Arena Group Holdings, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2021 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021

For the transition period from __________ to __________

Commission file number 1-12471

THEMAVEN, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(212) 321-5002

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [  ] No [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes [  ] No [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

If an emerging growth company, indicated by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act [  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes [  ] or No [X]

As of August 13, 2021, the Registrant had 263,441,879 shares of common stock outstanding.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Quarterly Report”) of theMaven, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us”) contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and include, without limitation, statements concerning our business strategy, future revenues, market growth, capital requirements, product introductions, and expansion plans and the adequacy of our funding. Other statements contained in this Quarterly Report that are not historical facts are also forward-looking statements. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and other comparable terminology.

We caution investors that any forward-looking statements presented in this Quarterly Report, or that we may make orally or in writing from time to time, are based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to, us. Such statements are based on assumptions, and the actual outcome will be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties, and factors that are beyond our control or ability to predict. Although we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future performance, and some will inevitably prove to be incorrect. As a result, our actual future results can be expected to differ from our expectations, and those differences may be material. Accordingly, investors should use caution in relying on forward-looking statements, which are based only on known results and trends at the time they are made, to anticipate future results or trends. Other risks are detailed by us in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including in Item 1A., Risk Factors, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. The discussion in this Quarterly Report should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

This Quarterly Report and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Quarterly Report.

This Quarterly Report is being filed for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, as a late report to comply with the reporting obligations applicable to us under the Exchange Act. Unless specifically required to provide information for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, by the rules and regulations of the SEC, the discussion of our business reflects our current assets and current operations. Where the information relates to the quarter ended March 31, 2021, we have made a reasonable effort herein to make that clear. Also, to be clear, the financial information in the condensed consolidated financial statements and footnotes accompanying this Quarterly Report and the other financial information and management’s discussion about the condensed consolidated financial statements relate to the period for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.

PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

THEMAVEN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Index to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

THEMAVEN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

THEMAVEN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

THEMAVEN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIENCY

(unaudited) 

Three Months Ended March 31, 2021

Three Months Ended March 31, 2020

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

THEMAVEN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(unaudited)

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

THEMAVEN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Basis of Presentation

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of TheMaven, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (“Maven” or the “Company”), after eliminating all significant intercompany balances and transactions. The Company does not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in Maven’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on August 16, 2021.

The condensed consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020, and for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, are unaudited but, in management’s opinion, include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of interim periods. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020, was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire fiscal year. The Company’s impact during the first quarter of 2021 by the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic has been to a lesser extent than in 2020. Beginning in 2021, restrictions on non-essential work activity have begun to lift and sporting and other events have begun to be held, with attendance closer to pre-pandemic levels, which has resulted in an increase in traffic and advertising revenue. The Company expects a continued modest growth in advertising revenue back toward pre-pandemic levels, however, such growth depends on future developments, including the duration and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether related group gathering and sports event advisories and restrictions will be put in place again, and the extent and effectiveness of containment and other actions taken, including the percentage of the population that receives COVID-19 vaccinations.

Reclassifications

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the fiscal 2020 presentation.

Use of Estimates

Preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported and disclosed in the financial statements and the accompanying notes. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to the allowance for credit losses, fair values of financial instruments, capitalization of platform development, intangible assets and goodwill, useful lives of intangible assets and property and equipment, income taxes, fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the business acquisitions, determination of the fair value of stock-based compensation and valuation of derivatives liabilities and contingent liabilities, among others. The Company bases its estimates on assumptions, both historical and forward looking, that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities.

Contract Modifications

The Company occasionally enters into amendments to previously executed contracts that constitute contract modifications. The Company assesses each of these contract modifications to determine:

A contract modification meeting both criteria is accounted for as a separate contract. A contract modification not meeting both criteria is considered a change to the original contract and is accounted for on either a prospective basis as a termination of the existing contract and the creation of a new contract, or a cumulative catch-up basis (see Note 3 and Note 11).

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, which removes certain exceptions related to the approach for intra-period tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period, and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. This guidance also clarifies and simplifies other areas of ASC 740. Certain amendments in this update must be applied on a prospective basis, certain amendments must be applied on a retrospective basis, and certain amendments must be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings/(deficit) in the period of adoption. On January 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASU 2019-12 with no material impact to its condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40), which updates various codification topics to simplify the accounting guidance for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, with a specific focus on convertible instruments and the derivative scope exception for contracts in an entity’s own equity and amends the diluted EPS computation for these instruments. On January 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASU 2020-06 with no material impact to its condensed consolidated financial statements.

In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-08, Codification Improvements to Subtopic 310-20 – Receivables – Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs, which clarifies that a reporting entity should assess whether a callable debt security purchased at a premium is within the scope of ASC 310-20-35-33 each reporting period, which impacts the amortization period for nonrefundable fees and other costs. On January 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASU 2020-08 with no material impact to its condensed consolidated financial statements.

In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-10, Codification Improvements, which updates various codification topics by clarifying or improving disclosure requirements to align with the SEC’s regulations. On January 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASU 2020-10 with no material impact to its condensed consolidated financial statements.

Loss per Common Share

Basic loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period and excludes any dilutive effects of common stock equivalent shares, such as stock options, restricted stock, and warrants. All restricted stock awards are considered outstanding but is included in the computation of basic loss per common share only when the underlying restrictions expire, the shares are no longer forfeitable, and are thus vested. All restricted stock units are included in the computation of basic loss per common share only when the underlying restrictions expire, the shares are no longer forfeitable, and are thus vested. Contingently issuable shares are included in basic loss per common share only when there are no circumstances under which those shares would not be issued. Diluted loss per common share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and common stock equivalent shares outstanding during the period using the treasury stock method. Common stock equivalent shares are excluded from the computation if their effect is anti-dilutive.

The Company excluded the outstanding securities summarized below (capitalized terms are described herein), which entitle the holders thereof to acquire shares of the Company’s common stock, from its calculation of net income loss per common share, as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

On March 9, 2020, the Company entered into an asset purchase agreement with Petametrics Inc., dba LiftIgniter, a Delaware corporation (“LiftIgniter”), where it purchased substantially all the assets, including the intellectual property and excluding certain accounts receivable, and assumed certain liabilities. The purchase price consisted of: (1) a cash payment of $184,087 on February 19, 2020, in connection with the repayment of all outstanding indebtedness, (2) at closing, a cash payment of $131,202, (3) collections of certain accounts receivable, (4) on the first anniversary date of the closing, the issuance of restricted stock units for an aggregate of up to 312,500 shares of the Company’s common stock (of which 256,661 shares of the Company’s common stock were issued during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 55,839 are to be issued), and (5) on the second anniversary date of the closing, the issuance of restricted stock units for an aggregate of up to 312,500 shares of the Company’s common stock.

The composition of the purchase price is as follows:

The purchase price allocation resulted in the following amounts being allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the closing date of the acquisition based upon their respective fair values as summarized below:

The useful life for the developed technology is three years (3.0 years).

The components of certain balance sheet amounts are as follows:

Accounts Receivable – Accounts receivable are presented net of allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was $718,912 and $892,352, respectively.

Subscription Acquisition Costs – Subscription acquisition costs include the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer, paid to external parties, if it expects to recover those costs. The current portion of the subscription acquisition costs as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was $31,171,595 and $28,146,895, respectively. The noncurrent portion of the subscription acquisition costs as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was $18,682,545 and $13,358,585, respectively.

Certain contract amendments resulted in a modification to the subscription acquisition costs that will be recognized on a prospective basis in the same proportion as the revenue that has not yet been recognized (further details are provided under the heading Contract Balances in Note 11).

Property and Equipment – Property and equipment are summarized as follows:

Depreciation and amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was $109,814 and $638,796, respectively. Depreciation and amortization expense is included in selling and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses, as appropriate, on the consolidated statements of operations.

Platform Development – Platform development costs are summarized as follows:

A summary of platform development activity for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and year ended December 31, 2020 is as follows:

Amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, was $1,068,845 and $920,824, respectively.

Intangible Assets – Intangible assets subject to amortization consisted of the following:

Amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was $4,950,990 and $5,032,724, respectively. No impairment charges have been recorded during for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.

The Company’s leases are primarily comprised of real estate leases for the use of office space, with certain lease arrangements that contain equipment. The Company determines whether an arrangement contains a lease at inception. Lease assets and liabilities are recognized upon commencement of the lease based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term. The lease term includes options to extend the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Substantially all of the leases are long-term operating leases for facilities with fixed payment terms between 1.5 and 12.8 years.

The table below presents supplemental information related to operating leases:

The Company generally utilizes its incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the commencement of the lease in determining the present value of future payments since the implicit rate for most of the Company’s leases is not readily determinable.

Variable lease expense includes rental increases that are not fixed, such as those based on amounts paid to the lessor based on cost or consumption, such as maintenance and utilities.

Operating lease costs recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 were $908,465 and $1,037,904, respectively.

Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of March 31, 2021 are summarized as follows:

FastPay Credit Facility – On February 27, 2020, the Company entered into a financing and security agreement with FPP Finance LLC (“FastPay”), pursuant to which FastPay extended a $15,000,000 line of credit for working capital purposes secured by a first lien on all of the Company’s cash and accounts receivable and a second lien on all other assets. Borrowings under the facility bear interest at the LIBOR Rate plus 8.50% and have a final maturity of February 6, 2022. The balance outstanding as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was $5,426,790 and $7,178,791, respectively. As of the date these condensed consolidated financial statements were issued or were available to be issued the balance outstanding was approximately $6,500,000.

On December 15, 2020, the Company entered into an amendment for certain restricted stock awards and units that were previously issued to certain employees in connection with a previous merger. Pursuant to the amendment, the Company committed to repurchase 1,064,549 vested restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2020 at a price of $4.00 per share in 24 equal monthly installments on the second business day of each calendar month beginning January 4, 2021, subject to certain conditions.

The following table presents the components of the restricted stock liabilities as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020:

The Company estimates the fair value of financial instruments using available market information and valuation methodologies the Company believes to be appropriate for these purposes. Considerable judgment and a high degree of subjectivity are involved in developing these estimates and, accordingly, they are not necessarily indicative of amounts the Company would realize upon disposition.

The fair value hierarchy consists of three broad levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value, which are described below:

The Company accounts for certain warrants (as described under the heading Common Stock Warrants in Note 9) as derivative liabilities, which requires the Company to carry such amounts on its condensed consolidated balance sheets as a liability at fair value, as adjusted at each reporting period-end. The Company accounted for the embedded conversion features of the 12% senior convertible debentures (the “12% Convertible Debentures”) as derivative liabilities, which required the Company to carry such amounts on its condensed consolidated balance sheets as a liability at fair value, as adjusted at each reporting period-end. As of December 31, 2020, there was no longer any principal or accrued but unpaid interest outstanding under the 12% Convertible Debentures since certain holders converted the debt into shares of the Company’s common stock and certain holders were paid in cash.

These warrants and the embedded conversion features are classified as Level 3 within the fair-value hierarchy. Inputs to the valuation model include the Company’s publicly quoted stock price, the stock volatility, the risk-free interest rate, the remaining life of the warrants, notes and debentures, the exercise price or conversion price, and the dividend rate. The Company uses the closing stock price of its common stock over an appropriate period of time to compute stock volatility.

Warrant Derivative Liabilities

The following table presents the assumptions used for the warrant derivative liabilities under the Black-Scholes option-pricing model:

The following table represents the carrying amounts and change in valuation for the Company’s warrants accounted for as a derivative liability and classified within Level 3 of the fair-value hierarchy:

For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the change in valuation of warrant derivative liabilities recognized as other income (expense) on the condensed consolidated statement of operations, as described in the above table, was ($665,036) and $139,219, respectively.

Embedded Derivative Liabilities

For the three months ended March 30, 2020, the change in valuation of embedded derivative liabilities recognized as other income on the condensed consolidated statements of operations was $1,621,000.

12% Second Amended Senior Secured Notes

Below is a summary of the various amended and restated notes, as well as various amendments thereto, to the 12% senior secured note that was originally issued on June 10, 2019, for gross proceeds of $20,000,000. The transactions leading up to the 12% second amended and restated note that is outstanding as of March 31, 2021 consisted of:

Collectively the amended and restated notes and amendments thereto and the second amended and restated notes and Amendment 1 thereto are referred to as the “12% Second Amended Senior Secured Notes,” with all borrowings collateralized by substantially all assets of the Company.

Delayed Draw Term Note

On March 24, 2020, the Company entered into a 15% delayed draw term note (the “Delayed Draw Term Note”) pursuant to the second amended and restated note purchase agreement, in the aggregate principal amount of $12,000,000.

On March 24, 2020, the Company drew down $6,913,865 under the Delayed Draw Term Note, and after payment of commitment and funding fees paid of $793,109, and other of its legal fees and expenses that were incurred, the Company received net proceeds of $6,000,000. The net proceeds were used for working capital and general corporate purposes. Additional borrowings under the Delayed Draw Term Note requested by the Company may be made at the option of the purchasers, subject to certain conditions. Up to $8,000,000 in principal amount under the note was originally due on March 31, 2021. Interest on amounts outstanding under the note was payable in-kind in arrears on the last day of each fiscal quarter.

On October 23, 2020, pursuant to the terms of Amendment 1, the maturity date of the Delayed Draw Term Note was changed from March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Amendment 1 also provided that the holder, could originally elect, in lieu of receipt of cash for payment of all or any portion of the interest due or cash payments up to a certain conversion portion of the Delayed Draw Term Note, to receive shares of Series K Preferred Stock; however, after December 18, 2020, the date the Series K Preferred Stock converted into shares of the Company’s common stock, the holder may elect, in lieu of receipt of cash for such amounts, shares of the Company’s common stock at the price the Company last sold shares of the Company’s common stock.

Paycheck Protection Program Loan

On April 6, 2020, the Company entered into a note agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPMorgan Chase”) under the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) (the “Paycheck Protection Program Loan”). The Company received total proceeds of $5,702,725 under the Paycheck Protection Program Loan. In accordance with the requirements of the CARES Act, the Company used proceeds from the Paycheck Protection Program Loan primarily for payroll costs. The Paycheck Protection Program Loan was scheduled to mature on April 6, 2022, with a 0.98% interest rate and is subject to the terms and conditions applicable to loans administered by the SBA under the CARES Act. The Paycheck Protection Program Loan was fully forgiven on June 22, 2021.

Further details as of the date these condensed consolidated financial statements were issued or were available to be issued are provided under the heading Long-term Debt in Note 13.

The following table summarizes the long-term debt:

Common Stock

The Company has the authority to issue 1,000,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share.

Common Stock Warrants

The Company issued warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock to MDB Capital Group, LLC (the “MDB Warrants”), L2 Capital, LLC (the “L2 Warrants”), Strome Mezzanine Fund LP (the “Strome Warrants”), and B. Riley Financial, Inc. (the “B. Riley Warrants”) in connection with various financing transactions (collectively, the “Financing Warrants”).

The Financing Warrants outstanding and exercisable as of March 31, 2021 are summarized as follows:

The intrinsic value of exercisable but unexercised in-the-money stock warrants as of March 31, 2021 was $847,518, based on a fair market value of the Company’s common stock of $0.91 per share on March 31, 2021.

The Company provides stock-based compensation in the form of (a) stock awards to employees and directors, comprised of restricted stock awards and restricted stock units (collectively referred to as the “Restricted Stock Awards”), (b) stock option grants to employees, directors and consultants (referred to as the “Common Stock Awards”) (c) stock option awards, restricted stock awards, unrestricted stock awards, and stock appreciation rights to employees, directors and consultants (collectively the “Common Equity Awards”), (d) stock option awards outside of the 2016 Stock Incentive Plan and 2019 Equity Incentive Plan to certain officers, directors and employees (referred to as the “Outside Options”), (e) common stock warrants to the Company’s publisher partners (referred to as the “Publisher Partner Warrants”), and (f) common stock warrants to ABG-SI, LLC (referred to as the “ABG Warrants”).

Stock-based compensation and equity-based expense charged to operations or capitalized during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 are summarized as follows:

Unrecognized compensation expense and expected weighted-average period to be recognized related to the stock-based compensation awards and equity-based awards as of March 31, 2021 was as follows: