Note 18. Sale of ARCA and Subsidiaries

On March 9, 2023, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with VM7 Corporation, a Delaware corporation, under which the Buyer agreed to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of (a) ARCA Recycling, Inc., a California corporation, (b) Customer Connexx LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, and (c) ARCA Canada Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of Ontario, Canada (“ARCA Canada”; and, together with ARCA and Connexx, the “Subsidiaries”). The principal of the Buyer is Virland A. Johnson, our Chief Financial Officer. The sale of all of the outstanding equity interests of the Subsidiaries to the Buyer under the Purchase Agreement was consummated simultaneously with the execution of the Purchase Agreement. The Company's Board of Directors unanimously approved the Purchase Agreement and the Disposition Transaction. The Stock Purchase Agreement is retroactively effective as of March 1, 2023.

The economic aspects of the Disposition Transaction are: (i) the Company reduced the liabilities on its consolidated balance sheets by approximately $17.6 million, and includes those liabilities related to the California Business Fee and Tax Division; (ii) the Company will receive not less than $24.0 million in aggregate monthly payments from the Buyer, which payments are subject to potential increase due to the Subsidiaries’ future performance; and (iii) during the next five years, the Company may request that the Buyer prepay aggregate monthly payments in the aggregate amount of $1 million. The Company also received one thousand dollars for the equity of each of the Subsidiaries at the closing. Each monthly payment is to be the greater of (a) $140,000 (or $100,000 for each January and February during the 15-year payment period) or (b) a monthly percentage-based payment, which is an amount calculated as follows: (i) 5% of the Subsidiaries’ aggregate gross revenues up to $2,000,000 for the relevant month, plus (ii) 4% of the Subsidiaries’ aggregate gross revenues between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000 for the relevant month, plus (iii) 3% of the Subsidiaries aggregate gross revenues over $3,000,000 for the relevant month. The Buyer will receive credit toward the payment of the first monthly payment (March of 2023) for any payments, distributions, or cash dividends paid by any of the Subsidiaries to the Seller on or after March 9, 2023. Additionally, upon settlement of the continuing dispute between ARCA and the California Business Fee and Tax Division (as to which settlement, there can be no assurance), ARCA will pay to the Company 50% of the amount of the reduction between the current assessment and any such settlement. Further, ARCA and Connexx are due to receive from the Internal Revenue Service two payments in the aggregate amount of approximately $931,000 in connection with the Employee Retention Credit provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020. ARCA and Connexx have received these two ERC payments and, as of April 1, 2023, have paid $454,000 to the Company. The balance of the ERC payments due, as of April 1, 2023, was $477,000.

The minimum consideration to be received by the Company from the Disposition Transaction, as discussed above, is $1.6 million per year for 15 years, or $24.0 million in the aggregate, plus cash of $3,000 paid at close. In connection with the Disposition Transaction, the Company used a discount rate of 20% when it valued the aggregate minimum consideration. Management determined that discount rate appropriately addresses any risk that the minimum payments would not be received. The valuation, factoring in that discount rate, yielded a present value of approximately $6.0 million, which, in addition to the $3,000 paid at close, comprises the approximately $6.0 million of net consideration. Additionally, the calculation of the gain on disposition includes the book value in excess of assets disposed of, or approximately $9.8 million.