LAVAL, Quebec, July 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orbite Technologies Inc. (NEX:ORT.H) (“Orbite” or the “Company”) today provided an update on its continuing efforts to emerge from the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”).
Update on the Outotec Calcination Equipment
The Company has entered into a transaction with Outotec to resolve the issues encountered with the calcination equipment and such transaction was approved by the Superior Court of Québec (the “CCAA Court”) earlier today. The transaction can be summarized as follows:
- Outotec GmbH & Co KG (“Outotec KG”) will pay a settlement amount of CDN$3.5 million to Orbite (the “Settlement Payment”) and consequently the agreements that are currently in place with Outotec KG and Outotec Canada (collectively referred to as “Outotec”) are terminated;
- Outotec. KG will extend to the Company an interim financing loan in the amount of CDN$4.0 million (the “DIP Loan”);
- The Company and Outotec KG have entered into a new supply agreement in relation with the re-commencement of the operation of the calcination equipment at the high purity alumina plant (the “HPA Plant”). The required equipment will be supplied by Outotec KG without warranties and with a limitation of liability, on the part of Outotec KG.
- As a consideration for the Settlement Payment and the DIP Loan, the Company releases Outotec Canada and Outotec KG from all potential claims resulting from the agreements currently in place.
The terms of the DIP Loan were approved by the CCAA Court and contain terms which are customary for loans of this nature, including payment of interest and the granting of security by a CCAA charge over all of the Company’s movable and immovable assets.
The terms and conditions of the DIP Loan as well as the rank of the security granted are disclosed in more detail in the Monitor’s report and will be filed in due course on SEDAR.
According to the Company’s cashflow projections filed with the CCAA Court, the Settlement Payment, the DIP Loan and other sources of funds expected to be received from other parties should allow the Company to increase its workforce and maintain operations into April of 2019. Management expects operations at the HPA Plant to re-commence during the second quarter of 2019.
CCAA Court extends the Stay Period
As announced on June 11, 2018, the CCAA Court issued an order pursuant to the CCAA providing for a stay of all proceedings until July 20, 2018 (the “Stay Period”). On July 16, 2018 the CCAA Court granted a motion filed by the Company and issued a fourth amended and restated initial order providing namely for the following orders:
- extending the Stay Period until February 1, 2019; and
- relieving Orbite from its obligation to call the annual meeting of shareholders on or before October 31, 2018 and directing Orbite to call such annual meeting, as the case may be, by March 15, 2019;
The Company will provide further updates as developments occur.
There can be no guarantees that Company will otherwise be successful in its restructuring efforts and will emerge from CCAA protection.
About Orbite Orbite Technologies Inc. is a Canadian cleantech company whose innovative and proprietary processes are expected to produce alumina and other high-value products, such as rare earth and rare metal oxides, at one of the lowest costs in the industry, and in a sustainable fashion, using feedstocks that include aluminous clay, kaolin, nepheline, bauxite, red mud, fly ash as well as serpentine residues from chrysotile processing sites. Orbite is currently in the process of finalizing its first commercial high-purity alumina (HPA) production plant in Cap-Chat, Québec and has completed the basic engineering for a proposed smelter-grade alumina (SGA) production plant, which would use clay mined from its Grande-Vallée deposit. The Company's portfolio contains 15 intellectual property families, including 44 patents and 38 pending patent applications in 11 different countries and regions. The Company also operates a state of the art technology development center in Laval, Québec, where its technologies are developed and validated.
Forward-looking statements Certain information contained in this document may include "forward-looking information". Without limiting the foregoing, the information and any forward-looking information include statements regarding projects, costs, objectives and future returns of the Company or hypotheses underlying these items. In this document, words such as "may",” confident”, "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are based on information available at the time and/or the Company management's good-faith beliefs with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that could affect anticipated results and future events also include, but are not limited to, those described in the section of the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) entitled "Risk and Uncertainties" as filed on July 28, 2017 on SEDAR, including those under the headings “Going Concerns”, Commercial Operation of HPA Plant”, “We will need to raise capital to continue our growth” and “Development Goals and Time Frames” described in the MD&A filed on March 31, 2017.
The Company does not intend, nor does it undertake, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements contained in this document to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.
CONTACT INFORMATION :
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Orbite Technologies Inc. Geneviève Marchand, Corporate Secretary Tel.: 450 680-3341 Email: info@orbitetech.com
