge offs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ending balance
|
|
$
|
4,789
|
|
$
|
847
|
|
Beginning in the third
quarter of 2009 and continuing through the first quarter of 2010, the
annualized default rate for CLST Asset I increased to as high as 13.5% in December 2009;
accordingly, we have been increasing our allowances to reflect this change.
Historically, the annualized default rate has increased during the months of
November, December and January and then subsequently decreased. The
annualized default rate was approximately 13.5% for December 2009 and
decreased to approximately 12.8%, 11.4% and 7.5% for January 2010, February 2010
and March 2010, respectively. The Company is in default of the Trust I
Credit Agreement and is potentially in default of the Trust II Credit Agreement
as a result of higher than anticipated note receivable defaults. As a result of
the default, the entire balance of $25.1 million due to Fortress under the
Trust I Credit Agreement has been classified as current on the February 28,
2010 balance sheet. Had the Company not been in default under the Trust I Credit
Agreement, $19.4 million of the outstanding balance as of February 28,
2010 would have been classified as non-current. The Company is currently in
discussions with its lenders to resolve any actual and potential defaults under
the Trust I Credit Agreement and the Trust II Credit Agreement. Those
discussions are ongoing and the Company does not expect that its lenders will
enforce any available foreclosure rights they may have on the assets of Trust I
and Trust II while negotiations are proceeding.
(c) Revenue Recognition
Revenues, which consist of
interest earned, late fees and other miscellaneous charges, will be recorded as
earned from notes receivable. Revenues will not be accrued on accounts without
payment activity for over 120 days and 90 days for CLST Asset I and CLST Asset
II, respectively, unless payment activity resumes.
(d) Deferred Costs
We have recorded
acquisition costs related to the purchase of certain notes receivables and
deferred loan costs associated with certain Company obligations. The
acquisition costs are amortized over the remaining principal balance of the
notes receivable and are recorded as contra revenue. The deferred loan costs
are amortized over the remaining outstanding balance of the Company obligation
and are recorded in operating interest expense. Any impact of prepayment of the
balances by either the Company or our customers would be recognized in the
period of prepayment.
(2) Stock-Based
Compensation
For the three
months ended February 28, 2010 and 2009, the Company recognized $15,000
and $55,000 of expense, respectively, related to restricted stock grants.
9
Table of Contents
(3) Net Loss Per Share
Options to
purchase 0.1 million shares of Common Stock were not included in the
computation of diluted earnings per share for the three months February 28,
2010 and 2009 because the exercise price was higher than the average market
price. 0.4 million shares of the Companys
restricted stock were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per
share for the three months ended February 28, 2010 and 2009, because their
inclusion would have been anti-dilutive as the Company had a net loss.
(4) Fair
Value Measurements
In April 2009, the
Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASC 825 (formerly FSP FAS 107-1),
Interim Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial
Instruments.
ASC 825 requires disclosures about the fair value of
financial instruments whenever a public company issues financial information
for interim reporting periods. ASC 825 is effective for interim reporting
periods ending after June 15, 2009. The Company adopted this staff
position upon its issuance, and it had no material impact on its consolidated
financial statements.
The carrying amounts of accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued
liabilities as of February 28, 2010 and 2009 approximate fair value due to
the short maturity of these instruments.
The carrying value of notes receivable, loans payable and notes
payable-related parties also approximate fair value since these instruments
bear market rates of interest, and notes receivable are net of allowances and
purchase discounts.
(5) Commitments
and Contingencies
Introduction
The Company has expended
a significant amount of management time and resources in connection with the
Federal Court Action and the State Court Action (as defined below). The Company
has had settlement discussions with Red
Oak Fund, L.P. and certain of its affiliates (
Red Oak
or the
Red Oak
Group
) from time to time in the past regarding the
Federal Court Action and the State Court Action, but those discussions have not
been successful. The Company may have further settlement discussions with
Red Oak in the future. No assurance can be given that any settlement
agreement could be reached if the Company undertakes further discussions or, if
a settlement agreement is entered into, that the terms of any settlement would
not have a material adverse effect on the Company, its financial position, or
its results of operations.
Federal Court Action
In December 2008,
David Sandberg of the Red Oak Group placed a telephone call to Robert Kaiser
expressing interest in the Red Oak Group making a minority investment in the
Company and obtaining control of the Company. The Companys Board of Directors
(the
Board
) responded by
suggesting that the Red Oak Group and the Company discuss the Red Oak Groups
desire to make a minority investment and obtain control after the Company filed
its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30,
2008 with the SEC and made its results of operations available to the Companys
stockholders.
On January 15, 2009,
the Red Oak Group acquired 5,000 shares of our common stock in secondary market
and privately negotiated transactions. On or about January 30, 2009,
the Red Oak Group requested that the Company provide a stockholder list and
security position listings, which it said it would use to make a tender
offer. On February 3, 2009, the Red Oak Group announced its plan to
commence a tender offer to acquire up to 70% of our outstanding shares of
common stock at $0.25 per share. On February 5, 2009, we adopted the
Rights Plan which became effective on February 16, 2009. Stating the
Companys Rights Plan as its reason, the Red Oak Group announced on February 9,
2009 that it had abandoned its intention to make a tender offer.
Nevertheless, the Red Oak Group continued through February 13, 2009 to
acquire shares of our common stock in the secondary market and privately
negotiated transactions resulting in its beneficial ownership of 4,561,554
shares of our common stock (according to the Red Oak Groups Schedule 13D filed
with the SEC on February 18, 2009), representing approximately 19.05% of
our outstanding common stock as of the record date. The Red Oak Group made its
purchases of our common stock in open-market and privately negotiated
transactions, not by means of tender offer materials filed with the SEC.
On February 13,
2009, we filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Texas against Red Oak Fund, L.P., Red Oak Partners, LLC, and David
Sandberg (the
Federal
Court Action
). Our Original Complaint and Application for
Injunctive Relief alleges that Red Oak engaged in numerous violations of
federal securities laws in making purchases of our common stock and sought to
enjoin any future unlawful purchases of our stock by them, their agents, and
persons or entities acting in concert with them. We believe Red Oak violated
federal securities laws as follows:
10
Table of Contents
(i)
|
violating
Rule 14(e)-5 of the Exchange Act by not truly abandoning its tender
offer and instead directly or indirectly purchasing or arranging to purchase
shares not in connection with its tender offer and without complying with the
procedural, disclosure and anti-fraud requirements applicable to tender
offers regulated under Section 14 of the Exchange Act;
|
|
|
(ii)
|
violating Exchange Act
Rule 14d-5(f) by failing to return the Companys stockholder list,
which we provided to Red Oak upon its request, and by using such list for a
purpose other than in connection with the dissemination of tender offer
materials in connection with its tender offer;
|
|
|
(iii)
|
violating Exchange Act
Rule 14(d)-10 by purchasing shares pursuant to its tender offer at
varying prices rather than paying consideration for securities tendered in
the tender offer at the highest consideration paid to any stockholder for
securities tendered; and
|
|
|
(iv)
|
violating
Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act by not timely filing a Schedule
13D and disclosing the information required therein.
|
On March 13, 2009,
we announced that we would hold our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 22,
2009 in Dallas, Texas, and that the close of business on April 2, 2009
would be the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to
receive notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or
postponements thereof.
On March 18, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us demanding to inspect and copy certain of
our books and records. We have taken the position that the Red Oak Group
did not comply with state law requirements applicable to stockholders seeking
such information.
On March 19, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to put forth
several precatory proposals including stockholder votes for: approval to
proceed with the 2007 stockholder-approved plan of dissolution; approval of the
November 10, 2008 transaction whereby CLST Asset I, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Financo, entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all of the
outstanding equity interests of Trust I from a third party for approximately
$41.0 million; approval of the 2008 Plan pursuant to which the Board approved
the new issuance to themselves of up to 20 million shares of common stock, or
just over 97% of the common stock outstanding at the time this plan was
approved; approval of the December 12, 2008 transaction whereby Trust II,
a newly formed trust wholly owned by CLST Asset II, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Financo entered into a purchase agreement, effective as of December 10,
2008, to acquire (i) on or before February 28, 2009 receivables of at
least $2 million, subject to certain limitations and (ii) from time to
time certain other receivables, installment sales contracts, and related
assets; and approval of the February 13, 2009 transaction whereby CLST
Asset III, a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, which is one of
CLSTs direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, purchased certain receivables,
installment sales contracts, and related assets owned by Fair, which is partly
owned by Timothy S. Durham, an officer and director of CLST. On the same day,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to nominate a slate
of directors to our Board.
On April 6, 2009, we
notified the Red Oak Group that our Board rejected the Red Oak Groups
nominations for Class I and Class II seats, as the nominations were
not in accordance with our certificate of incorporation. In addition, we
also rejected the Red Oak Groups proposals because they were not proper in
form or substance under federal and state law to come before an Annual
Meeting. We offered to discuss the Red Oak Groups concerns, director
nominations, and stockholder proposals provided that (1) the Red Oak Group
and the Company enter into a confidentiality and standstill agreement, (2) the
Red Oak Group appropriately make publicly available disclosures regarding its
rapid accumulation of the Companys shares and its intentions to acquire
control of the Company that are required by the federal securities laws,
including in a Report on Schedule 13D, and (3) the Red Oak Group not vote
the shares that the Company believes it to have acquired in violation of
applicable law, including the tender offer rules and other rules regulating
such accumulation of shares under the federal securities laws, at the Annual
Meeting.
Also on April 6,
2009, we filed our First Amended Complaint and Application for Injunctive
Relief in the Federal Court Action adding Red Oaks affiliates (Pinnacle
Partners, LLC; Pinnacle Fund, LLLP; and Bear Market Opportunity Fund, L.P.) as
defendants, alleging the same and other violations of federal securities laws,
including:
(i)
|
filing a materially
false and misleading Schedule 13D and failing to amend the same after
delivering to the Company a Notice of Director Nominations and proposal for
business at the Annual Meeting;
|
|
|
(ii)
|
violating
Section 14(d) of the Exchange Act by engaging in fraudulent,
deceptive and manipulative acts in connection with its tender offer by
failing to abide by Section 14(d)s timing requirements and by failing
to make required filings with the SEC; and
|
11
Table of Contents
(iii)
|
that any attempt to
solicit proxies from our stockholders with respect to director nominations or
notice of business would be misleading in light of the defendants illegal
activities in accumulating Company stock.
|
Through this action, we
seek to obtain various declaratory judgments that the defendants have failed to
comply with federal securities laws and to enjoin the defendants from, among
other things, further violating federal securities laws and from voting any and
all shares or proxies acquired in violation of such laws.
Also on April 6,
2009, because, among other reasons, we did not expect the litigation, which
bears directly upon our Annual Meeting of stockholders, to be resolved for some
months, our Board postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders previously
scheduled for May 22, 2009 until September 25, 2009.
On April 15, 2009,
the Red Oak Group submitted another letter to the Company, providing additional
information regarding the stockholder proposals it intends to bring before the
Annual Meeting and revising those proposals to: request the Board to complete
the dissolution approved at the stockholder meeting held in 2007; advise the
Board that the stockholders do not approve of the transaction purportedly
entered into as of November 10, 2008 whereby CLST Asset I, a wholly owned
indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase agreement to
acquire the outstanding equity interest in Trust I and request the directors to
take any available and appropriate actions; disapprove the 2008 Plan adopted by
the Board and request the Board not to issue any additional share grants or
option grants under such plan and request that the directors rescind their
approval of such plan; advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the
transaction purportedly entered into as of December 12, 2008 pursuant to
which CLST Asset II, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company,
entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain receivables on or before February 28,
2009 and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions;
and advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of February 13, 2009 whereby CLST Asset III,
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company purchased certain
receivables, installment contracts and related assets owned by Fair and request
the directors to take any available and appropriate actions.
On July 24, 2009, we
filed our Brief in Support of Application for Preliminary Injunction. The Red Oak Group filed its Opposition on August 7,
2009, and we filed our Reply Brief in Support on August 14, 2009. On October 14,
2009, the Court denied the Companys Application for Preliminary Injunction.
On December 30,
2009, the Company voluntarily filed a Motion to Dismiss the Federal Court
Action (
Federal Motion to Dismiss
).
As an exercise of its
business judgment, the Board decided not to pursue CLSTs claims against the
Red Oak Group beyond the preliminary injunction stage.
On January 20, 2010,
the Red Oak Group filed its Combined Motion for Leave to Amend, to Join Third
Parties, to Vacate Scheduling Order and to Continue the Trial Date (
Motion for Leave
) and its Motion
for Attorneys Fees under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure (
Rule 11 Motion
).
By its Motion for Leave, Red
Oak sought to join Messrs. Durham, Kaiser, and Tornek as defendants and to
add claims against them and CLST respectively for alleged violations of
Sections 13(d), 14(a), and 10(b) of the Exchange Act and certain rules promulgated
thereunder. By its Rule 11 Motion,
the Red Oak Group sought to recover all of its attorneys fees and costs in
defending this action from CLST based on the legal contention that injunctive
relief is not available for a violation of Section 13(d) of the
Exchange Act.
On
March 2, 2010, the Court denied the Federal Motion to Dismiss and granted
the Red Oak Groups Motion for Leave.
The Court also denied the Red Oak Groups Rule 11 Motion. On March 17, 2010, the Red Oak Group
filed its Counterclaims and Third-Party Complaint against the Company, alleging
violations of Sections 13(d), 14(a) and 10(b) of the Exchange Act. The Federal Court Action remains pending.
State Court Action
On March 2, 2009,
certain members of the Red Oak Group (namely, Red Oak Partners, LLC; Pinnacle
Fund, LLP; and Bear Market Opportunity Fund, L.P.) and Jeffrey S. Jones (
Jones
) (the Red Oak
Group and Jones may be collectively referred to below as
Plaintiffs
)
filed a derivative lawsuit against Robert A. Kaiser, Timothy S. Durham, and
David Tornek in the 134th District Court of Dallas County, Texas (the
State Court Action
).
The petition alleges that Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek entered into
self-dealing transactions at the expense of the Company and its stockholders
and violated their fiduciary duties of loyalty, independence, due care, good
faith, and fair dealing. The petition asks the Court to order, among other
things, a rescission of the alleged self-interested transactions by Messrs. Kaiser,
Durham, and Tornek; an award of compensatory and punitive damages; the removal
of Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from the Board; and that the Company
hold an Annual Meeting of stockholders, or that the Company appoint a
conservator to oversee and implement the dissolution plan approved by
stockholders in 2007.
12
Table of Contents
On March 13, 2009,
we announced that we would hold our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 22,
2009 in Dallas, Texas, and that the close of business on April 2, 2009
would be the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to
receive notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or
postponements thereof.
On March 18, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us demanding to inspect and copy certain of
our books and records. We took the position that the Red Oak Group did
not comply with state law requirements applicable to stockholders seeking such
information.
On
March 19, 2009, the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its
intention to put forth several precatory proposals including stockholder votes
for: approval to proceed with the 2007 stockholder-approved plan of
dissolution; approval of the November 10, 2008 transaction whereby CLST
Asset I, a wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of Trust I from a
third party for approximately $41.0 million; approval of the 2008 Plan pursuant
to which the Board approved the new issuance to themselves of up to 20 million
shares of common stock, or just over 97% of the common stock outstanding at the
time this plan was approved; approval of the December 12, 2008 transaction
whereby Trust II, a newly formed trust wholly owned by CLST Asset II, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Financo entered into a purchase agreement, effective as of December 10,
2008, to acquire (i) on or before February 28, 2009 receivables of at
least $2 million, subject to certain limitations and (ii) from time to
time certain other receivables, installment sales contracts and related assets;
and approval of the February 13, 2009 transaction whereby CLST Asset III,
a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, which is one of CLSTs
direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, purchased certain receivables, installment
sales contracts and related assets owned by Fair, which is partly owned by
Timothy S. Durham, an officer and director of CLST. On the same day, the Red
Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to nominate a slate of
directors to our Board.
On April 6, 2009, we
notified the Red Oak Group that our Board rejected the Red Oak Groups
nominations for Class I and Class II seats, as the nominations were
not in accordance with our certificate of incorporation. In addition, we
also rejected the Red Oak Groups proposals because they were not proper in
form or substance under federal and state law to come before an Annual
Meeting. We offered to discuss the Red Oak Groups concerns, director
nominations, and stockholder proposals provided that (1) the Red Oak Group
and the Company enter into a confidentiality and standstill agreement, (2) the
Red Oak Group appropriately make publicly available disclosures regarding its
rapid accumulation of the Companys shares and its intentions to acquire
control of the Company that are required by the federal securities laws,
including in a Report on Schedule 13D, and (3) the Red Oak Group not vote
the shares that the Company believes it to have acquired in violation of
applicable law, including the tender offer rules and other rules regulating
such accumulation of shares under the federal securities laws, at the Annual
Meeting.
Also on April 6,
2009, because, among other reasons, we did not expect the litigation, which
bears directly upon our Annual Meeting of stockholders, to be resolved for some
months, our Board postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders previously
scheduled for May 22, 2009 until September 25, 2009.
On April 15, 2009,
the Red Oak Group submitted another letter to the Company, providing additional
information regarding the stockholder proposals it intends to bring before the
Annual Meeting and revising those proposals to: request the Board to complete
the dissolution approved at the stockholder meeting held in 2007; advise the
Board that the stockholders do not approve of the transaction purportedly
entered into as of November 10, 2008 whereby CLST Asset I, a wholly owned
indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase agreement to
acquire the outstanding equity interest in Trust I and request the directors to
take any available and appropriate actions; disapprove the 2008 Plan adopted by
the Board and request the Board not to issue any additional share grants or
option grants under such plan and request that the directors rescind their approval
of such plan; advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the
transaction purportedly entered into as of December 12, 2008 pursuant to
which CLST Asset II, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company,
entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain receivables on or before February 28,
2009 and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions;
and advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of February 13, 2009 whereby CLST Asset III,
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company purchased certain
receivables, installment contracts and related assets owned by Fair and request
the directors to take any available and appropriate actions.
On April 30, 2009,
the Red Oak Group and Jones amended their petition in the State Court
Action. In addition to the relief already requested, the petition sought
to compel the Company to hold its 2008 and 2009 annual stockholders meetings
within sixty days; to enjoin Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from any
interference or hindrance of such meetings or the election of directors; to
enjoin Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from voting any shares of stock
acquired in the alleged self-interested transactions; and to appoint a special
master. On June 3, 2009 and again on June 12, 2009, pursuant to
court order, the Red Oak Group and Jones amended their petition to, among other
things, remove Bear Market Opportunity Fund, L.P. as a plaintiff and add Red
Oak Fund, L.P. as a plaintiff.
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On May 5, 2009, the
Red Oak Group and Jones filed a motion seeking to compel the Company to hold
its 2008 and 2009 stockholders meetings on June 30, 2009 and to appoint a
special master and requested an expedited hearing on both. Hearings were
held on May 8, 2009 and May 29, 2009, but no ruling was reached.
On August 14, 2009,
our Board postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders from September 25,
2009 to October 27, 2009.
On August 24, 2009,
the Red Oak Group resubmitted its director nomination letter and its letter
stating its intention to put forth the stockholder proposals, as mentioned in
the March 19, 2009 and April 15, 2009 letters.
On August 25, 2009,
the Court set an evidentiary hearing on the Plaintiffs Application for
Temporary Injunction, which had yet to be filed, for October 7 and 8,
2009. Plaintiffs request for injunctive
relief concerned Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek voting any shares of
stock acquired in the alleged self-interested transactions.
On August 28, 2009,
the parties executed a Stipulation Regarding the Companys Annual Meeting of
Stockholders (
Stipulation
).
The Court approved the Stipulation the same day and entered an Order identical
to the Stipulations terms. Pursuant to the Stipulation, absent a
determination by the Court of good cause shown, the Company must hold its
annual stockholders meeting for the election of one Class I director and
one Class II director and consideration of any properly submitted
proposals that are proper subjects for consideration at an annual meeting on October 27,
2009, with a record date for that meeting of September 25, 2009.
Good cause for delaying the Annual Meeting beyond October 27, 2009, and
correspondingly amending the September 25, 2009 record date, includes
among other things, situations where reasonable delay is necessary: (1) for
the Board to avoid breaching any of their fiduciary duties to the Company or
the Companys stockholders; (2) to assure compliance with the Companys
certificate of incorporation and bylaws; (3) for the Company or the Board
to comply with state or federal law; or (4) to assure compliance with any
order of any court or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company
or members of its Board.
We received a letter
dated September 22, 2009 from the Red Oak Group seeking, pursuant to Section 220
of the Delaware General Corporation Law, to inspect the books and records of
the Company, including among other things a stockholder list as of the record
date. The letter states that the purpose of such request is to enable the Red
Oak Group to solicit proxies to elect directors at the 2009 Annual Meeting and
to communicate with stockholders. Our counsel responded by letter dated September 30,
2009 that the Company was aware of its obligations under Section 220 of
the Delaware General Corporation Law but believed that the demand letter did
not comply with the inspection requirements under Section 220. We received
another letter dated September 29, 2009 from the Red Oak Group pursuant to
Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law in which the Red Oak
Group requests to inspect the books and records of the Company pertaining to,
among other things, all analyses performed with respect to our net operating
losses and a list of all business ventures and dealings Messrs. Tornek and
Durham have evaluated or commenced in the past ten years and a list of all
investments they currently share. Our counsel responded by letter dated October 6,
2009 that (i) the commencement of the Red Oak Groups derivative action
bars it from using a Section 220 demand as a substitute for discovery
permissible in litigation; (ii) the stated purposes of the demand letter
do not constitute proper purposes under Section 220; and (iii) the
scope of information requested in the demand letter is overly broad and not
limited to books and records that are essential and sufficient to accomplish
the Red Oak Groups stated purposes.
On October 9, 2009,
the Court denied Plaintiffs application for injunctive relief, which sought to
enjoin Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from voting certain shares at
the CLST annual stockholders meeting. Further, the Court granted
Defendants plea to the jurisdiction, granted Defendants motion to disqualify
Plaintiffs, and dismissed Plaintiffs derivative claims. Beyond that, the
Court granted Defendants amended motion to stay, thereby staying all remaining
direct claims asserted by Plaintiffs. Defendants motion to
disqualify Plaintiffs was based on Plaintiffs lack of adequacy to pursue
derivative claims on the following grounds: (1) that Red Oak improperly
brought derivative claims to advance its own personal interests; (2) that
Red Oak had engaged in illegal conduct by violating federal securities laws;
and (3) that Jones was only a tag-along plaintiff and therefore suffered
the same adequacy problems as Red Oak, the driving force behind the State Court
Action. The Court reached each of these rulings after the two-day
evidentiary hearing.
On October 15, 2009,
we applied to the Court, on an emergency basis, for an order to: (1) reopen
this case for the limited purpose of modifying the Courts Order Regarding
Annual Meeting of Stockholders entered on August 28, 2009 (the
Annual Meeting Order
); (2) modify
its Annual Meeting Order to prevent CLST from alternatively being in violation
of (a) federal securities law, Delaware statutory law, and its Bylaws or (b) the
Annual Meeting Order; (3) nullify the current September 25, 2009
record date; and (4) grant an emergency hearing as soon as possible.
A hearing was held on CLSTs emergency motion on October 16, 2009.
The Court continued the hearing until a time agreeable to the parties and the
Court on or before October 26, 2009.
On October 29, 2009, Plaintiffs filed their
Motion and Memorandum to Reopen Case And To Reconsider (
Motion to Reconsider
)
concerning the Courts Order of October 9, 2009, which granted Defendants
Plea to the Jurisdiction and Motion to
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Disqualify Plaintiffs and dismissed Plaintiffs
derivative claims. On December 10,
2009, Plaintiffs filed their Motion and Memorandum to Reopen Case and Compel
Annual Stockholders Meeting (
Motion to Compel
).
On November 12, 2009, the parties executed a
Second Stipulation and Order Setting and Regarding an Annual Meeting of
Stockholders of the Company (the
Second Stipulation
). The Court approved the Second Stipulation on November 13,
2009 and entered an Order identical to the Second Stipulations terms. The Second Stipulation provides that the
Company must hold its annual stockholders meeting on December 15, 2009
and that the record date for that meeting must be set as October 30, 2009.
At the December 15, 2009 hearing on Plaintiffs
Motion to Reconsider, Plaintiffs counsel stated on the record that Plaintiffs
Motion to Compel had not been properly noticed and therefore was not before the
Court. The Court denied Plaintiffs
Motion to Reconsider on December 21, 2009.
On January 15, 2010,
Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Summary Relief, Summary Judgment, and
Application for Injunctive Relief to Compel the Companys Annual Stockholders
Meeting (
Motion for
Summary Relief
). By
their Motion for Summary Relief, Plaintiffs sought for the Company to hold its
annual stockholders meetings for 2008, 2009, and 2010 on March 25,
2010. On February 15, 2010, the
Court heard Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Relief and, in part, granted the
relief requested. Specifically, the
Court ordered, pursuant to its Order and Interlocutory Partial Summary Judgment
(the
Second Annual Meeting Order
)
as follows: (1) Absent a determination by the Court for good cause shown,
the Company shall hold its annual stockholders meeting on March 23, 2010
(the
Annual Meeting
); the Annual
Meeting satisfies the Companys requirement to hold its 2008 and 2009 annual
stockholders meetings; the record date for the Annual Meeting shall be March 8,
2010; and the Company shall provide notice in accordance with applicable
Delaware law to all CLST stockholders on or before March 12, 2010 for the
Annual Meeting. By the same order, the
Court also appointed IVS Associates, Inc. to be the independent inspector
of elections to oversee the voting process of the Annual Meeting, tabulate
proxies, and certify the election results.
By separate order dated February 15, 2010, and upon its own motion,
the Court ordered that the State Court Action be reopened and reinstated on a
two-week trial docket beginning June 1, 2010.
On February 18,
2010, the Red Oak Group filed its Application for TRO and sought to prevent the
Company from filing a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of
State on February 26, 2010, as the Company had disclosed in its Form 8-K
filed on February 9, 2010. The
hearing on the Application for TRO was held on February 23, 2010. On February 24, 2010, the Court granted
Red Oaks Application for TRO and, pursuant to the TRO, ordered, among other
things, that the defendants (namely, CLST Holdings, Inc., Robert Kaiser,
Timothy Durham, and David Tornek) and their agents be restrained from filing
the certificate of dissolution for the Company on or before midnight on
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, or until further order of the Court.
On March 2, 2010,
the Court signed the order upon the Stipulation and Agreed Temporary Injunction
with Red Oak (the
Dissolution Stipulation
),
which provides, among other things, that, on or before March 5, 2010, the
Company will send notice of its intent to file a certificate of dissolution
with the Delaware Secretary of State on March 26, 2010, and that the
notice shall indicate that the certificate of dissolution will not be effective
until June 24, 2010. Accordingly,
in a press release issued on March 5, 2010, the Company announced that it
intended to file a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of
State on March 26, 2010 and that such certificate of dissolution would not
be effective until June 24, 2010.
After the Second Annual
Meeting Order issued, the Company filed an emergency motion for temporary
relief (
Motion for Relief
)
requesting that the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas at Dallas (the
Court of Appeals
) void the Second
Annual Meeting Order. On March 3,
2010, the Court of Appeals issued a memorandum opinion in which the Court of
Appeals granted the Companys Motion for Relief and voided the Second Annual
Meeting Order. The Court of Appeals
judgment taxes all costs of the appeal against the Red Oak Group. On March 4, 2010, the trial court
entered its Order dissolving the Second Annual Meeting Order.
Pursuant to the Dissolution Stipulation and in
accordance with its plan of dissolution, on March 26, 2010 the Company
filed a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State to be
effective on June 24, 2010.
Immediately after the close of business on June 24, 2010, the
Company will close its stock transfer books; accordingly it is expected that
the trading of its stock on the Pink Sheets will cease at the same time.
On March 26, 2010, the Red Oak Group filed its
Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, for Leave to Amend Petition,
Attorneys Fees, and for a Final Order Granting Permanent Injunctive Relief (
State Motion to Dismiss
). By its State Motion to Dismiss, the Red Oak
Group seeks an order that, among other things, sets the Companys annual
stockholders meetings for 2008 and 2009 fifty (50) days after the issuance of
such an order and sets the record date thirty (30) days before such annual
meeting. The remaining issues in the
State Court Action are currently set for trial on May 24, 2010.
15
Table of Contents
(6) Subsequent
Events.
On March 2, 2010,
the Court signed the order upon the Dissolution Stipulation, which provides,
among other things, that, on or before March 5, 2010, the Company will
send notice of its intent to file a certificate of dissolution with the
Delaware Secretary of State on March 26, 2010, and that the notice shall
indicate that the certificate of dissolution will not be effective until June 24,
2010. Accordingly, in a press release
issued on March 5, 2010, the Company announced that it intended to file a
certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State on March 26,
2010 and that such certificate of dissolution would not be effective until June 24,
2010.
After the Second Annual
Meeting Order issued, the Company filed its Motion for Relief requesting that
the Court of Appeals void the Second Annual Meeting Order. On March 3, 2010, the Court of Appeals
issued a memorandum opinion in which the Court of Appeals granted the Companys
Motion for Relief and voided the Second Annual Meeting Order. The Court of Appeals judgment taxes all costs
of the appeal against the Red Oak Group.
On March 4, 2010, the trial court entered its Order dissolving the
Second Annual Meeting Order.
Pursuant to the
Dissolution Stipulation and in accordance with its plan of dissolution, on March 26,
2010 the Company filed a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary
of State to be effective on June 24, 2010.
Immediately after the close of business on June 24, 2010, the
Company will close its stock transfer books; accordingly it is expected that
the trading of its stock on the Pink Sheets will cease at the same time.
In March 2010, a
representative of Fortress Corp. indicated to a representative of the Company
that a new default under the Trust II Credit Agreement may have occurred as a
result of the three-month rolling average annualized default rate of the Class A
receivables in the Trust II portfolio exceeding 5.0% as of February 28,
2010. The Company has not received formal notification from Fortress Corp.
regarding this potential default and the Company is continuing to evaluate whether
such a default has occurred. The Company is currently in discussions with
Fortress Corp. to resolve this potential default in conjunction with all
defaults under the Trust I Credit Agreement. Those discussions are ongoing and
the Company does not expect that Fortress Corp. will enforce any available
foreclosure rights it may have on the assets of Trust II while negotiations are
proceeding.
Also in March 2010,
we received an update from Fairs bankruptcy trustee that he expects to file a
motion with the bankruptcy court seeking permission to release any checks in
Fairs possession that rightfully belong to us. We have not received any of
these checks or further updates on the status of this motion.
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Table of Contents
Item 2. Managements Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following
discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the Managements
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
section and audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto
included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30,
2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (
SEC
)
and with the unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes
thereto presented in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (
Form 10-Q
).
Cautionary
Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain
of the matters discussed in this Form 10-Q may constitute
forward-looking statements for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the
Securities Act
), and the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
Exchange
Act
), and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance,
litigation results or achievements of CLST Holdings, Inc. (the
Company
) to be materially different
from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. When used in this report, the words anticipates,
estimates, believes, continues, expects, intends, may, might,
could, should, likely, and similar expressions are intended to be among
the statements that identify forward-looking statements. When we make
forward-looking statements, we are basing them on our managements beliefs and
assumptions, using information currently available to us. Although we believe
that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, these forward-looking statements are subject to risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. Statements of various factors that could cause
the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or future events
relating to the Company to differ materially from the Companys expectations (
Cautionary Statements
) are
disclosed in this report, including, without limitation, those discussed in the
Item 1A, Risk Factors of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended November 30, 2009, those statements made in conjunction
with the forward-looking statements and otherwise herein. All forward-looking
statements attributable to the Company are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the Cautionary Statements. We have no intention, and disclaim any
obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future results or otherwise.
Overview
Sales Transactions
During 2006 and 2007, the
Company consummated a series of transactions to sell substantially all of its
United States and Miami-based Latin American operations and its assets in both
Mexico and Chile. For more information
regarding these sales transactions please refer to BusinessSale of Operations
in Fiscal 2007 in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended November 30, 2009.
Portfolio
Transactions
From November 2008
through February 2009, the Company consummated three acquisitions of
consumer notes receivable portfolios. On
November 10, 2008, the Company, through CLST Asset I, LLC (
CLST Asset I
), a wholly owned
subsidiary of CLST Financo, Inc. (
Financo
),
which is one of our direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of FCC Investment
Trust I (
Trust I
) from a third party
(the
Trust I Purchase Agreement
). The purchase price payable in the Trust I
Purchase Agreement was financed pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth
in the credit agreement, dated November 10, 2008, among Trust I, Fortress
Credit Co LLC, as lender (
Fortress
),
FCC Finance, LLC (
FCC
), as the initial
servicer, the backup servicer, and the collateral custodian (the
Trust I
Credit Agreement
). On December 12, 2008 we, through
CLST Asset Trust II (
Trust II
),
a newly formed trust wholly owned by CLST Asset II, LLC (
CLST
Asset II
), a wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, entered into a
purchase agreement (the
Trust II Purchase
Agreement
) to acquire
certain receivables,
installment sales contracts and related assets owned by
SSPE Investment Trust I (
SSPE Trust
) and SSPE, LLC (
SSPE
). Funding for Trust II
included a non-recourse, revolving loan, which Trust II entered into with
Summit Consumer Receivables Fund, L.P. (
Summit
),
as originator, and SSPE and SSPE Trust, as co-borrowers, Summit and Eric J.
Gangloff, as Guarantors, Fortress Credit Corp. (
Fortress
Corp
.), as the lender, Summit Alternative Investments, LLC, as
the initial servicer, and various other parties (
Trust
II Credit Agreement
). On
February 13, 2009, we, through CLST Asset III, LLC (
CLST
Asset III
), a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Financo,
entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain assets owned by Fair
Finance Company, an Ohio corporation (
Fair
),
James F. Cochran, Chairman and Director of Fair, and by Timothy S. Durham,
Chief Executive Officer and Director of Fair and an officer, director and
stockholder of our Company (the
Trust III Purchase
Agreement
). Messrs. Durham and Cochran own all of the
outstanding equity of Fair. For more
information regarding each of these acquisitions please refer to Business2009
Business in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended November 30, 2009.
17
Table of Contents
Plan of Dissolution
During
2008, we performed a detailed review and analysis of the Companys historical
tax
net operating
loss carryforwards (the
NOLs
). We believe
in many circumstances the NOLs, which amount to approximately $128 million at February 28,
2010 and begin to expire after November 30, 2020, can be utilized to
offset future income. However, in the
event of a change in control, the NOLs would be impaired and result in only a
fraction of their otherwise future potential tax savings. As of February 28, 2010, approximately
40% of the change in control had occurred historically. If an additional approximate 10% change in
control occurs in the future, as determined by IRS regulations, the Company
could lose substantially all of the potential value of the NOLs.
As we have previously disclosed, the proxy statement we filed with the
SEC on February 20, 2007 describes a proposal for a plan of dissolution, which
provides for the complete liquidation and dissolution of the Company after the
completion of the sale of the Companys operations in the United States
(subject to abandonment by the Companys Board of Directors in the exercise of
their fiduciary duties). On March 28,
2007, our stockholders approved the plan of dissolution in addition to the sale
of substantially all of the Companys operations in the United States and
Mexico. In the plan of dissolution
approved by our stockholders, we stated that no distribution of proceeds from
such sales would be made until the investigation by the SEC was resolved. On June 26,
2007, we received a letter from the staff of the SEC giving notice of the
completion of their investigation with no enforcement action recommended to the
SEC. Therefore, on June 27, 2007, our Board of Directors (the
Board
) declared a cash distribution
of $1.50 per share on Common Stock to stockholders of record as of July 9,
2007. On July 19, 2007, we issued the $1.50 per share dividend in the
total amount of $30.8 million. Then, on November 1, 2007 we paid an
additional $0.60 per share dividend to stockholders which brings the cumulative
dividends paid to stockholders to $2.10 per share or approximately
$43.2 million. The amount and timing of any additional distributions paid
to stockholders in connection with the liquidation and dissolution of the
Company are subject to uncertainties and depend on the resolution of certain
contingencies more fully described in this Form 10-Q, in the proxy statement
and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30,
2009.
We
have continued to wind down aspects of our businesses, including dissolving
some of our subsidiaries and continuing to try to collect our remaining non-cash
assets. In addition, we have continued
to review our liabilities and seek to satisfy or resolve those that we can in a
favorable manner. See Recent
Developments below and Item 1 Business 2009 Business of our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2009 for further
discussion with respect to our activities in this regard. We expect that it could take several years to
implement the plan of dissolution because of the lengthy process of obtaining
sufficient information regarding all of our liabilities to pay and
appropriately provide for them as required under the plan of dissolution
.
Given this and the time necessary to complete the governmental
requirements for dissolution, our Board focused on ways to generate higher
returns on the Companys cash and other assets in order to better offset the
Company expenses and to take advantage of the favorable tax treatment provided
by our NOLs. Section 3 of the plan
of dissolution states that we may not engage in any business activities except
to the extent necessary to preserve the value of the Companys assets, wind up
the Companys affairs, and distribute the Companys assets. As further described below under Recent Developments, our Board
determined to acquire several portfolios of receivables with the intention of
generating a higher rate of return on our assets than we were receiving on our
cash and cash equivalents balances which were held in money market accounts or
short term certificates of deposit, earning approximately 1% (current interest
rates are now close to 0%). Our Board
believed that each of these acquisitions would provide a better investment
return for our stockholders when compared to the low interest rates available
on our cash investments and other investment alternatives although the
acquisition would involve a higher risk profile than traditional cash deposits
and other cash equivalents positions. At
the time we began looking at purchasing these portfolios during the second and
third quarters of 2008, the credit markets became significantly impaired, and
the viability of many banks and other financial institutions was in
question. The Companys cash was held in
one bank subject to the limited protection of FDIC coverage. The Board considered, among other things,
spreading the Companys cash among over a dozen financial institutions. However, the Board did not believe spreading
the Companys cash among many different banks to be practical or cost
efficient. In addition, the Board
considered various cash strategies including investing in a ladder of U.S.
Treasury securities (securities of varying maturities) which would have
resulted in higher yields than cash deposits, but would have required the
Company to hold those securities in a brokerage firm and pay that firm a fee to
arrange the transactions. The Board did
not believe that the increased yield provided by a ladder of U.S. Treasury
securities, after associated fees and administrative costs, was likely to be
significantly better than that of cash deposits, and did not believe that
interest from U.S. Treasury securities would allow the Company to use its NOLs
to shield income from taxes. Finally,
the Board was unsure how to assess the brokerage and custody risks associated
with holding a ladder of U.S. Treasury securities through third parties, and
felt that the risk was similar to that associated with commercial banks at the
time.
Our
Board understood that to obtain higher returns on its investments, the Company
would have to assume a higher risk of loss.
The Board believed that the opportunity offered by these purchases to
earn higher returns than offered by cash and demand deposits, would offset the
increased risks, and offer the Board a way of maximizing the value of the
Company for the stockholders. In
addition, these investments offered the Company an opportunity to utilize its
NOLs if the returns resulted in positive income for the Company. The purchases the Company made utilized
borrowed money. Using borrowed money to
purchase an income generating asset increases the return on investment, but
increases the risk of loss on that investment.
The Board carefully considered the amount of leverage in each of its
purchases, believing each investment would be able to generate sufficient
income to pay interest and
18
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principal
on the debt, and still produce an attractive return for the Company and its stockholders. In considering the risk associated with
leverage, the Board considered a number of different scenarios for performance
of the investments, including the risk associated with increased default rates. The Board did not expect default rates to
increase to current levels, but did consider that and other possibilities. In addition, the Board considered the costs
associated with investments in our portfolios, including the ongoing costs of
paying a servicer to service the portfolio, as part of its consideration of the
overall potential return associated with those investments.
When
we purchased Trust I, the historical annualized default rate for the previous
three years for the portfolio was approximately 4%, which was the basis for
assessing the creditworthiness of the assets included in CLST Asset I. Beginning in the third quarter of 2009 and
continuing through the first quarter of 2010, we saw the annualized default
rate increase to as high as 13.5% in December 2009; accordingly, we have
been increasing our allowances to reflect this change. Historically, the
annualized default rate has increased during the months of November, December and
January and then subsequently decreased. The annualized default rate was
approximately 13.5% for December 2009 and decreased to approximately
12.8%, 11.4% and 7.5% for January 2010, February 2010 and March 2010,
respectively.
Upon
examination of
Trust
II
and CLST Asset III, we believe that the circumstances of these
portfolios are different from those of Trust I.
As of the date we acquired Trust I, approximately 39% of the receivables
in the Trust I portfolio had credit scores higher than 676. Trust II contains new originations with
higher credit requirements than the requirements for the Trust I portfolio. Since Trust II is comprised of new loans, the
Company has managed the originations such that almost 65% of the new loans have
credit scores higher than 680. Further,
we acquired the Trust I portfolio at a discount of approximately 1.7% and
acquired the Trust II portfolio at a discount of approximately 8.7%. The
difference in the purchase discounts between CLST Asset I and CLST Asset II was
impacted by the tightening of the credit markets between the time of these two
acquisitions. Therefore the Trust II portfolio has a very different risk
profile when compared to Trust I because of the better customer credit profile
of Trust II customers and the larger purchase discount received. The sellers of
the CLST Asset III portfolio have retained the risk of collectability of the
receivables in that portfolio for up to an amount equal to the currently
outstanding principal amount of the notes issued by the Company to the
sellers. At the time of the closing of
the acquisition of the CLST Asset III portfolio, the notes issued to the
sellers represented approximately 25% of the total purchase price of the
portfolio of approximately $3.6 million.
Since the principal balance of the notes declines over time as payments
are made by the Company to the sellers, future defaulted receivables can be
offset only against the then remaining balance of the notes issued to the
sellers.
The
Company has not performed a market check and, as a result, cannot give any
assurance that the portfolios can be sold on favorable terms or within any
particular time frame given the risk and uncertainties associated with current
economic conditions. Our Board believes
that a quick sale of our portfolio assets at the current time is unlikely to
yield the same value to the Company as a sale in an orderly course in the
future. Among other things, our Board
believes economic conditions will improve in the future, along with credit
market conditions and conditions affecting consumer default rates. Because the Companys winding up could take
several years, the Company has the ability to wait until economic conditions
improve before it sells its portfolio assets.
For the same reason, the Company has the ability to market those assets,
in the future, in an orderly fashion designed to enhance any sales proceeds
over what could be received in a quicker sale at the current time. While the Company continues its winding up
activities, it will receive collections on the portfolios, and its overall book
investment in the portfolios will decline.
At the same time, the size of the portfolios and the debt associated
with them will also decline as the assets and related indebtedness liquidate
themselves. For those reasons, the Board
believes that, based upon the assumptions above, a sale of the Companys
portfolio assets in the future will likely result in greater value to the
Company than a rapid sale at the current time.
In a Current Report on Form 8-K
filed with the SEC on February 9, 2010, the Company announced that,
pursuant to the plan of dissolution, the Company planned to file a certificate
of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State on February 26,
2010. Immediately after the close of
business on February 26, 2010, the Company intended to close its stock
transfer books and expected that the trading of its stock on the Pink Sheets
would cease at the same time. However,
on February 18, 2010, Red Oak
Fund, L.P. and certain of its affiliates (
Red Oak
or the
Red Oak
Group
) filed an Application for Temporary Restraining
Order and Motion for Expedited Discovery and a Briefing Schedule for a
Temporary Injunction (
Application for TRO
),
pursuant to which it sought to prevent the Company from filing a certificate of
dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State on February 26,
2010. The hearing on Plaintiffs
Application for TRO was held on February 23, 2010. On February 24, 2010, the Court granted
Red Oaks Application for TRO and, pursuant to the Temporary Restraining Order
and Order Granting Motion for Expedited Discovery (the
TRO
),
the Court ordered, among other things, that the defendants (CLST Holdings, Inc.,
Robert Kaiser, Timothy Durham, and David Tornek) and their agents are
restrained from filing the certificate of dissolution for the Company on or
before midnight on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, or until further order of
the Court.
Due to the Courts
issuance of the TRO, the Company was not able to file a certificate of
dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State on February 26,
2010. Accordingly, the trading of the
Companys stock on the Pink Sheets did not cease on the close of business on February 26,
2010, as the Company had previously announced.
However, on March 2, 2010, the Company entered into the Stipulation
and Agreed Temporary Injunction (the
Dissolution Stipulation
)
with Red Oak which provides, among other things, that, on or before March 5,
2010, the Company would send notice of its intent to file a certificate of
dissolution with the
19
Table of Contents
Delaware Secretary of
State on March 26, 2010, and that the notice would indicate that the
certificate of dissolution will not be effective until June 24, 2010.
Pursuant to the
Dissolution Stipulation and in accordance with its plan of dissolution, on March 26,
2010 the Company filed a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary
of State to be effective on June 24, 2010.
Immediately after the close of business on June 24, 2010, the Company
will close its stock transfer books; accordingly it is expected that the
trading of its stock on the Pink Sheets will cease at the same time.
Discussion of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our
discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is
based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in
accordance with accounting policies that are described in the notes to the
consolidated financial statements. The preparation of the consolidated
financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that
affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and
related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We continually
evaluate our judgments and estimates in determination of our financial
condition and operating results. Estimates are based on information available
as of the date of the financial statements and, accordingly, actual results
could differ from these estimates, sometimes materially. Critical accounting
policies and estimates are defined as those that are both most important to the
portrayal of our financial condition and operating results and require
managements most subjective judgments. The most critical accounting policies
and estimates are described below.
Revenue Recognition
Revenues, which consist of
interest earned, late fees and other miscellaneous charges, will be recorded as
earned from notes receivable. Revenues will not be accrued on accounts without
payment activity for over 120 days and 90 days for CLST Asset I and CLST Asset
II, respectively, unless payment activity resumes.
Notes Receivable
Notes receivable
are recorded at the historical cost paid at the date of acquisition net of any
purchase discounts. Subsequent to the date of acquisition, notes receivable are
reduced by any principal payments made by the customer. Purchase discounts are
recorded based on the negotiated difference between the face value and the
amount paid for the notes receivable. Purchase discounts are recognized as
revenue, using the effective interest method, as principal payments are
collected.
The Company
establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts for receivables where the
customer has not made a payment for the most recent 120 day and 90 day period
for CLST Asset I and CLST Asset II, respectively. The Company specifically analyzes notes
receivable using historical activity, current economic trends, changes in its
customer payment terms, recoveries of previously reserved notes and collection
trends when evaluating the adequacy of its allowance for doubtful accounts. Any
change in the assumptions used in analyzing a specific note receivable may
result in an additional allowance for doubtful accounts being recognized in the
period in which the change occurs.
During the fourth quarter of 2009, the Company modified its reserve
policy due to recent market trends. Additional reserves are accrued based on
account balances that are over 60 days past due with the reserve amount
dependent on the overall performance of the portfolio. The Company may also
establish an additional reserve for any portfolio that, in managements
judgment, may need to be discounted at a future date in order to sell the
portfolio in its entirety. Any reserve amount may be reduced based upon any
offset rights or claims the Company may have against parties who initially sold
the portfolio to the Company. The Company may from time to time make additional
increases to the allowance based on the foregoing factors. Once a note
receivable has been reserved due to nonpayment, the Company will no longer
accrue, for financial reporting purposes, interest earned on the note
receivable. Should the note receivable return to a performing status, then the
Company will resume accruing interest on the note receivable. Recoveries are
recorded against the allowance when payments are received. Notes receivable are charged off against the
allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and a legal
determination has been rendered that less than the full amount of the note
receivable will be collected. Recoveries
of notes receivable, which were previously charged off, are recorded to income
when payments are received.
Recent
Developments
CLST
Asset I
On October 16,
2009, we received a notice of default from Fortress stating that an event of
default had occurred and was continuing under the Trust I Credit Agreement. The
Fortress notice states that the three-month rolling average annualized default
rate of the Trust I portfolio has exceeded 7.0%. As a result of the default,
pursuant to the Trust I Credit Agreement, the interest rate payable by Trust I
has increased by an additional 2% per annum, and all collections by Trust I
above amounts retained to pay interest, fees, principal amortizations, and
other charges that are normally remitted to the Company, are instead being
applied to outstanding
20
Table of Contents
principal under the Trust
I Credit Agreement until the amount due has been reduced to zero. In addition, Fortress is entitled to
foreclose on the assets of Trust I and sell them to satisfy amounts due it
under the Trust I Credit Agreement. Only
Trust I is liable for amounts due Fortress under the Trust I Credit
Agreement. Thus, although the Company
could lose some or all of its investment in Trust I, the Company will not be
obligated to pay any amounts due Fortress under the Trust I Credit Agreement. All Trust I collections are being retained by
Fortress and applied to pay interest and reduce indebtedness while the Company
discusses amending the Trust I Credit Agreement, but Fortress has not sought to
foreclose on the assets of Trust I.
Those discussions are ongoing.
The Company does not expect that Fortress will foreclose on the assets
of Trust I while negotiations are proceeding.
As a result of this default, the entire balance of $25.1 million due to
Fortress under the Trust I Credit Agreement has been classified as current on
the February 28, 2010 balance sheet. Had the Company not been in default
under the Trust I Credit Agreement, $19.4 million of the outstanding balance as
of February 28, 2010 would have been classified as non-current.
CLST
Asset II
During the second quarter
of 2009 we were informed by Summit that the credit facility we entered into
with Trust II, Summit and various other parties had been reduced by $20 million
to $30 million. Summit did not indicate
the specific reasons for the reduction in the credit facility other than it was
part of a negotiation with Fortress Corp. regarding a default on another Summit
portfolio. This reduction has no impact
on the Company because during the third quarter of 2009, we ceased purchasing
any new receivables under the facility and are no longer originating new loans
under the credit agreement and, as a result, the Company is no longer drawing
additional funds under the credit agreement.
Because we are no longer originating new loans under this credit
agreement, FCC is no longer providing origination services to the Company. The
origination services performed by FCC included loan documentation, collateral
documentation where applicable, credit verification, and other required
activities to secure loan approval per the Companys standards. FCC was paid a one-time fee of 2% of the
original principal amount of loans originated for performing these
services. Once a loan was approved, FCC
would perform the monthly servicing activities, which would include
collections, reporting, lock box services, customer service, and other related
services. FCC was paid 1.5%, per annum, of the outstanding principal balance
for these services.
We received a notice of default dated December 2, 2009 from Fortress
Corp. (
Default Notice
) stating that
a servicer default had occurred and was continuing under the Trust II Credit
Agreement, as a result of a material adverse effect with respect to the
servicer. The Default Notice states that
Fair
, in its
capacity as a sub-servicer for assets held by the SSPE Trust, has failed to
perform its servicing duties with respect to that portion of the receivables
portfolio owned by SSPE Trust for which Fair has been retained as a
sub-servicer by the SSPE Trust. This
failure, the Default Notice asserts, results from the ongoing federal
investigation of Fair and Timothy Durham, and constitutes a material adverse
effect with respect to the servicer and thus a breach of a covenant under the
Trust II Credit Agreement. We also received
a notice of default dated February 8, 2010 from Fortress Corp. (
Second Default Notice
) stating that
an additional event of default has occurred and is continuing under the Trust
II Credit Agreement because the three-month rolling average annualized default
rate of the Class A receivables in the Trust II portfolio had exceeded
5.0% as of January 31, 2010. On February 26, 2010, the parties to the
Trust II Credit Agreement entered into a wavier and release agreement (the
Fortress Waiver
) whereby 1) each
event of default declared in the Default Notice and the Second Default Notice
was waived, 2) Trust II became the sole borrower under the Trust II Credit
Agreement, 3) the outstanding borrowings attributable to SSPE Trust were paid
in full, 4) SSPE Trust and their affiliates were released from all further
obligations under the Trust II Credit Agreement, and 5) the SSPE Trust assets
were removed as pledged collateral for the Trust II Credit Agreement. The
Fortress Waiver also amended certain terms of the Trust II Credit Agreement
including the elimination of Trust IIs right to further borrowings and the
requirement for Trust II to pay an unused commitment fee.
In March 2010,
a representative of Fortress Corp. indicated to a representative of the Company
that a new default under the Trust II Credit Agreement may have occurred as a
result of the three-month rolling average annualized default rate of the Class A
receivables in the Trust II portfolio exceeding 5.0% as of February 28,
2010. The Company has not received formal notification from Fortress Corp.
regarding this potential default and the Company is continuing to evaluate
whether such a default has occurred. The Company is currently in discussions
with Fortress Corp. to resolve this potential default in conjunction with all
defaults under the Trust I Credit Agreement. Those discussions are ongoing and
the Company does not expect that Fortress Corp. will enforce any available
foreclosure rights it may have on the assets of Trust II while negotiations are
proceeding. As of February 28, 2010, total borrowings under the Trust II
Credit Agreement were $4.8 million.
CLST
Asset III
During the fourth quarter of 2009, unexpectedly to the Company, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies seized certain
assets of Fair, including their servers, computers and other items used by Fair
in the servicing of our CLST Asset III portfolio. Due to these and other facts,
we understand Fair was closed for a period of time and was unable to fully service
our CLST Asset III portfolio for an extended period of time. As a result, we
have moved the servicing of our CLST Asset III portfolio to an alternate
servicer. Effective February 1, 2010, Highlands Premier Acceptance Corp.
and Highlands Financial Services, LLC
21
Table of Contents
(collectively
referred to herein as
Highlands
)
assumed all servicing functions previously performed by Fair. Highlands is
fully independent of Fair and the Company, and there are no related party
relationships of any nature among Fair, Highlands or the Company. Fair had been
fully co-operating with the logistics of the transfer of the servicing of the CLST
Asset III portfolio to Highlands, however, in February 2010 Fair commenced
bankruptcy proceedings, which may negatively impact the timing and completeness
of this transfer.
Our agreement with Highlands calls for an initial term of six months
and will automatically renew in one year increments unless cancelled in writing
by either party in accordance with the terms of the agreement. We are incurring
servicing fees at market rates and per the terms of the agreement. Highlands is
required to make daily remittances of our collected accounts.
As of February 28, 2010, we believe that we have a right of
recoupment against Fair for payments of approximately $136,000 it has received
on our behalf and not remitted, and expect to exercise that right by withholding
such amounts from any money due to Fair.
However, there can be no assurance that Fair will not challenge our
recoupment right, or what the ultimate outcome of that challenge might be. On April 12,
2010 approximately $146,000
was due to
Fair and the other sellers which has not been paid. In March 2010 we
received an update from Fairs bankruptcy trustee that he expects to file a
motion with the bankruptcy court seeking permission to release any checks in
Fairs possession that rightfully belong to us. We have not received any of
these checks or further updates on the status of this motion.
Subsidiaries
We
are working steadily to complete a long list of actions necessary to complete
the wind down of our historical business in an orderly fashion. Completing the wind down is a cumbersome task
that requires many steps and may take a significant amount of time. These steps
include dissolving numerous subsidiaries, resolving pending litigation and
completing various regulatory filings and other requirements. We cannot predict
how long, how time-consuming or how costly resolution of the litigation matters
will be. To date, we have completed and filed final sales tax returns and
franchise tax returns for most of our entities. We have also completed the
requirements to withdraw most of our entities from doing business in multiple
state jurisdictions in the U.S. Furthermore, we are continuing to dissolve our
foreign and domestic subsidiaries pursuant to the plan of dissolution.
However,
in order to protect the Companys cash and other assets from any actual or
potential liabilities of the Companys direct and indirect subsidiaries, we
will not dissolve our inactive direct or indirect domestic or foreign
subsidiaries until the actual and contingent liabilities of each such
subsidiary have been resolved or contingency reserves have been set aside
sufficient to pay or make reasonable provision to pay all such subsidiarys
claims and obligations in accordance with applicable law. Specifically, we will
not dissolve
Audiomex
Export Corp., National Auto Center, Inc. and CLST-NAC, Ltd., which are
direct parties to, and NAC Holdings, Inc., which is an indirect party to,
the arbitration proceeding for our claim in Mexico against the purchasers of
the sale of our assets in Mexico, until the final resolution of that
claim.
The arbitration proceeding
was held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 2009 and the arbitration panel
has up to six months from the date of the arbitration proceeding to issue their
conclusion.
As of the date of this Form 10-Q, the arbitration
panel has not issued their conclusion.
In
certain jurisdictions, the dissolution process is an extended one.
We completed the
dissolution of our subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Guatemala in February 2008
and March 2009, respectively, and of CLST-NAC Fulfillment, Ltd., a Texas
limited partnership and indirect subsidiary of the Company, in September 2009. Furthermore, we completed the merger of CLST
Fulfillment, Inc., a Delaware corporation, into its parent, National Auto
Center, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our wholly owned subsidiary,
effective September 10, 2009. In addition we have made demands on the
purchaser of our former Colombian subsidiary for the documents needed to divest
our remaining minority interest in that subsidiary. Further, we have submitted documents to
several governmental authorities in El Salvador as required to dissolve our
dormant entity in El Salvador.
During
the second quarter of 2009 we collected $61,000, representing the final payment
of the original note amount of $720,869 from the 2004 sale of our Columbian
operations. The note had been fully reserved and the payment received was
recorded in general and administrative expenses. We are now in the process of
releasing the 19% interest that we retained in the Colombia operation, per the
terms of the purchase agreement.
The
Company made substantial progress in dissolving its subsidiaries during January 2010. In January 2010, the Company dissolved
each of CLST International Corporation/Asia, a Delaware corporation, CellStar
Philippines, Inc., a Philippines corporation, and CellStar Netherlands
Holdings, B.V, a Netherlands company. As
a result of the Companys progress, as of the date of the filing of this Form 10-Q,
the Company had five non-operating U.S. entities and one non-operating foreign
entity, remaining to be dissolved. The
Company also had one dormant entity in El Salvador that never conducted
operations.
22
Table of Contents
Results of Operations
The Company
reported a net loss of $2.8 million or $0.12 per basic and diluted share, for
the three months ended February 28, 2010, compared to a net loss of $0.5
million, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share for the same period last year.
The increase is primarily attributable to the costs of the actions taken by Red
Oak, which has led to the costs incurred in connection with the Federal Court
Action and State Court Action, and a $1.1 million provision for doubtful
accounts, offset slightly by the income (net of expenses) generated by our
portfolios.
The
following table shows certain information as of February 28, 2010 for each
of CLST Asset I, CLST Asset II and CLST Asset III. A more detailed description
of the results for each of these entities is provided below. Amounts presented are in thousands, except
for the approximate number of customer accounts and the average outstanding
principal balance per account.
|
|
CLST
Asset I
|
|
CLST
Asset II
|
|
CLST
Asset III
|
|
|
|
Principal
Balance
|
|
% of
Total
|
|
Principal
Balance
|
|
% of
Total
|
|
Principal
Balance
|
|
% of
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Receivables Aging
(Principal)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current 0-30 Days
|
|
$
|
26,920
|
|
81.0
|
%
|
$
|
6,714
|
|
95.6
|
%
|
$
|
1,270
|
|
77.1
|
%
|
31 - 60 Days
|
|
1,140
|
|
3.4
|
%
|
105
|
|
1.5
|
%
|
176
|
|
10.7
|
%
|
61 - 90 Days
|
|
821
|
|
2.5
|
%
|
66
|
|
0.9
|
%
|
64
|
|
3.9
|
%
|
91 + 120
|
|
547
|
|
1.6
|
%
|
50
|
|
0.7
|
%
|
47
|
|
2.9
|
%
|
120+
|
|
3,819
|
|
11.5
|
%
|
87
|
|
1.3
|
%
|
89
|
|
5.4
|
%
|
Total Receivables
|
|
33,247
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
7,022
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
1,646
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Allowance for doubtful
Accts
|
|
(4,639
|
)
|
-14.0
|
%
|
(150
|
)
|
-2.1
|
%
|
|
|
0.0
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Receivables
|
|
28,608
|
|
86.0
|
%
|
6,872
|
|
97.9
|
%
|
1,646
|
|
100.0
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discount
|
|
(493
|
)
|
-1.5
|
%
|
(596
|
)
|
-8.5
|
%
|
(51
|
)
|
-3.1
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition fees
|
|
155
|
|
0.5
|
%
|
23
|
|
0.3
|
%
|
38
|
|
2.3
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
28,270
|
|
85.0
|
%
|
$
|
6,299
|
|
89.7
|
%
|
$
|
1,633
|
|
99.2
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts Receivable
Other
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
302
|
|
|
|
$
|
150
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes Payable and Loans
Outstanding
|
|
$
|
25,072
|
|
|
|
$
|
4,845
|
|
|
|
$
|
487
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Approximate Number of
Customer Accounts
|
|
4,980
|
|
|
|
953
|
|
|
|
1,676
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average Outstanding
Principal Balance per Account
|
|
$
|
6,676
|
|
|
|
$
|
7,368
|
|
|
|
$
|
982
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended February 28, 2010, Compared to Three Months
Ended February 28, 2009
Consolidated
Revenues
.
Revenues, which primarily consist of interest and other charges earned from the
Companys receivable portfolios, for the three months ended February 28,
2010 were $1.4 million compared to $1.6 million for the same period in 2009,
and such decrease is due to the decrease in the outstanding principal balance
of total note receivables during the three months ended February 28, 2010
compared to the three months ended February 28, 2009 as a result of principal
payments on the notes receivable and increases in defaulted notes
receivable. Revenues for the three
months ended February 28, 2010 included $1.1 million from CLST Asset I,
$0.3 million from CLST Asset II and $37,000 from CLST Asset III. Revenues for the three months ended February 28,
2009 included $1.4 million from CLST Asset I, $0.1 million from CLST Asset II
and $27,000 from CLST Asset III.
Loan
Servicing Fees.
Loan servicing fees, which primarily consist of loan servicing fees and trust
administration fees, were $243,000 for the three months ended February 28,
2010 compared to $307,000 for the same period in 2009. Loan servicing fees for the three months
ended February 28, 2010 were $193,000 for CLST Asset I, $40,000 for CLST
Asset II and $10,000 for CLST Asset
23
Table of
Contents
III. Loan servicing fees for the three months
ended February 28, 2009 were $178,000 for CLST Asset I, $129,000 for CLST
Asset II and none for CLST Asset III. Prior to February 2010, the CLST
Asset III portfolio was serviced by Fair at no charge to the Company per the
terms of the Trust III Purchase Agreement. In February 2010, however, the
Company began incurring loan servicing fees as a result of the transfer of the
servicing of the CLST Asset III portfolio from Fair to Highlands. This transfer occurred due to Fairs
inability to service the CLST Asset III portfolio after certain of its assets
were seized by the FBI and other
government agencies, including their servers, computers and other items used by
Fair in the servicing of the CLST Asset III portfolio.
Provision
for Doubtful Accounts.
Provision for doubtful accounts was $1.1 million for the three months
ended February 28, 2010, compared to $0.7 million for the same period in
2009. The increase primarily relates to
an increase in the provision for doubtful accounts for CLST Asset I to $1.0
million during the three months ended February 28, 2010 when compared to
the provision of $0.7 million for the three months ended February 28,
2009. This increase is a result of an
increase in the default rates experienced beginning in the third quarter of
2009 and continuing through the first quarter of 2010. The increases in the provision for doubtful
accounts for the three months ended February 28, 2010 also included an
increase to $84,000 for CLST Asset II compared to zero for the three months
ended February 28, 2009. CLST Asset
III had no provision for doubtful accounts as of February 28, 2010 and
2009 as a result of the Companys right to offset defaulted receivables against
the seller notes.
Interest
Expense.
Interest
expense is incurred from borrowings under the credit facilities of CLST Asset I
and CLST Asset II and the notes issued in connection with the CLST Asset III
acquisition. Interest expense was $572,000
for the three months ended February 28, 2010 compared to $536,000 for the
same period in 2009 and represented 40.9% and 33.1% of revenue,
respectively. The increase in the
interest expense as a percentage of revenue is primarily due to the 2% increase
in the interest rate for borrowing under the Trust I Credit Agreement as a
result of the Companys default under that agreement. Interest expense for the three months ended February 28,
2010 was $504,000 for CLST Asset I, $63,000 for CLST Asset II and $5,000 for
CLST Asset III compared to $505,000 for CLST Asset I, $29,000 for CLST Asset II
and $2,000 for CLST Asset III for the same period in 2009.
General and Administrative Expenses
.
Our general and administrative expenses were $2.2 million for the three months
ended February 28, 2010 compared to $0.7 million for the same period in
2009. This increase is the result of increased legal, accounting and
professional fees.
Our legal and professional
expenses during the three months ended February 28, 2010 were $1.7 million
compared to $0.3 million during the same period in 2009. Those fees relate primarily to defending
against claims brought by the Red Oak Group against us and our directors in the
State Court Action. We have made a claim
under our directors and officers liability insurance policy for reimbursement
of amounts we are obligated under our certificate of incorporation and bylaws
to advance to our directors for their defense costs in the State Court
Action. Our carrier has agreed to
reimburse us for those expenses in excess of our $1 million self retention
under the policy, subject to certain reservations of rights. The Company believes that we exceeded our
self retention amount during the fourth quarter of 2009 and the carrier should
begin to reimburse us for amounts advanced to Messrs. Durham, Kaiser and
Tornek in connection with their defense against claims brought by the Red Oak
Group. Any reimbursements received will offset the legal expenses incurred in
general and administrative expenses.
Income taxes
. The Company recorded tax expense of $7,000 for
the three months ended February 28, 2010 compared to tax benefit of
$130,000 for the same period in 2009.
CLST
Asset I
For
the three months ended February 28, 2010, collections for CLST Asset I
were $2.3 million, representing $1.2 million of principal payments and $1.1
million of interest payments and other charges compared to collections of $3.1
million, representing $1.6 million of principal payments and $1.5 million of
interest payments and other charges during the three months ended February 28,
2009. As of February 28, 2010, the aggregate outstanding principal balance
of the notes receivables net of reserves and excluding certain accrued interest
and deferred cost was $28.6 million, which represents 69.8% of the original
purchase price of $41.0 million. The ending balance consisted of approximately
4,980 customer accounts, with an average outstanding principal balance per
account of approximately $6,676. The
average interest rate for these accounts was 14.3% during the three months
ended February 28, 2010.
Total
revenues for the three months ended February 28, 2010 were approximately
$1.1 million which primarily consisted of interest income collected from the
notes receivable. Operating expenses for
this period were $1.7 million, which included a $1.0 million provision for
doubtful accounts, $0.5 million of interest expense to Fortress, our lender, and
$0.2 million of servicing expense to FCC.
As of February 28, 2010, Trust I owed $25.1
million to Fortress, representing 71.9% of the original loan amount.
On October 16, 2009, we received a notice of default from Fortress
stating that an event of default has occurred and is continuing under the Trust
I Credit Agreement. The Fortress notice states that the three-month rolling
average annualized default rate of the Trust I portfolio has exceeded 7.0%. As
a result of the default, pursuant to the Trust I Credit Agreement, the interest
rate payable by Trust I has increased by an additional 2% per annum, and
Fortress is entitled to foreclose on the assets of Trust I and sell them to
satisfy
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amounts due it under the
Trust I Credit Agreement. Fortress has
not yet sought to foreclose on the assets of Trust I, however, if it does so,
the Company may lose some or all of its investment in Trust I.
CLST
Asset II
For the three months
ended February 28, 2010, collections for CLST Asset II were $0.6 million,
representing $0.3 million of principal payments and $0.3 million of interest
and payments and other charges compared to collections of $0.5 million, representing
$0.4 million of principal payments and $0.1 million of interest and payments
and other charges during the three months ended February 28, 2009. As of February 28,
2010, the aggregate outstanding principal balance of the notes receivables net
of reserves and excluding certain accrued interest and deferred cost was $6.9
million, which represents 71.9% of the original purchase price of $9.6 million.
The ending balance consisted of approximately 953 customer accounts, with an
average outstanding principal balance per account of approximately $7,368. The average interest rate for these accounts
was 14.7% during the three months ended February 28, 2010.
Total revenues for the
three months ended February 28, 2010 were approximately $0.3 million which
primarily consisted of interest income collected from the notes receivable.
Operating expenses for this period were $186,000, which included an $84,000
provision for doubtful accounts, $63,000 of interest expense to Fortress Corp.,
our lender, and $39,000 of servicing expense to FCC.
As
of February 28, 2010, CLST Asset II owed $4.8 million to Fortress Corp.,
representing 76% of the original loan amount. We received the Default Notice
dated December 2, 2009 from Fortress Corp. stating that a servicer default
had occurred and was continuing under the Trust II Credit Agreement, as a
result of a material adverse effect with respect to the servicer. The Default Notice states that Fair, in its
capacity as a sub-servicer for assets held by the SSPE Trust, has failed to
perform its servicing duties with respect to that portion of the receivables
portfolio owned by SSPE Trust for which Fair has been retained as a
sub-servicer by the SSPE Trust. This
failure, the Default Notice asserts, results from the ongoing federal investigation
of Fair and Timothy Durham, and constitutes a material adverse effect with
respect to the servicer and thus a breach of a covenant under the Trust II
Credit Agreement. We also received a
Second Default Notice dated February 8, 2010 from Fortress Corp. stating
that an additional event of default has occurred and is continuing under the
Trust II Credit Agreement because the three-month rolling average annualized
default rate of the Class A receivables in the Trust II portfolio had
exceeded 5.0% as of January 31, 2010. On February 26, 2010, the
parties to the Trust II Credit Agreement entered into the Fortress Waiver
whereby 1) each event of default declared in the Default Notice and the Second
Default Notice was waived, 2) Trust II became the sole borrower under the Trust
II Credit Agreement, 3) the outstanding borrowings attributable to SSPE Trust
were paid in full, 4) SSPE Trust and their affiliates were released from all
further obligations under the Trust II Credit Agreement, and 5) the SSPE Trust
assets were removed as pledged collateral for the Trust II Credit Agreement.
The Fortress Waiver also amended certain terms of the Trust II Credit Agreement
including the elimination of Trust IIs right to further borrowings and the
requirement for Trust II to pay an unused commitment fee.
In
March 2010, a representative of Fortress Corp. indicated to a
representative of the Company that a new default under the Trust II Credit
Agreement may have occurred as a result of the three-month rolling average
annualized default rate of the Class A receivables in the Trust II
portfolio exceeding 5.0% as of February 28, 2010. The Company has not
received formal notification from Fortress Corp. regarding this potential
default and the Company is continuing to evaluate whether such a default has
occurred. The Company is currently in discussions with Fortress Corp. to
resolve this potential default in conjunction with all defaults under the Trust
I Credit Agreement. Those discussions are ongoing and the Company does not
expect that Fortress Corp. will enforce any available foreclosure rights it may
have on the assets of Trust II while negotiations are proceeding.
CLST
Asset III
Collections for CLST
Asset III for the three months ended February 28, 2010 were $174,000,
representing $138,000 of principal and $36,000 of interest and fees.
As of February 28,
2010, our outstanding balance of receivables was $1.6 million, representing
1,676 accounts. The average principal
balance per account was approximately $982.
Defaults of $16,000 during the three months ended February 28, 2010
were applied to the notes payable to the sellers per the Trust III Purchase
Agreement. As of February 28, 2010, we believe that we have a right of
recoupment against Fair for payments of approximately $136,000 it has received
on our behalf and not remitted, and expect to exercise that right by
withholding such amounts from any money due to Fair. However, there can be no assurance that Fair
will not challenge our recoupment right, or what the ultimate outcome of that
challenge might be. On April 12, 2010 approximately $146,000 was due to
Fair and the other sellers which has not been paid. In March 2010 we
received an update from Fairs bankruptcy trustee that he expects to file a
motion with the bankruptcy court seeking permission to release any checks in
Fairs possession that rightfully belong to us. We have not received any of
these checks or further updates on the status of this motion.
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Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Subsequent to the
sale of our discontinued operations in March 2007 and prior to the
acquisition of Trust I in November 2008, we met our cash needs with
existing funds and interest and investment income generated by our cash and
cash equivalents. As of February 28,
2010, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $3.2 million, down from
$4.8 million at November 30, 2009. Historically, we have invested our cash
and cash equivalents in either money market accounts or short term Certificate
of Deposits.
The majority of our cash is
invested in Texas Capital Bank, N.A. at a variable interest rate and in
government repurchase contracts, where we are earning less than 1% per year.
Each deposit of our cash is FDIC insured or government insured. We financed our acquisitions of our
receivables portfolios with cash, non-recourse debt, and the issuance of shares
of our common stock. Since the
acquisitions of our receivable portfolios, we also use the income generated
from these receivable portfolios to meet our cash needs.
The
report of our independent registered public accounting firm with respect to our
financial statements as of November 30, 2009 and for the year then ended
contains an explanatory paragraph with respect to our ability to continue as a
going concern. This concern has been raised due to the higher than anticipated
defaults on the notes receivable included in CLST Asset I which has resulted in
a default under the Trust I Credit Agreement and an approximately $3.5 million
increase in the allowance for doubtful accounts during the twelve months ended November 30,
2009, with an additional $1.1 million increase in the allowance for doubtful
accounts through February 28, 2010. As a result of the Companys default
under the Trust I Credit Agreement, the amount due to Fortress under this
agreement has been classified as current as of November 30, 2009 and February 28,
2010. The Company has also been engaged in several lawsuits which have resulted
in the Company incurring significant legal fees. The combination of the
increase in the allowance for doubtful accounts and high legal fees resulted in
the Company incurring a net loss of approximately $5.2 million and $2.8 million
during the twelve months ended November 30, 2009 and the three months
ended February 28, 2010, respectively. The Company is continuing
discussions to resolve the default under the Trust I Credit Agreement and a potential
default under the Trust II Credit Agreement. The Company has made a claim under
its directors and officers liability insurance policy for reimbursement of
legal fees incurred in excess of our $1.0 million self retention amount. It is
uncertain whether the Company can continue as a going concern if it continues
to incur net losses and if the Company loses the CLST Asset I and CLST Asset II
consumer receivables as a result of the default under the Trust I Credit
Agreement and the potential default under the Trust II Credit Agreement.
Operating Activities
. The net cash provided by
operating activities for the three months ended February 28, 2010 was $0.5
million compared to net cash used in operating activities of $0.5 million for
the same period in 2009. The primary reason for this increase in cash from
operating activities was due to the cash receipts from our consumer receivable
portfolios which were significantly offset by o
ur legal and professional
expenses which for the three months ended February 28, 2010 and 2009 were
$1.7 million and $0.3 million, respectively.
We have made a claim under our directors and officers liability
insurance policy for reimbursement of amounts we are obligated to advance under
our certificate of incorporation and bylaws to our directors for their defense
costs in the State Court Action. Our
carrier has agreed to reimburse us for those expenses in excess of our $1
million self retention under the policy, subject to certain reservations of
rights. The Company believes that we
exceeded our self retention amount during the fourth quarter of 2009 and the
carrier should begin to reimburse us for amounts advanced to Messrs. Durham,
Kaiser and Tornek in connection with their defense against claims brought by
the Red Oak Group. Any reimbursements received will offset the legal expenses
incurred in general and administrative expenses.
The Company has expended a significant amount
of management time and resources in connection with Federal Court Action and
the State Court Action. The Company has had settlement discussions with certain
of the plaintiffs regarding the Federal Court Action and the State Court
Action. The Company may have further settlement discussions in the
future. No assurance can be given that any settlement agreement could be
reached if the Company undertakes further discussions or, if a settlement
agreement is entered into, that the terms of any such settlement would not have
a material adverse effect on the Company, its financial position or its results
of operations.
Investing Activities
.
The net cash provided by investing activities
for the three months ended February 28, 2010 was $1.6
million compared to net cash
used during the same period in 2009 of $0.7 million. The increase from 2009 to
2010 is primarily a result of the collection of consumer receivable portfolio
principal of $1.6 million during the three months ended February 28,
2010. During the three months ended February 28,
2009, the principal collections from consumer receivables was more than offset
by the cash used to purchase CLST Asset II and CLST Asset III.
Financing Activities
. The net cash used in financing activities for the
three months ended February 28, 2010 was $3.7 million compared to $2.1
million for the same period in 2009. The
cash used in financing activities in the period was used to reduce the
outstanding debt principal balance under both the Trust I Credit Agreement and
Trust II Credit Agreement.
Liquidity Sources
.
CLST
Asset I
. Our acquisition of Trust I was financed by
approximately $6.1 million of cash on hand and by a non-recourse, term loan of
approximately $34.9 million to Trust I by
an affiliate of the seller of Trust I, pursuant to the terms and conditions set
forth in the Trust I Credit Agreement.
The loan matures on November 10, 2013 and bears interest at an
annual rate of 5.0% over the
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LIBOR
Rate (as defined in the Trust I Credit Agreement). Under the terms of the Trust I Credit
Agreement, the net cash proceeds from the collection of consumer receivables
held by Trust I in any particular month are remitted to the Company on or about
the 20th day of the following month. As
of February 28, 2010, the outstanding balance of our term loan was $25.1
million, representing 71.9% of our original balance. During the three months
ended February 28, 2010, we retired approximately $3.6 million of our
obligation to Fortress, and we have paid $0.5 million in interest expense, all
from customer collections.
The
obligations under the Trust I Credit Agreement are secured by a first priority
security interest in substantially all of the assets of Trust I, including
portfolio collections. An event of
default occurs under the Trust I Credit Agreement if the three-month rolling
average delinquent accounts rate exceeds 10.0% or the three-month rolling
average annualized default rate exceeds 7.0%. As of February 28, 2010,
these default rates were 8.5% and 11.4%, respectively. Please see Recent Developments CLST Asset
I above for information regarding the default notice the Company received with
regards to the Trust I Credit Agreement.
We
have the right to require the seller to repurchase any accounts, for the
original purchase price applicable to such account, that do not satisfy certain
specified eligibility requirements set out in the Trust I Purchase Agreement.
If it is discovered by a party that a receivable account was not an Eligible Receivable
as of the cut-off date of October 31, 2008, the seller is required to
repurchase such receivable account unless such breach is remedied within thirty
business days of notice of such breach. An account is not an Eligible
Receivable if, as of October 31, 2008, such receivable account is, among
other things, a defaulted receivable, subject to litigation, dispute or rights
of rescission, setoff or counterclaim, or is not subject to a duly recorded and
perfected lien, the seller must repurchase the account. The Company believes that between $1.3
million and $2.2 million of receivables purchased were ineligible, as defined
in the Trust I Purchase Agreement, at the time of purchase. Of these
potentially ineligible receivables, approximately $574,000 has become defaulted
receivables. The Company has notified Fortress of these potentially ineligible
receivables and discussions with
Fortress are ongoing. The Company cannot predict when or if these matters will
be resolved favorably or at all.
CLST
Asset II
.
The Trust II
has become a co-borrower under a $50 million credit agreement, which was
reduced to a $30 million commitment during the second quarter of 2009 that
permits Trust II to use more than $15 million of the aggregate availability
under the revolving facility to purchase receivables. The Trust II Credit
Agreement is effective as of December 10, 2008, and was entered into among
the Trust II, FCC, the originator, SSPE Trust and SSPE, the co-borrowers (who
are the sellers under the Trust II Purchase Agreement), Fortress Corp., the
lender, FCC, the initial servicer, Lyons Financial Services, Inc., the
backup servicer, Eric J. Gangloff, the guarantor, and U.S. Bank National
Association, the collateral custodian. The non-recourse revolving facility was
initially established by Summit, an affiliate of the sellers under the Trust II
Purchase Agreement. The revolver matures
on September 28, 2010. The revolver bears interest at an annual rate of
4.5% over the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Trust II Credit Agreement). The
Trust II pays an additional fee to the co-borrowers equal to an annual rate of
0.5% for loans attributable to the Trust II equal to or below $10 million and
an annual rate of 1.5% for loans attributable to the Trust II in excess of $10
million. In addition, a commitment fee is due to the lender equal to an annual
rate of 0.25% of the unused portion of the maximum committed amount.
The obligations under the Trust II Credit Agreement
are secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of the
assets of the Trust II and the co-borrowers, including portfolio
collections. An event of default occurs
under the Trust II Credit Agreement if the three-month rolling average
delinquent accounts rate exceeds 15.0% for Class A Receivables or 30.0%
for Class B Receivables, or the three-month rolling average annualized
default rate exceeds 5.0% for Class A Receivables or 12.0% for Class B
Receivables. As of February 28,
2010, there was a provision of $137,000 for customer accounts greater than 90
days past due. Please see Recent
Developments CLST Asset II above for information regarding the default
notices the Company received with regards to the Trust II Credit Agreement.
On February 26, 2010, the parties to the Trust
II Credit Agreement entered into the Fortress Waiver whereby 1) each event of
default declared in the Default Notice and the Second Default Notice was
waived, 2) Trust II became the sole borrower under the Trust II Credit
Agreement, 3) the outstanding borrowings attributable to SSPE Trust were paid
in full, 4) SSPE Trust and their affiliates were released from all further
obligations under the Trust II Credit Agreement, and 5) the SSPE Trust assets
were removed as pledged collateral for the Trust II Credit Agreement. The Fortress
Waiver also amended certain terms of the Trust II Credit Agreement including
the elimination of Trust IIs right to further borrowings and the requirement
for Trust II to pay an unused commitment fee.
In March 2010, a representative of Fortress Corp.
indicated to a representative of the Company that a new default under the Trust
II Credit Agreement may have occurred as a result of the three-month rolling
average annualized default rate of the Class A receivables in the Trust II
portfolio exceeding 5.0% as of February 28, 2010. The Company has not
received formal notification from Fortress Corp. regarding this potential
default and the Company is continuing to evaluate whether such a default has
occurred. The Company is currently in discussions with Fortress Corp. to
resolve this potential default in conjunction with all defaults under the Trust
I Credit Agreement. Those discussions are ongoing and the Company does not
expect that Fortress Corp. will enforce any available foreclosure rights it may
have on the assets of Trust II while negotiations are proceeding.
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We have the right to require the sellers to repurchase
any accounts, for the original purchase price applicable to such account plus
interest accrued thereon, that do not satisfy certain specified eligibility
requirements set out in the Trust II Credit Agreement as of the purchase date.
If it is discovered by a party that a receivable account was not an Eligible
Receivable as of the purchase date, the seller is required to repurchase such
receivable account. An account is not an Eligible Receivable if, as of the
purchase date, such receivable account is, among other things, a defaulted
receivable, a delinquent receivable, subject to litigation, dispute or rights
of rescission, setoff or counterclaim, or is not subject to a duly recorded and
perfected lien, as the terms are defined in the Trust II Credit Agreement, the
seller must repurchase the account. For
the three months ended February 28, 2010,
there
had not been a determination that any receivables failed to meet the
eligibility requirements set out in the Trust II Credit Agreement.
CLST
Asset III
. The
consideration paid by CLST Asset III in return for assets acquired under the
Trust III Purchase Agreement, was financed in part by the issuance of common
stock and promissory notes to the sellers.
We issued
2,496,077 shares of our common stock at a price of
$0.36 per share. In addition, we issued
the sellers six promissory notes with an aggregate original stated principal
amount of $898,588 (the
Notes
), of
which two promissory notes in an aggregate original principal amount of
$708,868 were issued to Fair, two promissory notes in an aggregate original
principal amount of $162,720 were issued to Mr. Durham and two promissory
notes in an aggregate original principal amount of $27,000 were issued to Mr. Cochran.
The Notes are full-recourse with respect
to CLST Asset III and are unsecured. The three Notes relating to
Portfolio A (the
Portfolio
A Notes
) are payable in
11 quarterly installments, each consisting of equal principal payments, plus
all interest accrued through such payment date at a rate of 4.0% plus the LIBOR
Rate (as defined in the Portfolio A Notes). The three Notes relating to
Portfolio B (the
Portfolio
B Notes
) are payable in 21 quarterly installments, each
consisting of equal principal payments, plus all interest accrued through such
payment date at a rate of 4.0% plus the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Portfolio
B Notes).
We
have the right to require the seller to repurchase any accounts, for the
original purchase price applicable to such account, that do not satisfy certain
specified eligibility requirements set out in the Trust III Purchase Agreement.
If it is discovered by a party that a receivable account was not an Eligible
Receivable as of February 13, 2009, the closing date of the acquisition,
the seller is required to repurchase such receivable account. An account is not
an Eligible Receivable if, as of February 13, 2009, such receivable
account is a delinquent receivable, a defaulted receivable subject to
litigation, dispute or rights of rescission, setoff or counterclaim, or is not
subject to a duly recorded and perfected lien, the seller must repurchase the
account. For the three months ended February 28,
2010, there had not been a determination that any receivables failed to meet
the eligibility requirements set out in the Trust III Purchase Agreement.
Additionally, the
Trust III Purchase Agreement provides that each of the sellers jointly and
severally guarantee to CLST Asset III, up to the aggregate stated principal
amount of the Notes issued to such seller, that the outstanding receivable
balance of each receivable as of the closing date will be collectible in
full. For each receivable that becomes a
defaulted receivable following the closing date, the sellers are obligated to
pay to CLST Asset III an amount equal to the outstanding receivable balance of
such receivable and CLST Asset III has the right to offset such amount against
the amount due to the seller under the promissory notes issued to the sellers
on the closing date. The aggregate
amount of each sellers guarantee obligation is limited to the aggregate stated
principal amount of the promissory note issued to such seller representing
approximately 25% of the total purchase price of the portfolio of approximately
$3.6 million. Since the principal
balance of the notes declines over time as payments are made by the Company to
the sellers, future defaulted receivables can be offset only against the then
remaining balance of the notes issued to the sellers. In February 2010,
Fair commenced bankruptcy proceedings which may limit the Companys ability to
continue to offset future receivable defaults against the notes payable to
Fair, but should not impact the Companys rights to continue to offset defaults
of receivables against the other remaining seller notes. Defaults of $16,000
during the three months ended February 28, 2010 were offset against the
notes payable to the sellers. The remaining obligation to the sellers, as of February 28,
2010, was $487,000 after interest was accrued and delinquent receivables were
recorded. As of February 28, 2010,
we believe that we have a right of recoupment against Fair for payments of
approximately $136,000 it has received on our behalf and not remitted, and
expect to exercise that right by withholding such amounts from any money due to
Fair. However, there can be no assurance
that Fair will not challenge our recoupment right, or what the ultimate outcome
of that challenge might be. On April 12, 2010 approximately $146,000 was
due to Fair and the other sellers which has not been paid. In March 2010
we received an update from Fairs bankruptcy trustee he expects to file a
motion with the bankruptcy court seeking permission to release any checks in
Fairs possession that rightfully belong to us. We have not received any of
these checks or further updates on the status of this motion.
Asset
Quality
. Our
delinquency rates reflect, among other factors, the credit risk of our
receivables, the average age of our receivables, the success of our collection
and recovery efforts, and general economic conditions. The average age of our receivables affects
the stability of delinquency and loss rates of the portfolio. The composition
of the portfolios is expected to change over time and the future performance of
the receivables in the portfolios may be different from the historical
performance. The table presented above
in Item 2, Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations Results of Operations also sets forth certain
performance information, the aging and the aggregate delinquency and loss
experience for the accounts in the portfolios as of and for the three months
ended February 28, 2010. The global
and economic crisis has had and could continue to have
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an adverse effect on the
portfolio. The current deep economic
recession and continued high unemployment have contributed to the significant
increases in delinquencies for 2010 compared to historical performance. Our net losses and delinquencies may continue
to correlate with declines in the general economy and increases in
unemployment. Increases in net losses and delinquencies could continue, particularly
if conditions in the general economy further deteriorate. We cannot assure you that the future
delinquency and loss experience for the receivables will be similar to the
historical experience.
An account is contractually
delinquent if we do not receive the monthly payment by the specified due date.
After accounts are delinquent for 120 days for CLST Asset I and 90 days for
CLST Asset II, a provision (reserve) is made for the account balance. As of
February 28, 2010, the
allowance for doubtful accounts recorded for CLST Asset I and CLST Asset II is
$4.6 million and $150,000, respectively.
The allowance for CLST Asset I and CLST Asset II is expensed in
provision for doubtful accounts. For CLST Asset III, delinquent receivables are
charged against the notes payable to the sellers per the terms of the CLST III
Purchase Agreement. Defaults of $16,000
during the three months ended February 28, 2010 were applied to the notes
payable to the sellers.
Contractual
Obligations
. Included in accounts payable at February 28,
2010, is approximately $14.2 million associated with liabilities which accrued
in periods 2002 and earlier, and which has been in dispute since 2001. The
Company now believes that the statute of limitations on this trade payable may
have expired. The Company is reviewing these liabilities, and considering
appropriate steps to resolve them. In addition, the Company has contacted the
vendor in question several times during the second quarter of 2009 regarding
this matter with no results. The Company expects that the liabilities may be
resolved at less than the book value thereof, but can not provide assurances as
to the amount or timing of any adjustments. In the event that the Company is
able to settle the dispute with no payment, the settlement would result in
$14.2 million of income to the Company for federal income tax purposes, and
therefore the deferred income tax asset will be realized. If the Company is able to settle the dispute
for any amount between $1 and $14.2 million, the deferred tax asset will be
adjusted accordingly.
Item 3.
Quantitative and Qualitative
Disclosures About Market Risk
This
information has been omitted as our Company qualifies as a smaller reporting
company.
Item 4T.
Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are
controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be
disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SECs
rules and forms and include controls and procedures designed to ensure
that information we are required to disclose in such reports is accumulated and
communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure. Our management, under the supervision and with the participation of
our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness
of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and
15(d)-15(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act, as of the end of the
period covered by this Form 10-Q. Based on such evaluation, our Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the
end of the period covered by this Form 10-Q, our disclosure controls and
procedures are not effective because (1) the Company has not required SAS
70 reports and is not receiving timely audited financial statements from the
servicers of the Companys consumer receivable portfolios, and (2) the
Company lacks adequate supervision, segregation of duties, and technical accounting expertise necessary
for an effective system of internal control and timely financial
reporting.
In an effort to mitigate these material weaknesses,
the Companys management has conducted tests to determine the accuracy and
completeness of the Companys consumer receivable portfolios. The Company also
receives detailed reports at least monthly from the companies servicing these
receivable portfolios. The Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and
Senior Accountant all review these reports for any unusual items and meet with
representatives of the servicers to review the status of the portfolios and
discuss any unusual items. All of our financial reporting is carried out by our
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Accountant with the assistance of third
parties from time to time. The lack of accounting staff and dependence on third
party assistance results in a lack of segregation of duties and at times a lack
of sufficient accounting technical expertise which could impact our financial
reporting function. In order to mitigate this control deficiency to the fullest
extent possible, all financial reports are reviewed by the Chief Executive
Officer, Chief Financial Officer as well as the Board for reasonableness. All
unexpected results are investigated. At any time, if it appears that any
control can be implemented to continue to mitigate such control deficiencies in
a cost effective manner, the Company will attempt to implement the control.
Changes
in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have implemented
additional controls and procedures designed to ensure that the disclosure
provided by the Company meets the then current requirements of the applicable
filing made under the Exchange Act. To address the Companys lack of sufficient
accounting technical expertise, during 2009, the Company brought in additional
accounting technical expertise as needed.
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However, the material
weaknesses reported above continue to exist. There have been no changes in our
internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended February 28,
2010 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially
affect, our internal control over financial reporting. In September 2009 the Company decided to
separate the Chief Executive Officer role from the Chief Financial Officer role
and began a search for a Chief Financial Officer. On January 8, 2010, the
Board of Directors elected William E. Casper as Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer of the Company, subject to his acceptance of those
positions. On January 18, 2010, Mr. Casper
accepted these positions and was appointed Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer of the Company. Mr. Casper
replaced Robert A. Kaiser in these positions. Mr. Kaiser continues to
serve as the Companys Chief Executive Officer. On February 10, 2010, Mr. Casper
resigned as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the
Company. On February 11, 2010,
Jerome L. Trojan III was retained as the Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer of the Company, replacing Mr. Casper in these
positions.
PART II OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1.
Legal Proceedings
Introduction
The Company has expended
a significant amount of management time and resources in connection with the
Federal Court Action and the State Court Action (as defined below). The Company
has had settlement discussions with Red Oak from time to time in the past
regarding the Federal Court Action and the State Court Action, but those
discussions have not been successful. The Company may have further
settlement discussions with Red Oak in the future. No assurance can be
given that any settlement agreement could be reached if the Company undertakes
further discussions or, if a settlement agreement is entered into, that the
terms of any settlement would not have a material adverse effect on the
Company, its financial position, or its results of operations.
Federal Court Action
In December 2008,
David Sandberg of the Red Oak Group placed a telephone call to Robert Kaiser
expressing interest in the Red Oak Group making a minority investment in the
Company and obtaining control of the Company. Our Board responded by suggesting
that the Red Oak Group and the Company discuss the Red Oak Groups desire to
make a minority investment and obtain control after the Company filed its
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30,
2008 with the SEC and made its results of operations available to the Companys
stockholders.
On January 15, 2009,
the Red Oak Group acquired 5,000 shares of our common stock in secondary market
and privately negotiated transactions. On or about January 30, 2009,
the Red Oak Group requested that the Company provide a stockholder list and
security position listings, which it said it would use to make a tender
offer. On February 3, 2009, the Red Oak Group announced its plan to
commence a tender offer to acquire up to 70% of our outstanding shares of
common stock at $0.25 per share. On February 5, 2009, we adopted the
Rights Plan which became effective on February 16, 2009. Stating the
Companys Rights Plan as its reason, the Red Oak Group announced on February 9,
2009 that it had abandoned its intention to make a tender offer. Nevertheless,
the Red Oak Group continued through February 13, 2009 to acquire shares of
our common stock in the secondary market and privately negotiated transactions
resulting in its beneficial ownership of 4,561,554 shares of our common stock
(according to the Red Oak Groups Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on February 18,
2009), representing approximately 19.05% of our outstanding common stock as of
the record date. The Red Oak Group made its purchases of our common stock in
open-market and privately negotiated transactions, not by means of tender offer
materials filed with the SEC.
On February 13,
2009, we filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Texas against Red Oak Fund, L.P., Red Oak Partners, LLC, and David
Sandberg (the
Federal
Court Action
). Our Original Complaint and Application for
Injunctive Relief alleges that Red Oak engaged in numerous violations of
federal securities laws in making purchases of our common stock and sought to
enjoin any future unlawful purchases of our stock by them, their agents, and
persons or entities acting in concert with them. We believe Red Oak violated
federal securities laws as follows:
(i)
violating Rule 14(e)-5 of the Exchange Act by not
truly abandoning its tender offer and instead directly or indirectly purchasing
or arranging to purchase shares not in connection with its tender offer and
without complying with the procedural, disclosure and anti-fraud requirements
applicable to tender offers regulated under Section 14 of the Exchange
Act;
(ii)
violating Exchange Act Rule 14d-5(f) by
failing to return the Companys stockholder list, which we provided to Red Oak
upon its request, and by using such list for a purpose other than in connection
with the dissemination of tender offer materials in connection with its tender
offer;
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(iii)
violating Exchange Act Rule 14(d)-10 by
purchasing shares pursuant to its tender offer at varying prices rather than
paying consideration for securities tendered in the tender offer at the highest
consideration paid to any stockholder for securities tendered; and
(iv)
violating Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act
by not timely filing a Schedule 13D and disclosing the information required
therein.
On March 13, 2009,
we announced that we would hold our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 22,
2009 in Dallas, Texas, and that the close of business on April 2, 2009
would be the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to
receive notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or
postponements thereof.
On March 18, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us demanding to inspect and copy certain of
our books and records. We have taken the position that the Red Oak Group
did not comply with state law requirements applicable to stockholders seeking
such information.
On March 19, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to put forth
several precatory proposals including stockholder votes for: approval to
proceed with the 2007 stockholder-approved plan of dissolution; approval of the
November 10, 2008 transaction whereby CLST Asset I, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Financo, entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all of the
outstanding equity interests of Trust I from a third party for approximately
$41.0 million; approval of the 2008 Plan pursuant to which the Board approved
the new issuance to themselves of up to 20 million shares of common stock, or
just over 97% of the common stock outstanding at the time this plan was
approved; approval of the December 12, 2008 transaction whereby Trust II,
a newly formed trust wholly owned by CLST Asset II, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Financo entered into a purchase agreement, effective as of December 10,
2008, to acquire (i) on or before February 28, 2009 receivables of at
least $2 million, subject to certain limitations and (ii) from time to
time certain other receivables, installment sales contracts, and related
assets; and approval of the February 13, 2009 transaction whereby CLST
Asset III, a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, which is one of
CLSTs direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, purchased certain receivables,
installment sales contracts, and related assets owned by Fair, which is partly
owned by Timothy S. Durham, an officer and director of CLST. On the same day,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to nominate a slate
of directors to our Board.
On April 6, 2009, we
notified the Red Oak Group that our Board rejected the Red Oak Groups
nominations for Class I and Class II seats, as the nominations were
not in accordance with our certificate of incorporation. In addition, we
also rejected the Red Oak Groups proposals because they were not proper in
form or substance under federal and state law to come before an Annual
Meeting. We offered to discuss the Red Oak Groups concerns, director
nominations, and stockholder proposals provided that (1) the Red Oak Group
and the Company enter into a confidentiality and standstill agreement, (2) the
Red Oak Group appropriately make publicly available disclosures regarding its
rapid accumulation of the Companys shares and its intentions to acquire
control of the Company that are required by the federal securities laws,
including in a Report on Schedule 13D, and (3) the Red Oak Group not vote
the shares that the Company believes it to have acquired in violation of
applicable law, including the tender offer rules and other rules regulating
such accumulation of shares under the federal securities laws, at the Annual
Meeting.
Also on April 6,
2009, we filed our First Amended Complaint and Application for Injunctive
Relief in the Federal Court Action adding Red Oaks affiliates (Pinnacle
Partners, LLC; Pinnacle Fund, LLLP; and Bear Market Opportunity Fund, L.P.) as
defendants, alleging the same and other violations of federal securities laws,
including:
(i)
filing a materially false and misleading Schedule 13D
and failing to amend the same after delivering to the Company a Notice of
Director Nominations and proposal for business at the Annual Meeting;
(ii)
violating Section 14(d) of the Exchange Act
by engaging in fraudulent, deceptive and manipulative acts in connection with
its tender offer by failing to abide by Section 14(d)s timing
requirements and by failing to make required filings with the SEC; and
(iii)
that any attempt to solicit proxies from our
stockholders with respect to director nominations or notice of business would
be misleading in light of the defendants illegal activities in accumulating
Company stock.
Through this action, we
seek to obtain various declaratory judgments that the defendants have failed to
comply with federal securities laws and to enjoin the defendants from, among
other things, further violating federal securities laws and from voting any and
all shares or proxies acquired in violation of such laws.
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Also on April 6,
2009, because, among other reasons, we did not expect the litigation, which
bears directly upon our Annual Meeting of stockholders, to be resolved for some
months, our Board postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders previously
scheduled for May 22, 2009 until September 25, 2009.
On April 15, 2009,
the Red Oak Group submitted another letter to the Company, providing additional
information regarding the stockholder proposals it intends to bring before the
Annual Meeting and revising those proposals to: request the Board to complete
the dissolution approved at the stockholder meeting held in 2007; advise the
Board that the stockholders do not approve of the transaction purportedly
entered into as of November 10, 2008 whereby CLST Asset I, a wholly owned
indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase agreement to
acquire the outstanding equity interest in Trust I and request the directors to
take any available and appropriate actions; disapprove the 2008 Plan adopted by
the Board and request the Board not to issue any additional share grants or
option grants under such plan and request that the directors rescind their
approval of such plan; advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the
transaction purportedly entered into as of December 12, 2008 pursuant to
which CLST Asset II, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company,
entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain receivables on or before February 28,
2009 and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions;
and advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of February 13, 2009 whereby CLST Asset III,
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company purchased certain
receivables, installment contracts and related assets owned by Fair and request
the directors to take any available and appropriate actions.
On July 24, 2009, we
filed our Brief in Support of Application for Preliminary Injunction. The Red Oak Group filed its Opposition on August 7,
2009, and we filed our Reply Brief in Support on August 14, 2009. On October 14,
2009, the Court denied the Companys Application for Preliminary Injunction.
On December 30,
2009, the Company voluntarily filed a Motion to Dismiss the Federal Court
Action (
Federal Motion to Dismiss
).
As an exercise of its
business judgment, the Board decided not to pursue CLSTs claims against the
Red Oak Group beyond the preliminary injunction stage.
On January 20, 2010,
the Red Oak Group filed its Combined Motion for Leave to Amend, to Join Third
Parties, to Vacate Scheduling Order and to Continue the Trial Date (
Motion for Leave
) and its Motion
for Attorneys Fees under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure (
Rule 11 Motion
).
By its Motion for Leave, Red
Oak sought to join Messrs. Durham, Kaiser, and Tornek as defendants and to
add claims against them and CLST respectively for alleged violations of Sections
13(d), 14(a), and 10(b) of the Exchange Act and certain rules promulgated
thereunder. By its Rule 11 Motion,
the Red Oak Group sought to recover all of its attorneys fees and costs in
defending this action from CLST based on the legal contention that injunctive
relief is not available for a violation of Section 13(d) of the
Exchange Act.
On
March 2, 2010, the Court denied the Federal Motion to Dismiss and granted
the Red Oak Groups Motion for Leave.
The Court also denied the Red Oak Groups Rule 11 Motion. On March 17, 2010, the Red Oak Group
filed its Counterclaims and Third-Party Complaint against the Company, alleging
violations of Sections 13(d), 14(a) and 10(b) of the Exchange Act.
The
Federal Court Action remains pending.
State Court Action
On March 2, 2009,
certain members of the Red Oak Group (namely, Red Oak Partners, LLC; Pinnacle
Fund, LLP; and Bear Market Opportunity Fund, L.P.) and Jeffrey S. Jones (
Jones
) (the Red Oak
Group and Jones may be collectively referred to below as
Plaintiffs
)
filed a derivative lawsuit against Robert A. Kaiser, Timothy S. Durham, and
David Tornek in the 134th District Court of Dallas County, Texas (the
State Court Action
).
The petition alleges that Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek entered into
self-dealing transactions at the expense of the Company and its stockholders
and violated their fiduciary duties of loyalty, independence, due care, good
faith, and fair dealing. The petition asks the Court to order, among other
things, a rescission of the alleged self-interested transactions by Messrs. Kaiser,
Durham, and Tornek; an award of compensatory and punitive damages; the removal
of Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from the Board; and that the Company
hold an Annual Meeting of stockholders, or that the Company appoint a
conservator to oversee and implement the dissolution plan approved by
stockholders in 2007.
On March 13, 2009,
we announced that we would hold our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 22,
2009 in Dallas, Texas, and that the close of business on April 2, 2009
would be the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to
receive notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or
postponements thereof.
On March 18, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us demanding to inspect and copy certain of
our books and records. We took the position that the Red Oak Group did
not comply with state law requirements applicable to stockholders seeking such
information.
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On March 19, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to put forth
several precatory proposals including stockholder votes for: approval to
proceed with the 2007 stockholder-approved plan of dissolution; approval of the
November 10, 2008 transaction whereby CLST Asset I, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Financo, entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all of the
outstanding equity interests of Trust I from a third party for approximately
$41.0 million; approval of the 2008 Plan pursuant to which the Board approved
the new issuance to themselves of up to 20 million shares of common stock, or
just over 97% of the common stock outstanding at the time this plan was
approved; approval of the December 12, 2008 transaction whereby Trust II,
a newly formed trust wholly owned by CLST Asset II, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Financo entered into a purchase agreement, effective as of December 10,
2008, to acquire (i) on or before February 28, 2009 receivables of at
least $2 million, subject to certain limitations and (ii) from time to
time certain other receivables, installment sales contracts and related assets;
and approval of the February 13, 2009 transaction whereby CLST Asset III,
a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Financo, which is one of CLSTs
direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, purchased certain receivables, installment
sales contracts and related assets owned by Fair, which is partly owned by
Timothy S. Durham, an officer and director of CLST. On the same day, the Red
Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to nominate a slate of
directors to our Board.
On April 6, 2009, we
notified the Red Oak Group that our Board rejected the Red Oak Groups
nominations for Class I and Class II seats, as the nominations were
not in accordance with our certificate of incorporation. In addition, we
also rejected the Red Oak Groups proposals because they were not proper in
form or substance under federal and state law to come before an Annual
Meeting. We offered to discuss the Red Oak Groups concerns, director
nominations, and stockholder proposals provided that (1) the Red Oak Group
and the Company enter into a confidentiality and standstill agreement, (2) the
Red Oak Group appropriately make publicly available disclosures regarding its
rapid accumulation of the Companys shares and its intentions to acquire
control of the Company that are required by the federal securities laws,
including in a Report on Schedule 13D, and (3) the Red Oak Group not vote
the shares that the Company believes it to have acquired in violation of
applicable law, including the tender offer rules and other rules regulating
such accumulation of shares under the federal securities laws, at the Annual
Meeting.
Also on April 6,
2009, because, among other reasons, we did not expect the litigation, which
bears directly upon our Annual Meeting of stockholders, to be resolved for some
months, our Board postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders previously
scheduled for May 22, 2009 until September 25, 2009.
On April 15, 2009,
the Red Oak Group submitted another letter to the Company, providing additional
information regarding the stockholder proposals it intends to bring before the
Annual Meeting and revising those proposals to: request the Board to complete
the dissolution approved at the stockholder meeting held in 2007; advise the
Board that the stockholders do not approve of the transaction purportedly
entered into as of November 10, 2008 whereby CLST Asset I, a wholly owned
indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase agreement to
acquire the outstanding equity interest in Trust I and request the directors to
take any available and appropriate actions; disapprove the 2008 Plan adopted by
the Board and request the Board not to issue any additional share grants or
option grants under such plan and request that the directors rescind their
approval of such plan; advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the
transaction purportedly entered into as of December 12, 2008 pursuant to
which CLST Asset II, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company,
entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain receivables on or before February 28,
2009 and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions;
and advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of February 13, 2009 whereby CLST Asset III,
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company purchased certain
receivables, installment contracts and related assets owned by Fair and request
the directors to take any available and appropriate actions.
On April 30, 2009,
the Red Oak Group and Jones amended their petition in the State Court Action.
In addition to the relief already requested, the petition sought to compel the
Company to hold its 2008 and 2009 annual stockholders meetings within sixty
days; to enjoin Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from any interference
or hindrance of such meetings or the election of directors; to enjoin Messrs. Kaiser,
Durham, and Tornek from voting any shares of stock acquired in the alleged
self-interested transactions; and to appoint a special master. On June 3,
2009 and again on June 12, 2009, pursuant to court order, the Red Oak
Group and Jones amended their petition to, among other things, remove Bear
Market Opportunity Fund, L.P. as a plaintiff and add Red Oak Fund, L.P. as a
plaintiff.
On May 5, 2009, the
Red Oak Group and Jones filed a motion seeking to compel the Company to hold
its 2008 and 2009 stockholders meetings on June 30, 2009 and to appoint a
special master and requested an expedited hearing on both. Hearings were
held on May 8, 2009 and May 29, 2009, but no ruling was reached.
On August 14, 2009,
our Board postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders from September 25,
2009 to October 27, 2009.
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Table of Contents
On August 24, 2009,
the Red Oak Group resubmitted its director nomination letter and its letter
stating its intention to put forth the stockholder proposals, as mentioned in
the March 19, 2009 and April 15, 2009 letters.
On August 25, 2009,
the Court set an evidentiary hearing on the Plaintiffs Application for
Temporary Injunction, which had yet to be filed, for October 7 and 8,
2009. Plaintiffs request for injunctive
relief concerned Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek voting any shares of
stock acquired in the alleged self-interested transactions.
On August 28, 2009,
the parties executed a Stipulation Regarding the Companys Annual Meeting of
Stockholders (
Stipulation
).
The Court approved the Stipulation the same day and entered an Order identical
to the Stipulations terms. Pursuant to the Stipulation, absent a
determination by the Court of good cause shown, the Company must hold its
annual stockholders meeting for the election of one Class I director and
one Class II director and consideration of any properly submitted
proposals that are proper subjects for consideration at an annual meeting on October 27,
2009, with a record date for that meeting of September 25, 2009.
Good cause for delaying the Annual Meeting beyond October 27, 2009, and
correspondingly amending the September 25, 2009 record date, includes
among other things, situations where reasonable delay is necessary: (1) for
the Board to avoid breaching any of their fiduciary duties to the Company or
the Companys stockholders; (2) to assure compliance with the Companys
certificate of incorporation and bylaws; (3) for the Company or the Board
to comply with state or federal law; or (4) to assure compliance with any
order of any court or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company
or members of its Board.
We received a letter
dated September 22, 2009 from the Red Oak Group seeking, pursuant to Section 220
of the Delaware General Corporation Law, to inspect the books and records of
the Company, including among other things a stockholder list as of the record
date. The letter states that the purpose of such request is to enable the Red
Oak Group to solicit proxies to elect directors at the 2009 Annual Meeting and
to communicate with stockholders. Our counsel responded by letter dated September 30,
2009 that the Company was aware of its obligations under Section 220 of
the Delaware General Corporation Law but believed that the demand letter did
not comply with the inspection requirements under Section 220. We received
another letter dated September 29, 2009 from the Red Oak Group pursuant to
Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law in which the Red Oak
Group requests to inspect the books and records of the Company pertaining to,
among other things, all analyses performed with respect to our net operating
losses and a list of all business ventures and dealings Messrs. Tornek and
Durham have evaluated or commenced in the past ten years and a list of all
investments they currently share. Our counsel responded by letter dated October 6,
2009 that (i) the commencement of the Red Oak Groups derivative action
bars it from using a Section 220 demand as a substitute for discovery
permissible in litigation; (ii) the stated purposes of the demand letter
do not constitute proper purposes under Section 220; and (iii) the
scope of information requested in the demand letter is overly broad and not
limited to books and records that are essential and sufficient to accomplish
the Red Oak Groups stated purposes.
On October 9, 2009,
the Court denied Plaintiffs application for injunctive relief, which sought to
enjoin Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from voting certain shares at
the CLST annual stockholders meeting. Further, the Court granted
Defendants plea to the jurisdiction, granted Defendants motion to disqualify
Plaintiffs, and dismissed Plaintiffs derivative claims. Beyond that, the
Court granted Defendants amended motion to stay, thereby staying all remaining
direct claims asserted by Plaintiffs. Defendants motion to
disqualify Plaintiffs was based on Plaintiffs lack of adequacy to pursue
derivative claims on the following grounds: (1) that Red Oak improperly
brought derivative claims to advance its own personal interests; (2) that
Red Oak had engaged in illegal conduct by violating federal securities laws;
and (3) that Jones was only a tag-along plaintiff and therefore suffered
the same adequacy problems as Red Oak, the driving force behind the State Court
Action. The Court reached each of these rulings after the two-day
evidentiary hearing.
On October 15, 2009,
we applied to the Court, on an emergency basis, for an order to: (1) reopen
this case for the limited purpose of modifying the Courts Order Regarding
Annual Meeting of Stockholders entered on August 28, 2009 (the
Annual Meeting Order
); (2) modify
its Annual Meeting Order to prevent CLST from alternatively being in violation
of (a) federal securities law, Delaware statutory law, and its Bylaws or (b) the
Annual Meeting Order; (3) nullify the current September 25, 2009
record date; and (4) grant an emergency hearing as soon as possible.
A hearing was held on CLSTs emergency motion on October 16, 2009.
The Court continued the hearing until a time agreeable to the parties and the
Court on or before October 26, 2009.
On October 29, 2009, Plaintiffs filed their
Motion and Memorandum to Reopen Case And To Reconsider (
Motion to Reconsider
)
concerning the Courts Order of October 9, 2009, which granted Defendants
Plea to the Jurisdiction and Motion to Disqualify Plaintiffs and dismissed
Plaintiffs derivative claims. On December 10,
2009, Plaintiffs filed their Motion and Memorandum to Reopen Case and Compel
Annual Stockholders Meeting (
Motion to Compel
).
On November 12, 2009, the parties executed a
Second Stipulation and Order Setting and Regarding an Annual Meeting of
Stockholders of the Company (the
Second Stipulation
). The Court approved the Second Stipulation on November 13,
2009 and entered an Order identical to the Second Stipulations terms. The Second Stipulation provides that the
Company must hold its annual stockholders meeting on December 15, 2009
and that the record date for that meeting must be set as October 30, 2009.
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Table of Contents
At the December 15, 2009 hearing on Plaintiffs
Motion to Reconsider, Plaintiffs counsel stated on the record that Plaintiffs
Motion to Compel had not been properly noticed and therefore was not before the
Court. The Court denied Plaintiffs
Motion to Reconsider on December 21, 2009.
On January 15, 2010,
Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Summary Relief, Summary Judgment, and
Application for Injunctive Relief to Compel the Companys Annual Stockholders
Meeting (
Motion for
Summary Relief
). By
their Motion for Summary Relief, Plaintiffs sought for the Company to hold its
annual stockholders meetings for 2008, 2009, and 2010 on March 25,
2010. On February 15, 2010, the Court
heard Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Relief and, in part, granted the relief
requested. Specifically, the Court
ordered, pursuant to its Order and Interlocutory Partial Summary Judgment (the
Second Annual Meeting Order
) as
follows: (1) Absent a determination by the Court for good cause shown, the
Company shall hold its annual stockholders meeting on March 23, 2010 (the
Annual Meeting
); the Annual Meeting
satisfies the Companys requirement to hold its 2008 and 2009 annual
stockholders meetings; the record date for the Annual Meeting shall be March 8,
2010; and the Company shall provide notice in accordance with applicable
Delaware law to all CLST stockholders on or before March 12, 2010 for the
Annual Meeting. By the same order, the
Court also appointed IVS Associates, Inc. to be the independent inspector
of elections to oversee the voting process of the Annual Meeting, tabulate
proxies, and certify the election results.
By separate order dated February 15, 2010, and upon its own motion,
the Court ordered that the State Court Action be reopened and reinstated on a
two-week trial docket beginning June 1, 2010.
On February 18,
2010, the Red Oak Group filed its Application for TRO and sought to prevent the
Company from filing a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of
State on February 26, 2010, as the Company had disclosed in its Form 8-K
filed on February 9, 2010. The
hearing on the Application for TRO was held on February 23, 2010. On February 24, 2010, the Court granted
Red Oaks Application for TRO and, pursuant to the TRO, ordered, among other
things, that the defendants (namely, CLST Holdings, Inc., Robert Kaiser,
Timothy Durham, and David Tornek) and their agents be restrained from filing
the certificate of dissolution for the Company on or before midnight on
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, or until further order of the Court.
On March 2, 2010,
the Court signed the order upon the Dissolution Stipulation, which provides,
among other things, that, on or before March 5, 2010, the Company will
send notice of its intent to file a certificate of dissolution with the
Delaware Secretary of State on March 26, 2010, and that the notice shall
indicate that the certificate of dissolution will not be effective until June 24,
2010.
After the Second Annual
Meeting Order issued, the Company filed an emergency motion for temporary
relief (
Motion for Relief
)
requesting that the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas at Dallas (the
Court of Appeals
) void the Second
Annual Meeting Order. On March 3,
2010, the Court of Appeals issued a memorandum opinion in which the Court of
Appeals granted the Companys Motion for Relief and voided the Second Annual
Meeting Order. The Court of Appeals
judgment taxes all costs of the appeal against the Red Oak Group. On March 4, 2010, the trial court
entered its Order dissolving the Second Annual Meeting Order.
Pursuant to the
Dissolution Stipulation and in accordance with its plan of dissolution, on March 26,
2010 the Company filed a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary
of State to be effective on June 24, 2010.
Immediately after the close of business on June 24, 2010, the
Company will close its stock transfer books; accordingly it is expected that
the trading of its stock on the Pink Sheets will cease at the same time.
On March 26, 2010, the Red Oak Group filed its
Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, for Leave to Amend Petition,
Attorneys Fees, and for a Final Order Granting Permanent Injunctive Relief (
State Motion to Dismiss
). By its State Motion to Dismiss, the Red Oak
Group seeks an order that, among other things, sets the Companys annual
stockholders meetings for 2008 and 2009 fifty (50) days after the issuance of
such an order and sets the record date thirty (30) days before such annual
meeting. The remaining issues in the
State Court Action are currently set for trial on May 24, 2010.
For risk factors, please
refer to Item 1A, Risk Factors, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended November 30, 2009.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
None.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
In March 2010,
a representative of Fortress Corp. indicated to a representative of the Company
that a new default under the Trust II Credit Agreement may have occurred as a
result of the three-month rolling average annualized default rate of the Class A
35
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receivables in the Trust
II portfolio exceeding 5.0% as of February 28, 2010. The Company has not
received formal notification from Fortress Corp. regarding this potential
default and the Company is continuing to evaluate whether such a default has
occurred. The Company is currently in discussions with Fortress Corp. to
resolve this potential default in conjunction with all defaults under the Trust
I Credit Agreement. Those discussions are ongoing and the Company does not expect
that Fortress Corp. will enforce any available foreclosure rights it may have
on the assets of Trust II while negotiations are proceeding.
Item 4. [REMOVED AND RESERVED]
Reserved.
Item 5. Other Information
None.
36
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Item 6. Exhibits
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
|
Previously filed as an Exhibit and
Incorporated by Reference From
|
3.1
|
|
Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation of CellStar Corporation (the Certificate of
Incorporation).
|
|
Previously filed as an
exhibit to our companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended August 31, 1995, and incorporated herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.2
|
|
Certificate of
Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation.
|
|
Previously filed as an
exhibit to our companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended May 31, 1998, and incorporated herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.3
|
|
Certificate of
Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation dated as of February 20, 2002.
|
|
Previously filed as an
exhibit to our companys Annual Report Form on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended November 30, 2002 and incorporated herein by
reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.4
|
|
Certificate of
Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation dated as
of March 30, 2007.
|
|
Previously filed as an
exhibit to our companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended May 31, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.5
|
|
Amended and Restated
Bylaws of CellStar Corporation, effective as of May 1, 2004.
|
|
Previously filed as an
exhibit to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
May 31, 2004, and incorporated herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
Rights
Agreement, dated as of February 13, 2009, by and between CLST
Holdings, Inc. and Mellon Investor Services LLC, as rights agent.
|
|
Previously filed as an
exhibit to a
Form 8-A filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on February 13, 2009
, and incorporated herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
Certificate
of Designation of Series B Junior Preferred Stock of CLST
Holdings, Inc., dated as of February 5, 2009.
|
|
Previously filed as an
exhibit to a
Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 6, 2009
, and incorporated herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.1
|
|
Notice
of default dated December 2, 2009 from Fortress Credit Corp.
|
|
Previously
filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
November 30, 2009, and incorporated herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.2
|
|
Notice
of default dated February 8, 2010 from Fortress Credit Corp.
|
|
Previously
filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 8, 2010, and incorporated
herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.3
|
|
Waiver
and Release to Revolving Credit Agreement dated February 26, 2010.
|
|
Previously
filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 8, 2010, and incorporated
herein by reference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
31.1
|
|
Certification of the
Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) promulgated
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
|
|
Filed herewith.
|
|
|
|
|
|
31.2
|
|
Certification of the
Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) promulgated
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
|
|
Filed herewith.
|
|
|
|
|
|
32.1
|
|
Certification of the
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to
Rule 13a-14(b) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, and 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.
|
|
Filed herewith.
|
37
Table of Contents
Signatures
Pursuant to the
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned
thereunto duly authorized.
CLST HOLDINGS, INC.
By:
|
/s/
Robert
A. Kaiser
|
|
|
Robert A. Kaiser
|
|
|
Chief Executive
Officer and President
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/
Jerome
L. Trojan III
|
|
|
Jerome L. Trojan
III
|
|
|
Chief Financial
Officer, Vice President and
Treasurer
|
|
April 14, 2010
38
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