SEC Company Response from GRAN TIERRA ENERGY INC. (GTE) (CIK 0001273441) (GTE) — Dec 7, 2006
GRAN TIERRA ENERGY INC. (GTE) (CIK 0001273441)
Date: Dec. 7, 2006 · CIK: 0001273441 · Accession: 0001144204-06-051642
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-111656, 333-132352
Referenced dates: August 31, 2006, August 8, 2006, May 10, 2006, May 10, 2006
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CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Unassociated Document
Jason
H. Scott
jscott@mcguirewoods.com
Direct:
704.373.8862
Direct
Fax: 704.353.6181
December
7, 2006
Mr.
H.
Roger Schwall
Assistant
Director
Division
of Corporation Finance
Mail
Stop
7010
Washington,
D.C. 20549-7010
Re:
Gran
Tierra Energy Inc. (the
“Company”)
Amendment
No. 2 to Registration Statement on Form SB-2
Filed
August 8, 2006
File
No. 333-132352
Amendment
No. 1 to Annual Report on Form 10-KSB/A for the fiscal year ended December
31,
2005
Filed
July 18, 2006
File
No. 333-111656
Dear
Mr.
Schwall:
This
is
in response to your comment letters to Dana Coffield dated August 8, 2006 and
August 31, 2006 with respect to the above-referenced filings. Our responses
to
your comments from the letter dated August 8, 2006 appear first as numbers
1 to
6, on pages 2 to 9. Our responses to your comments from the letter dated August
31, 2006 are set forth as numbers 1 to 26, on pages 9 to 17. The Company is
simultaneously filing Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement No. 333-132352
and Amendment No. 3 to Form 10-KSB.
We
have
set forth below the comments in your letters of August 8, 2006 and August 31,
2006 in italics with the Company’s responses to each.
Responses
to August 8, 2006 Comments
Form
SB-2/A Filed April 21, 2006
General
1.
We
note from your response to prior comment 9 in our letter dated May
10,
2006 that you will defer filing an amendment to your registration
statement until you resolve uncertainties surrounding your previously
announced plans to acquire various entities. Although you state that
you
will file any required financial statements for acquired businesses,
please understand the requirement for purposes of the registration
statement also extends to businesses to be acquired, prior to acquisition,
when probable. In all instances that you have filed Form 8-Ks announcing
agreements to acquire businesses that you believe are not sufficiently
certain to be considered probable of occurring, you should promptly
amend
those filings to clarify your views as they presently
stand.
December
7, 2006
Page
2
RESPONSE:
The
Company deferred filing an amendment to its registration statement until August
8, 2006. In connection with the filing of the Company’s amended registration
statement, the Company provided the financial statements of Argosy Energy
International along with the related pro forma financial information required
by
Item 310 (c) and (d) of Regulation S-B. In addition, the Company filed a current
report on Form 8-K on June 21, 2006, to disclose the completion of the
acquisition of Argosy Energy and filed an amendment to that current report
on
August 21, 2006, to provide the financial statements and pro forma financial
information required under Item 9.01 of Form 8-K. The Company has filed an
amendment to its current report on Form 8-K to include pro forma financial
information for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 and to make other revisions
to the financial statements and pro forma financial information previously
provided under Item 9.01 of Form 8-K. The Company has also amended its Form
SB-2/A on pages F-63 to F-113 to include the revised financial statements and
pro forma financial information provided in the Form 8-K/A.
On
August
8, 2006, the Company filed an amendment to its current report on Form 8-K
relating to the acquisition of the CGC properties and provided timely disclosure
regarding the status of the CGC asset acquisitions. On October 24, 2006, the
Company filed a current report on Form 8-K to disclose that court approval
to
dispose the CGC assets in Argentina was granted. On November 7, 2006, the
Company filed a current report on Form 8-K to disclose the purchase of interests
in four properties (a
93.18%
participation in the Valle Morado Block, a 100% interest in the Santa Victoria
Block and the remaining 50% interests in the Nacatimbay and Ipaguazu Blocks
(in
which the Company currently holds 50% interests)) for a total purchase price
of
$2.1 million. On
December 5, 2006, the Company filed a current report on Form 8-K to disclose
the
purchase of the 75% interest in the El Chivil block and a 75% participation
interest in the Surubi block for total purchase price of $2.5 million. The
Company also disclosed that its board of directors reached a final determination
not to pursue the acquisition of CGC’s 17.85% interest in the Palmar Largo joint
venture and the 5% participation interest in the Aguarague joint venture, and
that it would allow the Company’s option to acquire these interests to expire by
its terms on December 5, 2006.
Form
10-KSB/A1 for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2005
Financial
Statements, page 20
General
2.
We
note your response to prior comment 24 in our letter dated May 10,
2006 in
which you explain that you did not acquire substantially all the
assets of
Don Won Corporation. Please tell us what percent of the net assets,
revenues and related results of operations and cash flows of Don
Won
Corporation you obtained when you acquired the 14 percent interest
in the
Palmar Largo joint venture and the 50 percent interests in the Nacatimbay
and Ipaguazu concessions.
We
continue to believe complete financial statements of the predecessor
entity are necessary to satisfy the requirements of Item 310(c) of
Regulation S-B; therefore, if you acquired only a component of the
business of Don Won Corporation, you should
present
December
7, 2006
Page
3
financial
statements of the acquired component. These carve out financial statements
should be prepared in accordance with the guidance provided at SAB Topic 1:B:1
and should include a complete balance sheet, income statement and statement
of
cash flows.
As
previously indicated, the accommodation for presenting Statements
of Gross
Revenues and Direct Lease Operating expenses in lieu of presenting
complete financial statements is not generally extended to situations
calling for the financial statements of a predecessor
entity.
RESPONSE:
Pursuant
to a conversation with the Staff, the Company has included audited financial
statements for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2006 on pages F-20
to
F-41 of its amended Form SB-2. With the inclusion of the audited financial
statements for the nine month period ended September 30, 2006, one complete
year
of financial statements for the Company which include the Argentina acquisitions
will have been audited and included in the SB-2.
In
addition, the Schedule of Revenues, Royalties and Operating Costs corresponding
to the 14% interests in the Palmar Largo joint venture for the eight month
period ended August 31, 2005 and the years ended December 31, 2004 and December
31, 2003 have been audited. The Company has filed the report of their
independent registered public accountants with the SB-2, which report reflects
the fact that such Schedules of Revenues, Royalties and Operating Costs have
been audited.
Note
1—Description of Business and Going Concern, page 26
3.
We
note your response to prior comment 28 in our letter dated May 10,
2006 in
which you explain that you had a statutory right to acquire the remaining
shares of Gran Tierra Canada on the same terns and conditions as
the
initial share exchange. However, you did not tell us why you did
not
account for the purchase of the remaining shares of Gran Tierra Canada
as
an acquisition of a minority interest. Please explain to us why you
did
not account for the acquisition of this non-controlling interest
under the
purchase method in accordance with paragraph 14 of SFAS
141.
RESPONSE:
The
Company did not account for the purchase of the remaining shares of Gran Tierra
Canada as an acquisition of a minority interest because the purchase of those
remaining shares occurred simultaneously with the purchase of all of the other
shares of Gran Tierra Canada’s capital stock. First, Goldstrike Exchange Co.
acquired substantially all of Gran Tierra Canada’s capital stock. Second,
immediately following that acquisition, Goldstrike Exchange Co. acquired the
remaining shares of Gran Tierra Canada outstanding after the initial share
exchange. In theory, these two transactions occurred one after the other;
however, the closing of the transactions was simultaneous.
As
a
result of these two parts of the larger acquisition transaction whereby
Goldstrike Exchange Co. acquired all of the capital stock of Gran Tierra Canada
and Goldstrike Inc. changed its name to Gran Tierra Energy Inc. and assumed
the
management and business operations of Gran Tierra Canada, Gran Tierra Canada
became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gran Tierra Energy Inc.
December
7, 2006
Page
4
Thus,
the
combination of Gran Tierra Canada and Goldstrike Inc. was a reverse merger
in
which a private company (Gran Tierra Canada) merged into a non-operating public
shell company (Goldstrike Inc.). The owners and management of Gran Tierra Canada
maintained effective control of the company and the shareholders of Goldstrike
Inc. continued as passive investors.
The
Company has revised its Form 10-KSB on page 26 and its Form SB-2/A on pages
1,
65 and F-47 to clearly and consistently state that the purchase of the Gran
Tierra Canada capital stock by Goldstrike Exchange Co. in two steps was part
of
a single transaction, whereby Gran Tierra Canada became a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Goldstrike Inc.
Prior
to
the reverse takeover transaction, Goldstrike Exchange Co. was created as a
wholly owned subsidiary of Goldstrike Inc. Gran Tierra Canada was a private
company not under the control of Goldstrike. At the time of the reverse takeover
transaction, Goldstrike Exchange Co. issued exchangeable shares to shareholders
of Gran Tierra Canada who elected to receive exchangeable shares, in
consideration for the transaction. Simultaneously, Goldstrike Inc. issued common
shares to purchase the remaining shares of Gran Tierra Canada. Immediately
prior
to the transaction, Gran Tierra Canada was not a subsidiary of Goldstrike or
Goldstrike Exchange Co.
Paragraph
14 of SFAS 141 requires acquisition of some or all of the noncontrolling equity
interests in a subsidiary by a parent or another subsidiary to be accounted
for
using the purchase method. Paragraph 14 directs the reader to paragraphs A5-A7
for further guidance.
-
Paragraph
A5 references Technical Bulletin 85-5 which addresses how a parent
company
accounts for a minority interest in an exchange of stock between
two of
its subsidiaries if one or both of the subsidiaries are partially
owned.
Prior to the reverse acquisition transaction which occurred on November
10, 2005, Goldstrike Exchange Co. was a wholly owned subsidiary of
Goldstrike Inc., and Gran Tierra Canada was a separate private company.
In
connection with the reverse acquisition transaction, Goldstrike Exchange
Co. acquired all of the capital stock of Gran Tierra Canada, resulting
in
Gran Tierra Canada becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Goldstrike
Inc.,
and as a result Paragraph A5 does not
apply.
-
The
reverse acquisition transaction between Goldstrike Inc. and Gran
Tierra
Canada, whereby Goldstrike Inc. acquired all of the capital stock
of Gran
Tierra Canada is not a transaction described in, or contemplated
by
Paragraph A6 which relates to the acquisition of a minority
interest.
-
Paragraph
A7 relates to a transaction whereby a subsidiary exchanges its common
stock for the outstanding voting common stock of its parent. In the
reverse acquisition transaction between Goldstrike Inc. and Gran
Tierra
Canada, Goldstrike Exchange Co. issued Exchangeable shares to the
shareholders in Gran Tierra Canada that elected to receive them and
Goldstrike Inc. issued its common stock for the remaining shareholders
who
elected to receive Goldstrike Inc. shares. Prior to this transaction,
Gran
Tierra Canada was not a subsidiary of Goldstrike Inc. There was no
exchange of common shares between Goldstrike Exchange Co. and Goldstrike
Inc. as part of the
transaction.
December
7, 2006
Page
5
The
SEC
Division of Corporation Finance: Frequently Requested Accounting and Financial
Reporting Interpretations and Guidance, March 31, 2001 Section I-F references
a
December 1989 consensus by the Emerging Issues Committee of the Canadian
Institute of Chartered Accountants which indicates that the post
reverse-acquisition comparative historical financial statements furnished for
the “legal acquirer” should be those of the “legal acquiree” (ie. the
“accounting acquirer”), with appropriate disclosure concerning the change in the
capital structure effected at the acquisition date.
The
specific circumstances of EITF 90-13 do not apply to the reverse acquisition
transaction between Goldstrike Inc. and Gran Tierra Canada because EITF 90-13
stipulates that all parties to the transaction be substantive operating
entities. Neither Goldstrike Inc. nor Goldstrike Exchange Co. were substantive
operating entities and therefore EITF 90-13 is not applicable