Cielo settles with contesting shareholder

Calgary, Alberta-based Cielo Waste Solutions says it has resolved an issue of contention with one of its shareholders and has announced what it calls a “strategic pivot” regarding its operational focus in 2025.

Cielo, which offers technology to convert scrap wood and byproducts into diesel, kerosene and naphtha fuels, spent early 2025 trading public comments with shareholder Expander Energy Inc., a fellow Canadian company it had earlier acquired.

The company also issued several statements in early 2025 regarding delays to its annual general meeting (AGM), to that Expander announced it had hired legal counsel to confront Cielo over the delay.

At the end of April, Cielo announced that it had reached an agreement with Expander “and certain directors, shareholders and related parties of Expander, and that it again rescheduled its AGM for this June 24.

The settlement agreement with Expander “provides for the effective unwinding, to the extent possible, of certain previously disclosed transactions” with that firm, says Cielo.

The agreement also calls for changes or cancellations to previous stock share arrangements and the termination of previous licensing and service agreements between Cielo and Expander.

The strategic pivot announced by Cielo is tied to its decision to relocate its first planned commercial waste-to-fuel facility for the processing of scrap railway ties from Carseland, Alberta, to British Columbia, and to “transition fuel to be produced from renewable diesel to green hydrogen.”

“This strategic pivot allows Cielo to explore funding opportunities through the British Columbia Low Carbon Fuel Standard (BCLCFS) credit program as well as revises the company’s approach as the demand for renewable fuels changes to better meet market demand,” says Cielo.

On May 8, Cielo issued a letter to its shareholders summarizing a webinar it held for stakeholders this April 17.

In that letter, Cielo CEO Ryan C. Jackson refers to the company’s planned railroad tie processing project in British Columbia and the termination of its previous technology licensing agreement.

“While we recognize the benefits of owning or licensing technology, our business model does not depend on it,” writes Jackson. “Instead, we see value in investing in proven technologies under trusted vendor-customer relationships, mitigating risks and reducing anticipated timelines while strengthening our asset base through capital expenditures and fully constructed facilities.”

On the financing side, the company says it will not proceed with a share- for-debt transaction previously announced this January. Instead, Cielo says it “intends to undertake a private placement offering of securities, with further details to be announced shortly after this news release.”

About one year ago, in a financial quarter that ran from Nov. 1, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2024, Cielo recorded a net loss of CA$1.9 million ($1.37 million) while not providing a revenue figure to the media.

Figures posted to the MarketScreener.com website show the firm, having consistently posted both net losses and operating losses from 2020 through 2024.