Discontinued operations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Discontinued operations.

Discontinued operations

8. Discontinued operations

Mexico project development

In 2010, the Company began the pursuit, through its Netherlands subsidiary, Consolidated Water Cooperatief, U.A. (“CW-Cooperatief”), and its Mexico subsidiary, N.S.C. Agua, S.A. de C.V. (“NSC”), of a project (the “Project”) that encompassed the construction, operation and minority ownership of a 100 million gallon per day seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant to be located in northern Baja California, Mexico and accompanying pipelines to deliver water to the Mexican potable water system.

Through a series of transactions that began in 2012, NSC purchased 20.1 hectares of land for approximately $21.1 million on which the proposed Project’s plant was to be constructed.

Following an assessment by the State of Baja, California (the “State”) of the need for such a desalination plant and the passage of enabling legislation in November 2015, the State officially commenced the required public tender for the Project. A consortium (the “Consortium”) comprised of NSC, Suez Medio Ambiente México, S.A. de C.V. (“Suez MA”), a subsidiary of SUEZ International, S.A.S., and NuWater S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“NuWater”) submitted its tender for the Project in April 2016 and in June 2016, the State designated the Consortium as the winner of the tender process for the Project.

In August 2016, NSC and NuWater incorporated a new company under the name Aguas de Rosarito S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“AdR”) to pursue completion of the Project and executed a shareholders agreement for AdR agreeing among other things that (i) AdR would purchase the land and other Project assets from NSC on the date that the Project begins commercial operation and (ii) AdR would enter into a Management and Technical Services Agreement with NSC effective on the first day that the Project begins commercial operation. NSC initially owned 99.6% of the equity of AdR. In February 2018, CW-Holdings acquired the remaining 0.4% ownership in AdR from NuWater.

On August 22, 2016, the Public Private Partnership Agreement for the Project (the “APP Contract”) was executed between AdR, the State Water Commission of Baja California (“CEA”), the Government of Baja California as represented by the Secretary of Planning and Finance and the Public Utilities Commission of Tijuana (“CESPT”). The APP Contract required AdR to design, construct, finance and operate a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant (and accompanying aqueduct) with a capacity of up to 100 million gallons per day in two phases: the first with a capacity of 50 million gallons per day

and an aqueduct to the Mexican potable water system in Tijuana, Baja California and the second phase with a capacity of 50 million gallons per day. The first phase was to be operational within 36 months of commencing construction and the second phase was to be operational by July 2024. The APP Contract further required AdR to operate and maintain the plant and aqueduct for a period of 37 years starting from the commencement of operation of the first phase. At the end of the operating period, ownership of the plant and aqueduct would have been transferred to CEA. The APP Contract was subsequently amended by the parties in June 2018 to increase the scope of Phase 1 and to allow for changes in the water tariff due to the changes in the exchange rate for the peso, interest rates and construction costs that had and would occur from the date the APP Contract was signed to the date construction commenced.

On June 29, 2020, AdR received a letter (the “Letter”) from the Director General of CEA and the Director General of CESPT terminating the APP Contract. The Letter requested that AdR provide an inventory of the assets that currently comprise the “Project Works” (as defined in the APP Contract) for the purpose of acknowledging and paying the non-recoverable expenses made by AdR in connection with the Project, with such reimbursement to be calculated in accordance with the terms of the APP Contract. The applicable law requires this list of non-recoverable expenses made by AdR in connection with the Project be submitted to CEA and CESPT within 20 business days from the date of receipt of the Letter. AdR initiated an amparo claim before a federal district court in Tijuana, Baja California, to challenge the provision of the applicable law requiring submittal of the list of non-recoverable expenses within the 20 business days term, as AdR considered such term to be unreasonably short due to the magnitude of the Project and the scope of supporting documentation required to be provided with respect to the non-recoverable expenses. AdR obtained an initial provisional suspension of the lapsing of such 20-day term from the court, and on August 10, 2020 the court made such suspension definitive until the completion of the amparo trial. As such, the 20-day term for filing the list of non-recoverable expenses was suspended. Therefore, on August 28, 2020, AdR submitted their list of non-recoverable expenses, including those of NSC, to CEA and CESPT which was comprised of 51,144,525 United States dollars and an additional 137,333,114 Mexican pesos. In February 2021, AdR withdrew this amparo claim, and such withdrawal was accepted by the federal district court in Tijuana. To date, AdR has not received a response from CEA or CESPT to its submission of non-recoverable expenses.

The Company believes CW-Cooperatief, as a Netherlands company, has certain rights relating to its investments in NSC and AdR under the Agreement on Promotion, Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Mexican States entered into force as of October 1, 1999 (the “Treaty”). On April 16, 2021, CW-Cooperatief submitted a letter to the President of Mexico and other Mexican federal government officials alleging that the State’s termination of the APP Contract constituted a breach by Mexico of its international obligations under the Treaty, entitling CW-Cooperatief to full reparation, including monetary damages. This letter invites Mexico to seek a resolution of this investment dispute through consultation and negotiation, but states that if the dispute cannot be resolved in this manner, CW-Cooperatief elects to refer the dispute to the International Centre for the Settlement of International Disputes for arbitration, as provided for in the Treaty. On June 29, 2021, the Mexican Ministry of Economy responded to CW-Cooperatief’s letter and proposed to hold a consultation meeting. Two such meetings were held on July 9, 2021 and August 2, 2021 on a confidential basis, without a resolution of the Company’s investment dispute.

​On February 9, 2022, CW-Cooperatief, filed a Request for Arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of International Disputes requesting that the United Mexican States pay CW-Cooperatief damages in excess of US$51 million plus MXN$137 million (with the exact amount to be quantified in the proceedings), plus fees, costs and pre- and post-award interest.

CW-Cooperatief intends to pursue vigorously the relief sought in the arbitration, in addition to pursuing all other legal remedies and courses of action available under the operative contracts and applicable law with respect to their rights, damages, fees and expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurances that CW-Cooperatief will be able to obtain the relief sought in the arbitration, and CW-Cooperatief will incur legal and other arbitration-related expenses that the Company expects will be material to its consolidated results of operations and cash flows.

The Company cannot provide any assurances that it will be able to obtain reimbursement for any expenses or investments made with respect to the Project.

As a result of the cancellation of the APP Contract, in 2020 the Company discontinued all development activities associated with the Project and commenced active marketing efforts to sell the land NSC purchased for the Project. Accordingly, the assets and liabilities of CW-Cooperatief, NSC and AdR, as well as all Project development expenses, the impairment loss of approximately ($3.0 million) recorded during 2020 for Project assets, and the costs for legal and administrative activities to pursue reimbursement from the State of Baja California following the cancellation of the APP Contract, have been reclassified from the services segment to discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The Company’s net losses from discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were ($2,574,079) and ($4,902,243), respectively. The Company’s net loss from discontinued operations for 2021 and 2020 also includes provisions of $963,540 and $316,217, respectively, for potentially uncollectible value added taxes paid that are reimbursable/receivable from the Mexican federal government. The Company recorded the 2021 provision as a result of the Mexican government’s rejection of its most recent request for repayment of these value added taxes paid. The Company believes it is legally entitled to be repaid for these value added taxes and has engaged a firm to assist it in collecting these amounts from the Mexican government. However, the Company ultimately may not be able to obtain such payment from the Mexican government and therefore may be required in the future to record another provision to write off the remaining balance of these receivables, which amounted to $340,910 as of December 31, 2021.

Summarized financial information for the discontinued Mexico project development operation is as follows:

	December 31,
		2021		2020
Cash	$	750,048	$	154,130
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		82,783		88,978
Value added taxes receivable (net of allowance of $1,279,757 and $316,217, respectively)		340,910		1,267,991
Property, plant and equipment, net		—		5,682
Land		21,126,898		21,126,898
Other assets		19,288		33,909
Total assets of discontinued operations	$	22,319,927	$	22,677,588
Total liabilities of discontinued operations	$	190,141	$	190,933

	Year Ended December 31,
	2021		2020
Revenue	$	—	$	—
Income from operations	$	—	$	—
Net loss from discontinued operations	$	2,574,079	$	4,902,243
Depreciation expense	$	4,545	$	4,545

Project Litigation

Immediately following CW-Cooperatief’s acquisition of its initial 50% ownership in NSC, the remaining 50% ownership interest in NSC was held by an unrelated company, Norte Sur Agua, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“NSA”). NSA subsequently transferred ownership of half of its shares in NSC to EWG Water LLC (“EWG”) and the other half of its shares in NSC to an individual (the “individual shareholder”). In February 2012, CW-Cooperatief paid $300,000 to enter into an agreement (the “Option Agreement”) that provided it with an option, exercisable through February 7, 2014, to purchase the shares of NSC owned by the individual shareholder for a price of $1.0 million along with an immediate usufruct and power of attorney to vote those shares. Such shares constituted 25% of the ownership of NSC as of February 2012. In May 2013, NSC repaid a $5.7 million loan payable to CW-Cooperatief by issuing additional shares of its stock. As a result of this share issuance to CW-Cooperatief, the Company indirectly acquired 99.99% of the ownership of NSC. The Option Agreement contained an anti-dilution provision that required CW-Cooperatief to transfer or otherwise cause the individual shareholder to acquire, for a total price of $1 (regardless of their par or market value), shares in NSC of an amount sufficient to maintain the individual shareholder’s 25% ownership interest in NSC if (i) any new shares of NSC were issued subsequent to the execution of the Option Agreement (causing the individual shareholder’s 25% ownership interest in NSC to be decreased); and (ii) CW-Cooperatief did not exercise its share purchase option by February 7, 2014. CW-

Cooperatief exercised its option and paid the $1.0 million to the individual shareholder to purchase the Option Agreement shares in February 2014.

In January 2018, EWG initiated an ordinary mercantile claim against the individual shareholder, NSC and CW-Cooperatief, (with AdR being named as a third party to be called to trial) before the Tenth Civil Judge in Tijuana, Baja California for Mercantile Matters (the “Tenth Civil Judge”). In the ordinary mercantile claim, EWG challenged, among other things, the transactions contemplated under the Option Agreement, and therefore, the capital investment transactions that increased the ownership interest of CW-Cooperatief in NSC to 99.99% as a consequence of the Option Agreement. EWG requested that the court, as a preliminary matter (a) suspend the effectiveness of the challenged transactions; (b) order certain public officials in Mexico to record the pendency of the lawsuit in the public records (including a special request to register a lien over the real estate owned by NSC); (c) appoint an inspector for NSC to oversee its commercial activities; and (d) order public officials in Mexico and credit institutions abroad to refrain from authorizing or executing any legal act related with the activities of the plaintiff, the co-defendants and the third party called to trial to avoid damages to third parties, including those with whom negotiations or any form of commercial or administrative activities, or activities of any other nature related with the “Rosarito” water desalination project, are being conducted. The Tenth Civil Judge granted, ex-parte, the preliminary relief sought by EWG, which resulted in the issuance of official writs to several governmental and public entities involved with the “Rosarito” water desalination project, including the registration of the pendency of the lawsuit in certain public records.

On October 16, 2018, NSC was served with the ordinary mercantile claim. On November 7, 2018, NSC filed a legal response to the claim, vigorously opposing the claims made by EWG. In addition to such legal response, NSC filed (i) a request to submit the claim to arbitration, based on certain provisions of the by-laws of NSC, (ii) an appeal remedy against the preliminary relief (which was resolved in December 2019, and ordered the revocation of the order of the Tenth Civil Judge granting EWG the preliminary relief), and (iii) a request for the setting of a guarantee to release the preliminary relief granted in favor of EWG.

On October 1, 2020 and following an order from a Federal Judge obtained by NSC, the Tenth Civil Judge resolved to (i) move the claim of EWG to arbitration, and (ii) suspend the corresponding ordinary mercantile procedure. EWG challenged such resolution, arguing that its notification was not lawful. The Tenth Civil Judge dismissed such challenge, and thereafter EWG filed a remedy against such dismissal. NSC appeared before the court to vigorously oppose such remedy, which has been dismissed. To date, the referral to arbitration has not occurred and, as such, the procedure is currently suspended.

Notwithstanding the resolution of the Tenth Civil Judge to move to arbitration, subparagraphs a) and b) that follow describe certain separate amparo claims, and appeal remedies arising from or relating to such ordinary mercantile claim and amparo claims, all in chronological order. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, most tribunals in Mexico suspended their activities intermittently since March 2020, with certain such tribunals partially restarting on different dates and with different special rules. As such, several resolutions are pending issuance.

a) Amparo filed by EWG against a resolution of the Tenth Civil Judge.

In July 2021, EWG filed an amparo claim against the resolution of the Tenth Civil Judge dismissing the remedy filed by EWG against the October 1, 2020 resolution within the mentioned ordinary mercantile claim. NSC has filed before the corresponding amparo court a writ vigorously opposing this claim. Considering the foregoing, and that AdR was only named as a third party with interest, it is unnecessary for it to submit arguments against EWG in this claim. Further, CW-Cooperatief has not been notified of this amparo claim.

Within this amparo claim, the Third District Court in Tijuana granted a suspension in favor of EWG, merely for the effect of holding in place the referral to arbitration subject matter of the October 1, 2020 resolution mentioned above. Such suspension was conditioned on the posting by EWG of a guarantee in the amount of 50,000 Mexican pesos, which has not been posted. Regardless of the effects of the suspension and the lack of the posting of a guarantee, NSC has filed an appeal remedy against its granting.

To date, and following a final hearing that took place in March 2022, a resolution to this claim is pending issuance.

b) Appeal filed by NSC against the suspension granted in favor of EWG.

The appeal remedy mentioned in the second paragraph of item a) immediately above was admitted by the superior court on October 18, 2021 and has yet to be resolved.

Notwithstanding the resolution to move to arbitration mentioned previously, CW-Cooperatief has not been officially served with the ordinary mercantile claim, and AdR has not been notified that it has to appear for such trial. In any event, AdR is only a named third party called to trial in this claim, and no claims have been made by EWG against AdR.

The Company cannot presently determine what impact the resolution of this litigation may have on its consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.