ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves substantial risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully review and consider the following risk factors and all other information included in this Annual Report. Our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material. If any of these risks were to materialize, individually or in combination, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our Common Stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Summary Risk Factors
Risks Related to Our Business
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Risks Related to Financial, Tax and Accounting Issues
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness and Certain Other Obligations
Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Matters
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities
Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure and Our Constituent Documents and Policies
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Increased fuel prices may adversely affect our operating environment and costs.
Fuel prices have a direct impact on the ability and frequency of consumers to engage in activities related to transportation. Increases in the price of fuel may result in higher transportation costs and adversely affect consumer use at our parking garages. Increases in fuel costs also can lead to other non-recoverable, direct expense increases to us through, for example, increased costs of energy. Increases in energy costs for our tenants are typically recovered from leases, although our share of energy costs increases as a result of lower occupancies, and higher operating cost reimbursements impact the ability to increase underlying rents. Rising fuel prices also may increase the cost of construction and the cost of materials that are petroleum-based, thus affecting the development of our existing assets or our tenants’ ongoing development projects.
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We have a limited operating history which makes our future performance difficult to predict.
FWAC was a blank check company organized as a Cayman Islands exempted company on February 19, 2021 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more business entities. Legacy MIC was formed on May 4, 2015, and our current management team has been in place since August 2021. Accordingly, we have a limited operating history, particularly as an internally managed company. Investors should not assume that our future performance will be similar to our past performance.
We have a history of losses and we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability in the future.
We incurred net losses attributable to our common stockholders of $ 32.1 million and $11.1 million for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and we may experience additional net losses in the future and not be profitable or realize growth in the value of our portfolio. Many of our losses can be attributed to start-up costs, depreciation and amortization, as well as acquisition expenses incurred in connection with purchasing properties or making other investments. For a further discussion of our operational history and the factors affecting our net losses, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
We depend on our management team. The loss of key personnel could have a material adverse effect upon our ability to conduct and manage our business.
Our ability to achieve our investment objectives and to make distributions is dependent upon the performance of our management team in the identification and acquisition of investments, the determination of any financing arrangements, the management of our assets and operation of our day-to-day activities. The loss of services of one or more members of our key personnel 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, parking facility operators and managers and other industry personnel, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make distributions to stockholders in the future and the value of our Common Stock. Furthermore, the loss of one or more of our key personnel may constitute an event of default under certain of our limited non-recourse property-level indebtedness, which could result in such indebtedness being accelerated.
A material failure, inadequacy, interruption or security failure of our technology networks and related systems could harm our business.
Our information technology networks and related systems are essential to our ability to conduct our day-to-day operations. As a result, we face risks associated with security breaches, whether through cyberattacks or cyber intrusions over the Internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to emails, persons who access our systems from inside or outside our organization and other significant disruptions of our information technology networks and related systems. A security breach or other significant disruption involving our information technology networks and related systems could: disrupt our operations; result in the unauthorized access to, and the destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of, proprietary, personally identifiable, confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable information, which others could use to compete against us or which could expose us to damage claims by third parties for disruptive, destructive or otherwise harmful outcomes; require significant management attention and resources to remedy any damages that result; subject us to claims for breach of contract, damages, credits, penalties or termination of leases or other agreements; or damage our business relationships or reputation generally. Any or all of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our business.
Although we take various actions to maintain the security and integrity of our information technology networks and related systems and have implemented various measures to manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, we cannot be sure that our security efforts and measures will be effective or that any attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the techniques used in such attempted security breaches change and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases such techniques are designed to not be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures. It is not possible for this risk to be entirely mitigated.
Moreover, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerabilities in our information technology networks. In addition, our remediation efforts may not be successful. Certain measures that could increase the security of our systems take significant time and resources to deploy broadly, and such measures may not be deployed in a timely manner or be effective against an attack. The inability to implement, maintain and upgrade adequate safeguards could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Mr. Chavez, Ms. Hogue and Mr. Osher currently and on a fully diluted basis, own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of our outstanding voting equity and have the ability to exercise significant influence on us and the Operating Company, including the approval of significant corporate transactions.
As of March 1, 2024, (a) Mr. Chavez, Ms. Hogue and Mr. Osher beneficially own, as the controlling persons of Color Up, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Color Up”), 3,937,247 shares of our Common Stock, or 13.8% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock, a warrant to purchase 2,553,192 shares of our Common Stock (the "Warrant"), and 11,242,635 of the class of membership interests of the Operating Company designated as “Common Units” (the “Common Units”) pursuant to the Limited Liability Company Agreement of the Operating Company (the “Operating Agreement”), or approximately 26.5% of the outstanding Common Units as of such date, (b) Mr. Chavez and Ms. Hogue beneficially own, as the manager and a member of Bombe Pref, respectively, 1,798,364 shares of our Common Stock, or 6.3% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock, (c) Mr. Osher beneficially owns through HS3 and HSCP Master, 11,989,098 shares of our Common Stock, or 42.1% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock, and 2,709,330 Common Units, or approximately 6.4% of the outstanding Common Units. Common Units are redeemable for shares of our Common Stock, on a one-for-one basis, or cash at our option, pursuant and subject to the terms and provisions of the Operating Agreement.
Pursuant to their current ownership and potential future ownership of our Common Stock, Mr. Chavez, Ms. Hogue and Mr. Osher have the ability to influence the outcome of matters presented to our stockholders, including the election of the Board and approval of significant corporate transactions, including business combinations, consolidations and mergers. Therefore, Mr. Chavez, Ms. Hogue and Mr. Osher have substantial influence over us and could exercise influence in a manner that is not in the best interests of our other stockholders. This concentration of voting power might also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control that our stockholders may view as beneficial.
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Our executive officers and certain members of our Board face or may face conflicts of interest related to their positions and interests in other entities, which could hinder our ability to implement our business strategy and generate returns to investors.
Manuel Chavez, III, our Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, Stephanie Hogue, our President, Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary, Treasurer and a member of the Board, and Jeffrey B. Osher, a member of the Board, together beneficially own a significant percentage of our Common Stock, and Bombe, HS3 and three entities controlled by Mr. Chavez are members of Color Up, which is a member of the Operating Company. Mr. Chavez and Ms. Hogue will also continue in their ownership and management roles with Bombe. Mr. Osher will continue his ownership and management role with HS3, Harvest Small Cap and HSCP Master.
As a result, our executive officers and certain of our directors owe duties to each of these entities, their members, limited partners and investors, which duties may from time to time conflict with the duties that they owe to us. Their loyalties to these other entities and investors could result in action or inaction that is detrimental to our business, which could harm the implementation of our business strategy and our investment and leasing opportunities.
The foregoing responsibilities and relationships could create competition for the time and efforts of Mr. Chavez, Ms. Hogue and Mr. Osher and may give rise to conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts of interest.
All of our transactions or relationships that involve a conflict of interest will be approved by the audit committee of the Board and the members of the Board who are disinterested in the particular transaction and, if there are no disinterested directors, by both the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board and the affirmative vote of a majority of our independent directors. Similarly, the equity compensation paid by us to our executive officers and directors will be subject to determination by our independent directors or the compensation committee of the Board. Nonetheless, despite such reviews and approvals, our agreements with our executive officers and certain of our directors will provide wide discretion for these parties to pursue their business activities separate from us, and these parties may pursue activities that conflict with our interests.
Our revenues have been and will continue to be significantly influenced by demand for parking facilities generally, and a decrease in such demand would likely have a greater adverse effect on our revenues than if we owned a more diversified real estate portfolio.
The focus for our portfolio has been and will continue to be on parking facilities. A decrease in the demand for parking facilities or other developments adversely affecting such sector of the real estate market would likely have a more pronounced effect on our financial performance than if we owned a more diversified real estate portfolio.
If adverse economic conditions reduce discretionary spending, business travel or other economic activity, such as sporting events and entertainment, that fuels demand for parking, our revenues could be reduced. In addition, our parking facilities tend to be concentrated in urban areas.
The return to normalized movement following the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the performance of our assets, as many of the Company’s properties are located in urban centers, near government buildings, entertainment centers, or hotels. In addition, many companies continue to employ a work-from-home or hybrid remote strategy for employees, which we anticipate will be the normalized state going-forward. See “Changes to office work policies have had, and may continue to have, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity and ability to satisfy our debt service obligations.”
Increased office vacancies in MSAs or movement toward home office alternatives could reduce consumer demand for parking, which could adversely impact our revenues and financial condition. Moreover, changing lifestyles and technological innovations also may decrease the need for parking spaces, thereby decreasing the demand for parking facilities. The need for parking spaces, for example, may decrease as the public increases its use of livery service companies and ridesharing companies or elects to take public transit for their transportation needs. Future technological innovations, such as driverless vehicles, also may decrease the need for parking spaces. It is also possible that cities could enact new or additional measures such as higher tolls, increased taxes or vehicle occupancy requirements in certain circumstances to encourage car-pooling and the use of mass transit, all of which could adversely impact the demand for parking. Weather conditions, such as hurricanes, snow, flooding or severe weather storms, and other natural disasters and acts of terrorism could also disrupt our parking operations and further reduce the demand for parking.
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We may be unable to grow our business by acquisitions of additional parking facilities.
Our investment strategy involves the acquisition of additional parking facilities. Our ability to make profitable acquisitions is subject to risks, including, but not limited to, risks associated with:
• Contingencies in our acquisition agreements; and
• the availability and terms of financing.
We might encounter unanticipated difficulties and expenditures relating to any acquired parking facilities. For example:
For these reasons, among others, we might not realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, and our investment strategy with respect to the acquisition of additional parking facilities may not succeed or may cause us to experience losses.
We may not acquire the properties that we evaluate in our pipeline.
We generally seek to maintain a robust pipeline of investment opportunities. Transactions may fail to close for a variety of reasons, including the discovery of previously unknown liabilities or other items uncovered during our diligence process. Similarly, we may not execute binding purchase agreements with respect to properties that are currently subject to non-binding letters of intent, or LOIs, and properties with respect to which we are negotiating may not lead to the execution of any LOI. For many other reasons, we may not ultimately acquire the properties in our pipeline.
Our parking facilities face intense competition, which may adversely affect rental and fee income.
We believe that competition in parking facility operations is intense. In addition, any parking facilities we acquire may compete with building owners that provide on-site paid parking. Certain of our competitors have more experience than we do in owning and operating parking facilities. Moreover, some of our competitors have greater capital resources, greater cash reserves and a greater ability to borrow funds. Competition for investments may reduce the number of suitable investment opportunities available to us, may increase acquisition costs and may reduce demand for parking facilities, all of which may adversely affect our operating results. Additionally, an economic slowdown in a particular market where our parking facilities are located could have a negative effect on our parking fee revenues.
If competitors build new facilities that compete with our facilities or offer space at rates below the rates we charge, our lessees may lose potential or existing customers and may be pressured to discount their rates to retain business, thereby causing them to reduce rents paid to us. As a result, our ability to make distributions to investors may be impaired. In addition, increased competition for customers may require us to make capital improvements to facilities that we would not otherwise make.
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The operations of a large number of our properties in our portfolio are currently concentrated with one tenant operator.
One tenant operator, SP Plus Corporation (“SP+”), leased properties that contributed approximately 61.3% of our parking rental revenue for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. In October 2023, SP+ announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Metropolis Technologies, Inc. (“Metropolis”). If the proposed transaction is consummated, our largest tenant operator will be Metropolis. This significant concentration of operational risk in one tenant operator makes us more vulnerable economically than if our operations were more evenly diversified among many tenant operators. Any adverse developments in SP+’s business (or Metropolis’s business, if the proposed transaction is consummated), financial strength or ability to operate our properties efficiently and effectively could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We cannot provide assurance that SP+ (or Metropolis, if the proposed transaction is consummated) will satisfy its obligations to us or effectively and efficiently operate our properties. The failure or inability of SP+ (or Metropolis, if the proposed transaction is consummated) to satisfy its obligations to us or effectively and efficiently operate our properties could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. See the section titled “Business—Concentration.”
Our use of third-party operators exposes us to certain risks.
We enter into agreements with operators who assist us in offering parking facilities to the public and providing contracted parking to customers. One of our strategic objectives is to focus heavily on the performance of each parking facility, working with our operators to create a business plan for each parking facility to improve cash flow and rental income. While our operators continue to execute on the asset-level business plans, it is possible that the economic slowdown will materially impact the performance of our assets. Our inability or the inability of our operators to execute on these business plans could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the loss or renewal on less favorable terms of a substantial number of operating agreements, or a breach, default or other failure to perform by an operator, or material reduction in the income associated with our facilities (or an increase in anticipated expenses to the extent we are responsible for such expenses) could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Declines in the market value of our portfolio may adversely affect periodic reported results of operations and credit availability, which may reduce earnings.
A decline in the market value of our portfolio may adversely affect us, particularly in instances where we have borrowed money based on the market value of assets in our portfolio. If the market value of those assets declines, the lender may require us to post additional collateral to support the loan. If we are unable to post the additional collateral, we may have to sell assets at a time when we might not otherwise choose to do so. A reduction in credit available may reduce our earnings.
Further, credit facility providers may require us to maintain a certain amount of cash reserves or to set aside unleveraged assets sufficient to maintain a specified liquidity position, which would allow us to satisfy our collateral obligations. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our assets as fully as we would choose, which could reduce our return on equity. If we are unable to meet these contractual obligations, our financial condition could deteriorate rapidly.
Market values of the assets in our portfolio may decline for a number of reasons, such as changes in prevailing market rates, increases in tenant defaults, decreases in parking facility occupancy or utilization and decreases in market rents and other factors typically associated with owning real estate.
We require scale to improve cash flow and earnings for stockholders.
To best offset the costs of being a public reporting company, we will need to increase our portfolio’s scale in size and number of assets. Our ability to scale will be determined by our ability to find high-quality assets to purchase and access capital to acquire those assets, as well as integrate those assets successfully into our portfolio. Our assets are often acquired via off-market opportunities from private sellers and our ability to continue to scale will be influenced by our access to those sellers and assets.
Changing consumer preferences and legislation affecting our industry or related industries may lead to a decline in parking demand, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Increased demand for ride sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, and car sharing services, like Zipcar, along with the potential for driverless cars, may lead to a decline in parking demand in cities and urban areas. While we devote considerable effort and resources to analyzing and responding to consumer preference and changes in the markets in which we operate, consumer preferences cannot be predicted with certainty and can change rapidly. Changes in consumer behaviors, including the use of mobile phone applications and online parking reservation services that help drivers reserve parking with garages, lots and individual owner spaces, cannot be predicted with certainty and could change current customers’ parking preferences, which may have an impact on the price customers are willing to pay for parking. Additionally, urban congestion and congestion pricing due to the aforementioned ride sharing services, or state and local laws that have been or may be passed encouraging carpooling and use of mass transit systems, may negatively impact parking demand and pricing that a customer would be willing to pay for parking. If we are unable to anticipate and respond to trends in the consumer marketplace and the industry, including, but not limited to, market displacement by delivery service companies, car sharing companies and changing technologies, we could experience a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, several state and local laws have been passed in recent years that encourage the use of carpooling and mass transit. In the future, local, state and federal environmental regulatory authorities may pursue, or continue to pursue, measures related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions which may have the effect of decreasing the number of cars being driven. Such laws or regulations could adversely impact the demand for our services and our business.
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Changes to office work policies have had, and may continue to have, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity and ability to satisfy our debt service obligations.
Many of our parking facilities are located in urban centers, near government buildings, courthouses, entertainment centers, and hotels, which depend in large part on consumer traffic, and conditions that lead to a decline in consumer traffic have had a material and adverse impact on those businesses. While the employment level in the United States has nearly returned to 2019 levels, many companies continue to deploy a work-from-home or hybrid remote strategy for employees. We anticipate that a hybrid work structure for traditional central business district office workers will be the normalized state going-forward.
Such events have adversely impacted and may continue to adversely impact our tenants’ operations, which could significantly disrupt or cause a closure of their operations and, in turn, significantly impact or eliminate the rental revenue we generate from our leases with them.
Our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity and ability to satisfy our debt service obligations may continue to be negatively impacted as a result of the return to normalized movement and the deployment of work-from home or hybrid remote strategy for employees following the COVID-19 pandemic and may remain at depressed levels compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels for an extended period, which would have a material adverse effect on the value and trading price of our Common Stock.
Our investments in real estate will be subject to the risks typically associated with real estate.
We invest directly in real estate. We will not know whether the values of properties that we own directly will remain at the levels existing on the dates of acquisition. If the values of properties we own decrease, our risk will increase because of the lower value of the real estate. In this manner, real estate values will impact the value of our real estate investments. Therefore, our investments will be subject to the risks typically associated with real estate.
The value of real estate may be adversely affected by a number of risks, including:
• acts of war or terrorism, including the consequences of terrorist attacks;
• costs associated with real property taxes and changes in tax rates;
• over-concentrations in certain geographic areas;
• the potential for uninsured or underinsured property losses.
Climate change may have a long-term impact on our business.
There are inherent climate-related risks wherever our business is conducted. Changes in market dynamics, investor expectations, local, national and international climate change policies, and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events on critical infrastructure in the United States, all have the potential to disrupt our business and operations. Such events could result in a significant increase in our costs and expenses and harm our future revenue, cash flows and financial performance. Global climate change is resulting, and may continue to result, in certain natural disasters and adverse weather, such as droughts, wildfires, storms, sea-levels rising and flooding, occurring more frequently or with greater intensity, which could cause business disruptions and impact our employees’ abilities to commute to work or to work from home effectively. Government failure to address climate change could result in greater exposure to economic and other risks from climate change and impact our ability to achieve climate goals.
Uninsured losses or premiums for insurance coverage relating to real property may adversely affect investor returns.
Our real properties may incur casualty losses, generally catastrophic in nature, such as losses due to wars, acts of terrorism, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pollution or environmental matters that are uninsurable or not economically insurable, or may be insured subject to limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments. Risks associated with potential acts of terrorism could sharply increase the premiums we pay for coverage against property and casualty claims. Additionally, mortgage lenders sometimes require property owners to purchase specific coverage against terrorism as a condition for providing mortgage loans. These policies may not be available at a reasonable cost, if at all, which could inhibit our ability to finance or refinance real property we may hold.
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In such instances, we may be required to provide other financial support, either through financial assurances or self-insurance, to cover potential losses. Changes in the cost or availability of insurance could expose us to uninsured casualty losses. In the event that any of our real property incurs a casualty loss which is not fully covered by insurance, the value of our assets will be reduced by any such uninsured loss. In addition, we cannot assure investors that funding will be available to us for repair or reconstruction of damaged real property in the future.
Our costs of complying with governmental laws and regulations related to environmental protection and human health and safety may be high.
All real property investments and the operations conducted in connection with such investments are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and human health and safety. Some of these laws and regulations may impose joint and several liabilities on customers, owners or operators for the costs to investigate or remediate contaminated properties, regardless of fault or whether the acts causing the contamination were legal.
Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for the cost of removing or remediating hazardous or toxic substances on such real property. Such laws often impose liability whether or not the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. In addition, the presence of hazardous substances, or the failure to properly remediate these substances, may adversely affect our ability to sell, rent or pledge such real property as collateral for future borrowings. For example, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our real property investments could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants or to increase ventilation. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury occurs.
Environmental laws also may impose restrictions on the manner in which real property may be used or businesses may be operated. Some of these laws and regulations have been amended so as to require compliance with new or more stringent standards as of future dates. Compliance with new or more stringent laws or regulations or stricter interpretation of existing laws may require us to incur material expenditures. Future laws, ordinances or regulations may impose material environmental liability. Additionally, operations at our parking facilities and other tenant operations, the existing condition of land when we buy it, operations in the vicinity of our real property, such as the presence of underground storage tanks, oil leaks and other vehicle discharge, or activities of unrelated third parties may affect our real property. There are also various local, state and federal fire, health, life-safety and similar regulations with which we may be required to comply, and which may subject us to liability in the form of fines or damages for noncompliance. In connection with the acquisition and ownership of real property, we may be exposed to such costs in connection with such regulations. The cost of defending against environmental claims, of any damages or fines we must pay, of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements or of remediating any contaminated real property could materially adversely affect our business and lower the value of our assets or results of operations.
Real property is an illiquid investment, and we may be unable to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic or other conditions or sell a property if or when we decide to.
Real property is an illiquid investment. We may be unable to adjust our portfolio in response to changes in economic or other conditions. In addition, the real estate market is affected by many factors, such as general economic conditions, availability of financing, interest rates and other factors, including supply and demand, that are beyond our control. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any real property for the price or on the terms set by us, or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a real property. Also, we may acquire real properties that are subject to contractual “lock-out” provisions that could restrict our ability to dispose of the real property for a period of time, and a number of our assets are subject to loans that impose prepayment penalties or debt breakage costs that could significantly impair our ability to sell such asset or the net value realized from any such sale.
Risks Related to Financial, Tax and Accounting Issues
We may have future financing needs and may not be able to obtain additional financing at all or on acceptable terms.
As of December 31, 2023, we had $96.3 million of debt due within twelve months. On March 1, 2024, we entered into the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement, which provided extension options on $58.7 million outstanding under a revolving credit facility through June 2025. In addition, in February 2024, we refinanced $5.5 million of notes payable maturing in March 2024 with a new maturity date of March 1, 2029. After the completion of these refinancing transactions, we had $32.1 million of mortgage notes payable maturing within twelve months of the date the consolidated financial statements included in this Report were available to be issued.
There is a risk that we may not be able to refinance existing debt or that the terms of any refinancing will not be as favorable as the terms of the existing debt. If principal payments due at maturity cannot be refinanced or extended, we may be forced to repay our maturating debt with proceeds from other sources, such as selling properties that we own or placing mortgages on property that we own.
Our ability to obtain additional financing and satisfy our financial obligations under indebtedness outstanding from time to time will depend upon our future operating performance, which is subject to then-prevailing general economic, real estate and credit market conditions, including interest rate levels and the availability of credit generally, and financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. A prolonged worsening of credit market conditions would have a material adverse effect on our ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, if at all.
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We identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, and we may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, which may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet ourperiodic reporting obligations. These material weaknesses could adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. If we conclude that a material weakness occurred or is occurring, we expect to evaluate and pursue steps to remediate the material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming and costly and there is no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Our management identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in connection with its assessment as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Specifically, these control deficiencies constitute material weaknesses, either individually or in the aggregate, relating to: (i) the lack of appropriate segregation of duties within the accounting and finance groups and (ii) the ineffective design, implementation, and operation of controls relevant to the financial reporting process, specifically related to the documentation of the review of controls.
Our management had also identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting in connection with its assessment for the year ended December 31, 2022 relating to the lack of formal and effective controls over user access to certain information systems to ensure adequate restriction of users and privileged access to transaction processing applications. Additionally, as previously described in Part II, Item 9A of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed by FWAC, prior to the Merger, FWAC’s management identified that FWAC’s control around the interpretation and accounting for extinguishment of a significant contingent obligation was not effectively designed or maintained. That material weakness resulted in the restatement of FWAC’s interim financial statements for the quarters ended June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022. In connection with our assessment for the year ended December 31, 2023, management concluded these material weaknesses were remediated.
We have identified and implemented, and continue to implement, certain remediation efforts to improve the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. These remediation efforts are ongoing. The following remedial actions have been identified and initiated as of December 31, 2023:
As we continue to evaluate and work to improve its internal control over financial reporting our management may determine that additional or different measures to address control deficiencies or modifications to the remediation plan are necessary. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results of operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the NYSE American LLC (“NYSE American”), the SEC, or other regulatory authorities. Additionally, failure to timely file required Exchange Act reports will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short-form registration statements on Form S-3, which may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares of Common Stock to effect an acquisition. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our Common Stock and may result in a material adverse effect on our business.
We can give no assurance that any additional material weaknesses or resulting restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.
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We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
As a result of such material weakness and the restatements described above, we may face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of its financial statements. We have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may not be able to access financing sources or refinance properties on attractive terms, or at all, which could reduce the number of properties we can acquire and adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.
We may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms or at all. Future access to sources of financing will depend upon a number of factors, over which we may have little or no control, including:
• general market conditions;
• a financing source's view of the quality of our assets;
• our current and potential future earnings and cash distribution.
In addition, our ability to sell assets may also be limited due to several factors, including general market conditions and limitations under our existing loan agreements, and as a result, we may receive less than the value at which those assets are carried on our consolidated financial statements or we may be unable to sell certain assets at all.
Additionally, if mortgage debt is unavailable on reasonable terms as a result of increased interest rates or other factors, we may not be able to finance the acquisition of properties. Moreover, if we place mortgage debt on properties, we run the risk of being unable to refinance such debt when the loans come due on favorable terms or at all. If interest rates are higher when we refinance debt, our income could be reduced. We may be unable to refinance debt at appropriate times, which may require us to sell properties on terms that are not advantageous to us or could result in the foreclosure of such properties. For example, some of our loans are packed into commercial mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS, which place restrictions on our ability to restructure such loans without the consent of holders of such securities. Obtaining such consents may be time-consuming or may not be possible at all and could delay or prevent us from restructuring one or more loans. If any of these events occur, our cash flow would be reduced. This, in turn, may hinder our ability to raise more capital by issuing securities or by borrowing more money.
If we cannot obtain sufficient capital on acceptable terms, our business and our ability to operate could be materially adversely impacted.
In addition to customary representations, warranties, covenants, and indemnities, our existing loan agreements require us and/or our subsidiaries to comply with covenants involving, among other matters, limitations on incurrence of indebtedness, debt cancellation, property cash flow allocation, liens on properties and requirements to maintain minimum unrestricted cash balances. Unless we are able to sell assets, we may be unable to meet the minimum unrestricted cash balances in our loan agreements, which could result in events of default. Our existing loan agreements contain covenants that may limit our ability to sell assets, including covenants that limit debt cancellation and assignment of debt in connection with the sale of an asset. In addition, certain of our assets are collateral under multiple loan agreements, which may limit our ability to sell such assets. We may enter into additional loan agreements that also may contain covenants, including those requiring us to comply with various financial covenants.
If we breach covenants under our loan agreements, we could be held in default under such loans, which could accelerate our repayment date and materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our failure to comply with covenants in any of our loan agreements will likely constitute an event of default and, if not cured or waived, may result in:
• the loss of some or all of our assets to foreclosure or sale.
Further, our loan agreements may contain cross default provisions, which could result in a default on our other outstanding debt.
Any such event of default, termination of commitments, acceleration of payments, or foreclosure of our assets could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and ability to continue to operate or make distributions to our investors in the future. A default also could limit significantly our financing alternatives, which could cause us to curtail our investment activities and/or dispose of assets. It is also possible that we could become involved in litigation related to matters concerning the loan, and such litigation could result in significant costs to us.
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Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
• changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
• expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
• tax effects of stock-based compensation;
• costs related to intercompany restructurings; or
• changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof.
In addition, we may be subject to audits of income, sales and other transaction taxes by taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We generally will be responsible for all of Legacy MIC’s liabilities (as well as continuing to be responsible for all of FWAC’s liabilities) including any unpaid taxes (and penalties and interest, if any). Audits of taxes payable prior to the consummation of the Merger by FWAC or Legacy MIC or of taxes payable following the consummation of the Merger by us potentially could result in significant liabilities payable by us. Consequently, outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We may acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions, which could result in stockholder dilution and limit our ability to sell such assets.
In the future, we may acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions in exchange for Common Units, 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 to us absent such restrictions. In addition, we have assumed the rights and responsibilities of Legacy MIC under the Tax Matters Agreement, which requires us to indemnify past contributors to the Operating Company in the event that certain adverse tax consequences arise to the contributors in connection with (a) a taxable disposition of certain specified properties, (b) certain dispositions of the contributors’ interests in the Operating Company and (c) the Operating Company’s failure to provide the contributors the opportunity to guarantee a specified amount of debt of the Operating Company.
Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
As of December 31, 2023, we had aggregate U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) of $73,827,280 (of which $8,585,685 was incurred in tax years beginning before January 1, 2018), which may be available to offset future taxable income for income tax purposes, and portions of which expire in various years. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), federal NOLs incurred in tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal NOLs is limited to 80% of taxable income. Federal NOLs incurred in tax years ending before January 1, 2018 may be carried forward for 20 years. Our NOLs are subject to these carry forward and deductibility limits. Further, a lack of future taxable income would adversely affect our ability to utilize these NOLs before they expire.
In addition, under Section 382 of the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” (as defined under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code and applicable Treasury Regulations) is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change NOLs and certain other tax attributes to offset post-change taxable income or taxes. The Merger as well as transactions that occurred prior to the Merger, including transactions contemplated by the Purchase and Contribution Agreement, may have resulted in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code that could affect our ability to utilize our NOLs to offset future taxable income. Furthermore, our ability to utilize NOLs of companies that we have acquired or that we may acquire in the future may be subject to limitations. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed. For these reasons, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of the NOLs reflected on our balance sheet, even if we attain profitability, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us and could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
Pursuant to the IRC Sections 382 and 383, annual use of the Company’s NOL carryforwards may be limited in the event that a cumulative change in ownership of more than 50% occurs within a three-year period. Although the Company has not completed a recent IRC Section 382/383 analysis, due to the existence of the valuation allowance limitations created by current and future ownership changes, if any, related to the Company’s operations in the United States will not impact its effective tax rate. Any additional ownership changes may further limit the ability to use the NOL carryforwards
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Risks Related to Our Indebtedness and Certain Other Obligations
We have debt, and we may incur additional debt; if we are unable to comply with the restrictions and covenants in the Credit Agreement, there could be an event of default under the terms of the Credit Agreement, which could result in an acceleration of repayment.
We are subject to numerous risks associated with our debt, including the risk that our cash flows could be insufficient to meet the required payments on our debt. There are no limits in our organizational documents on the amount of debt we may incur, and we may incur substantial debt. Our debt obligations could have important consequences for our investors. Incurrence of debt may increase our vulnerability to adverse economic, market, and industry conditions, limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business, and place us at a disadvantage in relation to competitors that have lower debt levels. Excessive debt could limit our ability to obtain financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, refinancing, lease obligations, or other purposes, prevent us from achieving investment grade ratings from nationally recognized credit rating agencies, and reduce our ability to make distributions to our investors.
In addition, the Credit Agreement, dated as of March 29, 2022, by and among the Operating Company, certain subsidiaries of the Operating Company, KeyBanc Capital Markets, as lead arranger, KeyBank, National Association, as administrative agent and lender, and the other financial institutions party thereto as lenders, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Credit Agreement, dated November 17, 2022; by the Waiver and Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated August 25, 2023 (the “Second Amendment to Credit Agreement”); and the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement, dated March 1, 2024 (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”) contains customary representations, warranties, conditions to borrowing, covenants, and events of default, including certain covenants that limit or restrict, subject to certain exceptions, our ability, and the ability of the Operating Company and our other subsidiaries to sell or transfer assets, enter into a merger or consolidate with another company, create liens, make investments or acquisitions or incur certain indebtedness. Among other things, the Credit Agreement requires us to maintain:
• a total leverage ratio not to exceed 65%;
• an interest reserve in an amount equal to $375,000, subject to adjustment;
• a borrowing base interest coverage ratio of no less than 1.10 to 1.00; and
If we are unable to comply with the restrictions and covenants in the Credit Agreement or any future debt agreement or if we default under the terms of the Credit Agreement or any future debt agreement, there could be an event of default. Our ability to comply with these restrictions and covenants, including meeting any financial ratios and tests, may be affected by events beyond our control.
We cannot assure that we will be able to comply with these restrictions and covenants or meet such financial ratios and tests. In the event of a default under the Credit Agreement or any future debt agreement, the lenders could terminate their commitments to lend or accelerate the loans and declare all amounts borrowed under the Credit Agreement due and payable. If any of these events occur, our assets might not be sufficient to repay in full all of our outstanding indebtedness and we may be unable to find alternative financing. Even if we could obtain alternative financing, it might not be on terms that are favorable or acceptable to us. Additionally, we may not be able to amend the Credit Agreement or any future debt agreement or obtain needed waivers on satisfactory terms.
We may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges.
We may be required to write-down or write-off additional assets, restructure our operations, or incur additional impairment or other charges that could result in us reporting losses. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants in the Credit Agreement or to which we may be subject to by virtue of obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, investors could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares of Common Stock from any such write-down or write-downs.
Certain loans are and may be secured by mortgages on our properties and if we default under our loans, we may lose properties through foreclosure.
We have obtained, and intend to continue to obtain, loans that are secured by mortgages on our properties, and we may obtain additional loans evidenced by promissory notes secured by mortgages on our properties. As a general policy, we will seek to obtain mortgages securing indebtedness which encumber only the particular property to which the indebtedness relates, but recourse on these loans may include all of our assets. If recourse on any loan incurred by us to acquire or refinance any particular property includes all of our assets, the equity in other properties could be reduced or eliminated through foreclosure on that loan. If a loan is secured by a mortgage on a single property, we could lose that property through foreclosure if we default on that loan. We may also give full or partial guarantees to lenders of mortgage debt to the entities that own our properties. When we give a guarantee on behalf of an entity that owns one of our properties, we will be responsible to the lender for satisfaction of the debt if it is not paid by such entity. Some of our loans contain cross collateralization or cross default provisions, and therefore, a default on a single property could affect multiple properties. In addition, for tax purposes, a foreclosure on any of our properties that is subject to a nonrecourse mortgage loan would be treated as a sale of the property for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the property, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure, but would not receive any cash proceeds. Further, if we default under a loan, it is possible that we could become involved in litigation related to matters concerning the loan, and such litigation could result in significant costs to us which could affect distributions to investors or lower our working capital reserves or our overall value.
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Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Matters
Adverse judgments, settlements or investigations resulting from legal proceedings in which we may be involved could reduce our profits, limit our ability to operate our business or distract our officers from attending to our business.
The nature of our business exposes our properties, us, the Operating Company and our other subsidiaries to the risk of claims and litigation in the normal course of business. The outcome of these proceedings cannot be predicted. If any of these proceedings were to be determined adversely to us or a settlement involving a payment of a material sum of money were to occur, it could materially and adversely affect our profits or ability to operate our business. Additionally, we could become the subject of future claims by third parties, including current or former tenants, our employees, our investors or regulators. Any significant adverse judgments or settlements would reduce our profits and could limit our ability to operate our business. Further, we may incur costs related to claims for which we have appropriate third party indemnity, but such third parties fail to fulfill their contractual obligations.
Our proprietary software systems contain open source software, which may pose particular risks to our proprietary software in a manner that could harm our business.
We use open source software in our proprietary software and anticipate using open source software in the future. Some open source software licenses require those who distribute open source software as part of their own software product to publicly disclose all or part of the source code to such software product or to make available any derivative works of the open source code on unfavorable terms or at no cost, and we may be subject to such terms. The terms of many open source licenses to which we are subject have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts, and there is a risk that open source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide our offerings. We could face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the open source software or derivative works that we developed using such software, which could include our proprietary source code, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to make our software source code freely available, purchase a costly license or cease providing the implicated offerings unless and until we can re-engineer them to avoid infringement, which may be a costly and time-consuming process. While we monitor our use of open source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our proprietary source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, such use could inadvertently occur, or could be claimed to have occurred, in part because open source license terms are often ambiguous. Any actual or claimed requirement to disclose our proprietary source code or pay damages for breach of contract could harm our business and could help third parties, including our competitors, develop offerings that are similar to or better than ours.
Additionally, the use of certain open source software can lead to greater risks than use of third party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on the origin of software. There is typically no support available for open source software, and we cannot ensure that the authors of such open source software will implement or push updates to address security risks or will not abandon further development and maintenance. Many of the risks associated with the use of open source software, such as the lack of warranties or assurances of title or performance, cannot be eliminated, and could, if not properly addressed, negatively affect our business. Any of these risks could be difficult to eliminate or manage and, if not addressed, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Inigma and pKatalyst, our proprietary software systems, are not currently protected by any patents, registered trademarks or licenses, which may prevent us from using, or enforcing our intellectual property rights to, these systems and could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Inigma is our proprietary software management tool that we developed to monitor parking facilities in real-time. pKatalyst is our proprietary technology platform that will allow us to provide a virtual fence or perimeter around up to 14,000 parking facilities and to monitor consumer movement into and out of our parking facilities, as well as those of our competitors. Neither Inigma nor pKatalyst, nor these systems’ underlying technology, is currently registered, as a patent or a trademark, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and we do not intend to register them in the near future. To the extent that Inigma or pKatalyst violates the proprietary rights of others, we may therefore be subject to damage awards or judgments prohibiting our use of Inigma or pKatalyst. In addition, our intellectual property rights in Inigma or pKatalyst may not be enforceable against any prior users of similar intellectual property. Our inability to use Inigma or pKatalyst or enforce our intellectual property rights to Inigma or pKatalyst could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may in the future be subject to claims that we violated certain third-party intellectual property rights, which, even where meritless, can be costly to defend and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to maximize revenues and profitability at our parking facilities with a technology-driven approach to collaboration with our tenant operators, including the use of our proprietary software, without infringing on, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of third parties. However, we may not be aware that our software systems are infringing on, misappropriating or otherwise violating third party intellectual property rights and such third parties may bring claims alleging such infringement, misappropriation or violation. Also, various “non-practicing entities” and other intellectual property rights holders may in the future attempt to assert intellectual property claims against us or seek to monetize the intellectual property rights they own to extract value through licensing or other settlements, even if the claims are meritless.
Our use of third-party software and other intellectual property rights may be subject to claims of infringement or misappropriation. The vendors who provide us with technology that we incorporate in our proprietary software also could become subject to various infringement or misappropriation claims, which may then affect our use of our proprietary software. We cannot guarantee that our internally developed or acquired technologies and content do not or will not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others.
From time to time, our competitors or other third parties may claim that we are infringing upon, misappropriating or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights. We cannot predict the outcome of lawsuits and cannot ensure that the results of any such actions will not have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, or prospects. Any claims or litigation, even those without merit and regardless of the outcome, could cause us to incur significant expenses and, if successfully asserted against us, could require that we pay substantial costs or damages, obtain a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, pay significant ongoing royalty payments, settlements or licensing fees, prevent us from maximizing our revenues and profitability at our parking facilities and from using certain technologies, force us to implement expensive and time-consuming workarounds or redesigns, distract management from our business or impose other unfavorable terms.
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We may not be able to obtain, maintain, protect, defend and enforce our trademarks and trade names, or build name recognition in our markets of interest, thereby harming our competitive position.
We believe that the protection of our trademark rights is an important factor in protecting our brand and maintaining goodwill. We may be unable to obtain trademark protection for our technologies, logos, slogans and brands, and our existing trademark registrations and applications, and any trademarks that may be used in the future, may not provide us with competitive advantages or distinguish our brand and our business from those of our competitors. Further, we may not timely or successfully register our trademarks.
If we do not adequately protect our rights in our trademarks from infringement and unauthorized use, any goodwill that we have developed in those trademarks could be lost or impaired, which could harm our brand and our business. We have filed applications for registration, among other trademarks, the term “Mobile Infrastructure Corporation” in the United States. Although we have applied for these trademark registrations, there are no certainties that these applications will result in our registration of these trademarks.
Competitors may adopt trademarks and/or tradenames similar to ours, thereby harming our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to customer confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other trademarks that are similar to our trademarks. Furthermore, our trademarks, upon registration, may be opposed, contested, circumvented or found to be unenforceable, weak or invalid, and we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing or otherwise violating them or using similar marks in a manner that causes confusion or dilutes the value or strength of our brand. Litigation or proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other governmental authorities and administrative bodies in the United States may be necessary in the future to enforce our trademark rights and to determine the validity and scope of the trademark rights of others. Our efforts to obtain, maintain, protect, defend and enforce our trademarks may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may be unable to continue to use the domains that we use in our business or prevent third parties from acquiring and using domains that infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of our brand, trademarks, or service marks.
We have registered a domain that we use in, or is related to, our business, www.mobileit.com. If we lose the ability to use the domain name, whether due to trademark claims, failure to renew the applicable registration, or any other cause, we may be forced to market our offerings under a new domain name, which could cause us substantial harm or cause us to incur significant expense in order to purchase rights to the domain name in question. In addition, our competitors and other third parties could attempt to capitalize on our brand recognition by using domains similar to ours. We may be unable to prevent our competitors and other third parties from acquiring and using domains that infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate, are similar to, or otherwise decrease the value of our brand or our trademarks or service marks. Obtaining, maintaining, protecting, defending and enforcing our rights in our domain may require litigation, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, which could in turn adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities
The market price and trading volume of the shares of our Common Stock may fluctuate significantly.
Our Common Stock only recently began trading on the NYSE American, and we can provide no assurance that an active liquid trading market for the shares of our Common Stock will be sustained. The market price and liquidity of our Common Stock may be adversely affected by the absence of an active trading market.
The market price of our Common Stock may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. For example, as of August 28, 2023, the first trading date of our Common Stock on the NYSE American, the closing price of our Common Stock was $10.37. Since then, the closing price of our Common Stock reached a low of $3.10 on September 27, 2023, and on March 1, 2024, the closing price of our Common Stock was $3.55. Capital markets have been volatile in the recent past. After the most recent U.S. economic recession, the U.S. Federal Reserve took actions that resulted in low interest rates for a long period of time. In March 2022, the U.S. Federal Reserve increased interest rates for the first time since 2018 and raised rates six more times in 2022 and four more times in 2023. in December 2023, the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled that at least one rate cut may come in 2024; however, there can be no guarantee that interest rates will not continue to increase. Market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, and the current adverse macroeconomic conditions including inflation, fluctuations in fuel prices, rising interest rates, and reduced consumer confidence, could reduce the market price of shares of our Common Stock regardless of its operating performance.
Market volatility and low trading volume in our Common Stock, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, and the current adverse macroeconomic conditions including inflation, fluctuations in fuel prices, rising interest rates, and reduced consumer confidence, could reduce the market price of shares of our Common Stock regardless of our operating performance.
In addition, our operating results could be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors due to a number of potential factors, including:
• variations in quarterly operating results or dividends, if any, to investors;
• additions or departures of key management personnel;
• publication of research or reports about our industry;
• litigation and government investigations;
• changes in market valuations of similar companies;
• adverse publicity or speculation in the press or investment community; and
In response to any of the foregoing developments, the market price of shares of our Common Stock could decrease significantly. You may be unable to resell your shares of our Common Stock at or above your purchase price.
Following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against that company. Any such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources.
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Holders of our Preferred Stock have dividend, liquidation and other rights that are senior to the rights of the holders of Common Stock.
The Board has the authority to designate and issue shares of preferred stock with liquidation, dividend and other rights that are senior to those of Common Stock. The Board has classified and designated three series of preferred stock as Series A Preferred Stock, Series 1 Preferred Stock, and Series 2 Preferred Stock, each of which ranks senior to Common Stock with respect to the payment of dividends and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up.
Specifically, payment of any distribution preferences on the issued and outstanding Series A Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share of the Company (the “Series A Preferred Stock”, Series 1 Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share of the Company (the “Series 1 Preferred Stock” and together with the Series A Preferred Stock, the “Preferred Stock”) or any future series of preferred stock would reduce the amount of funds available for the payment of distributions on the Common Stock. Further, holders of Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive a preference payment if we liquidate, dissolve, or wind up before any payment is made to holders of Common Stock, likely reducing the amount holders of Common Stock would otherwise receive upon such an occurrence. Holders of Series 1 Preferred Stock and Series A Preferred Stock will have the right to require us to convert their Series 1 Preferred Stock and Series A Preferred Stock into Common Stock, but we may, at our option, redeem such shares of Preferred Stock for cash. Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and Series 1 Preferred Stock are entitled to cumulative dividends before any dividends may be declared or set aside on Common Stock. Upon our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up, before any payment is made to holders of Common Stock, holders of Series A Preferred Stock and Series 1 Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive a liquidation preference of $1,000.00 per share plus any accrued and unpaid distributions. As of December 31, 2023, 2,812 and 36,677 shares of Series A Preferred Stock and Series 1 Preferred Stock, respectively, were issued and outstanding, and approximately $0.8 million and $9.7 million of distributions on the Series A Preferred Stock and the Series 1 Preferred Stock, respectively, were accrued and unpaid. On December 31, 2023, 46,000 shares of Series 2 Preferred Stock converted into 13,787,462 shares of Common Stock. Following the conversion of the Series 2 Preferred Stock, there were no shares of Series 2 Preferred Stock issued and outstanding.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the applicable rules of the NYSE American and, as a result, may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. If we rely on these exemptions, our stockholders will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.
Under the applicable rules of the NYSE American, a company is a “controlled company” if more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, group or another company, and such company may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that the company have: (i) a majority of its board of directors comprised of independent directors; (ii) a nominating committee comprised solely of independent directors; (iii) a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors; and (iv) director nominees selected, or recommended for selection to our Board, by the nominating committee. As of December 31, 2023, Manuel Chavez, III, our Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, Stephanie Hogue, our President, Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary, Treasurer and a member of the Board, and Jeffrey B. Osher, a member of the Board, as a group, control more than 50% of the voting power of our outstanding Common Stock, and as a result, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of applicable rules of the NYSE American.
Though we currently do not intend to take advantage of any “controlled company” exemptions, if we were to elect to be exempt from some or all of the aforementioned corporate governance requirements, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE American corporate governance requirements.
If our operating and financial performance in any given period does not meet the guidance provided to the public or the expectations of investment analysts, the market price of our Common Stock could decline.
We may, but are not obligated to, provide public guidance on our expected operating and financial results for future periods. Any such guidance will consist of forward-looking statements, subject to the risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report and in our other public filings and public statements. The ability to provide this public guidance, and the ability to accurately forecast our results of operations, could be impacted by future public health crises. Our actual results may not always be in line with or exceed any guidance we have provided, especially in times of economic uncertainty, such as the current global economic uncertainty being experienced as a result of the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and the recent U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. If, in the future, our operating or financial results for a particular period do not meet any guidance provided or the expectations of investment analysts, or if we reduce our guidance for future periods, the market price of our Common Stock could decline as well. Even if we issue public guidance, there can be no assurance that we will continue to do so in the future.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or publish negative reports, the market price of our Common Stock could decline.
The trading market for our Common Stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us and our business. If regular publication of research or reports ceases, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the market price or trading volume of our Common Stock to decline. Moreover, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our Common Stock or if reporting results do not meet their expectations, the market price of our Common Stock could decline.
Our stockholders’ interest in us could be diluted if we issue additional shares of stock or Common Units, which could reduce the overall value of their investment; our stockholders’ interests also will be diluted by exercises and conversions of Common Units and Preferred Stock.
Stockholders do not have preemptive rights to any Common Stock in the future and generally have no appraisal rights. The Company’s charter, filed with the Maryland State Department of Assessment and Taxation (the “Charter”) provides that we may issue up to 500,000,000 shares of Common Stock and up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock.
Subject to any limitations set forth under Maryland law, a majority of the Board may amend the Charter without the necessity of obtaining stockholder approval, from time to time, to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of authorized shares of any class or series. In addition, the Board may classify or reclassify any unissued shares of stock into other classes or series of stock without the necessity of obtaining stockholder approval. All such shares may be issued in the discretion of the Board.
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A stockholder’s interest in us may be diluted if we: (a) sell additional shares of stock in the future, (b) sell securities that are convertible into Common Stock, (c) issue Common Stock in a private offering of securities to institutional investors, or (d) issue Common Stock to sellers of properties acquired by us in connection with an exchange for Common Units, which are convertible into Common Stock. In addition, as of March 1, 2024, there are currently outstanding: (i) one Warrant to purchase up to 2,553,192 shares of Common Stock; (ii) 42,419,600 Common Units; (iii) 2,250,000 of the class of membership interest of the Operating Company designated as “Performance Units” (the “Performance Units”); (iv) 1,182,507 of the class of membership interest of the Operating Company designated as “LTIP Units” (the “LTIP Units”); (v) 34,878 shares of Series 1 Preferred Stock; (vi) 2,483 shares of Series A Preferred Stock; and (vii) no shares of Series 2 Preferred Stock. Because of these and other reasons described in this “Risk Factors” section, issuances of additional Common Stock will significantly dilute the equity interests of existing holders of Common Stock and may affect prevailing market prices for Common Stock.
Subject to any contractual lock-up provisions and any applicable initial holding period required by the Operating Agreement, a member of the Operating Company may at any time require us to redeem all or any portion of the Common Units such member holds for cash at a per-Common Unit value equal to the 10-day trailing trading average of the Common Stock at the time of the requested redemption. At our election, we may satisfy the redemption through the issuance of Common Stock on a one share of Common Stock for one Common Unit basis. However, the members’ redemption right may not be exercised if and to the extent that the delivery of the Common Stock upon such exercise would result in any person violating the ownership and transfer restrictions set forth in the Charter.
The Charter also authorizes the Board, without stockholder approval, to designate and issue any classes or series of preferred stock (including equity or debt securities convertible into preferred stock) and to set or change the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions and qualifications or terms or conditions of redemption of each class or series of preferred stock so issued. Because the Board has the power to establish the preferences and rights of each class or series of preferred stock, it may afford the holders of any series or class of preferred stock preferences, powers, and rights senior to the rights of holders of Common Stock or Preferred Stock.
Any sales of our Common Stock (including shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise or conversion, as applicable, of the Warrant, Common Units or Preferred Stock or the redemption of Preferred Stock) pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act or our effective registration statements on Form S-11, filed with the SEC on September 25, 2023 (as amended), could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our Common Stock. The issuance of Common Stock upon any exercise or conversion, as applicable, of the Warrant, Common Units or Preferred Stock or redemption of Preferred Stock also may have the effect of reducing our net income per share (or increasing our net loss per share). In addition, the existence of Preferred Stock may encourage short selling by market participants because the existence of redemption payments could depress the value or market price of the Common Stock.
The issuance of additional shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank would have the following effects:
• existing stockholders’ proportionate ownership interest in us will decrease;
• the market price of our Common Stock could decline.
In addition, the Operating Company may issue additional Common Units to third parties without the consent of our stockholders, which would reduce our ownership percentage in the Operating Company and would have a dilutive effect on the amount of distributions made to us by the Operating Company and, therefore, the amount of distributions we can make to our investors. Any such issuances, or the perception of such issuances, could materially and adversely affect the market price of the Common Stock.
Depending on the terms and pricing of any additional offerings and the value of our investments, stockholders also may experience dilution in the book value and fair mark value of, and the amount of distributions paid on, their shares of Common Stock.
We may issue additional shares of Common Stock or other equity securities without your approval, which would dilute your ownership interests and may depress the market price of our Common Stock.
Pursuant to the Incentive Award Plan, we may issue an aggregate of up to 3,687,500 of shares of Common Stock and restricted stock units or incentive units of the Operating Company (or a similar type of incentive equity security permitted under the Incentive Award Plan) issuable to certain of our officers and directors as determined by the compensation committee of the Board, which amount will be subject to increase from time to time. We may also issue additional shares of Common Stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future in connection with, among other things, future acquisitions or repayment of outstanding indebtedness, without stockholder approval, in a number of circumstances.
We may be unable to maintain the continued listing requirements of the NYSE American.
If we fail to meet the continued listing requirements and the NYSE American delists our securities and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
• a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
• reduced liquidity for our securities;
• a limited amount of news and analyst coverage for us; and
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Future offerings of debt, which would be senior to the Common Stock upon liquidation, and/or preferred equity securities, which may be senior to the Common Stock for purposes of distributions or upon liquidation, may adversely affect the market price of the Common Stock.
In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources and fund capital needs by making additional offerings of debt or preferred equity securities. Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and preferred stock, if any, and lenders with respect to other borrowings will receive distributions of our available assets prior to the holders of Common Stock. Additional equity offerings may dilute the holdings of our then-existing stockholders or reduce the market price of the Common Stock, or both. Holders of Common Stock are not entitled to preemptive rights or other protections against dilution. Preferred Stock has, and any preferred stock that we may issue could have, a preference on liquidating distributions or a preference on distribution payments that could limit our ability to make a distribution to the holders of Common Stock. Since our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of the Common Stock and diluting their stock holdings in us.
Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure and Our Constituent Documents and Policies
We are a holding company with no direct operations and, as such, we will rely on funds received from the Operating Company to pay liabilities, and the interests of our stockholders are structurally subordinated to all liabilities and obligations of the Operating Company and its subsidiaries.
We are a holding company and conduct substantially all of our operations through the Operating Company. We do not have, apart from an interest in the Operating Company, any independent operations. As a result, we rely on distributions from the Operating Company to pay any dividends we might declare on our securities. We also rely on distributions from the Operating Company to meet our obligations, including any tax liability on taxable income allocated to us from the Operating Company. In addition, because we are a holding company, claims of our equity holders will be structurally subordinated to all existing and future liabilities and obligations (whether or not for borrowed money) of the Operating Company and its subsidiaries. Therefore, in the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization, our assets and those of the Operating Company and its subsidiaries will be available to satisfy the claims of our stockholders only after all of our and the Operating Company’s liabilities and obligations have been paid in full.
We may change our operational, financing and investment policies without stockholder approval.
The Board will determine our operational, financing and investment policies and may amend or revise our policies, including our policies with respect to acquisitions, dispositions, growth, operations, indebtedness, capitalization and distributions, or approve transactions that deviate from these policies, without a vote of, or notice to, our stockholders. These policy changes could adversely affect the market value of the Common Stock and our ability to make distributions to you. For example, our organizational documents do not limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness, funded or otherwise, that we may incur, and the Board may alter or eliminate any current policy on borrowing at any time without stockholder approval. Accordingly, we could become highly leveraged, which could result in an increase in our debt service costs and increase our exposure to interest rate risks, real estate market fluctuations and liquidity risks.
Ownership limitations and certain provisions in the Charter, as well as certain provisions of Maryland law, may deter, delay or prevent a change in control or acquisition proposals.
Subject to certain exceptions, the Charter provides that no person may beneficially or constructively own more than 9.8% in value of the aggregate outstanding shares of all classes and series of our stock or 9.8% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of the aggregate of outstanding shares of each class or series of our stock. These provisions of the Charter are to promote our orderly governance. However, these provisions also inhibit acquisitions of a significant stake in us and may prevent a change in control of us. Additionally, certain provisions contained in the Charter and the bylaws of the Company (the “Bylaws”) may further deter persons from attempting to acquire control of us and implement changes that may be beneficial to our investors, including, for example, provisions relating to:
• the exclusive power of the Board to fill vacancies on the Board;
• the exclusive power of the Board to amend the Bylaws;
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The Bylaws designate the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, if any, and could discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees, if any.
The Bylaws provide that the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland (or in certain circumstances, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division) will be the sole and exclusive forum for: (a) any “Internal Corporate Claim” as defined by the MGCL; (b) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (c) any action asserting a claim for breach of a duty owed by any of our directors, officers or employees to us or our stockholders; (d) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to the Charter or the Bylaws; or (e) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Maryland. This choice of forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in our stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to these provisions of the Bylaws. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in another judicial forum, including a judicial forum that the stockholder believes is favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees. We believe that requiring these claims to be filed in a single court in Maryland is advisable because (i) litigating these claims in a single court avoids unnecessarily redundant, inconvenient, costly and time-consuming litigation in multiple forums and (ii) Maryland courts are authoritative on matters of Maryland law and Maryland judges have more experience in dealing with issues of Maryland corporate law than judges in any other state. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provisions contained in the Bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited.
The Charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, our directors and officers will not have any liability to us and our stockholders for money damages other than liability resulting from:
In addition, the Charter obligates us to indemnify our present and former directors and officers for actions taken by them in those and other capacities and to pay or reimburse the reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, and effective upon completion of the Merger, we entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers. As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against any present or former director or officer than might otherwise exist absent the provisions in the Charter and indemnification agreements or that might exist with other companies.
Conflicts of interest exist or could arise in the future with the Operating Company or its members.
Conflicts of interest exist or could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our stockholders, on the one hand, and the Operating Company or any member thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to us under applicable Maryland law in connection with their direction of our management. At the same time, under the Operating Agreement, the members of the board of the Operating Company must act in accordance with the implied contractual covenant of good faith and fair dealing in connection with the management of the Operating Company. These duties of the directors of the Operating Company to the Operating Company and its members may come into conflict with our interests. Under the Operating Agreement, except for contractual duties expressly provided under the Operating Agreement and to the extent permitted by the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, no director of the Operating Company has any duties (including any fiduciary duties) to the Operating Company, us, or any subsidiary of the Operating Company, or any of their respective direct and indirect stockholders, or to any member or creditor of the Operating Company. In addition, the Operating Agreement provides that the members agree that (a) the directors of the Operating Company are acting for the benefit of the Operating Company, the members and our stockholders collectively and (b) notwithstanding any duty otherwise existing at law or equity, in the event of a conflict between the interests of the Operating Company or any member, on the one hand, and the separate interests of ours or our stockholders, on the other hand, the directors may give priority to the separate interests of ours or our stockholders (including, without limitation, with respect to tax consequences to members, assignees or our stockholders), and, in the event of such a conflict, any action or failure to act on the part of the directors (or our directors, officers or agents) that gives priority to the separate interests of ours or our stockholders that does not result in a violation of the contract rights of the members under the Operating Agreement does not violate any other duty owed by the directors to the Operating Company and/or the members.
The Operating Agreement provides that a member is not liable to the Operating Company for any action or omission taken in his or her capacity as a member, for the debts or liabilities of the Operating Company or for the obligations of the Operating Company under the Operating Agreement, except for liability for fraud, willful misconduct or gross negligence, or pursuant to any express indemnity given to the Operating Company by the member. The Operating Agreement contains a provision that eliminates the liability of the directors and officers of the Operating Company to the Operating Company, any members or any assignees for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived as a result of errors in judgment or mistakes of fact or law or of any act or omission if such director or officer, as applicable, acted in good faith. The Operating Agreement also provides that any obligation or liability of ours that may arise at any time under the Operating Agreement or any other instrument, transaction or undertaking contemplated by the Operating Agreement will be satisfied, if at all, out of our assets or the assets of the Operating Company only, and no such obligation or liability will be personally binding upon any of our directors, stockholders, officers, employees or agents.
In addition, the Operating Agreement requires the Operating Company to indemnify its directors, officers or employees and any other person designated by the board against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and other legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, that relate to the operations of the Operating Company, unless (a) an 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 and deliberate dishonesty, (b) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the person had reasonable cause to believe the act or omission was unlawful or (c) such person actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or otherwise, in violation or breach of any provision of the Operating Agreement. The Operating Company must also pay or reimburse the reasonable expenses of any such person in advance of a final disposition of the proceeding upon its receipt of a written affirmation of the person’s good faith belief that the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification has been met and a written undertaking by or on behalf of the person to repay any amounts paid or advanced if it is ultimately determined that the person did not meet the standard of conduct for indemnification. The Operating Company is not permitted to indemnify or advance funds to any person (a) with respect to any action initiated by the person seeking indemnification without the board’s approval (except for any proceeding brought to enforce such person’s right to indemnification under the Operating Agreement) or (b) if the person is found to be liable to the Operating Company on any portion of any claim in the action.
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In addition, the Operating Agreement provides for the issuance of membership units designated as LTIP Units and Performance Units. LTIP Units and Performance Units will dilute our interest (and therefore the interest of our stockholders) in the assets of the Operating Company. Holders of LTIP Units and Performance Units will have the same rights to vote as members holding Common Units. Persons holding such voting rights may exercise them in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our stockholders. Furthermore, circumstances may arise in the future when the interest of members in the Operating Company may conflict with the interest of our stockholders. For example, the timing and terms of dispositions of properties held by the Operating Company may result in tax consequences to certain members and not to our stockholders.
Other Risks
We qualify as an “emerging growth company.” The reduced public company reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make its common stock less attractive to investors.
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” under SEC rules. As an emerging growth company, we will be permitted and plan to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These provisions include, but are not limited to: (a) an exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, (b) not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements, (c) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation arrangements in periodic reports, registration statements, and proxy statements, and (d) exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. As a result, the information we provide will be different than the information that is available with respect to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. If some investors find Common Stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for Common Stock, and the market price of Common Stock may be more volatile.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
We have processes for assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats. These processes are integrated into our overall risk management systems and include overseeing and identifying risks from cybersecurity threats associated with the use of third-party service providers. We conduct security assessments of certain third-party providers before engagement and have established monitoring procedures in its effort to mitigate risks related to data breaches or other security incidents originating from third parties.
Governance
Board of Directors
The Audit Committee of our Board (the “Audit Committee”) oversees, among other things, the controls designed to assess, identify, and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. The Audit Committee is informed of material risks from cybersecurity threats pursuant to the escalation criteria as set forth in our disclosure controls and procedures. Further, our Chief Financial Officer and our VP of Technology report on cybersecurity matters, including material risks and threats, to the Audit Committee, and the Audit Committee provides updates to our Board, in each case as frequently as is appropriate.
Management
Under the oversight of the Audit Committee, and as directed by our Chief Financial Officer, our VP of Technology, has established policies for and is primarily responsible for overseeing our cybersecurity incident response plan and related processes that are designed to assess and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. Our VP of Technology has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, with much of that experience in smaller companies and in software architecture and implementation. Our Chief Financial Officer and our VP of Technology are informed about and monitors the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents pursuant to criteria set forth in our incident response plan. In addition, our Chief Financial Officer and our VP of Technology also coordinate with our legal counsel to assess and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats. Our Chief Financial Officer and our VP of Technology provide updates annually or more frequently as appropriate to the Audit Committee.
As of the date of this Annual Report, we are not aware of any cybersecurity threats that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our headquarters are located at 30 W. 4th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. We believe that our current facilities are adequate to meet our ongoing needs and that suitable additional alternative spaces will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms.
As of
December 31, 2023, we owned 43 parking facilities in 21 separate markets throughout the United States with a total of approximately 15,200 parking spaces and approximately 5.4 million square feet, including 24 parking lots and 19 parking garages. We also own approximately 0.2 million square feet of commercial space adjacent to our parking facilities. As of
December 31, 2023, our properties were 100% leased to 14 tenants.
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The following table sets forth the property name, location and other information with respect to the parking facilities we owned as of December 31, 2023:
Bricktown Garage Oklahoma City, OK Garage 555 206,598
Bridgeport Fairfield Garage Bridgeport, CT Garage 878 232,964
Mabley Place Garage Cincinnati, OH Garage 772 353,700
Cincinnati Race Street Cincinnati, OH Garage 317 166,992
Clarksburg Clarksburg, WV Surface Lot 95 35,784
Cleveland West 9th Cleveland, OH Surface Lot 260 94,252
Crown Colony Cleveland, OH Surface Lot 82 23,460
Cleveland Lincoln Cleveland, OH Garage 471 294,361
Denver Champa St. Garage Denver, CO Garage 450 177,650
Denver Sherman 1963 Denver, CO Surface Lot 28 6,250
Detroit Renaissance Garage Detroit, MI Garage 1,273 382,470
Fort Worth Taylor Fort Worth, TX Garage 1,013 372,171
Houston Saks Garage Houston, TX Garage 265 90,750
Houston Preston Lot Houston, TX Surface Lot 46 10,000
Houston San Jacinto Houston, TX Surface Lot 85 28,326
Houston Preferred (1) Houston, TX Garage/Lot 528 140,115
Indianapolis City Park Garage Indianapolis, IN Garage 354 20,473
Indianapolis Washington St Indianapolis, IN Surface Lot 150 46,174
Indianapolis Meridian Indianapolis, IN Surface Lot 36 10,454
Louisville West Broadway Louisville, KY Surface Lot 165 54,450
Raider Park Garage Lubbock, TX Garage 1,508 563,584
Memphis Poplar Memphis, TN Surface Lot 125 37,563
2nd Street Miami Garage Miami, FL Garage 118 36,129
Milwaukee Old World Milwaukee, WI Surface Lot 54 11,250
Milwaukee Wells Milwaukee, WI Surface Lot 148 43,580
Milwaukee Clybourn Milwaukee, WI Surface Lot 15 2,400
Milwaukee Arena Milwaukee, WI Surface Lot 75 48,344
Minneapolis Venture Minneapolis, MN Surface Lot 185 71,737
Minneapolis City Parking Minneapolis, MN Surface Lot 270 86,283
Nashville White Front Nashville, TN Garage 155 44,944
New Orleans Rampart New Orleans, LA Surface Lot 77 27,105
St. Louis Spruce St. Louis, MO Surface Lot 180 53,153
St. Louis Washington St. Louis, MO Surface Lot 63 16,919
St. Louis Broadway St. Louis, MO Surface Lot 146 41,948
St. Louis 7th & Cerre St. Louis, MO Surface Lot 149 46,056
St. Louis Cardinal Lot St. Louis, MO Surface Lot 376 114,424
St. Paul Holiday Garage St. Paul, MN Garage 285 101,568
(1) Houston Preferred includes 2 properties.
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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
The nature of our business exposes our properties, the Company, the Operating Company, and our other subsidiaries to the risk of claims and litigation in the normal course of business. Other than as noted below or routine litigation arising out of the ordinary course of business, we are not presently subject to any material litigation nor, to our knowledge, is any material litigation threatened against us.
See Note P — Commitments and Contingencies in Part II, Item 8 Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements of this Annual Report, which information is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock is traded on the NYSE American under the ticker symbol “BEEP.” Prior to the consummation of the Merger, FWAC’s Class A ordinary shares were listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “FWAC.”
Holders of Record
As of March 1, 2024, we had approximately 30.4 million shares of Common Stock outstanding, held by a total of 1,257 stockholders of record. We believe the actual number of beneficial owners of our Common Stock is greater than this number of record holders and includes beneficial owners whose shares are held in “street name” by brokers, banks and other nominees.
Dividends
We do not currently, and may not in the future, generate sufficient cash flow from operations to pay and fully fund future distributions. We do not currently anticipate that we will be able to resume the payment of distributions. However, if distributions do resume, all or a portion of the distributions may be paid from other sources, such as cash flows from equity offerings, financing activities, or borrowings. We have not established any limit on the extent to which distributions could be funded from these other sources. Accordingly, the amount of distributions paid may not reflect current cash flow from operations and distributions may include a return of capital, (rather than a return on capital). If we pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, the funds available to us for investments would be reduced and the share value may be diluted. The level of distributions will be determined by our Board and depend on several factors including current and projected liquidity requirements, anticipated operating cash flows and tax considerations, and other relevant items deemed applicable by our Board.
No cash dividends can be made on the Common Stock until the preferred distributions are paid.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
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ITEM 6. RESERVED
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on, and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Annual Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Forward-Looking Statements” preceding Part I. and “Risk Factors” for a discussion of forward-looking statements and important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Overview
General
We are a Maryland corporation focused on acquiring, owning and leasing parking facilities and related infrastructure, including parking lots, parking garages and other parking structures throughout the United States. We target both parking garage and surface lot properties primarily in top 50 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”), with proximity to key demand drivers, such as commerce, events and venues, government and institutions, hospitality and multifamily central business districts.
As of December 31, 2023, we owned 43 parking facilities in 21 separate markets throughout the United States, with a total of approximately 15,700 parking spaces and approximately 5.4 million square feet. We also own approximately 0.2 million square feet of commercial space adjacent to our parking facilities.
Consummation of the Merger
On the Closing Date, we consummated the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Additionally, on the Closing Date, the Conversion was consummated by which the Operating Partnership converted into the Operating Company. Finally, on the Closing Date, we consummated the Preferred PIPE Financing, pursuant to which the Preferred PIPE Investors purchased a total of 46,000 shares of Series 2 Preferred Stock at $1,000 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $46,000,000. On December 31, 2023, the Series 2 Preferred Stock converted into 13,787,462 shares of Common Stock inclusive of 1,253,404 shares of Common Stock issued to the Preferred PIPE Investors upon the conversion of dividends.
Impact of Return to Work
The return to normalized movement following the COVID-19 pandemic is relatively uneven among markets and industries, which has impacted the performance of our assets, as many of our properties are located in urban centers, near government buildings, entertainment centers, or hotels. While the employment level in the United States has nearly returned to 2019 levels, many companies continue to deploy a work-from-home or hybrid remote strategy for employees. We anticipate that a hybrid work structure for traditional central business district office workers will be the normalized state going-forward. This has impacted the performance of many of our assets that have office exposure and underscores the importance of a multi-key demand driver strategy in repositioning current and/or acquiring new assets.
Asset Management Contracts
In January and February 2024, 26 of our 43 assets converted to management contracts. We believe asset management contracts provide the opportunity for net operating income ("NOI") growth through more transparent and controlled expense management, and will reduce the revenue variability associated with the timing of payments for contract parking agreements. In addition, the move to management contracts properly aligns the incentives and rewards for revenue growth between the third-party operator and the company. This change is also expected to result in better revenue linearity compared to revenue recognition in our current agreements, in which lease payments are based on cash collections from operators. Overall, the conversion to contracts also provides enhanced visibility on the performance of the portfolio within our financial results. Our intent is to convert the remaining assets to asset management contracts by the end of 2027, with additional assets expected to be converted in 2024.
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The conversion to asset management contracts will impact the comparability of operating results in future periods as we expect to recognize additional revenue because our operators will no longer share in the revenue and certain expenses that were paid by the operators will now be recognized by us.
Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in thousands)
For the Year Ended December 31,
Revenues
Total Revenues
The increase in total revenues for 2023 compared to 2022 is due primarily to the acquisition of one parking asset in Oklahoma City in the second quarter of 2022, increased contract parking and additional demand for event parking, specifically in markets with sporting events, theatres, festivals, and other gatherings, partially offset by changes in lease structures resulting in lower base rental and management income as well as the sale of one parking asset in the first quarter of 2023.
For the Year Ended December 31,
Operating expenses
Property Operating Expense
The $1.0 million decrease in Property Operating Expense is primarily related to professional services related to engineering surveys and other operating expenses in 2022 attributable to the five properties acquired during 2021 and one property acquired during the second quarter of 2022.
General and Administrative Expense
The $4.6 million increase in General and administrative expenses during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to December 31, 2022 is primarily attributable to an increase in Equity Based Compensation in 2023 of $5.6 million offset by a decrease in gross wages of $1.0 million. Equity Based Compensation costs for the year ended December 31, 2023 we attributable to non-cash compensation for certain executive LTIP Units granted in February 2023 and awards granted related to 2023 performance, as well as the cancellation of executive LTIP Units for $1.4 million in the third quarter of 2023.
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Preferred Series 2 - Issuance Expense
As part of accounting for the reverse recapitalization, we evaluated the Series 2 Preferred Stock arrangement, and determined that the fair value of the Series 2 Preferred Stock at the time of the transaction of $66.7 million ($4.84 per share) exceeded the implied conversion rate ($3.34 per share) based on a total of 13,787,464 shares of common stock being issued on December 31, 2023 in return for $46 million in proceeds. As a result, the excess in fair value was treated as non-cash compensation and was recorded as Preferred Series 2 - Issuance Expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Professional Fees
Professional fees decreased by approximately $1.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to consulting costs related to valuation, tax, and accounting services needed in 2022 that were non-recurring items in 2023.
Organizational, Offering and Other Costs
In May 2022, Legacy MIC entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “MIT Merger Agreement”) by and between Legacy MIC and Mobile Infrastructure Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (“MIT”). Pursuant to the terms of the MIT Merger Agreement, Legacy MIC would merge with and into MIT, with MIT continuing as the surviving entity resulting from the transaction. Prior to and as a condition to the merger with MIT, MIT expected to undertake an initial public offering of its common shares of beneficial interest. Also, in March 2022, Legacy MIC had entered into an agreement with MIT, requiring Legacy MIC to be allocated, bear and (where practicable) pay directly certain costs and expenses related to the merger with MIT. In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement with FWAC, the MIT Merger Agreement and the cost allocation agreement with MIT were terminated.
The $2.7 million decrease in Organizational, Offering and Other Costs during 2023 compared to 2022 is due to the termination of the MIT Merger Agreement and other transactions primarily attributable to legal and accounting fees. This is partially offset by transaction costs associated with the Merger that were allocated to the 1,900,000 FWAC Class B ordinary shares that converted to Common Stock and which are subject to an earn-out structure (the “Earn-Out Shares”) under terms outlined in the Second Amended and Restated Sponsor Agreement as well as well as $1.0 million in lender consent costs.
Impairment
During the year ended December 31, 2023 the Company recorded approximately $9.0 million of asset impairment charges related to assets impacted by delayed return-to-work trends or other reductions of demand-drivers impacting these assets, as well as disposition of properties.
For the Year Ended December 31,
Other
Gain (loss) on sale of real estate 660 (52 ) 712 NM
Change in fair value of Earn-out Liability 4,065 — 4,065 100.0 %
Interest Expense
The increase in Interest expense, net of approximately $1.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the prior year is primarily attributable to increases in interest rates on the Revolving Credit Facility compared to the prior year partially offset by the repayment of $9.9 million of mortgage loans and the paydown of $15.0 million on the Revolving Credit Facility.
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Real Estate
In February 2023 we sold a parking lot located in Wildwood, New Jersey for $1.5 million, resulting in a gain on sale of real estate of approximately $0.7 million. We received net proceeds of approximately $0.3 million after the repayment of the outstanding mortgage loan, interest and transaction costs. In September 2022 we sold a parking lot located in Canton, Ohio for $0.7 million, resulting in a loss on sale of real estate of approximately $0.1 million.
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Other Income, Net
The increase in Other Income, Net of approximately $1.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the prior year is primarily attributable to a settlement agreement relating to indemnification expenses entered into in third quarter 2023.
Change in Fair Value of Earn-out Liability
In connection with the Merger, in August 2023 we recognized a liability for Earn-Out Shares which may vest if certain hurdles are met regarding share price. Changes to the fair value during the period are based on changes in Company stock price and are reflected in earnings.
PPP loan forgiveness
During May 2021, the Company received notification from the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA") stating that the first-round paycheck protection program loan was forgiven in full in the amount of $348,000. During April 2022, the Company received notification from the SBA stating that the second-round paycheck protection program loan was forgiven in full in the amount of $328,000. The forgiveness of these loans was recognized in the consolidated statements of operations in the month they were forgiven.
Non-GAAP Measures
Net Operating Income
Net Operating Income (“NOI”) is presented as a supplemental measure of our performance. We believe that NOI provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations, as it highlights operating trends such as pricing and demand for our portfolio at the property level as opposed to the corporate level. NOI is calculated as total revenues less property operating expenses and property taxes. We use NOI internally in evaluating property performance, measuring property operating trends, and valuing properties in our portfolio. Other real estate companies may use different methodologies for calculating NOI, and accordingly, our NOI may not be comparable to other real estate companies. NOI should not be viewed as an alternative measure of our financial performance as it does not reflect the impact of general and administrative expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest expense, other income and expenses, or the level of capital expenditures necessary to maintain the operating performance of our properties that could materially impact our results from operations.
The following table presents our NOI as well as a reconciliation of NOI to Net Loss, the most directly comparable financial measure under U.S. GAAP reported in our consolidated financial statements, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in thousands):
For the Years Ended December 31,
Revenues
Management income — 427
Operating Expenses
Reconciliation
(Gain) loss on sale of real estate (660 ) 52
PPP loan forgiveness — (328 )
Change in fair value of Earn-out Liability (4,065 ) -
Depreciation and amortization 8,512 8,248
Preferred Series 2 - issuance expense 16,101 -
Organizational, offering and other costs 2,862 5,592
Impairment of real estate assets 8,982 -
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EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
Earnings Before Interest Expense, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”) reflects net income (loss) excluding the impact of the following items: interest expense, depreciation and amortization, and the provision for income taxes, for all periods presented. When applicable, Adjusted EBITDA also excludes certain recurring and non-recurring items from EBITDA, including, but not limited to gains or losses from disposition of real estate assets, impairment write-downs of depreciable property, non-cash changes in the fair value of the Earn-out liability, merger-related charges and other expenses, gains or losses on settlements, and stock-based compensation expense.
Our use of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA facilitates comparison with results from other companies because it excludes certain items that can vary widely across different industries or among companies within the same industry. For example, interest expense can be dependent on a company’s capital structure, debt levels, and credit ratings. The tax positions of companies can also vary because of their differing abilities to take advantage of tax benefits and because of the tax policies of the jurisdictions in which they operate. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA also exclude depreciation and amortization expense because differences in types, use, and costs of assets can result in considerable variability in depreciation and amortization expense among companies. We exclude stock-based compensation expense in all periods presented to address the considerable variability among companies in recording compensation expense because companies use stock-based payment awards differently, both in the type and quantity of awards granted. We use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as measures of operating performance which allow us to compare earnings and evaluate debt leverage and fixed cost coverage.
The following table presents our calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in thousands):
For the Year Ended December 31,
Reconciliation of Net loss to Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to the Company
Depreciation and amortization 8,512 8,248
EBITDA Attributable to the Company $ (15,816 ) $ 2,834
Organization and offering costs 2,862 5,592
Impairment of real estate 8,982 -
Preferred Series 2 - Issuance expense 16,101 -
Change in fair value of Earn-out Liability (4,065 ) -
Gain on settlement of indemnification liability (1,155 ) -
Gain on sale of real estate (660 ) 52
PPP loan forgiveness - (328 )
Equity and non-cash compensation 8,552 2,901
Adjusted EBITDA Attributable to the Company $ 14,801 $ 11,051
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources and Uses of Cash
Aside from standard operating expenses, we expect our principal cash demands to be for:
● principal and interest payments on our outstanding indebtedness;
● capital expenditures; and
● acquisitions of assets.
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Our principal source of funds will be rental income from tenants at our parking facilities as well as existing cash on hand as a result of the Merger and the Preferred PIPE Investment. We also may sell properties that we own or place mortgages on properties that we own to raise capital.
.
Debt
During 2022 and 2023, and subsequent to December 31, 2023, we have taken steps to both extend and ladder maturities in our debt profile, including:
In February 2024, we refinanced $5.5 million of notes payable maturing in March 2024 with a 10-year note for $5.9 million. In March 2024, we executed the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement, which provided extension options through June 2025 with increased interest rate spreads above SOFR at each extension. We executed one of these options, which extends the maturity through October 2024. Exercising an option following that maturity date would result in an interest rate spread above SOFR of 3.5%. We intend to pursue additional refinancing options related to the Credit Agreement and our near-term maturities.
Certain lenders may require reserves related to capital improvements, insurance, and excess cash. These lender-required reserves make up the majority of our restricted cash amounts as of December 31, 2023.
Capital Expenditures
Existing capital expenditure activities expected to be completed in the near-term for general deferred maintenance are expected to cost approximately $0.3 million.
Asset Acquisitions
Our future acquisitions or development of properties cannot be accurately projected because such acquisitions or development activities depend upon available opportunities that come to our attention and upon our ability to successfully acquire, develop and lease such properties. However, we have identified a pipeline of acquisition opportunities that we believe is bespoke and actionable, while being largely off-market and unavailable to our competitors. As of December 31, 2023, we have identified and are evaluating several parking facilities with more than $300 million in asset value as potential acquisition targets.
Distributions and Warrants
In March 2018, we suspended the payment of distributions on our Common Stock. There can be no assurance that cash distributions to our common stockholders will be resumed in the future. The actual amount and timing of distributions, if any, will be determined by our Board in its discretion and typically will depend on various factors that our Board deems relevant.
We do not currently, and may not in the future, generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fully fund distributions. We do not currently anticipate that we will be able to resume the payment of distributions. However, if distributions do resume, all or a portion of the distributions may be paid from other sources, such as cash flows from equity offerings, financing activities, borrowings, or by way of waiver or deferral of fees. We have not established any limit on the extent to which distributions could be funded from these other sources.
We are currently accruing dividends in accordance with the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock and Series 1 Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2023, the balance unpaid dividends outstanding was approximately $0.8 million and $9.7 million for Series A Preferred Stock and Series 1 Preferred Stock, respectively. No cash dividend on the Common Stock can be paid until the preferred distributions are paid.
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As a result of the Merger, our previously outstanding warrant became the Warrant to purchase 2,553,192 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $7.83 per share, exercisable as of the date of the Closing. As of the Closing Date, FWAC, Legacy MIC, and Color Up entered into a Warrant Assumption and Amendment Agreement (the “Warrant Assumption and Amendment Agreement”) to the Warrant Agreement, whereby the Company assumed the Common Stock Warrants remaining outstanding and unexpired at that time, and such Common Stock Warrants became the common stock warrants of the Company. On August 29, 2023, the Company and Color Up entered into the Amended and Restated Warrant Agreement pursuant to which the Warrant Agreement was amended and restated to reflect the effects of the Merger and permit Color Up to exercise the Warrant on a cashless basis at Color Up’s option.
While exercise of the Warrant is a potential source of cash, we do not currently believe this is a likely event and therefore do not use this assumption in our operating plans.
Cash flow activities
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (dollars in thousands):
For the Year Ended December 31,
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ (2,125 ) $ 1,509
Net cash (used in) investing activities $ (346 ) $ (19,442 )
Net cash provided by financing activities $ 8,208 $ 12,211
Cash flows from operating activities
The cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to payments of deferred offering costs and other Merger-related amounts paid and an increase in cash paid for interest as a result of higher rates during the same comparable period.
Cash flows from investing activities
The cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to capital expenditures offset by proceeds from the sale of one parking asset in February 2023. The cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily attributable to routine and strategic capital expenditures and the acquisition of one parking asset in June 2022.
Cash flows from financing activities
The cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to the Merger and the PIPE investment. The proceeds from the Merger were then used to fund the $15.0 million paydown of the Revolving Credit Facility, payment of transaction costs, and pay-off of certain of mortgage loans. The cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily attributable to proceeds from the Revolving Credit Facility of $73.7 million partially offset by the repayment of $55.1 million of notes payable and loan fees resulting from the Revolving Credit Facility.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our accounting estimates have been established in conformity with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to use judgment in the application of accounting policies, including making estimates and assumptions. These judgments affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. If management’s judgment or interpretation of the facts and circumstances relating to various transactions is different, it is possible that different accounting policies will be applied, or different amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses will be recorded, resulting in a different presentation of the financial statements or different amounts reported in the financial statements.
Additionally, other companies may utilize different estimates that may impact comparability of our results of operations to those of companies in similar businesses. Below is a discussion of the accounting policies that management considers to be most critical. These policies require complex judgment in their application or estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain.
Merger Accounting
In connection with the Merger, we were required to estimate the fair value of multiple forms of equity. These fair value estimates impacted the allocation and classification of the costs incurred during the Merger.
1,900,000 FWAC Class B ordinary shares that converted to Common Stock are subject to “Earn-Out Shares” under terms outlined in the Second Amended and Restated Sponsor Agreement. The Earn-Out Shares vest if certain milestones related to share price are achieved as further described in Footnote I. Because the shares have voting rights but have contingent vesting conditions, we have included the shares as issued but not outstanding on the face of the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The estimated fair value of the Earn-Out Shares was recorded as approximately $5.8 million as of the Closing Date and is presented as earnout liability on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. We allocated $0.9 million of offering costs to the Earn-Out Shares, which was recorded as part of Organization, offering, and other costs on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. We estimated the fair value of each tranche of shares separately using a Monte Carlo simulation. These estimates require us to make various assumptions about the risk-free rate, expected volatility for each tranche of the Earn-Out Shares, and other items that are unobservable and are considered Level 3 inputs in the fair value hierarchy. Because we are a newly-listed company with limited share activity, we were required to exercise judgment in estimating expected volatility (30.0% to 45.0%) and in selection of comparable companies. The estimated fair value of the Earn-Out shares will continue to impact our financial results each quarter, and changes to our underlying assumption or our performance could result in a material change to our earnings.
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As part of accounting for the reverse recapitalization, we evaluated the Series 2 Preferred Stock arrangement using the guidance in ASC 820 and 480. We determined the fair value of the Series 2 Preferred Stock, including the dividends to be paid-in-kind, was $66.7 million ($4.84 per share) at the time of the transaction. We compared the fair value to the implied conversion rate based on a total of 13,787,464 shares of common stock being issued and $4.6 million of dividends paid in kind in return for $46 million in proceeds. As a result, the excess in fair value was treated as non-cash compensation and was recorded as Preferred Series 2 issuance expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. A change in our assumptions, such as expected volatility and the discount for lack of marketability, around the valuation of these shares could have resulted in an allocation of offering costs that was recorded as additional paid in capital rather than impacting earnings.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
On a quarterly basis, we employ a multi-step approach to assess our real estate assets for possible impairment and record any impairment charges identified. The first step is the identification of potential triggering events, such as declines in NOI and performance compared to internal forecasts. If the results of this first step indicate a triggering event for a property, we proceed to the second step, utilizing an undiscounted cash flow model to identify potential impairment. If the undiscounted cash flows are less than the net book value of the property as of the balance sheet date, we record an impairment charge based on the fair value determined in the third step.
Valuing our investment in real estate assets in both the second and third step of our impairment testing requires us to utilize a significant amount of judgment in the inputs that we select. We select these inputs based on all available evidence and using techniques that are commonly employed by other real estate companies. To estimate fair value we may use internally developed valuation models or independent third-parties where available. In either case, the fair value of real estate may be based on a number of approaches including the income capitalization approach, sales comparable approach or discounted cash flow approach. We utilize market data such as sales price per stall on comparable recent real estate transactions to estimate the fair value of the real estate assets. We also utilize expected net sales proceeds to estimate the fair value of any centers that are actively being marketed for sale.
We believe that our real estate valuation estimates are based on reasonable assumptions. However, the use of inappropriate estimates could result in an incorrect valuation of our real estate properties, which could result in material impairment losses in the future.
Acquisitions
All assets acquired and liabilities assumed in an acquisition of real estate accounted for as a business combination are measured at their acquisition date fair values. For acquisitions of real estate accounted for as an asset acquisition, the fair value of consideration transferred by us (including transaction costs) is allocated to all assets acquired and liabilities assumed on a relative fair value basis.
In making estimates of fair values for purposes of allocating purchase price, we will utilize several sources, including independent appraisals that may be obtained in connection with the acquisition or financing of the respective property and other market data. We will also consider information obtained about each property as a result of the our pre-acquisition due diligence, as well as subsequent marketing and leasing activities, in estimating the fair value of the tangible and intangible assets acquired and intangible liabilities assumed.
We allocate the purchase price of acquired properties to tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired based on their relative fair values. Tangible assets include land, land improvements, buildings, fixtures and tenant improvements on an as-if vacant basis. We utilize various estimates, processes and information to determine the as-if vacant property value. Estimates of value are made using customary methods, including data from appraisals, comparable sales, discounted cash flow analysis and other methods. Amounts allocated to land, land improvements, buildings and fixtures are based on valuations performed by independent third parties or on our analysis of comparable properties in our portfolio. Identifiable intangible assets include amounts allocated to acquire leases for above- and below-market lease rates, the value of in-place leases, and the value of customer relationships, as applicable. The aggregate value of intangible assets related to in-place leases is primarily the difference between the property valued with existing in-place leases adjusted to market rental rates and the property valued as if vacant. Factors considered in our analysis of the in-place lease intangibles include an estimate of carrying costs during the expected lease-up period for each property, considering current market conditions and costs to execute similar leases. In estimating carrying costs, we will include real estate taxes, insurance and other operating expenses and estimates of lost rentals at market rates during the expected lease-up period. Estimates of costs to execute similar leases including leasing commissions, legal and other related expenses are also utilized.
The value of lease intangibles is amortized to depreciation and amortization expense over the remaining term of the respective lease. If a tenant terminates its lease with us, the unamortized portion of the in-place lease intangibles is recognized over the shortened lease term.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise reported under this item.
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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Our consolidated financial statements, together with the report of our independent registered public accounting firm, appear on pages F-1 though F-27 of this Annual Report.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Controls and Procedures
The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) or Rule 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports under the Exchange Act is processed, recorded, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
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The Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023, the end of the period covered by this report. Based on the foregoing, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded, as of that time, the disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting described below. Notwithstanding the identified material weaknesses, management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, believes the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report fairly represent, in all material respects, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
Previously Disclosed Material Weaknesses