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Iron Eagle Group, Inc.

US:PINN
No current share price held for this company.

Past year: ▲ 6%(27.0c – 34.0c USD)

Market cap
—
Shares on issue
—
Story beats
13 since 2001
Last event
4 June 2013

History

Pinnacle Resources, a South African minerals explorer, sold its mining assets and became Iron Eagle Group, but its construction acquisitions Delta Mechanical and Tru-Val were both handed back.

2000-2009: Minerals and a sale of assets

The company, then called Pinnacle Resources, completed the purchase of Vanadium and Magnetite Exploration and Development (V-MED) on June 1, 2000. V-MED held a 30-year mineral lease over five farms covering 17,188 acres, next to Pinnacle's platinum-palladium properties near Potgietersrus in South Africa. Pinnacle paid with 4,000,000 restricted shares, lifting shares outstanding from 5,890,000 to 9,890,000. V-MED itself was tiny, with total assets of $3,148.

The record then goes quiet until 2007, when Pinnacle sold assets. Golden Star exercised its option in April 2007 and took Pinnacle's Ghana subsidiary, Orovi Ghana, for $362,855, plus $37,145 for cancelling a 10% net profits interest. In January 2007 Pinnacle also agreed to sell 93 1/3% of VanMag, its South African vanadium subsidiary, to Golden Falls Trading 565 for US$9 million. It had received $200,000 and $3.2 million, with $1.6 million held in escrow and a further $4 million due on conversion of the mining right.

In June 2009 Pinnacle issued 9,000,000 restricted shares to investors in exchange for 180,000 shares of The Saint James Company, valued at $180,000. It was paying for its own stock with another small company's stock, and existing holders were diluted.

2010: Becoming Iron Eagle

By mid-2010 the company was Iron Eagle Group, Inc. It had agreed a share exchange to issue 373,491,825 shares to the holders of Iron Eagle Group (Nevada), held in escrow until it bought construction or infrastructure businesses with at least $1.8 million of annual earnings (EBITDA). Management itself saw significant uncertainty about meeting that test. The company also hired new executives and issued shares to an investor-relations firm and others.

On August 24, 2010 it agreed to buy the assets of Farache Enterprises, a Florida site development firm, for $3,385,000, subject to funding and other conditions. Two days later the last performance obligation under the share exchange was satisfied, and the escrowed shares were released. The filing did not say whether the earnings test had been met.

2011: Delta Mechanical rises and falls

In early 2011 Iron Eagle paid consultants and investor-relations firms largely in shares, and took small loans from insiders, including a $250,000 note to CEO Jason Shapiro. On January 21, 2011 it bought Delta Mechanical Contractors with a seller note of about $9.0M, later cut to $8.8M. An 8-for-1 reverse split took effect in August 2011, and the company reported $23.3M of revenue for the first half and planned a public offering of up to 3 million shares at $5.00 to repay the note.

The money was not raised. After the note went unpaid by September 16, Delta's former owner, Bruce Bookbinder, took back 100% of the business on September 23, 2011, extinguishing the note. Iron Eagle blamed market conditions and was left without an operating business.

2012-2013: York River and Tru-Val

On July 19, 2012 Iron Eagle agreed to buy York River Electric for $8.5M in cash, its debts, and $3M in restricted shares; the filings did not say how the cash would be funded. In July 2012 it also said its 2011 quarterly statements could not be relied on, because $615,250 of compensation expense had been left out of the first quarter.

On August 28, 2012 it completed the purchase of Tru-Val Electric Corp., paying with assumed debt, 6,011,984 common shares and 2,638 preferred shares. Other share issues went to directors, consultants and for debt conversions, and shares on issue reached 7,780,568 by the end of 2012.

On June 4, 2013 Iron Eagle handed Tru-Val back to its seller, Chris Totaro, who agreed to return his shares. Iron Eagle gave him an $81,688 note, payable within seven days of raising more than $250,000. As of that date the company had no confirmed operating business, and the York River closing remained unconfirmed.

Written from the 13 story beats below (2001 to 4 June 2013), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.

Beat by beat

The events that changed the company's story, in plain English, each written against everything known about the company at the time. The dot shows whether it was good, bad or neutral for shareholders.

shares on issue market cap (log scale)

20137.8m shares

  1. 4 June

    On June 4, 2013 Iron Eagle handed 100% of Tru-Val Electric back to Chris Totaro, reversing the August 2012 acquisition. Iron Eagle gave Totaro a $81,688 promissory note, payable within seven days of the company raising more than $250,000 in capital, and Totaro returns all his common and preferred shares in the company. The company says the two sides agreed Tru-Val is better run as a private company without public company overhead; the filing states no early termination penalties. The shares issued to Totaro are returned, which offsets some of the dilution from that deal, but the company is again without the business it bought. The filing does not mention York River.

    material agreement termination

    7.8m sh

20127.8m shares

  1. 28 Aug

    Iron Eagle completed its purchase of Tru-Val Electric Corp. on August 28, 2012 from Christopher Totaro, paying with assumed debt, 6,011,984 common shares valued at $0.45 each, and 2,638 preferred shares at $1,000 each (subject to adjustment). The filing also lists a series of other share issues: debt conversions at $0.25 to Gamble and Hildebrand (600,000 shares each), a board-authorised conversion of up to $90,000 for Jake Shapiro, 1,037,408 shares to CEO Ed English, 312,500 shares each to Giulietti and Antonini's firm for director fees, and 500,000 shares each to Gamble and Hildebrand for consulting. Shareholders are diluted by these issues. Ed English is now named as CEO. The filing does not state a cash price, and no word on York River closing appears in it.

    asset acquisition disposition

    7.8m sh
  2. 31 July

    Iron Eagle said on July 20, 2012 that its 2011 quarterly financial statements should no longer be relied on. It left out $615,250 of compensation expense in the first quarter of 2011 for people whose pay was later waived; the amount should be booked as an expense with an equal offset to paid-in capital. The company says total assets, liabilities and stockholders' deficit are unaffected, and that the June and September 2011 quarters were not affected by this error.

    financial restatement

    7.8m sh
  3. 26 July

    On July 19, 2012 Iron Eagle agreed to buy York River Electric Inc. from Cathy McQuade and Mark Bryan for $8.5M in cash, assumption of all its debts and liabilities, and $3M of Iron Eagle restricted shares issued within 30 days of closing (sellers limited to selling 25% a year for 4 years). The price drops if working capital is below $3.75M, and the sellers must make up uncollected receivables after nine months. The filing does not say how the cash will be funded, and shareholders face dilution from the share issue. This is a new acquisition after the loss of Delta in 2011.

    capital raising announcement

    7.8m sh

20111.5m shares

  1. 27 Sept

    On September 23, 2011, Bookbinder took back 100% of Delta after Iron Eagle failed to pay the seller note by September 16, 2011; the company says it could not raise the money because of market conditions. The rescission also extinguished the roughly $9M seller note, but Iron Eagle loses Delta, the business it bought in January 2011. The company says it is in talks with Bookbinder and private investors about re-buying Delta and with unnamed acquisition targets, with no certainty of any deal. This resolves the Delta purchase thread negatively.

    material agreement termination

    1.5m sh
  2. 1 Sept

    Iron Eagle disclosed that it bought Delta Mechanical Contractors on January 21, 2011, paying with a seller note of about $9.0M, later cut to $8.8M. The note was extended to September 16, 2011 by Bruce Bookbinder, the former owner. It is secured by a pledge of Delta's parent, and the filing says that if it is not paid, Bookbinder will very probably take Delta back and Iron Eagle would lose its entire investment and have no business operations. The company depends on its proposed public offering to repay. The attached press release reports $23.3M of revenue for the first six months of 2011 (Delta results counted from January 21), an effective registration statement for up to 3 million shares at $5.00 after an 8-for-1 reverse split, and Joseph Antonini as the new chairman. This shows the company moving from the earlier Farache plan to Delta as its operating business, with a deadline that put it at risk.

    material agreement

    1.5m sh
  3. 28 Mar

    In February-March 2011 Iron Eagle signed consulting and investor-relations deals paid largely in shares: IPX Capital (125,000 shares at $0.80, a $100,000 success fee on raising up to $40M, and 125,000 more shares on raising acquisition capital), Alliance Advisors (120,000 shares over 15 months, 40,000 issued at $1.01), Hayden IR (75,000 shares at $1.01), RJ Falkner (about $5,000 a month in shares plus an option on 85,000 shares at $1.01) and NewsUSA (96,154 shares at $1.30 against $500,000 of media credit). It also took short-term loans from insiders: $30,000 each from chairman Joseph LoCurto and EVP Jed Sabio, $7,500 from Alliance, and a $250,000 note to CEO Jason Shapiro that replaced expenses owed to him since November 2009, due December 31, 2011. It bought back 250,000 of its own shares from Galileo Partners for $100. Shareholders are diluted by the share issuances, and the small insider loans are tied to the company receiving further funding; Jason Shapiro is now CEO and Joseph LoCurto is chairman.

    capital raising announcement

    1.5m sh

2010

  1. 3 Sept

    This amendment says that on August 26, 2010 the last performance obligation under the January 8, 2010 share exchange with Iron Eagle Nevada was satisfied, the 373,491,825 escrowed shares were released, and Glen Gamble and R.A. Hildebrand resigned as officers and directors. This resolves the open question of whether the escrowed shares would be released or returned by October 8, 2010. The filing does not say whether the $1.8 million EBITDA acquisition test was met or the board voted to release; the stated basis is satisfaction of the performance obligation. It attaches Iron Eagle Nevada's audited statements for the period from November 9, 2009 to December 31, 2009, showing no revenue, a $270,972 loss and $10,000 of assets; the interim and pro forma statements are to follow by amendment.

    asset acquisition disposition

  2. 2 Sept

    On August 24, 2010, Iron Eagle signed an agreement to buy the assets of Farache Enterprises, a Florida site development, excavation and road building firm, for $3,385,000: $1,750,000 cash, a $325,000 note at 8% due in two years, $650,000 in Iron Eagle shares 40 days after closing, and a $660,000 cash earn-out ($220,000 a year for three years) tied to EBITDA targets. This is the company's first named construction acquisition, following the earlier share exchange that required acquisitions. Closing is conditional on due diligence, board approval, third-party consents and Iron Eagle receiving adequate funding, so it is not yet complete.

    material agreement

  3. 2 July

    Filed July 2010, the company, now Iron Eagle Group, Inc. (Delaware), reports an unfinished share exchange: it would issue 373,491,825 shares to the shareholders of Iron Eagle Group (Nevada), held in escrow until, by October 8, 2010, it acquires construction or infrastructure companies with at least $1.8 million EBITDA or the board unanimously releases them. If completed, the Nevada holders would own 92% of the company; management itself sees significant uncertainty about meeting the requirement. It also reports a CCG Investor Relations contract, May 2010 share issues (including 4,350,000 shares and warrants to CCG, 1,666,667 shares to new director Gary Giulietti, and 40,000,000 shares to Steve Antebi), and new officers: Michael Bovalino as CEO ($300,000 salary) and Eric Hoffman as CFO ($225,000 salary), with Jason Shapiro moving to EVP of Corporate Strategy.

    material agreement

2009

  1. 26 June

    On June 23, 2009, Pinnacle issued 9,000,000 restricted shares to accredited investors in exchange for 180,000 restricted shares of The Saint James Company, valued at $180,000 (Saint James was quoted around $2.00 and Pinnacle around $0.02). Pinnacle's two notes from Saint James ($150,000 due Nov 2009 and $25,000 on demand) were amended on June 5, 2009 so Pinnacle can convert principal and interest into Saint James shares at $0.50. Shareholders are diluted by the 9,000,000 new shares, and the company is paid in another small company's stock.

    capital raising announcement

2007

  1. 9 Nov

    Filed in November 2007, this reports two disposals. Golden Star exercised its option in April 2007 and acquired Pinnacle's Ghana subsidiary Orovi Ghana (holder of the Riyadh gold license) for an aggregate $362,855, with a further $37,145 treated as consideration for cancelling a 10% net profits interest. Separately, in January 2007 Pinnacle agreed to sell 93 1/3% of VanMag (the South African vanadium subsidiary acquired in 2000) to Golden Falls Trading 565 for US$9 million, with $200,000 and $3.2 million received, $1.6 million in escrow pending the minority shareholder's government permission, and a further $4 million due on conversion of the mining right.

    asset acquisition disposition

2001

  1. 18 May

    Filed in May 2001 for an event dated June 1, 2000: the company (then named Pinnacle Resources) completed buying Vanadium and Magnetite Exploration and Development (Pty) Ltd (V-MED), a South African company holding a 30-year mineral lease on five farms covering 17,188 acres next to its platinum-palladium properties near Potgietersrus. It paid with 4,000,000 restricted shares, taking shares outstanding from 5,890,000 to 9,890,000 per the pro forma notes. The filing's audited statements show V-MED had total assets of $3,148 and a net loss of $8,745 for the year to June 30, 2000.

    asset acquisition disposition