Here's the full release. Still pending is the Japan Health Department approval. But it seems it is only a matter of time. I'd like to know what the royalties are on this deal, since a $1 million payment doesn't seem a huge amount.
ECO LOGIC ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH ASAHI PRETEC
CORPORATION OF JAPAN
12:18 EST Tuesday, March 28, 2000
ROCKWOOD, ONTARIO--ELI Eco Logic Inc. ("Eco Logic" or the "Company") (TSE-ELI) announced today that it
has entered into a letter agreement with Asahi Pretec Corporation, a major Japanese recycling and waste management
firm, for the licensing of the Company's proprietary Gas-Phase Chemical Reduction (GPCR) technology in Japan. The
agreement will allow Asahi Pretec exclusive rights to use the GPCR technology in Japan for the treatment of all organic
wastes, with the exception of PCBs and chemical warfare agents. The agreement is subject to execution of a definitive
licensing agreement, which the parties intend to sign in an official ceremony in June 2000. Upon completion of the definitive
licensing agreement, Eco Logic will receive a market license fee exceeding US$1 million, plus a future royalty stream from
all Asahi Pretec operated GPCR units. In the event of sale by Asahi Pretec of GPCR plants and applications to third
parties, Eco Logic's per unit license and annual royalty fee structure will apply. The agreement will expire on December 31,
2007, but can be renewed for an additional 4 years upon agreement by the parties.
Dr. Fred T. Arnold, Eco Logic's CEO said: "This agreement, when completed through final negotiation, allows an
extension of our licensee-based business model in Japan to cover all persistent organic pollutants of major importance.
Through this new alliance, our technology will be implemented in Japan for the treatment of dioxins, hexachlorobenzene
(HCB), pesticides, and other high priority, hazardous organic pollutants to complement the GPCR destruction of PCBs,
which are subject to an existing licensing agreement with our other Japanese partners. (Please see Eco Logic Press
Releases dated October 30, 1997 and May 14, 1997 available at web site: www.eco-logic-intl.com). This second license
in Japan is further validation of our processes for waste destruction and our ability to transfer this technology to our
licensees. The agreement will combine Eco Logic's proven commercial waste treatment technology and its broad base of
international acceptance with Asahi Pretec's solid industrial waste management background, and allow Asahi Pretec to
respond to the increasing demand for organic pollutant treatment in Japan."
"From our perspective, the two organizations have progressed to this significant stage in negotiation very quickly, which we
see as an endorsement of the value of the technology. It seems clear that both parties recognize this alliance as an attractive
opportunity to expand the application of GPCR technology in the Japanese market. Top level Japanese government
approval for the use of GPCR for dioxin destruction was obtained in late 1999, so we expect our near term support for
Asahi Pretec to focus on technology transfer, marketing and fulfillment."
Asahi Pretec has been in business since 1952, and began operations by recycling silver from used photographic chemicals.
Since then their market has expanded to include metals recycling and industrial waste treatment. Asahi Pretec currently
employs approximately 600 people, and sales as of the end of March 1999 were approximately US$210 million.
Eco Logic's business is to solve toxic chemical problems in a safe, permanent, cost effective manner. The Process is an
innovative technology that converts on-site, organic, hazardous waste into reusable or disposable products. This
non-incineration process has gained high public and regulatory acceptance. Eco Logic's world-wide hazardous waste
treatment market includes PCBs, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), pesticides, dioxins, contaminated electrical equipment,
contaminated soils, chemical warfare agents, and certain petrochemical wastes. |
