"Bringing balance and choice
back to the auto auction industry."
"Bringing balance and choice
back to the auto auction industry."
Prior to coming under current ownership and management as Acacia Automotive, the corporation originally was formed as Circuit One in 1984, and commenced doing business in 1985. A short time later it underwent a change of ownership and was renamed Gibbs Construction, Inc. It grew to become a full service, national commercial construction company, completing an initial public offering of its Common Stock in January, 1996. Following the incursion of significant losses on several small hotels and other projects in 1999 and the filing for bankruptcy protection of the Company’s largest client, Just for Feet, the Company thereafter lost its ability to secure bonding for its projects, resulting in its filing for federal bankruptcy protection in April of 2000. The Company did not obtain a court ordered final decree from the bankruptcy court until June 26, 2006. It was discharged from bankruptcy with no assets and no liabilities, leaving a "clean" public shell that could serve as a perfect launch vehicle for our new automotive venture.
In early 2006, Acacia's management, while seeking a public corporation to use as our growth vehicle, was introduced to the availability of the empty Gibbs Construction shell. On March 13, 2006, Acacia's management entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire control of the bankrupt shell, and immediately began taking actions to complete the acquisition. Following Gibbs' Final Decree and emergence from federal bankruptcy court in June of 2006, Acacia's management completed the final definitive purchase agreement on August 15, 2006, in which it purchased a sufficient number of Common shares to assume effective control of the empty (and "clean") Gibbs Construction corporate shell. This change in control of the Gibbs shell, a name change from Gibbs Construction, Inc. to Acacia Automotive, Inc., and a change of trading symbol from GBSE to ACCA accompanied the "new" company's launch. After many months of work to bring the shell current, all those changes were ratified and implemented at the Company's first Special Meeting of Shareholders held in Dallas, Texas, on February 1, 2007.
With shareholder approval of all the changes, the company was freed to move forward in implementing its fundraising and acquisition plans. On February 20, 2007, these amendments to our corporate charter became effective by NASDAQ and our name became Acacia Automotive, Inc. as our trading symbol were officially changed from GBSE to ACCA. Trading is expected to remain light as a result of the very small number of registered shares currently in the "float", having the effect of making shares largely unavailable for purchase. Of the total 12,082,524 shares of Common stock issued and outstanding as of June 1, 2010, only 382,524 of them are "free trading" shares, the balance being "restricted" shares with constraints on trading until the restrictive legends are removed by the Company, thereby releasing the shares for sale in the general marketplace. These 362,524 shares comprise the "float", representing the only shares available in the world that can be freely bought and sold as of that date. As time passes, additional shares become tradable in the normal course and other factors occur, a more natural trading activity will be enabled. The company has a combination of approximately 400 registered and beneficial shareholders as of June 1, 2010, but that number and the number of Common shares issued and outstanding may increase in the future as a result of any new fundraising and/or acquisition activities or otherwise.
The company completed its first acquisition of an operating unit with the purchase of the assets of Augusta Auto Auction on July 10, 2007. That auction is located in North Augusta, South Carolina, just three minutes from downtown Augusta, Georgia. Acacia Automotive has operated that auction since July 11, 2007. On December 26, 2009, the Company acquired its second operating unit, Chattanooga Auto Auction. The company anticipates launching additional equity capital raises to fund its future acquisition strategies and for use as working capital as it moves forward. The Company as a consolidated entity was cash flow positive in 2009.