SEC Comment Letter for PRB Gas Transportation, Inc. (CIK 0001299966) — Dec 3, 2004
PRB Gas Transportation, Inc. (CIK 0001299966)
Date: Dec. 3, 2004 · CIK: 0001299966 · Accession: 0000000000-04-038945
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File numbers found in text: 333-120129
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<DOCUMENT> <TYPE>LETTER <SEQUENCE>1 <FILENAME>filename1.txt <TEXT> Mail Stop 0308 December 1, 2004 VIA U.S. MAIL AND FACSIMILE Robert W. Wright CEO PRB Gas Transportation, Inc. 1401 17th Street, Suite 650 Denver, CO 80202 Re: PRB Gas Transportation, Inc. Registration Statement on Form S-1 File No. 333-120129 Filed November 1, 2004 Dear Mr. Wright: We have reviewed your filing and have the following comments. Where indicated, we think you should revise your document in response to these comments. If you disagree, we will consider your explanation as to why our comment is inapplicable or a revision is unnecessary. Please be as detailed as necessary in your explanation. In some of our comments, we may ask you to provide us with supplemental information so we may better understand your disclosure. After reviewing this information, we may or may not raise additional comments. Please understand that the purpose of our review process is to assist you in your compliance with the applicable disclosure requirements and to enhance the overall disclosure in your filing. We look forward to working with you in these respects. We welcome any questions you may have about our comments or on any other aspect of our review. Feel free to call us at the telephone numbers listed at the end of this letter. Form S-1 General 1. Please tell us what exemptions you are relying on for the conversion of the preferred stock into shares of common stock and for the exercise of the warrants for shares of common stock that you are attempting to register, as identified in the selling shareholder prospectus. Please note that the Section 4(2) exemption of the Securities Act of 1933 would not be available for these transactions because we deem the filing of a registration statement to be a general solicitation. Also, you may not register the conversion of immediately convertible preferred stock or the exercise of immediately exercisable warrants. 2. Please update the financial information included in your filing in accordance with the requirements of Rule 3-12 of Regulation S-X. Cover Page 3. On the cover page of both of your prospectuses, you must provide the nature of your underwriting relationship. For example, with respect to the underwriting arrangement with Gilford Securities, you should identify the nature of your underwriting agreement. See Item 501(b)(8) of Regulation S-K. Also, disclose on the cover page of the firm commitment prospectus that you are concurrently registering the resale of 3,995,000 shares of common stock, subject to cutbacks based on comment number 1. Prospectus Summary, page 1 4. Disclose the average age of the wells from which you gather natural gas. Summary/Selected Historical and Pro Forma Financial Data, pages 3 and 11 5. Please revise your disclosure to indicate that the pro forma information for the Bear Paw acquisition gives effect to the acquisition as if it occurred on January 1, 2003 (the most recent full fiscal year completed). 6. Please revise your unaudited tabular disclosure on page 5 to include adjustments columns between the "Actual" and "Bear Paw acquisition pro forma" columns and the "Preferred stock conversion pro forma" and "Pro Forma as adjusted" columns. An explanatory note should accompany each adjustment. Risk Factors, page 6 7. Consider including a risk factor regarding the preferred stockholders` right to elect three of the five directors. We note that the preferred stockholders have indicated that they intend to convert the preferred stock for shares of common stock, yet it does not appear that they are unconditionally committed to convert the preferred stock. Also discuss your ability to make dividend payments in this risk factor and in the liquidity section should the preferred stockholders not convert their preferred stock. Any material nonpayment or nonperformance..., page 6 8. Please identify any customers representing greater than 10% of your revenues here and in the business section. See Item 101(c)(vii). Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements, page 8 9. Your statement that words such as "will" are used to identify forward-looking statements is confusing since the term "will" generally implies more certainty. Please revise or advise. Use of Proceeds, page 8 10. It appears that you would like to reserve the right to change your use of the proceeds from this offering. Please provide information on the specific contingencies and the alternatives for the use of proceeds. See Instruction 7 to Item 504. 11. Disclose the interest rate and the maturity of the note payable resulting from the Bear Paw acquisition. See instruction 4 to Item 504 of Regulation S-K. 12. Please note that your underwriter`s commissions are subject to NASD approval. Capitalization, page 9 13. You assume that the proceeds of the offering will be used to repay the $1.9 million note payable to Bear Paw Energy. The terms of the note require a $1.5 million payment by December 15, 2004. If you are unable to complete the offering by December 15, 2004, please revise your filing to indicate the source(s) of liquidity for the $1.5 million note payment and the potential ramifications to the company if the note payment is not made timely. Non-GAAP Financial Measure, page 13 14. Please expand the discussion of your use of the non-GAAP financial measure "EBITDA" to include the following: * The manner in which management uses the non-GAAP measure to conduct or evaluate its business; * The economic substance behind management`s decision to use such a measure; * The substantive reasons why management believes the non-GAAP financial measure provides useful information to investors; and * The material limitations of the use of EBITDA as a performance measure. Since the company is capital intensive, depreciation and amortization are unavoidable costs of doing business and are material to your results of operations. Any measure of performance that excludes these costs has material limitations. See "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" under the Division of Corporation Finance`s Frequently Asked Questions, at www.sec.gov for guidance. 15. Non-GAAP financial measures are not permitted on the face of any pro forma financial information that is required by Article 11 of Regulation S-X. Please revise your filing accordingly. See Item 10(e)(1)(ii)(D) of Regulation S-K. Management`s Discussion and Analysis, page 15 Six months ended June 30, 2004 (PRB) compared to six months ended June 30, 2003 (TOP predecessor operations), page 16 16. In the discussion of operating expenses, explain why you reduced the number of compressors. 17. You indicate that many of your customers` wells had reached the phase of stable decline, as opposed to the sharp declines that wells experience in the beginning of their lives. However, in your discussions of revenues, there appear to be significantly lower volumes of gas going through your gathering systems belonging to existing producers from period to period. Supplementally tell us, and revise your filing to indicate, whether the decreases in volumes on your systems that you disclose are typical for a stable decline. If the declines are not typical, expand your discussion of results of operations accordingly to explain the reasons for significant fluctuations in throughput. Provide similar revisions, as appropriate, in your discussion of results of operations for Bear Paw Energy LLC. Subsequent events, page 17 18. You indicate that you are expecting to commence a private placement in November 2004 concurrent with this registration statement. Please discuss your analysis of potential integration issues. Additionally, please discuss the exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 you plan to use for the November 2004 issuance of securities. As stated above, we deem the filing of a registration statement to be a general solicitation. Liquidity and Capital Resources, page 17 19. Please include the six months ended June 30, 2003 (predecessor) in your discussions of cash flows or supplementally advise us why such disclosures would not be meaningful. Business, page 19 20. Disclose whether any gas gathering and transportation agreements are with related parties. We note that you have repurchased shares from Mr. Norris, a significant shareholder, who held an interest in companies with whom you had gas gathering and transportation agreements. Supplementally confirm that there are no related party transactions other than those set forth in the registration statement. 21. Disclose the material terms of your gas gathering and transportation agreements. For example, we note that you disclose the current fees per MCF, but you should describe the specific provisions that result in reducing these fees based on achieving certain production amounts. File the gas gathering and transportation agreements or provide us with your analysis as to why you do not believe they should be filed. 22. Provide disclosure regarding the extent to which your business is or may be seasonal. See Item 101(c)(v) of Regulation S-K. Management, page 27 23. Tell us the relationship between Robert W. Wright and Gilford Securities Incorporated. We may have further comment. 24. Please revise your filing to include a discussion of Pauline I. Schneider`s business experience between May 2002 and October 2003. Also provide five full years of business experience for Marilena C. Marrelli. See Item 401(e) of Regulation S-K for guidance. Stock Ownership of Management and Principal Stockholders, page 29 25. Provide this information as of the most recent practicable date. See Item 403(a) and (b) of Regulation S-K. Also update the disclosure regarding the description of securities. 26. To the extent not currently disclosed, please disclose the natural person(s) or public company that has the ultimate voting or investment control over the shares held by each shareholder. Please provide this disclosure here and in the selling shareholder list in the selling shareholder prospectus. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, page 30 27. Disclose the initial purchase price of the shares that Mr. Norris acquired, and indicate the amount of proceeds Mr. Norris received upon his sale of the securities to the company. Also, discuss the loan you received from a related party to acquire these securities. 28. State whether each of the transactions identified are on terms that are as favorable as those you could have obtained from an unaffiliated third party. Disclose fully the terms of the related party gas gathering contracts. 29. You disclose here and on page F-18 that a related party provides administrative services for you at no cost and that you do not record an expense for these services because there would be no incremental cost. Help us understand how there would be no incremental cost if the company were to provide the administrative services to which you refer. Shares Eligible for Future Sale, page 32 30. It is unclear why you have indicated in this section that 800,000 shares are restricted, yet on page 33 you state that 912,000 shares are restricted. Please reconcile this disclosure. Options, page 32 31. We note that you intend to file a Form S-8 to register shares of common stock issuable under your stock option plan. We also note that you may issue options to consultants. Please tell us the nature of the consulting work that consultants to whom you have issued options have provided to date. Lockup Agreements, page 33 32. In the second paragraph, disclose that you have filed a registration statement related to the shares you have identified. Underwriting, page 33 33. Item 508(c) requires that you briefly discuss any securities to be registered that are to be offered otherwise than through underwriters. Please discuss the registration of the selling shareholder securities. 34. Please provide the underwriter`s compensation in a tabular format. See Item 508(e) of Regulation S-K. 35. We note your disclosure in the eighth paragraph that you may include the shares underlying the underwriter`s warrants on a post- effective amendment. You may not include additional shares on a post-effective amendment. Instead, you must file a new registration statement to register these shares. Please revise. 36. We note your disclosure that your officers, directors and other stockholders have agreed not to dispose of their sales without the prior written consent of your underwriter. Please describe the conditions under which the underwriter is likely to consent to the release of shares prior to the expiration of the lock-up period. 37. State whether the underwriter will engage in any electronic offer, sale or distribution of the shares and describe their procedures to us supplementally. Briefly describe any electronic distribution in the filing. Also, in your discussion of your procedures, tell us how your procedures ensure that the distribution complies with Section 5 of the Securities Act. In particular: * the communications used; * the availability of the preliminary prospectus; * the manner of conducting the distribution and sale, such as the use of indications of interest or conditional offers; and * the funding of an account and payment of the purchase price. Finally, tell us whether you or the underwriter has any arrangements with a third party to host or access your preliminary prospectus on the Internet. If so, identify the party and the website, describe the material terms of your agreement, and provide us with a copy of any written agreement. Provide us also with copies of all information concerning your issuer or prospectus that has appeared on their website. Again, if you subsequently enter into any such arrangements, promptly supplement your response. We may have further comment. 38. Please explain whether you plan to have a directed share program for employees and others. If so, please supplementally tell us the mechanics of how and when these shares will be offered and sold to persons in the directed share program. For example, please explain for us how you will determine the prospective recipients of reserved shares. Tell us when and how they will indicate their interest in purchasing shares. Also, please tell us how and when the issuer and underwriters will contact the direct share investors, including the types of communications used. When will the shares and money be exchanged? When do purchasers become committed to purchase their shares? How and when will the number of shares offered be determined? Will the procedures for the directed share program differ from the procedures for the general offering to the public? Determination of Offering Price, page 33 39. Your disclosure in response to Item 505 of Regulation S-K does not provide the depth necessary to understand how the company and its underwriters arrived at the offering price. Please provide greater detail on the offering price discussions. Legal Matters, page 34 40. Specify the "certain" matters that Brownstein Hyatt & Farber, P.C. will pass upon for the underwriters. Financial Statements 41. Your Index to Financial Statements on page 36 refers to pro forma financial statements and notes to pro forma financial statements, however it appears that they have been omitted from the filing. Please include them in your revised Form S-1. Refer to Article 11 of Regulation S-X for guidance. We may have further comments after reviewing your pro forma financial statements. PRB Transportations, Inc. Statement of Changes in Stockholders` Equity, page F-5 42. In order for us to fully understand the equity fair market valuations reflected in your financial statements, please provide an itemized chronological schedule covering all equity instruments issued since January 1, 2004 through the date of your response. Please provide the following infor