SPIRIT REALTY CAPITAL, INC. - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

10-K

December 31, 2019

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

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

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THE COMPANY

As of December 31, 2019, Spirit owned of 1,752 properties with gross investment in real estate and loans totaling approximately $6.17 billion. Of this amount, $6.14 billion consisted of our gross investment in real estate, representing ownership of 1,752 properties, with in-place annualized Contractual Rent of $461.0 million. The remaining $33.7 million consisted primarily of commercial mortgage loans receivable secured by 43 real properties. See Item 2. “Properties - Our Real Estate Investment Portfolio” for further information on our properties and tenants.

BUSINESS AND GROWTH STRATEGIES

FINANCING STRATEGY

REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES

COMPETITION

REGULATION

undertake additional assessments such as soil and/or groundwater samplings or other limited subsurface investigations and ACM or mold surveys to test for substances of concern. A prior owner or operator of a property or historic operations at our properties may have created a material environmental condition that is not known to us or the independent consultants preparing the site assessments. Material environmental conditions may have arisen after the review was completed or may arise in the future, and future laws, ordinances or regulations may impose material additional environmental liability. If environmental concerns are not satisfactorily resolved in any initial or additional assessments, we may obtain environment insurance policies to insure against potential environmental risk or loss depending on the type of property, the availability and cost of the insurance and various other factors we deem relevant (i.e., an environmental occurrence affects one of our properties where our lessee may not have the financial capability to honor its indemnification obligations to us).

Generally, our leases provide that the lessee will indemnify us for any loss or expense we incur as a result of the presence, use or release of hazardous materials on our property. However, our ultimate liability for environmental conditions may exceed the policy limits on any environmental insurance policies we obtain, if any. If we are unable to enforce the indemnification obligations of our lessees or if the amount of environmental insurance we carry is inadequate, our results of operations would be adversely affected.

In addition to being generally named as additional insureds on our tenants’ liability policies, we separately maintain commercial general liability coverage with limits of $1.0 million for each occurrence and $2.0 million general aggregate and excess liability coverage with limits of $50.0 million. We also maintain primary property coverage on (i) all unleased properties, (ii) all properties for which such coverage is not required to be carried by a tenant and (iii) all properties for which we obtain such coverage but the costs of which are reimbursed by tenants. In addition, we maintain excess property coverage on all remaining properties and other property coverage as may be required by our lenders.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the words “estimate,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seek,” “approximately” or “plan,” or the negative of these words or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions of management.

Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and you should not rely on them as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements depend on assumptions, data or methods which may be incorrect or imprecise and we may not be able to realize them. We do not guarantee that the transactions and events described will happen as described (or that they will happen at all).

The following risks and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements:

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND PROPERTIES

information technology infrastructure, the misappropriation of our or our tenants’ proprietary or confidential information, interruptions or malfunctions in our or our tenants’ operations, delays or interruptions to our ability to meet tenant needs, breach of our legal, regulatory or contractual obligations, inability to access or rely upon critical business records, unauthorized access to our facilities or other disruptions in our operations. Numerous sources can cause these types of incidents, including: physical or electronic security breaches; viruses, ransomware or other malware; hardware vulnerabilities such as Meltdown and Spectre; accident or human error by our own personnel or third parties; criminal activity or malfeasance (including by our own personnel); fraud or impersonation scams perpetrated against us or our partners or tenants; or security events impacting our third-party service providers or our partners or tenants. Our exposure to cybersecurity threats and negative consequences of cybersecurity breaches will likely increase as we store increasing amount of tenant data.

We recognize the increasing volume of cyber-attacks and employ commercially practical efforts to provide reasonable assurance such attacks are appropriately mitigated. We may be required to expend significant financial resources to protect against or respond to such breaches. Cyber criminals are increasingly using powerful new tactics including evasive applications, proxies, tunneling, encryption techniques, vulnerability exploits, buffer overflows, distributed denial of service attacks, or distributed denial-of-service or DDoS attacks, botnets and port scans. Techniques used to breach security change frequently, and are generally not recognized until launched against a target, so we may not be able to promptly detect that a security breach or unauthorized access has occurred. We also may not be able to implement security measures in a timely manner or, if and when implemented, we may not be able to determine the extent to which these measures could be circumvented. As we provide assurances to our tenants that we provide a high level of security, if an actual or perceived security breach occurs, the market’s perception of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose current and potential tenants, and such a breach could be harmful to our brand and reputation. Any breaches that may occur could expose us to increased risk of lawsuits, material monetary damages, potential violations of applicable privacy and other laws, penalties and fines, harm to our reputation and increases in our security and insurance costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In the event of a breach resulting in loss of data, such as personally identifiable information or other such data protected by data privacy or other laws, we may be liable for damages, fines and penalties for such losses under applicable regulatory frameworks despite not handling the data. We cannot guarantee that any backup systems, regular data backups, security protocols, network protection mechanisms and other procedures currently in place, or that may be in place in the future, will be adequate to prevent network and service interruption, system failure, damage to one or more of our systems or data loss in the event of a security breach or attack.

In addition, the regulatory framework around data custody, data privacy and breaches varies by jurisdiction and is an evolving area of law with increasingly complex and rigorous regulatory standards enacted to protect business and personal data in the United States. We may not be able to limit our liability or damages in the event of such a loss. Data protection legislation is becoming increasingly common in the United States at both the federal and state level and may require us to further modify our data processing practices and policies. For example, the state of California recently adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which is currently set to take effect on January 1, 2020 and expected to provide California residents with increased privacy rights and protections with respect to their personal information. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently enacted laws and regulations can be costly; any failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us to legal and reputational risks. Misuse of or failure to secure personal information could also result in violation of data privacy laws and regulations, proceedings against the Company by governmental entities or others, fines and penalties, damage to our reputation and credibility and could have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.

The real estate investments made, and expected to be made, by us are relatively difficult to sell quickly. As a result, our ability to promptly sell one or more properties in our portfolio in response to changing economic, financial or investment conditions is limited. Return of capital and realization of gains, if any, from an investment generally will occur upon disposition or refinancing of the underlying property. We may be unable to realize our investment objective by sale, other disposition or refinancing at attractive prices within any given period of time or may otherwise be unable to complete any exit strategy. In particular, these risks could arise from weakness in or even the lack of an established market for a property, changes in the financial condition or prospects of prospective purchasers, changes in national or international economic conditions and changes in laws, regulations or fiscal policies of the jurisdiction in which a property is located.

In addition, the Code imposes restrictions on a REIT’s ability to dispose of properties that are not applicable to other types of real estate companies. In particular, the tax laws applicable to REITs effectively require that we hold our properties for investment, rather than primarily for sale in the ordinary course of business, which may cause us to forgo or defer sales of properties that otherwise would be in our best interest. Therefore, we may not be able to vary our portfolio in response to economic or other conditions promptly or on favorable terms, which may materially and adversely affect us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

reevaluate whether that asset is impaired under GAAP. Depending on the carrying value of the property at the time we change our intention and the amount that we estimate we would receive on disposal, we may record an impairment loss that would adversely affect our financial results. This loss could be material to our assets in the period that it is recognized.

Our continued success and our ability to manage anticipated future growth depend, in large part, upon the efforts of key personnel, particularly our President and Chief Executive Officer, Jackson Hsieh, who has extensive market knowledge and relationships and exercises substantial influence over our operational, financing, acquisition and disposition activity.

Many of our other key executive personnel, particularly our executive and senior vice presidents, also have extensive experience and strong reputations in the real estate industry and have been instrumental in setting our strategic direction, operating our business, identifying, recruiting and training key personnel and arranging necessary financing. In particular, the extent and nature of the relationships that these individuals have developed with financial institutions and existing and prospective tenants is critically important to the success of our business. The loss of services of one or more members of our senior management team, or our inability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, could adversely affect our business, diminish our investment opportunities and weaken our relationships with lenders, business partners, existing and prospective tenants and industry personnel, which could materially and adversely affect us.

In the ordinary course of business, we may become subject to litigation, including claims relating to our operations, security offerings and otherwise. Some of these claims may result in significant defense costs and potentially significant judgments against us, some of which are not, or cannot be, insured against. We generally intend to vigorously defend ourselves. However, we cannot be certain of the ultimate outcomes of any claims that may arise in the future. Resolution of these types of matters against us may result in our having to pay significant fines, judgments, or settlements, which, if uninsured, or if the fines, judgments, and settlements exceed insured levels, could adversely impact our earnings and cash flows, thereby materially and adversely affecting us. Certain litigation or the resolution of certain litigation may affect the availability or cost of some of our insurance coverage, which could materially and adversely impact us, expose us to increased risks that would be uninsured, and materially and adversely impact our ability to attract directors and officers.

The properties we own or have owned in the past may subject us to known and unknown environmental liabilities. Under various federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the environment, as a current or former owner or operator of real property, we may be liable for costs and damages resulting from the presence or discharge of hazardous or toxic substances, waste or petroleum products at, on, in, under or migrating from such property, including costs to investigate, clean up such contamination and liability for harm to natural resources. We may face liability regardless of:

There may be environmental liabilities associated with our properties of which we are unaware. We obtain Phase I environmental site assessments on all properties we finance or acquire. The Phase I environmental site assessments are limited in scope and therefore may not reveal all environmental conditions affecting a property. Therefore, there could be undiscovered environmental liabilities on the properties we own. Some of our properties use, or may have used in the past, underground tanks for the storage of petroleum-based products or waste products that could create a potential for release of hazardous substances or penalties if tanks do not comply with legal standards. If environmental contamination exists on our properties, we could be subject to strict, joint and/or several liability for the contamination by virtue of our ownership interest. Some of our properties may contain ACM. Strict environmental laws govern the presence, maintenance and removal of ACM and such laws may impose fines and penalties for failure to comply with these requirements or expose us to third-party liability (e.g., liability for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos). Strict environmental laws also apply to other activities that can occur on a property, such as air emissions and water discharges, and such laws may impose fines and penalties for violations.

The presence of hazardous substances on a property may adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or improve the property or to borrow using the property as collateral. In addition, environmental laws may create liens on contaminated properties in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs to address such contamination. Moreover, if contamination is discovered on our properties, environmental laws may impose restrictions on the manner in which they may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require substantial expenditures.

In addition, although our leases generally require our tenants to operate in compliance with all applicable laws and to indemnify us against any environmental liabilities arising from a tenant’s activities on the property, we could be subject to strict liability by virtue of our ownership interest. We cannot be sure that our tenants will, or will be able to, satisfy their indemnification obligations, if any, under our leases. Furthermore, the discovery of environmental liabilities on any of our

properties could lead to significant remediation costs or to other liabilities or obligations attributable to the tenant of that property, which may affect such tenant’s ability to make payments to us, including rental payments and, where applicable, indemnification payments.

Our environmental liabilities may include property damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs. These costs could be substantial. Although we may obtain insurance for environmental liability for certain properties that are deemed to warrant coverage, our insurance may be insufficient to address any particular environmental situation and we may be unable to continue to obtain insurance for environmental matters, at a reasonable cost or at all, in the future. If our environmental liability insurance is inadequate, we may become subject to material losses for environmental liabilities. Our ability to receive the benefits of any environmental liability insurance policy will depend on the financial stability of our insurance company and the position it takes with respect to our insurance policies. If we were to become subject to significant environmental liabilities, we could be materially and adversely affected.

Most of the environmental risks discussed above refer to properties that we own or may acquire in the future. However, each of the risks identified also applies to the owners (and potentially, the lessees) of the properties that secure each of the loans we have made and any loans we may acquire or make in the future. Therefore, the existence of environmental conditions could diminish the value of each of the loans and the abilities of the borrowers to repay the loans and could materially and adversely affect us.

When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds may produce airborne toxins or irritants. Concern about indoor exposure to mold has been increasing, as exposure to mold may cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, should our tenants or their employees or customers be exposed to mold at any of our properties we could be required to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold from the affected property. In addition, exposure to mold by our tenants or others could subject us to liability if property damage or health concerns arise. If we were to become subject to significant mold-related liabilities, we could be materially and adversely affected.

Our tenants are required to maintain liability and property insurance coverage for the properties they lease from us pursuant to triple-net leases. Pursuant to such leases, our tenants are generally required to name us (and any of our lenders that have a mortgage on the property leased by the tenant) as additional insureds on their liability policies and additional insured and/or loss payee (or mortgagee, in the case of our lenders) on their property policies. All tenants are required to maintain casualty coverage and most carry limits at 100% of replacement cost. Depending on the location of the property, losses of a catastrophic nature, such as those caused by earthquakes and floods, may be covered by insurance policies that are held by our tenant with limitations such as large deductibles or co-payments that a tenant may not be able to meet. In addition, losses of a catastrophic nature, such as those caused by wind/hail, hurricanes, terrorism or acts of war, may be uninsurable or not economically insurable. In the event there is damage to our properties that is not covered by insurance and such properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we will continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties are irreparably damaged.

Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations, and other factors, including terrorism or acts of war, may make any insurance proceeds we receive insufficient to repair or replace a property if it is damaged or destroyed. In that situation, the insurance proceeds received may not be adequate to restore our economic position with respect to the affected real property. Furthermore, in the event we experience a substantial or comprehensive loss of one of our properties, we may not be able to rebuild such property to its existing specifications without significant capital expenditures which may exceed any amounts received pursuant to insurance policies, as reconstruction or improvement of such a property would likely require significant upgrades to meet zoning and building code requirements. The loss of our capital investment in or anticipated future returns from our properties due to material uninsured losses could materially and adversely affect us.

Our properties are subject to the ADA. Under the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Compliance with the ADA requirements could require removal of access barriers and non-compliance could result in imposition of fines by the U.S. government or an award of damages to private litigants, or both. While our tenants are obligated by law to comply with the ADA and typically obligated under our leases and financing agreements to cover costs associated with compliance, if required changes involve greater expenditures than anticipated or if the changes must be made on a more accelerated basis than anticipated, our tenants’ ability to cover the costs could be

adversely affected. We may be required to expend our own funds to comply with the provisions of the ADA, which could materially and adversely affect us.

In addition, we are required to operate our properties in compliance with fire and safety regulations, building codes and other land use regulations, as they may be adopted by governmental agencies and bodies and become applicable to our properties. We may be required to make substantial capital expenditures to comply with those requirements and may be required to obtain approvals from various authorities with respect to our properties, including prior to acquiring a property or when undertaking renovations of any of our existing properties. There can be no assurance that existing laws and regulatory policies will not adversely affect us or the timing or cost of any future acquisitions or renovations, or that additional regulations will not be adopted that increase such delays or result in additional costs. Additionally, failure to comply with any of these requirements could result in the imposition of fines by governmental authorities or awards of damages to private litigants. While we intend to only acquire properties that we believe are currently in substantial compliance with all regulatory requirements, these requirements may change and new requirements may be imposed which would require significant unanticipated expenditures by us and could materially and adversely affect us.

From time to time the FASB, and the SEC, who create and interpret appropriate accounting standards, may change the financial accounting and reporting standards or their interpretation and application of these standards that will govern the preparation of our financial statements. These changes could materially and adversely affect our reported financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in restating prior period financial statements. Similarly, these changes could materially and adversely affect our tenants’ reported financial condition or results of operations and affect their preferences regarding leasing real estate.

The SEC is currently considering whether issuers in the U.S. should be required to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS instead of GAAP. IFRS is a comprehensive set of accounting standards promulgated by the IASB, which are rapidly gaining worldwide acceptance. The SEC currently has not finalized the time frame it expects that U.S. issuers would first report under the new standards. If IFRS is adopted, the potential changes associated with the adoption or convergence with IFRS, may materially and adversely affect us.

Additionally, the FASB is considering various changes to GAAP, some of which may be significant, as part of a joint effort with the IASB to converge accounting standards. In particular, FASB issued a new accounting standard that requires companies to capitalize all leases on their balance sheets by recognizing a lessee’s rights and obligations. For public companies, this new standard became effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Many companies that account for certain leases on an “off balance sheet” basis will now be required to account for such leases “on balance sheet” upon adoption of this rule. This change removes many of the differences in the way companies account for owned property and leased property and could have a material effect on various aspects of our tenants’ businesses, including their credit quality and the factors they consider in deciding whether to own or lease properties. Additionally, it could cause companies that lease properties to prefer shorter lease terms in an effort to reduce the leasing liability required to be recorded on the balance sheet. This new standard could also make lease renewal options less attractive, because, under certain circumstances, the rule would require a tenant to assume that a renewal right will be exercised and accrue a liability relating to the longer lease term.

In the future we may acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions in exchange for partnership interests in the Operating Partnership, which may result in stockholder dilution. This acquisition structure may have the effect of, among other things, reducing the amount of tax depreciation we could deduct over the tax life of the acquired properties, and may require that we agree to protect the contributors’ ability to defer recognition of taxable gain through restrictions on our ability to dispose of the acquired properties and/or the allocation of partnership debt to the contributors to maintain their tax bases. These restrictions could limit our ability to sell an asset at a time, or on terms, that would be favorable absent such restrictions.

We have entered into an Interim Management Agreement with SMTA, under which we have agreed to manage and liquidate the remaining SMTA assets in connection with its plan of voluntary liquidation and dissolution process. We have no history operating as an external manager to another entity in liquidation. SMTA has no employees and is completely reliant on us for the effective operation of its business. The officer and other individuals who perform services for SMTA are our employees, including certain of our key employees. Such employees may dedicate substantial time to and become distracted by financial or operational developments related to SMTA, including in connection with the liquidation of SMTA, and we may experience difficulties in appropriately allocating resources between us and SMTA, which could materially and adversely

affect our business and our ability to achieve our objectives. Additionally, the base management fee that we receive under the Interim Management Agreement is fixed, and such fee may not reflect our actual expenses or time spent externally managing SMTA.

Under the Interim Management Agreement, SMTA has a license to use the name “Spirit.” Because news coverage of events often fail to appropriately distinguish between legal entities with similar names, investors may impute to us any unfavorable information about SMTA while it executes its plan of voluntary liquidation and dissolution process, including in connection with the management and sale of its remaining assets, the payment of its liabilities and other obligations, the winding up of its operations and the timing and amount of distributions to its unitholders that are unrelated to our economic relationship with and interest in SMTA, that could harm our reputation and business and materially and adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Pursuant to the Interim Management Agreement, we are required, to the full extent lawful, to reimburse, indemnify and hold SMTA, its unitholders, trustees, officers and employees and each other person, if any, controlling SMTA, harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any of our acts or omissions of constituting bad faith, willful misconduct or gross negligence. SMTA must, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold harmless us, our affiliates, members, managers, officers and employees, sub-advisers and each other person, if any, controlling us, from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of such indemnified party made in good faith in the performance of our duties under the Interim Management Agreement and not constituting such indemnified party’s bad faith, willful misconduct or gross negligence. Additionally, SMTA is required to reimburse us for certain expenses incurred in connection with the performance of our duties under the Interim Management Agreement. However, SMTA may not have the resources or cash available to satisfy such indemnification and reimbursement obligations.

In addition, we may engage (subject to our investment manual and conflicts of interest policy) in material transactions with SMTA, which may present an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest. It is possible that actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest could give rise to investor dissatisfaction, litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation could be damaged if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with one or more potential, actual or perceived conflicts of interest. Regulatory scrutiny of, or litigation in connection with, conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which could materially adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including difficulty in raising additional funds, a reluctance of counterparties to do business with us, a decrease in the prices of our equity securities and a resulting risk of litigation and regulatory enforcement actions.

As of December 31, 2019, the total principal balance outstanding on our indebtedness was approximately $2.18 billion, of which the $116.5 million outstanding under the 2019 Credit Facility incurs interest at a variable rate. We may also incur significant additional debt to finance future investment activities. Payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash resources to meet our cash needs or make the distributions to our common stockholders necessary to maintain our REIT qualification. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our debt agreements could have significant adverse consequences, including the following:

Changes in our leverage ratios may also negatively impact the market price of our equity or debt securities. Furthermore, foreclosures could create taxable income without accompanying cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code.

The credit markets can experience significant price volatility, displacement and liquidity disruptions, including the bankruptcy, insolvency or restructuring of certain financial institutions. These circumstances could materially impact liquidity in the financial markets, making financing terms for borrowers less attractive, and in certain cases, result in the unavailability of various types of debt financing. As a result, we may be unable to obtain debt financing on favorable terms or at all or fully refinance maturing indebtedness with new indebtedness. Reductions in our available borrowing capacity or inability to obtain credit when required or when business conditions warrant could materially and adversely affect us.

Furthermore, if prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing result in higher interest rates upon refinancing, then the interest expense relating to that refinanced indebtedness would increase. Higher interest rates on newly incurred debt may negatively impact us as well. If interest rates increase, our interest costs and overall costs of capital will increase, which could materially and adversely affect us. Total debt service, including scheduled principal maturities and interest, for 2020 and 2021 is $88.0 million and $424.7 million, respectively. Debt service for 2021 includes the final balloon repayment of the 2021 Notes of $345.0 million.

Some of our financings require us to make a lump-sum or “balloon” payment at maturity. Our ability to make any balloon payment is uncertain and may depend on our ability to obtain additional financing or our ability to sell our properties. At the time the balloon payment is due, we may or may not be able to refinance the balloon payment on terms as favorable as the original loan or sell our properties at a price sufficient to make the balloon payment, if at all. If the balloon payment is refinanced at a higher rate, it will reduce or eliminate any income from our properties. Our inability to meet a balloon payment obligation, through refinancing or sale proceeds, or refinancing on less attractive terms could materially and adversely affect us. We have no balloon maturities in 2020 and have balloon maturities of $345.0 million in 2021. If we are unable to refinance these maturities or otherwise retire the indebtedness by that time, we could be materially adversely affected, and could be forced to relinquish the related collateral.

The agreements governing our indebtedness contain restrictions and covenants that limit or will limit our ability to operate our business. These covenants, as well as any additional covenants to which we may be subject in the future because of additional indebtedness, could cause us to forgo investment opportunities, reduce or eliminate distributions to our preferred and common stockholders or obtain financing that is more expensive than financing we could obtain if we were not subject to the covenants. In addition, the agreements may have cross-default provisions, which provide that a default under one of our financing agreements would lead to a default on some or all of our debt financing agreements.

If an event of default occurs under certain of our CMBS loans, if the master tenants at the properties that secure the CMBS loans fail to maintain certain EBITDAR ratios or if an uncured monetary default exists under the master leases, then a portion of or all of the cash which would otherwise be distributed to us may be restricted by the lenders and unavailable to us until the terms are cured or the debt refinanced. Such cash sweep triggering events have occurred previously and may be

ongoing from time to time. The occurrence of these events limit the amount of cash available to us for use in our business and could limit or eliminate our ability to make distributions to our common stockholders.

The covenants and other restrictions under our debt agreements affect, among other things, our ability to:

Additionally, these restrictions may adversely affect our operating and financial flexibility and may limit our ability to respond to changes in our business or competitive environment, all of which may materially and adversely affect us.

As permitted by the MGCL, we have elected, by resolution of our Board of Directors, to opt out of the business combination provisions of the MGCL and, pursuant to a provision in our bylaws, to exempt any acquisition of our stock from the control share provisions of the MGCL. However, our Board of Directors may by resolution elect to repeal the exemption from the business combination provisions of the MGCL and may by amendment to our bylaws opt into the control share provisions of the MGCL at any time in the future, whether before or after an acquisition of control shares.

Certain provisions of the MGCL set forth in Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL (“Subtitle 8”) permit our Board of Directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain corporate governance provisions, some of which (for example, a classified board) are not currently applicable to us. These provisions may have the effect of limiting or precluding a third party from making an unsolicited acquisition proposal for us or of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us under circumstances that otherwise could be in the best interests of our stockholders. Our charter contains a provision whereby we have elected, at such time as we became eligible to do so, to be subject to the provisions of Subtitle 8 relating to the filling of vacancies on our Board of Directors only by the remaining directors. Our Board of Directors has adopted a resolution prohibiting us from electing to be subject to the provisions of Subtitle 8 relating to a classified board unless such election is first approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter.

The employment agreements with certain members of our senior management team provide that if their employment with us terminates under certain circumstances (including in connection with a change in control of our company), we may be required to pay them significant amounts of severance compensation, thereby making it costly to terminate their employment. Furthermore, these provisions could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control of our Company that might involve a premium paid for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

Our investment and financing policies are exclusively determined by our Board of Directors. Accordingly, our stockholders do not control these policies. Further, our organizational documents do not limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness, funded or otherwise, that we may incur. Our Board of Directors may alter or eliminate our current policy on borrowing at any time without stockholder approval. If this policy changed, we could become more highly leveraged, which could result in an increase in our debt service. Higher leverage also increases the risk of default on our obligations. In addition, a change in our investment policies, including the manner in which we allocate our resources across our portfolio or the types of assets in which we seek to invest, may increase our exposure to interest rate risk, real estate market fluctuations and liquidity risk. Changes to our policies with regards to the foregoing could materially and adversely affect us.

As permitted by Maryland law, our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:

As a result, we and our stockholders have rights against our directors and officers that are more limited than might otherwise exist. Accordingly, in the event that actions taken by any of our directors or officers impede the performance of our company, our stockholders’ and our ability to recover damages from such director or officer may be limited. In addition, our charter authorizes us to obligate our company, and our bylaws require us, to indemnify our directors and officers for actions taken by them in those and certain other capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.

We are a holding company and conduct substantially all of our operations through the Operating Partnership. We do not have, apart from an interest in the Operating Partnership, any independent operations. As a result, we rely on distributions from the Operating Partnership to pay any dividends we might declare on shares of our common stock. We also rely on distributions from the Operating Partnership to meet any of our obligations, including any tax liability on taxable income allocated to us from the Operating Partnership. In addition, because we are a holding company, stockholder claims will be structurally subordinated to all existing and future liabilities and obligations (whether or not for borrowed money) of the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries. Therefore, in the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization, our

assets and those of the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries will be able to satisfy the claims of our stockholders only after all of our and the Operating Partnership’s and its subsidiaries’ liabilities and obligations have been paid in full.

We own directly or indirectly 100% of the interests in the Operating Partnership. However, in connection with our future acquisition of properties or otherwise, we may issue partnership interests of the Operating Partnership to third parties. Such issuances would reduce our ownership in the Operating Partnership. Because our stockholders will not directly own partnership interests of the Operating Partnership, they will not have any voting rights with respect to any such issuances or other partnership level activities of the Operating Partnership.

Conflicts of interest could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and the Operating Partnership or any future partner thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company under applicable Maryland law in connection with the management of our company. At the same time, one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, OP Holdings, as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, has fiduciary duties and obligations to the Operating Partnership and its future limited partners under Delaware law and the partnership agreement of the Operating Partnership in connection with the management of the Operating Partnership. The fiduciary duties and obligations of OP Holdings, as general partner of the Operating Partnership, and its future partners may come into conflict with the duties of the directors and officers of our company.

Under the terms of the partnership agreement of the Operating Partnership, if there is a conflict between the interests of our stockholders on one hand and any future limited partners on the other, we will endeavor in good faith to resolve the conflict in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or any future limited partners; provided, however, that for so long as we own a controlling interest in the Operating Partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or any future limited partners shall be resolved in favor of our stockholders.

The partnership agreement also provides that the general partner will not be liable to the Operating Partnership, its partners or any other person bound by the partnership agreement for monetary damages for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived by the Operating Partnership or any future limited partner, except for liability for the general partner’s intentional harm or gross negligence. Moreover, the partnership agreement provides that the Operating Partnership is required to indemnify the general partner and its members, managers, managing members, officers, employees, agents and designees from and against any and all claims that relate to the operations of the Operating Partnership, except (1) if the act or omission of the person was material to the matter giving rise to the action and either was committed in bad faith or was the result of active or deliberate dishonesty, (2) for any transaction for which the indemnified party received an improper personal benefit, in money, property or services or otherwise in violation or breach of any provision of the partnership agreement or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, if the indemnified person had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.

We believe that we have been organized and have operated in a manner that has allowed us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2005 and we intend to continue operating in such a manner. We have not requested and do not plan to request a ruling from the IRS that we qualify as a REIT and the statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not binding on the IRS or any court. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that we have qualified as a REIT or that we will remain qualified as such in the future. If we lose our REIT status, we will face significant tax consequences that would substantially reduce our cash available for distribution to our stockholders for each of the years involved because:

Any such corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce our cash available for, among other things, our operations and distributions to stockholders. In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will not be required to make distributions to our stockholders. As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT also could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and could materially and adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

In addition, legislation, new regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions may materially and adversely affect our investors, our ability to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes or the desirability of an investment in a REIT relative to other investments.

Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to some federal, state and local income, property and excise taxes on our income or property and, in certain cases, a 100% penalty tax, in the event we sell property as a dealer. In addition, our TRSs will be subject to income tax as regular corporations in the jurisdictions in which they operate.

If SMTA failed to qualify as a REIT for any taxable year, such failure to qualify as a REIT could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT. If SMTA failed to qualify as a REIT during the year of the Spin-Off, the income recognized by us in connection with the Spin-Off would not have constituted qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, which could have adversely affected our ability to qualify as a REIT for such year. In addition, if SMTA failed to qualify as a REIT for any period, the SMTA Preferred Stock would not have qualified as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests or produced qualifying income for purposes of the REIT 75% gross income test for such period. In such case, our ownership of the SMTA Preferred Stock during such period could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT, unless we are entitled to relief under an applicable cure provision.

We believe the Operating Partnership is currently treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. As a partnership, the Operating Partnership is not subject to federal income tax on its income. Instead, each of its partners, including us, is allocated, and may be required to pay tax with respect to, such partner’s share of its income. We cannot assure you that the IRS will not challenge the status of the Operating Partnership or any other subsidiary partnership or limited liability company in which we own an interest as a disregarded entity or partnership for federal income tax purposes, or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in treating the Operating Partnership or any such other subsidiary partnership or limited liability company as an entity taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, we would fail to meet the gross income tests and certain of the asset tests applicable to REITs and, accordingly, we would likely cease to qualify as a REIT. Also, the failure of the Operating Partnership or any subsidiary partnerships or limited liability company to qualify as a disregarded entity or partnership for applicable income tax purposes could cause it to become subject to federal and state corporate income tax, which would reduce significantly the amount of cash available for debt service and for distribution to its partners or members, including us.

We own securities in TRSs and may acquire securities in additional TRSs in the future. If a TRS owns more than 35% of the total voting power or value of the outstanding securities of another corporation, such other corporation will also be treated as a TRS. Other than some activities relating to lodging and health care facilities, a TRS may generally engage in any business, including the provision of customary or non-customary services to tenants of its parent REIT. A TRS is subject to federal income tax as a regular C corporation. In addition, a 100% excise tax will be imposed on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis.

A REIT’s ownership of securities of a TRS is not subject to the 5% or 10% asset tests applicable to REITs. Not more than 25% of the value of our total assets may be represented by securities (including securities of TRSs), other than those securities includable in the 75% asset test, and not more than 20% of the value of our total assets may be represented by securities of TRSs. We anticipate that the aggregate value of the stock and securities of any TRS and other nonqualifying assets that we own will be less than 25% (or 20%, as applicable) of the value of our total assets, and we will monitor the value of these investments to ensure compliance with applicable ownership limitations. In addition, we intend to structure our transactions with any TRSs that we own to ensure that they are entered into on arm’s-length terms to avoid incurring the 100% excise tax described above. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to comply with the above limitations or to avoid application of the 100% excise tax discussed above.

To qualify as a REIT, we generally must distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income each year, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gains, and we will be subject to regular corporate income taxes on our undistributed taxable income to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and including any net capital gains, each year. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions paid by us in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from prior years. In order to maintain our REIT status and avoid the payment of income and excise taxes, we may need to borrow funds to meet the REIT distribution requirements even if the then prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings. These borrowing needs could result from, among other things, differences in timing between the actual receipt of cash and recognition of income for federal income tax purposes, or the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves or required debt or amortization payments. These sources, however, may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Our access to third-party sources of capital depends on a number of factors, including the market’s perception of our growth potential, our current debt levels, the market price of our common stock, and our current and potential future earnings. We cannot assure you that we will have access to such capital on favorable terms at the desired times, or at all, which may cause us to curtail our investment activities and/or to dispose of assets at inopportune times, and could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distributions to our stockholders, and per share trading price of our common stock.

The IRS may take the position that specific sale-leaseback transactions that we treat as leases are not true leases for federal income tax purposes but are, instead, financing arrangements or loans. If a sale-leaseback transaction were so re-characterized, we might fail to satisfy the REIT asset tests, the income tests or distribution requirements and consequently lose our REIT status effective with the year of re-characterization unless we elect to make an additional distribution to maintain our REIT status. The primary risk relates to our loss of previously incurred depreciation expenses, which could affect the calculation of our REIT taxable income and could cause us to fail the REIT distribution test that requires a REIT to distribute at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gain. In this circumstance, we may elect to distribute an additional dividend of the increased taxable income so as not to fail the REIT distribution test. This distribution would be paid to all stockholders at the time of declaration rather than the stockholders existing in the taxable year affected by the re-characterization.

Dividends treated as “qualified dividend income” payable to U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates are generally subject to tax at preferential rates, currently at a maximum federal rate of 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the preferential tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income. Under the 2017 Tax Legislation, however, U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates generally may deduct up to 20% of the ordinary dividends (e.g., dividends not designated as capital gain dividends or qualified dividend income) received from a REIT for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026. Although this deduction reduces the effective tax rate applicable to certain dividends paid by REITs (generally to 29.6% assuming the shareholder is subject to the 37% maximum rate), such tax rate is still higher than the tax rate applicable to corporate dividends that constitute qualified dividend income. Accordingly, investors who are individuals, trusts and estates may perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could materially and adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including the per share trading price of our common stock.

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% penalty tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property, other than foreclosure property, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. Although we do not intend to hold any properties that would be characterized as held for sale to customers in the ordinary course of our business, unless a sale or disposition qualifies under certain statutory safe harbors, such characterization is a factual determination and no guarantee can be given that the IRS would agree with our characterization of our properties or that we will always be able to make use of the available safe harbors.

To qualify as a REIT, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the nature and diversification of our assets, the sources of our income and the amounts we distribute to our stockholders. We may be required to liquidate or forgo otherwise attractive investments in order to satisfy the asset and income tests or to qualify under certain statutory relief provisions. We also may be required to make distributions to stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. As a result, having to comply with the distribution requirement could cause us to: (1) sell assets in adverse market conditions; (2) borrow on unfavorable terms; or (3) distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions, capital expenditures or repayment of debt. Accordingly, satisfying the REIT requirements could materially and adversely affect us. Moreover, if we are compelled to liquidate our investments to meet any of these asset, income or distribution tests, or to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with one or more of the requirements applicable to REITs or may be subject to a 100% tax on any resulting gain if such sales constitute prohibited transactions.

From time to time, we have and may continue to acquire C corporations in transactions in which the basis of the corporations’ assets in our hands is determined by reference to the basis of the assets in the hands of the acquired corporations, or carry-over basis transactions.

If we acquire any asset from a corporation that is or has been a C corporation in a carry-over basis transaction, and we subsequently recognize gain on the disposition of the asset during the five-year period beginning on the date on which we acquired the asset, then we will be required to pay tax at the regular corporate tax rate on this gain to the extent of the excess of (1) the fair market value of the asset over (2) our adjusted basis in the asset, in each case determined as of the date on which we acquired the asset. Any taxes we pay as a result of such gain would reduce the amount available for distribution to our stockholders. The imposition of such tax may require us to forgo an otherwise attractive disposition of any assets we acquire from a C corporation in a carry-over basis transaction, and as a result may reduce the liquidity of our portfolio of investments. In addition, in such a carry-over basis transaction, we will succeed to any tax liabilities and earnings and profits of the acquired C corporation. To qualify as a REIT, we must distribute any non-REIT earnings and profits by the close of the taxable year in which such transaction occurs. Any adjustments to the acquired corporation’s income for taxable years ending on or before the date of the transaction, including as a result of an examination of the corporation’s tax returns by the IRS, could affect the calculation of the corporation’s earnings and profits. If the IRS were to determine that we acquired non-REIT earnings and profits from a corporation that we failed to distribute prior to the end of the taxable year in which the carry-over basis transaction occurred, we could avoid disqualification as a REIT by paying a “deficiency dividend.” Under these procedures, we generally would be required to distribute any such non-REIT earnings and profits to our stockholders within 90 days of the determination and pay a statutory interest charge at a specified rate to the IRS. Such a distribution would be in addition to the distribution of REIT taxable income necessary to satisfy the REIT distribution requirement and may require that we borrow funds to make the distribution even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for borrowings. In addition, payment of the statutory interest charge could materially and adversely affect us.

The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Changes to the tax laws, with or without retroactive application, could materially and adversely affect our investors or us. We cannot predict how changes in the tax laws might affect our investors or us. New legislation, Treasury Regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly and negatively affect our ability to qualify as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences of such qualification, or the federal income tax consequences of an investment in us. Also, the law relating to the tax treatment of other entities, or an investment in other entities, could change, making an investment in such other entities more attractive relative to an investment in a REIT.

 

Item

Tenant concentration represents the tenant’s contribution to Contractual Rent of our owned real estate properties as of December 31, 2019:

The following table sets forth a summary schedule of expiration dates for leases in place as of December 31, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, the weighted average remaining non-cancellable initial term of our leases (based on Contractual Rent) was 9.8 years. The information set forth in the table assumes that tenants do not exercise renewal options or any early termination rights:

Asset type and tenant industry concentration represents the type of asset’s contribution to Contractual Rent of our owned real estate properties and, for retail asset types, the tenant industry’s contribution to Contractual Rent of our owned properties as of December 31, 2019:

 

 

 

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PART II

Item 5.     Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

MARKET INFORMATION FOR COMMON STOCK, HOLDERS OF RECORD AND DIVIDEND POLICY

RECENT SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES; USE OF PROCEEDS FROM REGISTERED SECURITIES

No sales of unregistered securities. Gross proceeds of $140.6 million from sales of registered securities during the fourth quarter of 2019 were used for funding acquisitions, operating expenses and payment of interest and principal on current debt financings.

During the fourth quarter of 2019, the following shares of stock were withheld for state and federal payroll taxes on the vesting of employee stock awards, as permitted under the Amended Incentive Award Plan:

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The information below shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, other than as provided in Item 201 of Regulation S-K, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically request that such information be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporate it by reference into a filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

The following graph shows our cumulative total stockholder return for the five most recent fiscal years, with stock prices retroactively adjusted for the Spin-Off of SMTA. The graph assumes a $100 investment in each of the indices on December 31, 2014 and the reinvestment of all cash dividends. Our stock price performance shown in the following graph is not indicative of future stock price performance.

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Item 6.       Select

The following tables set forth, on a historical basis, selected financial and operating data for the Company. The following data should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and notes thereto and Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.