History
A shell company turned Alberta oil sands explorer, TAMM bought land with shares, unwound a stake in Deep Well, and by 2011 was converting debts into new shares.
2007-2008: From shell to oil sands explorer
The company began as Hola Communications. In May 2007 its founders sold their 3,800,000 shares to Sean Dickenson for US$150,000, and Dickenson became President and chief executive, with 6,000,000 shares then outstanding. By November 2007 it was called Tamm Oil and Gas and was pursuing oil and gas assets in Alberta.
It agreed to buy royalty interests (a share of the oil produced from certain leased lands) from Muzz Investments and 1004731 Alberta Ltd. for restricted shares. The filings never confirmed that this deal closed. It raised money through a private placement of units at US$1.25, each with a warrant at US$1.75; the first tranche brought in $1,000,000 for 800,000 units. In December 2007 it agreed to swap 21,533,000 of its own shares for the same number of shares in Deep Well Oil & Gas.
In January 2008 Tamm bought 21 sections of Peace River oil sands leases at a Crown land sale for US$715,292. A further 14 sections followed in May 2008 for Cdn$372,721.36, taking its land to about 22,400 acres. A Chapman engineering report put heavy oil in place on the first 21 sections at 1.4 billion barrels, though the company noted it might not meet SEC disclosure guidelines.
2008: Unwinding and restructuring
The Deep Well swap did not last. Effective July 1, 2008 it was rescinded, and Tamm said it could not value the stake and was moving its focus away from Sawn Lake. Deep Well had sued Tamm in Nevada over an alleged illegal tender offer, and the filings never said the suit ended. Tamm kept a 10% working interest in 63 Sawn Lake sections and a 2% gross overriding royalty on 36.5 sections.
In August 2008 Dickenson returned 34,000,000 shares for cancellation, cutting shares outstanding from 118,313,000 to 84,313,000. In September Tamm issued a preferred share and 10,833,333 common shares, with 4,166,667 more to follow on conversion, in a deal tied to 1132559 Alberta Ltd. The shares were held in escrow, and the filings did not say what that company owned.
2009: Land paid for in shares
In May 2009 Tamm agreed to buy 1,280 acres of oil sands leases and 6,400 acres of Manning-area petroleum and natural gas leases, paying 2,428,000 shares to one seller and 7,286,000 each to Asperago Holdings and Elestone. It also agreed in June to buy Union Energy (Alberta), LLC for 1,000,000 shares, described as 5,120 acres of oil sands leases. That agreement quoted 62,780,000 shares outstanding, a figure the filings never reconciled with 84,313,000.
A June 2009 farmout with Zentrum Energie Trust AG let Tamm earn Zentrum's working interest in up to 276,000 gross acres by paying all costs, with Zentrum keeping a 3% royalty and a 36-month first right of refusal on equity financings. The land purchases closed on September 24, 2009, with shares issued in trust until land titles transferred.
2010-2011: Debt into shares
The record for 2010 is quiet. In February 2011 the auditor was changed to RBSM LLP, and earlier audit reports had raised doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern. On May 24, 2011 Tamm agreed to convert debts owed to seven creditors into units at $0.15, each with a half warrant at $0.30. The largest were Dianella Corp. (6,594,333 units, about $989,150) and Garry Tighe (2,295,744 units, about $344,362). It also received $144,000 from Maushen Finanz Inc of Zurich for 800,000 units. As of that date, the filings did not give a total share count after these issues, and the Zentrum right of refusal was not addressed.
Written from the 14 story beats below (2007 to 26 May 2011), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.