gem_corresp-011210.htm
VIA
EDGAR
January
12, 2010
Securities
and Exchange Commission
100 F
Street, N.E.
Judiciary
Plaza
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Attn: Division of Corporation
Finance,
Re:
|
General
Environmental Management,
Inc.
|
Preliminary
Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A
Filed on:
December 18, 2009
File
No. 033-55254-38
Dear
Ladies and Gentlemen:
By this
letter, General Environmental Management, Inc.. (the “Company”), is responding
to the comments raised by the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the “Commission”) in the comment letter dated January 11, 2010 from Pamela A.
Long of the Commission to Timothy J. Koziol, Chief Executive Officer of the
Company, relating to the Preliminary Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with
the Commission on December 18, 2009 (the “Proxy Statement”). We have filed
simultaneously Amendment No. 1 to the Proxy Statement and have attached a
marked copy of such Amendment No. 1 indicating the changes that the Company
has made to the Proxy Statement. In addition to the disclosure in response
to the comment letter dated January 11, 2010, Amendment No. 1 to the Proxy
Statement includes disclosure with respect to the following
changes:
The
numbered paragraph below corresponds to the paragraph in which the comment was
made. For your convenience, we have included above our response a copy of
the comment to which we are responding.
General
1. We
note you plan to dispose of your primary operating subsidiary, General
Environmental Management. We further note you purchase all the
outstanding capital stock of California Living Waters (CLW) in November
2009. It appears that CLW will be the continuing business after you
dispose of General Environmental Management, Inc. We note you have
not included audited and interim financial statements for CLW in your filing,
which would be useful to your investors to assess the continuing operations. See
the analogous guidance in Article 8-04(c)(4) of Regulation SX.
Response
The
Company acquired CLW on November 13, 2009. The Company is in the
process of completing the audited financial statements of CLW and they will be
filed on Form 8K on or before the required last date for the filing of January
26, 2010. The Company does not believe that the shareholders will be
harmed by not having the audited financial statements of CLW as there is
adequate financial information concerning CLW contained in the Pro-forma
financial information contained in the Proxy Statement for a shareholder to make
an informed decision regarding her or his vote.
2. Revise
your filing to present pro forma operating information for the two years ended
December 31, 2008.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised to add the pro forma operating information to include
the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007.
3. Please
revise your filing to present a pro forma income statement for the latest fiscal
year for California Living Waters (CLW) pursuant to paragraph B(2) of Rule 8-05
of Regulation S-X.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised to add the pro forma operating information to include
the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007 for California
Living Waters.
Reasons for the Sale:
Recommendation of the Company's Board of Directors, page 30
4. We
note disclosure on page 31 stating that one of the factors considered by the
management and the board in deciding to approve the stock purchase agreement was
the value of the consideration to be received by the company. We also note that
there is no disclosure about a fairness opinion given by a financial advisor to
help the board determine whether the consideration payable by Luntz is fair to
the company's stockholders from a financial point of view. As applicable, please
disclose why the board made the determination not to obtain a fairness opinion
and how it concluded that the consideration was fair to the company's
stockholders.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised to add disclosure in response to the Staff's
comment.
Description of Luntz
Acquisition (Delaware)LLC and PSC, LLC page 51
5. We
note that you have not provided information about the buyer as required by Item
14{c)(1) of Schedule 14A, including financial statements for the latest two
fiscal years and the applicable interim periods. Although this is a cash
transaction, the transaction is subject to approval by the company's
stockholders and there is no disclosure in the filing about the buyer's ability
to comply with the terms of the stock purchase agreement. Please advise. For
additional guidance, please see Instruction 2{a) to Item 14 of Schedule 14A and
Question H.5 in the Third Supplement of Manual of Publicly Available Telephone
Interpretations regarding proxy rules found in the Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov/interpss/telephone/phonesupplement3.htm.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised to add disclosure in response to the Staff's
comment.
Unaudited
Pro Forma Consolidated Balance Sheet page 70.
6. We
note your pro forma adjustment 2(b) of $2.8 million and on page 73 you state the
cash proceeds of $14 million were netted against certain items. Please revise
your filing to present the reconciling items. Specifically, show reconciliation
starting with $14 million, the items being deducting and the ending balance of
$2.8 million.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised to correct pro forma adjustment 2(b) and disclose the
details of the estimated cash proceeds that agree with the pro forma
adjustment.
7. We
note your pro forma adjustment 2(c) of$9.3 million and on page 73 you state this
adjustment includes the transfer to Buyer of assets and liabilities with a net
book value of $2.7 million as of September 30, 2009. Please revise your filing
to present a reconciliation that agrees back to the $9.3 million
presented.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised to expand the disclosure for pro forma adjustment 2
(c) and provide the detail that reconciles back to the adjustment.
Unaudited Pro Forma
Consolidated Statements of Continuing Operations. Page 72
8. Please
revise your pro forma income statement to present income/(loss) from continuing
operations before nonrecurring charges or credits directly attributable to the
transaction. Specifically, please conclude your pro forma income statement at
loss from continuing operations: rather than net income/(loss). Refer to
paragraph 5 to Article 11 of Regulation S-X for guidance. Please include
footnote disclosure that calculates the gain or loss related to the disposal of
General Environmental Management, Inc.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised in response to the Staff's comment.
9. Please
revise to present historical basic and diluted per share data based on
continuing operations and pro forma basic and diluted per share data on the face
of the pro forma statement of operations. Refer to paragraph 7 to Article 11 of
Regulation S-Xfor
guidance.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised in response to the Staff's comment.
Pro forma Adjustments. page
73
10. You
state on page 35 that the purchase price will be subject to a downward
adjustment if the Net Working Capital amount is less than $0. lf the transaction
is structured in such a manner that significantly different results may occur,
additional pro forma presentations should be made which give effect to the range
of possible results. Please refer to Rule 11-02(b)(8) for guidance. Furthermore,
please disclose the gain on sale calculations (1) assuming that you receive the
full consideration of $14 million, and (2) assuming that you receive the
smallest amount of proceeds deemed reasonably possible by
management.
Response
The Proxy
Statement has been revised in pro forma adjustment 2(c) to add disclosure in
response to the Staff's comment.
On behalf
of the Company, we have arranged for delivery to the attention of each of Era
Anagnosty Esq. and Tracey McKoy of the Commission via United Parcel Service for
overnight delivery three copies of this response letter together with marked
copies of Amendment No. 1, and the supplemental information listed
above.
We
request that the Staff expedite their review of Amendment #1by responding to
this response letter as soon as practicable as the financial condition of the
Company will be adversely affected by any delay in completing the sale of
General Environmental Management, Inc. (DE). Should members of the Commission
Staff have any questions or comments, or require any additional information
regarding any of the responses or the attached filing, please contact the
undersigned or Stanley Moskowitz, Esq at 858 523-0100 fax (858)
523-0444
Very
truly yours,
General
Environmental Management, Inc.
By:
/s/ Timothy J.
Koziol
Timothy
J. Koziol
Cc: Stanley
Moskowitz, Esq.
4