Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Nature of operations

v3.22.2.2
Nature of operations
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature of operations

Note 1 - Nature of operations

 

Corporate Structure Overview

 

Mentor Capital, Inc. (“Mentor” or “the Company”), reincorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in September 2015.

 

The entity was originally founded as an investment partnership in Silicon Valley, California, by the current CEO in 1985 and subsequently incorporated under the laws of the State of California on July 29, 1994. On September 12, 1996, the Company’s offering statement was qualified pursuant to Regulation A of the Securities Act, and the Company began to trade its shares publicly. On August 21, 1998, the Company filed for voluntary reorganization, and on January 11, 2000, the Company emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization. The Company relocated to San Diego, California, and contracted to provide financial assistance and investment in small businesses. On May 22, 2015, a corporation named Mentor Capital, Inc. (“Mentor Delaware”) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. A shareholder-approved merger between Mentor and Mentor Delaware was approved by the California and Delaware Secretaries of State and became effective September 24, 2015, thereby establishing Mentor as a Delaware corporation. In September 2020, Mentor relocated its corporate office from San Diego, California, to Plano, Texas.

 

The Company’s common stock trades publicly under the trading symbol OTCQB: MNTR.

 

The Company’s broad target industry focus includes energy, manufacturing, and management services with the goal of ensuring increased market opportunities.

 

Mentor has a 51% interest in Waste Consolidators, Inc. (“WCI”). WCI was incorporated in Colorado in 1999 and operates in Arizona and Texas. It is a long-standing investment of the Company since 2003.

 

On April 18, 2016, the Company formed Mentor IP, LLC (“MCIP”), a South Dakota limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of Mentor. MCIP was formed to hold interests related to patent rights obtained on April 4, 2016, when Mentor Capital, Inc. entered into that certain “Larson - Mentor Capital, Inc. Patent and License Fee Facility with Agreement Provisions for an — 80% / 20% Domestic Economic Interest — 50% / 50% Foreign Economic Interest” with R. L. Larson and Larson Capital, LLC (“MCIP Agreement”). Pursuant to the MCIP Agreement, MCIP obtained rights to an international patent application for foreign THC and CBD cannabis vape pens under the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty of 1970, as amended. On May 5, 2020, a patent was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and on September 22, 2020, a patent was issued by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. R. L. Larson and MCIP continue their efforts to license or sell their exclusive patent rights in the United States and Canada for THC and CBD cannabis vape pens for various THC and CBD percentage ranges and concentrations. Patent application and national phase maintenance fees were expensed when paid rather than capitalized and therefore, no capitalized assets related to MCIP are recognized on the consolidated financial statements at September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.

 

Mentor Partner I, LLC (“Partner I”) was reorganized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Texas as of February 17, 2021. The entity was initially organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of California on September 19, 2017. Partner I was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mentor for the purpose of cannabis-focused acquisition and investment. In 2018, Mentor contributed $996,000 of capital to Partner I to facilitate the purchase of manufacturing equipment to be leased from Partner I by G FarmaLabs Limited (“G Farma”) under a Master Equipment Lease Agreement dated January 16, 2018, as amended. Amendments expanded the Lessee under the agreement to include G FarmaLabs Limited and G FarmaLabs DHS, LLC, (collectively referred to as “G Farma Lease Entities”). The finance leases resulting from this investment were fully impaired at September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.

 

 

Note 1 - Nature of operations (continued)

 

Mentor Partner II, LLC (“Partner II”) was reorganized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Texas on February 17, 2021. The entity was initially organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of California on February 1, 2018. Partner II was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mentor for the purpose of cannabis-focused investing and acquisition. On February 8, 2018, Mentor contributed $400,000 to Partner II to facilitate the purchase of manufacturing equipment to be leased from Partner II by Pueblo West Organics, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company (“Pueblo West”) under a Master Equipment Lease Agreement dated February 11, 2018, as amended. On March 12, 2019, Mentor agreed to use Partner II earnings of $61,368 to facilitate the purchase of additional manufacturing equipment to Pueblo West under a Second Amendment to the lease. On September 27, 2022, Pueblo West exercised its lease prepayment option and purchased the manufacturing equipment for $245,369.35. On September 28, 2022 Partner II transferred full title to the equipment to Pueblo West. See Note 8.

 

The Company has a membership equity interest in Electrum Partners, LLC (“Electrum”) which is carried at a cost of $194,028 and $194,028 at September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.

 

On October 30, 2018, the Company entered into a secured Recovery Purchase Agreement with Electrum. Electrum is the plaintiff in an ongoing legal action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia (“Litigation”). As described further in Note 9, Mentor provided capital for payment of Litigation costs in the amount of $196,666 and $181,529 as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. After repayment to Mentor of all funds invested for payment of Litigation costs, Mentor will receive 19% of anything of value received by Electrum as a result of the Litigation (“Recovery”), after first receiving reimbursement of the Litigation costs.

 

On October 31, 2018, Mentor entered into a secured Capital Agreement with Electrum and invested an additional $100,000 of capital in Electrum. Due to the coronavirus and the resulting delay in the trial date of the Litigation, on November 1, 2021 the parties amended the October 31, 2018 Capital Agreement for the purpose of extending the payment to the earlier of November 1, 2023, or the final resolution of the Litigation and increasing the monthly payment payable by Electrum to $834. Under the amended Capital Agreement, on the payment date, Electrum will pay Mentor the sum of (i) $100,000, (ii) ten percent (10%) of the Recovery, and (iii) 0.083334% of the Recovery for each full month from October 31, 2018 to the payment date for each full month that the monthly payment is not paid to Mentor in full. The payment date is the earlier of November 1, 2023, or the final resolution of the Litigation.

 

On January 28, 2019, the Company entered into a second secured Capital Agreement with Electrum and invested an additional $100,000 of capital in Electrum with payment terms similar to the October 31, 2018 Capital Agreement. On November 1, 2021, the parties also amended the January 28, 2019 Capital Agreement to extend the payment date to the earlier of November 1, 2023, or the final resolution of the Litigation and increasing the monthly payment payable by Electrum to $834. As part of the January 28, 2019 Capital Agreement, Mentor was granted an option to convert its 6,198 membership interests in Electrum into a cash payment of $194,028 plus an additional 19.4% of the Recovery. See Note 9.

 

On or about September 14, 2022, Electrum and Aurora Cannabis, Inc. settled the Litigation claims and Electrum received CAD $800,000, or approximately USD $584,000, in settlement funds from Aurora Cannabis, Inc . (“Settlement Funds”), which have been placed in escrow. Pursuant to an escrow agreement entered into by and between Electrum, Mentor, and the escrow agent, Mentor was to be paid amounts due and owing to it under the Capital Agreements and Recovery Purchase Agreements from the Settlement Funds before any remaining amounts are to be distributed to Electrum. To date, such payment has not been received. On or about September 20, 2022, the escrow agent resigned and Electrum has refused to agree to a successor escrow agent in accordance with the terms of the escrow agreement.

 

Subsequent to quarter end, on October 21, 2022, the Company filed suit against the escrow agent, Electrum, and Does 1 through 10, seeking declaratory relief from the California Superior Court in the County of San Mateo that the escrow agent shall either distribute the Settlement Funds or transfer the Settlement Funds to the successor escrow agent, all in accordance with the escrow agreement. See Note 20.

 

On December 21, 2018, Mentor paid $10,000 to purchase 500,000 shares of NeuCourt, Inc. common stock, representing approximately 6.13% of NeuCourt’s issued and outstanding common stock as of September 30, 2022. NeuCourt is a Delaware corporation that is developing a technology that is expected to be useful to the dispute resolution industry.