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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Twisted History

In its nearly 20 year existence, Applied LNG has been known by multiple names, which reflects the company’s complicated history. It started as Telecommunications Technologies Ltd. in 1995, and changed to PNG Ventures in 1998. During that time and for the next 10 years, the company was in the development stage and had no operations as it sought acquisition opportunities. That opportunity came in 2008 when it bought the natural gas subsidiaries of Earth Biofuels Inc., including the Arizona production facility, in exchange for a swap of shares. But debt related to that acquisition prompted the company in 2009 to voluntarily file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure after it defaulted on a $36.3 million secured credit facility. The company exited bankruptcy in spring 2010 at which time it became Applied Natural Gas Fuels Inc. The final name change to Applied LNG took place in June. In March 2011, Applied was approved for trading on the over-the-counter bulletin board market although that was short lived. The last filing to the Securities & Exchange Commission for the quarter ending June 30, 2011 reported that Applied had a net loss of $287,000 (-1 cent a share), compared with a net loss of $1.9 million (-10 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 47 percent to $6.4 million. That same year, the company received a $5 million senior debt financing from Medley Capital Corp., in New York. Medley no longer has any interest in Applied LNG, Hacioglu said. In November 2011, Applied notified the SEC that it was no longer required to make filings because it had less than 300 shareholders. “When a company is so closely held and the ownership so concentrated, there is no reason to list,” Hacioglu said, adding there were expenses related to being a public company that Applied did not want to incur. – Mark R. Madler

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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