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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration Statement No. 333-213614
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated September 26, 2016)
4,250,000 Shares of Common Stock
We are offering 4,250,000 shares of our common stock, $0.01 par value per share. We are a fully-integrated healthcare real estate company that is organized as a Maryland corporation. As of June 30, 2017, our portfolio consisted of 77 wholly-owned real estate properties and one mortgage note secured by a real estate property, located across 25 states with approximately 1.7 million square feet in the aggregate.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol "CHCT." On July 20, 2017, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NYSE was $23.45 per share.
We are organized and conduct our operations to maintain our qualifications as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To assist us in maintaining our qualification as a REIT, among other purposes, our charter generally limits any person from beneficially or constructively owning more than 9.8% in value or number, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of any class or series of our capital stock. See "Description of Common StockRestrictions on Ownership and Transfer" beginning on page 11 in the accompanying prospectus.
We are an "emerging growth company" under the federal securities laws and are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our common stock involves risks. See "Risk Factors" beginning on page S-7 of this prospectus supplement and the risk factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, as well as additional risks that may be described in future reports or information that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, which are incorporated herein by reference.
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||||
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Per Share |
Total |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
Public offering price |
$23.45 | $99,662,500 | ||
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) |
$1.113875 | $4,733,969 | ||
Proceeds, before expenses, to us |
$22.336125 | $94,928,531 | ||
|
We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 637,500 shares of our common stock within 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or accompanying prospectus is accurate, truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Delivery of the shares of our common stock in book-entry form is expected to be made on or about July 26, 2017.
Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P. | Evercore ISI | SunTrust Robinson Humphrey | ||
BB&T Capital Markets |
Fifth Third Securities |
Janney Montgomery Scott |
The date of this prospectus supplement is July 20, 2017
In this prospectus supplement, unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires, all references to "CHCT," "we," "our," "us" or "our company" refer to Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated, a Maryland corporation, and our consolidated subsidiaries, including Community Healthcare OP, LP, a Delaware limited partnership, or our Operating Partnership, of which we are the sole general partner and own 100% of its limited partnership interests.
In making your investment decision, you should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, in the accompanying prospectus and in any free writing prospectus with respect to this offering filed by us with the SEC. Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information,
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or take any responsibility for, or can provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, any free writing prospectus with respect to the offering filed by us with the SEC and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein is accurate only as of their respective dates. Our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
We and the underwriters are not offering to sell nor seeking offers to buy shares of our common stock in any jurisdiction where such offers and sales are not permitted. The distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the offering of our common stock in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law.
S-ii
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This document is in two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The second part, the accompanying prospectus, gives more general information, some of which does not apply to this offering, regarding securities that we may offer from time to time. You should read both this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus before making a decision to invest in our common stock.
To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement, on the one hand, and the information contained in the accompanying prospectus, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement. You should also read and consider the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as described under the caption "Incorporation By Reference" beginning on page S-14 of this prospectus supplement.
S-iii
IMPORTANT CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, or our 2016 Form 10-K, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2017, or our 2017 Form 10-Q, contain or incorporate statements that we believe are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. These statements relate to our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, earnings outlook and prospects. You can find many of these statements by looking for words such as "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "contemplate," "seek," "assume," "believe," "intend," "plan," "forecast," "goal," "estimate," or other similar expressions which identify these forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Accordingly, you are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Although we believe that the current expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, such expectations may prove to have been materially different from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by law, we also disclaim any obligation to update our view of any such risks or uncertainties or to announce publicly any revisions to the forward-looking statements made or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements, including those risks set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of this prospectus supplement and the risk factors set forth in our 2016 Form 10-K and our 2017 Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and the following:
S-iv
While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements that are based on information currently available to us or the third parties making the forward-looking statements. Also, these forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of the document containing the applicable statement. You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, including the 2016 Form 10-K and the 2017 Form 10-Q, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from those described in forward-looking statements. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in the foregoing documents by these cautionary statements.
You should assume that information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompany prospectus is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, as applicable. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes after the date of this prospectus supplement or the date of the document incorporated by reference, as applicable.
S-v
This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, including our 2016 Form 10-K and our 2017 Form 10-Q, and any free writing prospectus we file. As a result, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you or that you should consider before making a decision to invest in our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, including the 2016 Form 10-K and 2017 Form 10-Q, and any free writing prospectus we file. In this prospectus supplement, we define our "target submarkets," collectively, as submarkets in which we currently own and/or intend to acquire in the future, properties that are generally characterized as areas not adjacent to urban hospitals, suburban areas, exurban areas and other areas that are close to population bases that utilize healthcare services. Unless the context otherwise requires or indicates, the information set forth in this prospectus supplement assumes that the underwriters have not exercised their option to purchase additional shares of common stock.
Company Overview
We are a fully-integrated healthcare real estate company organized as a Maryland corporation on March 28, 2014. We own and acquire, or finance, real estate properties that are leased to hospitals, doctors, healthcare systems or other healthcare service providers in our target submarkets.
As of June 30, 2017, our portfolio consisted of 77 wholly-owned real estate properties and one mortgage note secured by a real estate property, located across 25 states with approximately 1.7 million square feet in the aggregate. In addition, as of June 30, 2017, the real estate properties were approximately 92.7% leased with a weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 6.12 years. Also, as of the date of this prospectus supplement, we had drawn approximately $58 million under our revolving facility.
Our strategic focus is to invest in real estate that is diversified across healthcare provider, geography, facility type and industry segment. We believe that favorable demographic trends, continuing increases in healthcare spending and the continuing shift in the delivery of healthcare services to community-based outpatient facilities create attractive opportunities for our company. We focus on healthcare facilities located in our target submarkets because we believe these properties are essential to healthcare providers in their local markets and can generate more attractive risk-adjusted returns than similar facilities in urban submarkets. In addition, we believe management's extensive relationships with healthcare providers and owners of healthcare facilities provides us with the opportunity to acquire attractive healthcare facilities in our target submarkets outside of a competitive bidding process.
Substantially all of our revenue is derived from net leases pursuant to which our tenants are generally responsible for substantially all of the operating expenses relating to the property, including real estate taxes, utilities, property insurance, routine maintenance and repairs and property management. We believe this net lease structure helps insulate us from increases in certain operating expenses and provides more predictable cash flow. The leases for our properties typically include rent escalation provisions designed to provide us with annual growth in our rental revenues. Our tenants include many nationally recognized healthcare providers (or their affiliates), such as Adventist HealthCare, Inc., Hospital Corporation of America, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co., Davita, Inc., Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Catholic Healthcare Initiatives and Envision Healthcare.
We have elected to be taxed and operate in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We conduct our business through an UPREIT structure in which our assets are owned by Community Healthcare OP, LP, or our Operating Partnership, directly or through limited partnerships, limited liability companies or other subsidiaries.
S-1
We are the sole general partner of our Operating Partnership and, as of June 30, 2017, own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the units of limited partnership interest, or OP units, in our Operating Partnership.
Our corporate offices are located at 3326 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 150, Franklin, Tennessee 37067. Our telephone number is 615-771-3052. Our website is www.chct.reit. The information contained on, or accessible through, our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus and should not be considered a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
Competitive Strengths
We believe our management team's significant healthcare, real estate and public REIT management experience distinguishes us from other REITs and real estate operators, both public and private. Specifically, our competitive strengths include, among others:
S-2
healthcare lending for AmSouth Bank. Ms. Stach has experience in public healthcare REIT accounting and financial reporting.
Business Objective
Our principal business objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to our stockholders through a combination of (i) sustainable and increasing rental income and cash flow that generates reliable, increasing dividends and (ii) potential long-term appreciation in the value of our properties and common stock. Our primary strategies to achieve our business objective are to invest in, own and proactively manage a diversified portfolio of healthcare properties, which we believe will drive reliable, increasing rental revenue and cash flow.
Growth Strategy
We intend to continue to grow our portfolio of healthcare properties primarily through acquisitions of healthcare facilities in our target submarkets that provide stable revenue growth and predictable long-term cash flows. We generally focus on individual acquisition opportunities between $2 million and $25 million in off-market or lightly marketed transactions and do not intend to participate in competitive bidding or auctions of properties. We believe that there are abundant opportunities to acquire attractive healthcare properties in our target submarkets either from third-party owners of existing healthcare facilities or directly with healthcare providers through sale-leaseback transactions. We believe there is significantly less competition for assets located in our target submarkets from existing REITs and institutional buyers than for comparable assets in urban areas, thereby increasing the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns. Furthermore, we may acquire healthcare properties on a non-cash basis in a tax efficient manner through the issuance of OP units as consideration for the transaction.
Our investment portfolio is diversified among healthcare facility type and segments such as ambulatory surgery centers, behavioral facilities, dialysis clinics, medical office buildings, oncology centers, physician clinics, acute care hospitals, assisted living facilities, post-acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and specialty hospitals, as well as being diverse both geographically and with respect to our tenant base. We seek to invest in properties where we can develop strategic alliances with
S-3
financially sound healthcare providers that offer need-based healthcare services in our target submarkets.
Recent Developments
Investments Closed in the Second Quarter of 2017
During the second quarter of 2017, we acquired ten properties for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $36.2 million. Our expected returns on these property acquisitions range from approximately 9% to 10%. We funded our second quarter investments with cash from operations and proceeds from our revolving facility.
Properties under Signed Term Sheet
As of the date of this prospectus supplement, we have signed term sheets with respect to eight properties for an aggregate expected purchase price of approximately $72.3 million. Our expected return on these investments range from approximately 9% to 12%. We are currently negotiating and performing due diligence procedures customary for these types of transactions and cannot provide any assurance as to whether we will enter into definitive agreements to acquire the properties and whether we will complete these acquisitions on the anticipated terms, on the anticipated timeline, or at all. We anticipate funding these additional investments with cash on hand and the net proceeds from this offering or from proceeds from our credit agreement.
Leased Square Footage
At June 30, 2017, our portfolio was 92.7% leased. During the second quarter of 2017, we had expiring or terminated leases related to approximately 28,800 square feet and leased or renewed leases relating to approximately 48,000 square feet. We continue to be encouraged by our lease renewals and negotiations.
Amended and Restated Credit Agreement
On March 29, 2017, we entered into an amended and restated $250 million credit agreement, or our credit agreement, which provides for a $150 million revolving facility and $100 million in term loans. The term loans, which allow for a delayed draw of a portion of the funds, consist of $50 million maturing in March 2022 and $50 million maturing in March 2024. The revolving facility matures in August 2019, with two 12-month extension options. The credit agreement replaced our previous $150 million revolving credit facility.
Amounts outstanding under the revolving facility bear interest at either LIBOR plus a margin of between 1.75% and 2.75% or base rate plus a margin of between 0.75% and 1.75%. Amounts outstanding under the term loans bear interest at LIBOR plus a margin of between 2.20% and 2.90%, depending on the maturity and our leverage. The credit agreement has an accordion feature that allows the total borrowing capacity under the credit agreement to be increased to $450 million, including the ability to add and fund additional term loans. On March 29, 2017, we borrowed $60 million under the term loans in equal amounts of five and seven year maturities. We have 15 months from the close date to borrow undrawn amounts under the term loans.
On March 31, 2017, we entered into interest rate swap agreements that fixed the interest rates on the five-year term loan at 4.147% and on the seven-year term loan at 4.535%, depending on our leverage, through the maturity date of each respective term loan.
S-4
Executive 10b5-1 Trading Plan
On February 27, 2017, Timothy Wallace, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, entered into a new 10b5-1 trading plan pursuant to which he may acquire additional shares of our common stock from time to time. The new 10b5-1 trading plan replaced Mr. Wallace's previous 10b5-1 trading plan, dated February 29, 2016, which expired on December 31, 2016. The new 10b5-1 trading plan became effective April 3, 2017. Under the new 10b5-1 trading plan, Mr. Wallace is able to purchase up to the lesser of $2,000,000 or 100,000 shares of our common stock, subject to timing, price and trading limitations.
Dividend Increase
We increased our common stock cash dividend for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. This dividend, in the amount of $0.39 per share, as compared to $0.3875 per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, was paid on June 2, 2017 to stockholders of record on May 19, 2017. This dividend rate equates to an annualized dividend of $1.56 per share. We have increased our dividend every quarter since our initial public offering.
S-5
The following description contains basic information about our common stock and this offering. This description is not complete and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before making a decision to invest in our common stock. For a more complete understanding of our common stock, you should read the section entitled "Description of Common Stock" beginning on page 10 of the accompanying prospectus. To the extent the following information is inconsistent with the information in the accompanying prospectus, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.
Issuer |
Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated | |
Common stock offered by us |
4,250,000 shares (or 4,887,500 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). |
|
Common stock to be outstanding after this offering |
17,371,163 shares (or 18,008,663 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full).(1) |
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Use of proceeds |
We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, will be approximately $94.6 million (or approximately $108.9 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). |
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We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering (i) to repay the outstanding indebtedness under our revolving facility, (ii) to fund future acquisitions in accordance with our investment guidelines and (iii) for general corporate and working capital purposes. See "Use of Proceeds" beginning on page S-11 of this prospectus supplement. |
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Restrictions on ownership |
We are organized and conduct our operations to maintain our qualification as a REIT, for federal income tax purposes. To assist us in maintaining our qualification as a REIT, among other purposes, our charter generally limits any person from beneficially or constructively owning more than 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of any class or series of our capital stock. See "Description of Common StockRestrictions on Ownership and Transfer" beginning on page 11 in the accompanying prospectus. |
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Risk factors |
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risks. See page S-7 of this prospectus supplement and the risk factors set forth in our 2016 Form 10-K and our 2017 Form 10-Q, which are incorporated herein by reference. |
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NYSE symbol |
CHCT |
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Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors, as well as those contained in our 2016 Form 10-K and our 2017 Form 10-Q and all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, before deciding to invest in our common stock. The realization of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects and holders of our common stock could lose some or all of their investment. Some statements in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including statements in the following risk factors, constitute forward-looking statements. See "Important Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" beginning on page S-iv of this prospectus supplement and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" beginning on page 2 of the accompanying prospectus.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock, This Offering and Our Business
The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile, and you may not be able to resell shares of our common stock at prices equal to or greater than the price you paid or at all.
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE. As an active trading market continues to develop for our common stock, the market price of our common stock may be volatile. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur, and investors in our common stock may from time to time experience a decrease in the value of their shares, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance or prospects. If the market price of our common stock declines significantly, you may be unable to resell your shares at or above the price at which you purchased such shares. We cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future.
Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common stock include:
S-7
We have a limited operating history; therefore there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully continue to operate our business as a publicly traded company or generate sufficient cash flows to make or sustain distributions to our stockholders.
We commenced operations on May 27, 2015 and have a limited operating history. We are subject to all of the business risks and uncertainties associated with any new business, including the risk that we will not achieve our investment objectives as described in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus and that the value of our common stock could decline substantially. Our financial condition and results of operations depend on many factors, including the availability of acquisition opportunities, readily accessible short- and long-term financing, conditions in the financial markets and economic conditions generally. There can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flow over time to pay our operating expenses and make distributions to stockholders. If we fail to successfully operate our business, implement our investment strategy or generate sufficient revenue to make or sustain distributions to stockholders, the value of your common stock could decline significantly or you could lose all or a portion of your investment.
Mortgage notes in which we have invested or may invest may be impacted by unfavorable real estate market conditions, which could decrease their value.
If we acquire an investment in a mortgage note, such investment will involve special risks relating to the particular borrower, and we will be at risk of loss on that investment, including losses as a result of a default on the mortgage note. For example, on June 23, 2017, the borrower under our only outstanding mortgage note filed for bankruptcy in the state of Louisiana. The net balance on this mortgage note was approximately $10.6 million as of March 31, 2017 and there can be no assurance that we will recover the full value of this mortgage note. These losses may be caused by many conditions beyond our control, including economic conditions affecting real estate values, tenant defaults and lease expirations, interest rate levels and the other economic and liability risks associated with real estate. We do not know whether the values of the property securing any of our real estate-related investments will remain at the levels existing on the dates we initially make the related investment. If the values of the underlying properties drop, our risk will increase and the values of our interests may decrease.
Increases in market interest rates may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock as prospective purchasers of our common stock may expect a higher dividend yield and as an increased cost of borrowing may decrease our funds available for distribution.
One of the factors that influences the market price of our common stock is the dividend yield on our common stock (as a percentage of the price of our common stock) relative to market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates, which are currently at low levels relative to historical rates, may lead prospective purchasers of our common stock to expect a higher dividend yield (with a resulting decline in the trading prices of our common stock) and higher interest rates would likely increase our borrowing costs and potentially decrease funds available for distribution. Thus, higher market interest rates could cause the market price of our common stock to decrease.
S-8
We have entered into and may enter into in the future swap agreements from time to time that may not effectively reduce our exposure to changes in interest rates.
We entered into two swap agreements during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and may enter into similar swap agreements in the future to manage some of our exposure to interest rate volatility. These swap agreements involve risks, such as the risk that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under these arrangements. In addition, these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to changes in interest rates. Increases in interest rates on any variable rate indebtedness will increase our interest expense, which could adversely affect our cash flow and our ability to pay dividends.
Our issuance of common stock or the perception that such issuances might occur could materially adversely affect us, including the per share trading price of our common stock.
The vesting of any restricted shares of common stock granted to certain of our directors, executive officers and other employees under our 2014 Incentive Plan, as amended, the issuance of our common stock or OP units in connection with future property, portfolio or business acquisitions and other issuances of our common stock could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock, and the existence of our common stock issuable under our 2014 Incentive Plan, as amended, may adversely affect the terms upon which we may be able to obtain additional capital through the sale of equity securities. In addition, future issuances of our common stock may be dilutive to existing stockholders.
If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our industry or if they downgrade our common stock or the healthcare-related real estate sector, the price of our common stock could decline.
The trading market for our common stock relies in part upon the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our industry. We have no control over these analysts. Furthermore, if one or more of the analysts who do cover us downgrades our shares or our industry or the stock of any of our competitors, the market price of our common stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company, we could lose attention in the market which in turn could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
Failure to remain qualified as a REIT would cause us to be taxed as a regular corporation, which would adversely affect the value of our shares and substantially reduce funds available for distributions to our stockholders.
Our organization and method of operation have enabled us to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2015. However, we cannot assure you that we will remain qualified as a REIT. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The complexity of these provisions and of the applicable Treasury regulations that have been promulgated under the Code, or the Treasury Regulations, is greater in the case of a REIT that, like us, holds its assets through an operating partnership. The determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control may affect our ability to qualify as a REIT. In order to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy a number of requirements, including requirements regarding the ownership of our stock, the composition of our assets and the composition of our income. In addition, we must distribute to stockholders annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid, deduction and excluding net capital gains. Legislation, new Treasury Regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions may materially adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we will face serious tax consequences that will substantially reduce the funds available for distribution to our stockholders because:
In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will no longer be required to make distributions. As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and it would adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
S-10
We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, will be approximately $94.6 million, or approximately $108.9 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares from us in full. We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering: (i) to repay the outstanding indebtedness under our revolving facility, (ii) to fund future acquisitions in accordance with our investment guidelines and (iii) for general corporate and working capital purposes.
As of the date of this prospectus supplement, the interest rate under our revolving facility was equal to approximately 3.47%. In addition, as of the date of this prospectus supplement, we are obligated to pay an annual fee equal to 0.25% of the unused portion of our revolving facility. The revolving facility matures on August 9, 2019 and includes two 12-month options to extend the maturity date of the facility, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Borrowings under our revolving facility were used for investment in real estate and other general corporate purposes.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., Branch Banking and Trust Company, an affiliate of BB&T Capital Markets, and Fifth Third Bank, an affiliate of Fifth Third Securities, Inc., serve as joint lead arrangers and joint book managers under our credit agreement, and an affiliate of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. serves as administrative agent under our credit agreement. Accordingly, these underwriters or their affiliates will receive a portion of the net proceeds of this offering that are used to repay the outstanding indebtedness under our revolving facility. See "Underwriting" beginning on page S-12 of this prospectus supplement.
Pending application of the net proceeds of this offering, we intend to invest the net proceeds in interest-bearing accounts, money market accounts and interest-bearing securities in a manner that is consistent with our intention to maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT. Such investments may include, for example, government and government agency certificates, government bonds, certificates of deposit, interest-bearing bank deposits, money market accounts and mortgage loan participations.
S-11
Under the terms and subject to the conditions in an underwriting agreement, dated as of the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters named below, for whom Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P., Evercore Group L.L.C. and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell them, severally, the number of shares of common stock indicated below:
Underwriter
|
Number of shares of common stock |
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Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P. |
1,204,450 | |||
Evercore Group L.L.C. |
1,204,025 | |||
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. |
1,204,025 | |||
BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC |
212,500 | |||
Fifth Third Securities, Inc. |
212,500 | |||
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC |
212,500 | |||
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Total |
4,250,000 | |||
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The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the "underwriters." The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock subject to their acceptance of the shares from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus supplement are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to take and pay for all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus supplement if any such shares are taken. However, the underwriters are not required to take or pay for the shares covered by the underwriters' over-allotment option described below.
The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the shares of common stock directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and part of the shares to certain dealers. After the initial offering of the shares of common stock, the offering price, and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives.
We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement, to purchase up to 637,500 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus supplement, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, made in connection with the offering of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus supplement. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase about the same percentage of the additional shares of common stock as the number listed next to the underwriter's name in the preceding table bears to the total number of shares of common stock listed next to the names of all underwriters in the preceding table.
The following table shows the per share and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions, and proceeds, before expenses, to us. These amounts are shown assuming both no
S-12
exercise and full exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase up to an additional 637,500 shares of common stock.
|
Per Share | Without Option | With Option | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public offering price |
$ | 23.45 | $ | 99,662,500 | $ | 114,611,875 | ||||
Underwriting discounts and commissions |
$ | 1.113875 | $ | 4,733,969 | $ | 5,444,064 | ||||
Proceeds, before expenses, to us |
$ | 22.336125 | $ | 94,928,531 | $ | 109,167,811 |
The estimated offering expenses payable by us, exclusive of underwriting discounts and commissions, are approximately $290,000.
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the trading symbol "CHCT."
We, each of our directors and our executive officers have agreed that, without the prior written consent of the representatives of the underwriters, they will not, during the period ending 90 days after the date of this prospectus supplement:
In order to facilitate the offering of the shares of common stock, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the shares of common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more shares than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of shares available for purchase by the underwriters under the over-allotment option. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the over-allotment option or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of shares compared to the price available under the over-allotment option. The underwriters may also sell shares in excess of the over-allotment option, creating a naked short position. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the shares of common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. As an additional means of facilitating this offering, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, shares of common stock in the open market to stabilize the price of the shares of common stock. These activities may raise or maintain the market price of the shares of common stock above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of the shares of common stock. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory, commercial banking and investment banking services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expense reimbursement. In addition, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., Branch Banking and Trust Company, an affiliate of
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BB&T Capital Markets, and Fifth Third Bank, an affiliate of Fifth Third Securities, Inc., serve as joint lead arrangers and joint book managers under our credit agreement and an affiliate of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. serves as administrative agent under our credit agreement. A portion of the proceeds of this offering will be used to repay amounts outstanding under our revolving facility. Accordingly, these underwriters or their affiliates will receive a portion of the net proceeds of this offering that are used to repay the outstanding indebtedness under our revolving facility. See "Use of Proceeds" beginning on page S-11 of this prospectus supplement.
We and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of shares of common stock to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representatives to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
The validity of the shares of common stock being offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and certain federal income tax matters will be passed upon by our counsel, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C., Nashville, Tennessee. Morrison & Foerster LLP is acting as counsel to the underwriters.
The consolidated financial statements and schedules of Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 and for the years then ended and for the period from March 28, 2014 (the date of inception) through December 31, 2014 incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and in the registration statement have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information and reports we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to these documents. Our SEC file number is 001-37401. The information incorporated by reference contains significant information about us, including our business and finances, and is an important part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede the information contained or previously incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus until this offering has been terminated. We are incorporating by reference the documents listed below, which we have already filed with the SEC, and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, except as to any portion of any future report or document that is not deemed filed under such provisions, until we sell all of our common stock in this offering:
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Upon request, we will provide, without charge, to each person to whom a copy of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is delivered a copy of the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You may request a copy of these filings, and any exhibits we have specifically incorporated by reference as an exhibit into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, at no cost by writing or telephoning us at the following address:
Community
Healthcare Trust Incorporated
3326 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 150
Franklin, TN 37067
(615) 721-5044
Attention: W. Page Barnes
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
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PROSPECTUS
$750,000,000
Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Depositary Shares
Rights
Debt Securities
Warrants
Units
Guarantees of Debt Securities
Community Healthcare OP, LP
Debt Securities
We may from time to time issue, in one or more series or classes, separately or together, and in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to this prospectus, the following securities:
Community Healthcare OP, LP may offer, from time to time, debt securities in one or more series.
We refer to our common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, rights, debt securities, warrants, units, guarantees and the debt securities of Community Healthcare OP, LP hereunder collectively as the "securities." We may offer the securities separately or together, in separate series or classes, and in amounts, at prices and on terms described in one or more supplements to this prospectus.
The prospectus describes some of the general terms that may apply to these securities and the manner in which they may be offered. We will deliver this prospectus together with an accompanying prospectus supplement setting forth the specific terms of the securities we are offering and the manner in which they will be offered. The accompanying prospectus supplement also will contain information, where applicable, about certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to, and any listing on a securities exchange of, the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. In addition, the specific terms may include limitations on direct or beneficial ownership and restrictions on transfer of the securities offered by this prospectus, in each case as may be appropriate to preserve our status as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes.
We may offer the securities directly to investors, through agents designated from time to time by them or us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. If any agents, underwriters, or dealers are involved in the sale of any of the securities, their names, and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement with, between or among them, will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in an accompanying prospectus supplement. For more detailed information, see "Plan of Distribution" beginning on page 8. No securities may be sold without delivery of a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of those securities.
You should read this document and any prospectus supplement or amendment carefully before you invest in the securities.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CHCT." On September 12, 2016, the closing price for our common stock, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange, was $21.86 per share. Our principal executive offices are located at 3326 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 150, Franklin, Tennessee 37067.
We are an "emerging growth company" under the federal securities laws and have reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in the securities involves a high degree of risk. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in this prospectus beginning on page 5 and any applicable prospectus supplement, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR DETERMINED IF THIS PROSPECTUS IS ACCURATE, TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
The date of this Prospectus is September 26, 2016.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS |
1 | |||
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS |
2 |
|||
OUR COMPANY |
4 |
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RISK FACTORS |
5 |
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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERENCE DIVIDENDS |
5 |
|||
USE OF PROCEEDS |
7 |
|||
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |
8 |
|||
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK |
10 |
|||
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK |
16 |
|||
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES |
17 |
|||
DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS |
21 |
|||
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES |
22 |
|||
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS |
31 |
|||
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS |
32 |
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES OF COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE OP, LP AND RELATED GUARANTEES |
35 |
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GLOBAL SECURITIES |
44 |
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CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF MARYLAND LAW AND OF OUR CHARTER AND BYLAWS |
47 |
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE OP, LP |
54 |
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS |
59 |
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LEGAL MATTERS |
87 |
|||
EXPERTS |
87 |
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION |
87 |
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE |
87 |
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, utilizing a shelf registration process for the delayed offering and sale of securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Under the shelf registration process, we may, over time, sell any combination of securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer and sell from time to time. Each time we offer a type or series of securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:
A prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may include a discussion of risks or other special considerations applicable to us or the offered securities. A prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may also add, update or supersede information in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, you must rely on the information in the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. Please carefully read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement together with the additional information described under the heading "Where You Can Find More Information."
The registration statement containing this prospectus, including exhibits to the registration statement, provides additional information about us and the securities offered under this prospectus. The registration statement can be read at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov) or at the SEC's Public Reference Room mentioned under the heading "Where You Can Find More Information."
We have not authorized any broker-dealer, salesperson or other person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, an accompanying supplement to this prospectus or any free writing prospectus. You must not rely upon any information or representation not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, an accompanying prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. This prospectus, an accompanying supplement to this prospectus or free writing prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor do this prospectus, an accompanying supplement to this prospectus or a free writing prospectus constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy
1
securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. The information contained in this prospectus, an accompanying prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus speaks only as of the date set forth on the applicable cover page and may not reflect subsequent changes in our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects even though this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus is delivered or securities are sold on a later date.
In this prospectus, unless the context requires otherwise, references in this prospectus to "we," "our," "us," "the Company", and "our company" refer to Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated, a Maryland corporation, and "Operating Partnership" refers to Community Healthcare OP, LP, a Delaware limited partnership of which we are the general partner.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We make statements in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. In particular, statements pertaining to our capital resources, property performance and results of operations contain forward-looking statements. Likewise, our pro forma financial statements and all of our statements regarding anticipated growth in our funds from operations and anticipated market conditions, demographics and results of operations are forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "pro forma," "estimates" or "anticipates" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.
Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and you should not rely on them as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements depend on assumptions, data or methods which may be incorrect or imprecise and we may not be able to realize them. We do not guarantee that the transactions and events described will happen as described (or that they will happen at all). For a detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" on page 5 of this prospectus and under Item 1A, "Risk Factor," of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and in other documents that we may file from time to time in the future with the SEC. You should carefully consider these risks before you make an investment decision with respect to the securities, along with the following factors that could cause actual results to vary from our forward-looking statements:
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While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements that are based on information currently available to us or the third parties making the forward-looking statements. Also, these forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of the document containing the applicable statement. You should read this prospectus, the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and the exhibits and documents incorporated by reference herein and therein completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from those described in forward-looking statements. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in the foregoing documents by these cautionary statements.
You should assume that information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus or the date of the document incorporated by reference, as applicable. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes after the date of this prospectus or the date of the document incorporated by reference, as applicable.
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We are a fully-integrated healthcare real estate company that is organized as a Maryland corporation. As of September 13, 2016, our portfolio consisted of 48 real estate properties and mortgages located in 18 states with approximately 1.1 million square feet in the aggregate. We have elected to be taxed and operate in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
We acquire and own properties that are leased to hospitals, doctors, healthcare systems or other healthcare service providers primarily in Non-Urban markets. As used in this prospectus, we define "Non-Urban" areas as, collectively suburban areas, exurban areas (areas adjoining metropolitan statistical areas) and micropolitan areas (areas with populations of 10,000 to 50,000 that do not directly border larger urban areas). Our strategic focus is to invest in real estate that is diversified across healthcare provider, geography, facility type and industry segment. We believe that favorable demographic trends, continuing increases in healthcare spending and the continuing shift in the delivery of healthcare services to community-based outpatient facilities create attractive opportunities for us. We focus on Non-Urban healthcare facilities because we believe these properties are essential to healthcare providers in their local markets and can generate more attractive risk-adjusted returns than similar facilities in urban markets. In addition, we believe our management team's extensive relationships with healthcare providers and owners of healthcare facilities provide us with the opportunity to acquire attractive Non-Urban healthcare facilities outside of a competitive bidding process. Furthermore, we believe there is significantly less competition from existing REITs and institutional buyers for these Non-Urban assets.
Substantially all of our revenues are derived from net leases pursuant to which our tenants are generally responsible for substantially all of the property operating expenses relating to the property, including real estate taxes, utilities, property insurance, routine maintenance and repairs and property management. We believe this net lease structure helps insulate us from increases in certain property operating expenses and provides more predictable cash flow. The leases for our properties typically include rent escalation provisions designed to provide us with annual growth in our rental revenues. Through these property investments and corresponding operating income, we seek to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders through a combination of stable and increasing dividends and potential long-term appreciation in the value of our properties and the value of our common stock.
We have elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with our taxable year ended December 31, 2015. We conduct our business through an UPREIT structure in which our properties are owned by our Operating Partnership, directly or through limited partnerships, limited liability companies or other subsidiaries. We are the sole general partner of our Operating Partnership and, as of September 13, 2016, own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the units in our Operating Partnership.
Our corporate offices are located at 3326 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 150, Franklin, Tennessee 37067. Our telephone number is 615-771-3052. Our website is www.chct.reit. The information contained on, or accessible through, our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and should not be considered a part of this prospectus.
4
Investing in the securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as other information we include or incorporate by reference into this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, before making an investment decision. The occurrence of any of such risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Such risks represent those risks and uncertainties that we believe are material to our business, financial condition and results of operations, our ability to make distributions to our stockholders and the trading price of the securities. Some statements in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section captioned "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements." Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks described in the documents incorporated herein by reference, including (i) our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, which is on file with the SEC and is incorporated herein by reference and (ii) other documents we file with the SEC that are deemed incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERENCE DIVIDENDS
The following tables set forth our ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preference dividends for the Company, and the ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the Operating Partnership, as applicable, for the time periods presented below:
|
For the Period March 28, 2014 (inception) through December 31, 2014 |
Historical Year Ended December 31, 2015 |
Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated(1) |
||||||||||
Ratio of Earnings to Combined Fixed Charges and Preference Dividends(2) |
| * | 1.83 |
5
|
For the Period February 12, 2015 (inception) through December 31, 2015 |
Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Community Healthcare OP, LP(1) |
|||||||
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges |
* | 2.29 |
6
Unless otherwise described in the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus used to offer specific securities, we intend to contribute the net proceeds from any sale of our securities pursuant to this prospectus to our Operating Partnership in exchange for units of limited partnership interest in our Operating Partnership, or OP units. Either through the contribution of the net proceeds from the sale of our securities to our Operating Partnership or from the sale of the Operating Partnership's debt securities, our Operating Partnership will subsequently use the net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus to potentially acquire additional properties and for general corporate purposes, which may include, without limitation, the repayment of outstanding indebtedness, capital expenditures and working capital. Pending the application of the net proceeds from any sale of securities under this prospectus, we may invest the net proceeds in interest-bearing accounts, money market accounts and/or interest bearing securities, in each case, in a manner that is consistent with maintaining our qualification as a REIT.
7
The securities being offered may be sold in one or more transactions at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market prices, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These sales may be effected at various times in one or more of the following transactions, or in other kinds of transactions:
The securities may be sold directly to one or more purchasers, or to or through underwriters, dealers or agents or through a combination of those methods. To the extent required, the related prospectus supplement will set forth the terms of each offering, including:
In addition, any securities covered by this prospectus that qualify for sale pursuant to Regulation S may be sold pursuant to Regulation S rather than pursuant to this prospectus.
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In connection with the sale of the securities, underwriters may receive compensation from us or from purchasers of the securities in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters. Discounts or commissions they receive and any profit on their resale of the securities may be considered underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act.
In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, the maximum consideration or discount to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker dealer may not exceed 8% of the aggregate amount of the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus.
We may agree to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in the distribution of the securities against various liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We may also agree to contribute to payments that the underwriters, dealers or agents may be required to make in respect of these liabilities. We may authorize dealers or other persons who act as our or their agents to solicit offers by various institutions to purchase the securities under contracts that provide for payment and delivery on a future date. We may enter into these contracts with commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and others. If we enter into these agreements concerning any series of the securities, we will indicate that in the prospectus supplement or amendment, to the extent required.
In connection with an offering of the securities, underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the applicable securities. Specifically, underwriters may over-allot in connection with the offering, creating a syndicate short position in the securities for their own account. In addition, underwriters may bid for, and purchase, the securities in the open market to cover short positions or to stabilize the price of the securities. Finally, underwriters may reclaim selling concessions allowed for distributing the securities in the offering if the underwriters repurchase previously distributed securities in transactions to cover short positions, in stabilization transactions or otherwise. Any of these activities may stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities above independent market levels. Underwriters are not required to engage in any of these activities and may end any of these activities at any time. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CHCT." Any securities that we issue, other than our common stock, will be new issues of securities with no established trading market and may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange, quotation system or over-the-counter market. Any underwriters or agents to or through which securities are sold by us may make a market in such securities, but such underwriters or agents will not be obligated to do so and any of them may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of or trading market for any securities sold by us.
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The following summary of the material terms of our common stock does not purport to be complete. For a complete description, we refer you to the Maryland General Corporation Law, or the MGCL, and to our charter and bylaws. For a more complete understanding of our common stock, we encourage you to read carefully this entire prospectus, as well as our charter and bylaws, each of which is incorporated herein by reference, and the following summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to our charter and bylaws. See "Where You Can Find More Information" for information on how to obtain documents from us, including our charter and bylaws.
General
We are authorized to issue 450,000,000 shares of common stock. Our charter authorizes our Board of Directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire Board of Directors and without any action on the part of our stockholders, to amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of authorized shares of stock of any class or series without stockholder approval. As of September 12, 2016, we had 12,988,482 outstanding shares of common stock. Under Maryland law, stockholders generally are not liable for a corporation's debts or obligations.
Dividends, Liquidation and Other Rights
Subject to the preferential rights, if any, of holders of any other class or series of stock and to the provisions of our charter regarding restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, holders of our common stock:
There are generally no redemption, sinking fund, conversion, preemptive or appraisal rights with respect to our common stock.
Voting Rights of Common Stock
Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock and except as may otherwise be specified in the terms of any class or series of stock, each outstanding share of our common stock entitles the holder to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of directors and, except as may be provided with respect to any other class or series of stock, the holders of such shares will possess the exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our directors, and directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast in the election of directors. Consequently, at each annual meeting of stockholders, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock can elect all of the directors then standing for election, and the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any directors.
Power to Reclassify and Issue Stock
Our Board of Directors may classify any unissued shares of preferred stock, and reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or any previously classified but unissued shares of preferred stock into other classes or series of stock, including one or more classes or series of stock that have priority over our common stock with respect to voting rights or distributions or upon liquidation, and authorize
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us to issue the newly classified shares. Prior to the issuance of shares of each class or series, our Board of Directors is required by the MGCL and our charter to set, subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications or terms or conditions of redemption for each such class or series. These actions can be taken without stockholder approval, unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law, the terms of any other class or series of our stock or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our stock may be then listed or quoted.
Power to Increase or Decrease Authorized Stock and Issue Additional Shares of Our Common Stock
Our charter authorizes our Board of Directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire Board of Directors, to amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of authorized shares of stock of any class or series without stockholder approval. We believe that the power of our Board of Directors to increase or decrease the number of authorized shares of stock and to classify or reclassify unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and thereafter to cause us to issue such shares of stock provides us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs which might arise. The additional classes or series, as well as the additional shares of stock, will be available for future issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law, the terms of any other class or series of stock or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded. Our Board of Directors could authorize us to issue a class or series that could, depending upon the terms of the particular class or series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control of our company that might involve a premium price for our stockholders or otherwise be in their best interests.
Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer
In order for us to qualify as a REIT under the Code, our stock must be beneficially owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made) or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year. Also, not more than 50% of the value of the outstanding shares of stock (after taking into account options to acquire shares of stock) may be owned, directly, indirectly or through application of certain attribution rules by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities such as qualified pension plans) at any time during the last half of a taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made).
Our charter contains restrictions on the ownership and transfer of our stock that are intended to assist us in complying with these requirements and continuing to qualify as a REIT. The relevant sections of our charter provide that, subject to the exceptions described below, no person or entity may actually or beneficially own, or be deemed to own by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions of the Code, more than 9.8% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of the outstanding shares of our common stock, or 9.8% in value of the outstanding shares of all classes and series of our stock. We refer to each of these restrictions as an "ownership limit" and collectively as the "ownership limits." A person or entity that would have acquired actual, beneficial or constructive ownership of our stock but for the application of the ownership limits or any of the other restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock discussed below is referred to as a "prohibited owner."
The constructive ownership rules under the Code are complex and may cause stock owned actually or constructively by a group of related individuals and/or entities to be owned constructively by one individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of less than 9.8% of our capital or common stock (or the acquisition of an interest in an entity that owns, actually or constructively, our stock) by an
11
individual or entity, could, nevertheless cause that individual or entity, or another individual or entity, to own constructively in excess of 9.8% of such stock and thereby violate the applicable ownership limit.
Our board of directors, in its sole and absolute discretion, prospectively or retroactively, may exempt a person from either or both of the ownership limits if doing so would not result in us being "closely held" within the meaning of Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT and our board of directors determines that:
As a condition of the exception, our board of directors may require an opinion of counsel or ruling of the United States Internal Revenue Service, in either case in form and substance satisfactory to our board of directors, in its sole and absolute discretion, in order to determine or ensure our status as a REIT and representations and undertakings from the person seeking the exemption or excepted holder limit in order to make the determinations above. Our board of directors may impose such conditions or restrictions as it deems appropriate in connection with such an exception.
Our board of directors may, in its sole and absolute discretion, increase or decrease one or both of the ownership limits for one or more persons, except that a decreased ownership limit will not be effective for any person whose actual, beneficial or constructive ownership of our stock exceeds the decreased ownership limit at the time of the decrease until the person's actual, beneficial or constructive ownership of our stock equals or falls below the decreased ownership limit, although any further acquisition of shares of our stock or beneficial or constructive ownership of our stock will violate the decreased ownership limit. Our board of directors may not increase or decrease any ownership limit if, among other limitations, the new ownership limit would allow five or fewer persons to actually or beneficially own more than 49% in value of our outstanding stock, could cause us to be "closely held" under Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or could otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.
Our charter further prohibits:
Any person who acquires or attempts or intends to acquire actual, beneficial or constructive ownership of shares of our stock that will or may violate the ownership limits or any of the other
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restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock described above must give written notice immediately to us or, in the case of a proposed or attempted transaction, provide us at least 15 days prior written notice, and provide us with such other information as we may request in order to determine the effect of such transfer on our status as a REIT.
The ownership limits and other restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock described above will not apply if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to attempt to qualify, or to continue to qualify, as a REIT or that compliance is no longer required in order for us to qualify as a REIT.
Pursuant to our charter, if any purported transfer of our stock or any other event would otherwise result in any person violating the ownership limits or such other limit established by our board of directors, or could result in us being "closely held" within the meaning of Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT, then that number of shares causing the violation (rounded up to the nearest whole share) will be automatically transferred to, and held by, a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable organizations selected by us. The prohibited owner will have no rights in shares of our stock held by the trustee. The automatic transfer will be effective as of the close of business on the business day prior to the date of the violative transfer or other event that results in the transfer to the trust. Any dividend or other distribution paid to the prohibited owner, prior to our discovery that the shares had been automatically transferred to a trust as described above, must be repaid to the trustee upon demand. If the transfer to the trust as described above is not automatically effective, for any reason, to prevent violation of the applicable restriction on ownership and transfer of our stock, then that transfer of the number of shares that otherwise would cause any person to violate the above restrictions will be void. If any transfer of our stock would result in shares of our stock being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons (determined without reference to any rules of attribution), then any such purported transfer will be void and of no force or effect and the intended transferee will acquire no rights in the shares.
Shares of our stock transferred to the trustee are deemed offered for sale to us, or our designee, at a price per share equal to the lesser of (i) the price per share in the transaction that resulted in the transfer of the shares to the trust (or, in the event of a gift, devise or other such transaction, the last reported sale price on the day of the transfer or other event that resulted in the transfer of such shares to the trust) and (ii) the last reported sale price on the date we accept, or our designee accepts, such offer. We must reduce the amount payable to the prohibited owner by the amount of dividends and distributions paid to the prohibited owner and owed by the prohibited owner to the trustee and pay the amount of such reduction to the trustee for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary. We have the right to accept such offer until the trustee has sold the shares of our stock held in the trust. Upon a sale to us, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold terminates and the trustee must distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the prohibited owner and any dividends or other distributions held by the trustee with respect to such stock will be paid to the charitable beneficiary.
If we do not buy the shares, the trustee must, within 20 days of receiving notice from us of the transfer of shares to the trust, sell the shares to a person or persons designated by the trustee who could own the shares without violating the ownership limits or other restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock. Upon such sale, the trustee must distribute to the prohibited owner an amount equal to the lesser of (i) the price paid by the prohibited owner for the shares (or, if the prohibited owner did not give value in connection with the transfer or other event that resulted in the transfer to the trust (e.g., a gift, devise or other such transaction), the last reported sale price on the day of the transfer or other event that resulted in the transfer of such shares to the trust) and (ii) the sales proceeds (net of commissions and other expenses of sale) received by the trustee for the shares. The trustee will reduce the amount payable to the prohibited owner by the amount of dividends and other distributions paid to the prohibited owner and owed by the prohibited owner to the trustee. Any net
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sales proceeds in excess of the amount payable to the prohibited owner will be immediately paid to the charitable beneficiary, together with any dividends or other distributions thereon. In addition, if prior to our discovery that shares of our stock have been transferred to the trustee, such shares of stock are sold by a prohibited owner, then such shares shall be deemed to have been sold on behalf of the trust and, to the extent that the prohibited owner received an amount for or in respect of such shares that exceeds the amount that such prohibited owner was entitled to receive, such excess amount shall be paid to the trustee upon demand.
The trustee will be designated by us and will be unaffiliated with us and with any prohibited owner. Prior to the sale of any shares by the trust, the trustee will receive, in trust for the charitable beneficiary, all dividends and other distributions paid by us with respect to such shares, and may exercise all voting rights with respect to such shares for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary.
Subject to Maryland law, effective as of the date that the shares have been transferred to the trust, the trustee may, at the trustee's sole discretion:
However, if we have already taken irreversible corporate action, then the trustee may not rescind and recast the vote.
If our board of directors or a committee thereof determines that a proposed transfer or other event has taken place that violates the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock set forth in our charter, our board of directors or such committee may take such action as it deems advisable in its sole and absolute discretion to refuse to give effect to or to prevent such transfer, including, but not limited to, causing us to redeem shares of stock, refusing to give effect to the transfer on our books or instituting proceedings to enjoin the transfer.
Every owner of 5% or more (or such lower percentage as required by the Code or the income tax regulations promulgated thereunder) of the outstanding shares of our stock, within 30 days after the end of each taxable year, must give written notice to us stating the name and address of such owner, the number of shares of each class and series of our stock that the owner beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which the shares are held. Each such owner also must provide us with any additional information that we request in order to determine the effect, if any, of the person's actual or beneficial ownership on our status as a REIT and to ensure compliance with the ownership limits. In addition, any person that is an actual owner, beneficial owner or constructive owner of shares of our stock and any person (including the stockholder of record) who is holding shares of our stock for an actual owner, beneficial owner or constructive owner must, on request, disclose to us such information as we may request in good faith in order to determine our status as a REIT and comply with requirements of any taxing authority or governmental authority or to determine such compliance and to ensure compliance with the ownership limits.
Any certificates representing shares of our stock will bear a legend referring to the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock described above.
These restrictions on ownership and transfer could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for our common stock that our stockholders believe to be in their best interest.
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Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, LLC.
Listing
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CHCT." On September 12, 2016, the closing price for our common stock, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange, was $21.86 per share. As of September 12, 2016, the number of stockholders of record of our common stock was 15.
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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK
The following description sets forth certain general terms of the shares of our preferred stock to which any prospectus supplement may relate. This description and the description contained in any prospectus supplement are not complete and are in all respects subject to and qualified in their entirety by reference to our charter, the applicable articles supplementary that describes the terms of the related class or series of our preferred stock, and our bylaws, each of which we will make available upon request.
General
Our charter provides that we may issue up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share. Our charter authorizes our Board of Directors to increase or decrease the number of authorized shares without stockholder approval. As of September 13, 2016, no shares of our preferred stock were issued and outstanding.
Subject to the limitations prescribed by Maryland law and our charter and bylaws, our Board of Directors is authorized to establish the number of shares constituting each series of preferred stock and to fix the designations and powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including such provisions as may be desired concerning voting, redemption, dividends, dissolution or the distribution of assets, conversion or exchange, and such other subjects or matters as may be fixed by resolution of our Board of Directors or duly authorized committee thereof.
The prospectus supplement relating to the series of preferred stock offered thereby will describe the specific terms of such securities, including:
Holders of preferred stock will be subject to the ownership restrictions of our charter. See "Description of Common StockRestrictions on Ownership and Transfer."
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DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES
The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the preferred stock represented by depositary shares that we may offer under this prospectus and the related deposit agreements, depositary shares and receipts representing depositary shares. While the terms summarized below will apply generally to any depositary shares that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of depositary shares in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we indicate in the prospectus supplement, the terms of any depositary shares offered under that prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. Specific deposit agreements, depositary shares and receipts representing depositary shares will contain additional important terms and provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement, which includes this prospectus.
General
We may, at our option, elect to offer fractional interests in preferred stock, rather than preferred stock. If we exercise this option, we will appoint a depositary to issue depositary receipts representing those fractional interests. Preferred stock of each series represented by depositary shares will be deposited under a separate deposit agreement between us and the depositary. The prospectus supplement relating to a series of depositary shares will provide the name and address of the depositary. Subject to the terms of the applicable deposit agreement, each owner of depositary shares will be entitled to all of the dividend, voting, conversion, redemption, liquidation and other rights and preferences of the preferred stock represented by those depositary shares.
Depositary receipts issued pursuant to the applicable deposit agreement will evidence ownership of depositary shares. Upon surrender of depositary receipts at the office of the depositary, and upon payment of the charges provided in and subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, a holder of depositary shares will be entitled to receive the preferred shares underlying the surrendered depositary receipts.
Distributions
A depositary will be required to distribute all dividends or other cash distributions received in respect of the applicable preferred stock to the record holders of depositary receipts evidencing the related depositary shares in proportion to the number of depositary receipts owned by the holders. Fractions will be rounded down to the nearest whole cent.
If the distribution is other than in cash, a depositary will be required to distribute property received by it to the record holders of depositary receipts entitled thereto, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make the distribution. In that case, the depositary may, with our approval, sell the property and distribute the net proceeds from the sale to the holders of depositary shares.
Depositary shares that represent preferred stock converted or exchanged will not be entitled to distributions. The deposit agreement also will contain provisions relating to the manner in which any subscription or similar rights we offer to holders of preferred stock will be made available to holders of depositary shares. All distributions will be subject to obligations of holders to file proofs, certificates and other information and to pay certain charges and expenses to the depositary.
Withdrawal of Preferred Stock
You may receive the number of whole shares of your series of preferred stock and any money or other property represented by your depositary receipts after surrendering your depositary receipts at the corporate trust office of the depositary. Shares of partial preferred stock will not be issued. If the
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depositary shares that you surrender exceed the number of depositary shares that represent the number of whole shares of preferred stock you wish to withdraw, then the depositary will deliver to you at the same time a new depositary receipt evidencing the excess number of depositary shares. Once you have withdrawn your preferred stock, you will not be entitled to re-deposit such preferred stock under the deposit agreement in order to receive depositary shares. We do not expect that there will be any public trading market for shares of withdrawn preferred stock.
Redemption of Depositary Shares
If we redeem a series of the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares, the depositary will redeem those shares from the proceeds it receives. The redemption price per depositary share will be equal to the applicable fraction of the redemption price per share payable with respect to the series of the preferred stock. The redemption date for depositary shares will be the same as that of the preferred stock. If we are redeeming less than all of the depositary shares, the depositary will select the depositary shares we are redeeming by lot or pro rata as the depositary may determine.
After the date fixed for redemption, the depositary shares called for redemption will no longer be deemed outstanding. All rights of the holders of the depositary shares and the related depositary receipts will cease at that time, except the right to receive the money or other property to which the holders of depositary shares were entitled upon redemption. Receipt of the money or other property is subject to surrender to the depositary of the depositary receipts evidencing the redeemed depositary shares.
Voting of the Underlying Preferred Stock
Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of the preferred stock are entitled to vote, a depositary will be required to mail the information contained in the notice of meeting to the record holders of the depositary shares representing such preferred stock. Each record holder of depositary receipts on the record date will be entitled to instruct the depositary as to how the holder's depositary shares will be voted. The record date for the depositary shares will be the same as the record date for the preferred stock. The depositary will vote the shares as you instruct. We will agree to take all reasonable action that the depositary deems necessary in order to enable it to vote the preferred stock in that manner. If you do not instruct the depositary how to vote your shares, the depositary will abstain from voting those shares. The depositary will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any voting instruction, or for the manner or effect of any vote, as long as its action or inaction is in good faith and does not result from its gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Liquidation Preference
Upon our liquidation, whether voluntary or involuntary, each holder of depositary shares will be entitled to the fraction of the liquidation preference accorded each share of preferred stock represented by the depositary shares, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Conversion or Exchange of Preferred Stock
The depositary shares will not themselves be convertible into or exchangeable for common stock or preferred stock or any of our other securities or property. Nevertheless, if so specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the depositary receipts may be surrendered by holders to the applicable depositary with written instructions to it to instruct us to cause the conversion of the preferred stock represented by the depositary shares. Similarly, if so specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may require you to surrender all of your depositary receipts to the applicable depositary upon our requiring the conversion or exchange of the preferred stock represented by the depositary shares into other securities or rights. We will agree that, upon receipt of the instruction and any amounts payable
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in connection with the conversion or exchange, we will cause the conversion or exchange using the same procedures as those provided for delivery of preferred shares to effect the conversion or exchange. If you are converting only a part of the depositary shares, the depositary will issue you a new depositary receipt for any unconverted depositary shares.
Amendment and Termination of a Deposit Agreement
We and the applicable depositary are permitted to amend the provisions of the depositary receipts and the deposit agreement. However, the holders of at least a majority of the applicable depositary shares then outstanding (or such greater approval as is required by the then current rules of any stock exchange or trading market, if any, on which we shall have listed the applicable underlying series of preferred stock for trading or as otherwise provided in our organizational documents) must approve any amendment that adds or increases fees or charges or prejudices an important right of holders. Every holder of an outstanding depositary receipt at the time any amendment becomes effective, by continuing to hold the receipt, will be bound by the applicable deposit agreement, as amended.
Any deposit agreement may be terminated by us upon not less than 30 days' prior written notice to the applicable depositary if (1) the termination is necessary to preserve our status as a REIT or (2) a majority of each series of preferred shares affected by the termination consents to the termination. When either event occurs, the depositary will be required to deliver or make available to each holder of depositary receipts, upon surrender of the depositary receipts held by the holder, the number of whole or fractional preferred shares as are represented by the depositary shares evidenced by the depositary receipts, together with any other property held by the depositary with respect to the depositary receipts. In addition, a deposit agreement will automatically terminate if:
Charges of a Depositary
We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of a deposit agreement. In addition, we will pay the fees and expenses of a depositary in connection with the initial deposit of the preferred stock and any redemption of preferred stock. However, holders of depositary receipts will pay any transfer or other governmental charges and the fees and expenses of a depositary for any duties the holders request to be performed that are outside of those expressly provided for in the applicable deposit agreement.
Resignation and Removal of a Depositary
A depositary may resign at any time by providing us notice of its election to resign. In addition, we may at any time remove a depositary. Any resignation or removal will take effect when we appoint a successor depositary and it accepts the appointment. We must appoint a successor depositary within 60 days after delivery of the notice of resignation or removal. A depositary must be a bank or trust company that has its principal office in the United States and a combined capital and surplus of at least $50 million.
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Miscellaneous
A depositary will be required to forward to holders of depositary receipts any reports and communications from us that it receives with respect to the related preferred stock, including, without limitation, proxy solicitation materials. Holders of depository receipts will be able to inspect the transfer books of the depository and the list of holders of receipts upon reasonable notice. Neither we nor any depositary will be liable if either party is prevented from or delayed in performing its obligations under a deposit agreement by law or any circumstances beyond its control. Our obligations and those of the depositary under a deposit agreement will be limited to performing duties in good faith and without gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Neither we nor any depositary will be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary receipts, depositary shares or related preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. We and each depositary will be permitted to rely on written advice of counsel or accountants, on information provided by persons presenting preferred stock for deposit, by holders of depositary receipts, or by other persons believed in good faith to be competent to give the information, and on documents believed in good faith to be genuine and signed by a proper party.
If a depositary receives conflicting claims, requests or instructions from any holder of depositary receipts, on the one hand, and us, on the other hand, the depositary shall be entitled to act on the claims, requests or instructions received from us.
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We may issue rights to our stockholders for the purchase of shares of our common stock. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent, all as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the particular issue of rights. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the certificates relating to the rights of such series and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights. The rights agreement and the rights certificates relating to each series of rights will be filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the following terms, where applicable, of the rights to be issued:
Restrictions on Ownership
Holders of rights will be subject to the ownership restrictions of our charter. See "Description of Common StockRestrictions on Ownership and Transfer."
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes certain general terms and provisions of our debt securities. When we offer to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms of the series in a supplement to this prospectus. We will also indicate in the prospectus supplement the extent to which the general terms and provisions described in this prospectus apply to a particular series of debt securities. To the extent the information contained in the prospectus supplement differs from this summary description, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement.
We may issue debt securities either separately, or together with, or upon the conversion or exercise of or in exchange for, other securities described in this prospectus. Unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be the direct, unsecured obligations of the Company and may be issued in one or more series.
The debt securities will be issued under an indenture between the Company and a trustee. We have summarized select portions of the indenture below. The summary is not complete. The form of the indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement and you should read the indenture and debt securities carefully for provisions that may be important to you. Capitalized terms used in the summary and not defined in this prospectus have the meanings specified in the indenture.
General
The terms of each series of our debt securities will be established by or pursuant to a resolution of our board of directors and set forth or determined in the manner provided in such resolutions, in an officer's certificate or by a supplemental indenture. The particular terms of each series of debt securities will be described in a prospectus supplement relating to such series, including any pricing supplement or term sheet.
Unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be direct, unsecured obligations of the Company. We can issue an unlimited amount of debt securities under the indenture that may be in one or more series with the same or various maturities, at par, at a premium, or at a discount. We will set forth in a prospectus supplement, including any pricing supplement or term sheet, relating to any series of debt securities being offered, the aggregate principal amount and the following terms of the debt securities, to the extent applicable:
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We may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.
If we denominate the purchase price of any of the debt securities in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, or if the principal of, and any premium and interest on, any series of debt securities is payable in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, we will provide you with information on the restrictions, elections, general United States federal income tax considerations, specific terms and other information with respect to that issue of debt securities and such foreign currency or currencies or foreign currency unit or units in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Transfer and Exchange
Each debt security will be represented by either one or more global securities registered in the name of DTC or a nominee of the depositary (we will refer to any debt security represented by a global debt security as a "book-entry debt security"), or a certificate issued in definitive registered form (we will refer to any debt security represented by a certificated security as a "certificated debt security") as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Except as otherwise set forth in this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement, book-entry debt securities will not be issuable in certificated form.
Certificated Debt Securities. A debtholder may transfer or exchange certificated debt securities at any office we maintain for this purpose in accordance with the terms of the indenture. No service charge will be made for any transfer or exchange of certificated debt securities, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with a transfer or exchange.
A debtholder may effect the transfer of certificated debt securities and the right to receive the principal of, and any premium and interest on, certificated debt securities only by surrendering the certificate representing those certificated debt securities and either reissuance by us or the trustee of the certificate to the new holder or the issuance by us or the trustee of a new certificate to the new holder.
No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control
Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we
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undergo a change in control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change in control) that could adversely affect holders of debt securities.
Covenants
We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement any restrictive covenants applicable to any issue of debt securities.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets
We may not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our properties and assets to, any person, which we refer to as a successor person, unless:
Notwithstanding the above, any of our subsidiaries may consolidate with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties and assets to us.
Events of Default
The term "event of default" means, with respect to any series of our debt securities, any of the following:
No event of default with respect to a particular series of our debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an event of default with
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respect to any other series of debt securities. The occurrence of certain events of default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain of our or our subsidiaries' indebtedness outstanding from time to time.
If an event of default with respect to our outstanding debt securities of any series occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) of, and any accrued and unpaid interest on, all debt securities of that series. In the case of an event of default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, the principal (or such specified amount) of, and any accrued and unpaid interest on, all outstanding debt securities will become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or any holder of outstanding debt securities. At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to debt securities of any series has been made, but before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may rescind and annul the acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the indenture. We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an event of default.
The indenture provides that the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture unless the trustee receives indemnity satisfactory to it against any cost, liability or expense that might be incurred by it in exercising such right or power. Subject to certain rights of the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series.
No holder of any debt security of any series will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any remedy under the indenture, unless:
Notwithstanding any other provision in the indenture, the holder of any debt security will have an absolute and unconditional right to receive payment of the principal of, and any premium and interest on, that debt security on or after the due dates expressed in that debt security and to institute suit for the enforcement of payment.
The indenture requires us, within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year, to furnish to the trustee a statement as to compliance with the indenture. If a default or event of default occurs and is continuing with respect to the debt securities of any series and if it is known to a responsible officer of the trustee, the trustee shall mail to each holder of the debt securities of that series notice of a default or event of default within 90 days after knowledge of its occurrence. The indenture provides that the
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trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any series of any default or event of default (except in payment on any debt securities of that series) with respect to debt securities of that series if the trustee determines in good faith that withholding notice is in the interest of the holders of those debt securities.
Modification and Waiver
We and the trustee may modify and amend the indenture or the debt securities of any series without the consent of any holder of any debt security:
We may also modify and amend the indenture with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the modifications or amendments. We may not make any modification or amendment without the consent of the holders of each affected debt security then outstanding if that amendment will:
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Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all of the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, or any premium or interest on, any debt security of that series; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration.
Defeasance of Debt Securities and Certain Covenants in Certain Circumstances
Legal Defeasance. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, we may be discharged from any and all obligations in respect of the debt securities of any series (subject to certain exceptions). We will be so discharged upon the deposit with the trustee, in trust, of money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money or U.S. government obligations in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each installment of principal of, any premium and interest on, and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of, the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities.
This discharge may occur only if, among other things, we have delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel stating that we have received from, or there has been published by, the United States Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, a ruling or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable United States federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to United States federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred.
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Defeasance of Certain Covenants. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, upon compliance with certain conditions:
The conditions include:
Covenant Defeasance and Events of Default. In the event we exercise our option to effect covenant defeasance with respect to any series of debt securities and the debt securities of that series are declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any event of default, the amount of money and/or U.S. government obligations or foreign government obligations on deposit with the trustee will be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of that series at the time of their stated maturity but may not be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of that series at the time of the acceleration resulting from the event of default. In such a case, we would remain liable for those payments.
"Foreign Government Obligations" means, with respect to debt securities of any series that are denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars, direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by, the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged and which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof.
Regarding the Trustee
The indenture provides that, except during the continuance of an event of default, the trustee will perform only such duties as are specifically set forth in the indenture. During the existence of an event of default, the trustee will exercise such rights and powers vested in it under the indenture and use the same degree of care and skill in its exercise as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person's own affairs.
The indenture and provisions of the Trust Indenture Act that are incorporated by reference therein contain limitations on the rights of the trustee, should it become one of our creditors, to obtain payment of claims in certain cases or to realize on certain property received by it in respect of any such
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claim as security or otherwise. The trustee is permitted to engage in other transactions with us or any of our affiliates; provided, however, that if it acquires any conflicting interest (as defined in the indenture or in the Trust Indenture Act), it must eliminate such conflict or resign.
No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees or Stockholders
None of our past, present or future directors, officers, employees, stockholders or controlling persons, as such, will have any liability for any of our obligations under the debt securities or the indenture or for any claim based on, or in respect or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. By accepting a debt security, each holder waives and releases all such liability. This waiver and release is part of the consideration for the issue of the debt securities. However, this waiver and release may not be effective to waive liabilities under United States federal securities laws, and it is the view of the SEC that such a waiver is against public policy.
Governing Law
The indenture and the debt securities, including any claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the indenture or the debt securities, will be governed by the laws of the State of New York (without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof other than Section 5-1401 of the General Obligations Law).
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The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus and the related warrant agreements and warrant certificates. While the terms summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we indicate in the prospectus supplement, the terms of any warrants offered under that prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. Specific warrant agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement, which includes this prospectus.
General
We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares and/or units in one or more series. We may issue warrants independently or together with common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares and/or units, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from these securities.
We will evidence each series of warrants by warrant certificates that we will issue under a separate warrant agreement. We will enter into the warrant agreement with a warrant agent. We will indicate the name and address of the warrant agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants.
We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of warrants, including:
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We may issue units comprised of common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, warrants and other securities in any combination. We may issue units in such amounts and in as many distinct series as we wish. This section outlines certain provisions of the units that we may issue. If we issue units, they will be issued under one or more unit agreements to be entered into between us and a bank or other financial institution, as unit agent. The information described in this section may not be complete in all respects and is qualified entirely by reference to the unit agreement with respect to the units of any particular series. The specific terms of any series of units offered will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If so described in a particular supplement, the specific terms of any series of units may differ from the general description of terms presented below. We urge you to read any prospectus supplement related to any series of units we may offer, as well as the complete unit agreement and unit certificate that contain the terms of the units. If we issue units, forms of unit agreements and unit certificates relating to such units will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement, which includes this prospectus.
Each unit that we may issue will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date. The applicable prospectus supplement may describe:
The provisions described in this section, as well as those described under "Description of Common Stock", "Description of Preferred Stock," "Description of Depositary Shares" and "Description of Warrants" will apply to the securities included in each unit, to the extent relevant and as may be updated in any prospectus supplements.
Issuance in Series
We may issue units in such amounts and in as many distinct series as we wish. This section summarizes terms of the units that apply generally to all series. Most of the financial and other specific terms of your series will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Unit Agreements
We will issue the units under one or more unit agreements to be entered into between us and a bank or other financial institution, as unit agent. We may add, replace or terminate unit agents from time to time. We will identify the unit agreement under which each series of units will be issued and the unit agent under that agreement in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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The following provisions will generally apply to all unit agreements unless otherwise stated in the applicable prospectus supplement:
Modification without Consent
We and the applicable unit agent may amend any unit or unit agreement without the consent of any holder:
We do not need any approval to make changes that affect only units to be issued after the changes take effect. We may also make changes that do not adversely affect a particular unit in any material respect, even if they adversely affect other units in a material respect. In those cases, we do not need to obtain the approval of the holder of the unaffected unit; we need only obtain any required approvals from the holders of the affected units.
Modification with Consent
We may not amend any particular unit or a unit agreement with respect to any particular unit unless we obtain the consent of the holder of that unit, if the amendment would:
Any other change to a particular unit agreement and the units issued under that agreement would require the following approval:
These provisions regarding changes with majority approval also apply to changes affecting any securities issued under a unit agreement, as the governing document.
In each case, the required approval must be given by written consent.
Unit Agreements Will Not Be Qualified under Trust Indenture Act
No unit agreement will be qualified as an indenture, and no unit agent will be required to qualify as a trustee, under the Trust Indenture Act. Therefore, holders of units issued under unit agreements will not have the protections of the Trust Indenture Act with respect to their units.
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Mergers and Similar Transactions Permitted; No Restrictive Covenants or Events of Default
The unit agreements will not restrict our ability to merge or consolidate with, or sell our assets to, another corporation or other entity or to engage in any other transactions. If at any time we merge or consolidate with, or sell our assets substantially as an entirety to, another corporation or other entity, the successor entity will succeed to and assume our obligations under the unit agreements. We will then be relieved of any further obligation under these agreements.
The unit agreements will not include any restrictions on our ability to put liens on our assets, including our interests in our subsidiaries, nor will they restrict our ability to sell our assets. The unit agreements also will not provide for any events of default or remedies upon the occurrence of any events of default.
Governing Law
The unit agreements and the units will be governed by Maryland law.
Form, Exchange and Transfer
We will issue each unit in globali.e., book-entryform only. Units in book-entry form will be represented by a global security registered in the name of a depositary, which will be the holder of all the units represented by the global security. Those who own beneficial interests in a unit will do so through participants in the depositary's system, and the rights of these indirect owners will be governed solely by the applicable procedures of the depositary and its participants. We will describe book-entry securities, and other terms regarding the issuance and registration of the units in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Each unit and all securities comprising the unit will be issued in the same form.
If we issue any units in registered, non-global form, the following will apply to them.
The units will be issued in the denominations stated in the applicable prospectus supplement. Holders may exchange their units for units of smaller denominations or combined into fewer units of larger denominations, as long as the total amount is not changed.
Only the depositary will be entitled to transfer or exchange a unit in global form, since it will be the sole holder of the unit.
Payments and Notices
In making payments and giving notices with respect to our units, we will follow the procedures as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES OF COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE OP, LP AND
RELATED GUARANTEES
The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes certain general terms and provisions of the Company's Operating Partnership's debt securities and related guarantees, if any. When the Operating Partnership offers to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms of the series in a supplement to this prospectus, including the terms of any related guarantees by the Company. We will also indicate in the prospectus supplement the extent to which the general terms and provisions described in this prospectus apply to a particular series of debt securities. To the extent the information contained in the prospectus supplement differs from this summary description, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement.
The Operating Partnership may issue debt securities either separately, or together with, or upon the conversion or exercise of or in exchange for, other securities described in this prospectus. Our guarantees of the debt securities may be our senior, senior subordinated or subordinated obligations and, unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be the direct, unsecured obligations of the Operating Partnership and may be issued in one or more series.
The debt securities will be issued under an indenture between our Operating Partnership and a trustee. We have summarized select portions of the indenture below. The summary is not complete. The form of the indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement and you should read the indenture and debt securities carefully for provisions that may be important to you. Capitalized terms used in the summary and not defined in this prospectus have the meanings specified in the indenture.
General
The terms of each series of our Operating Partnership's debt securities will be established by or pursuant to a resolution of our board of directors and set forth or determined in the manner provided in such resolutions, in an officer's certificate or by a supplemental indenture. The particular terms of each series of debt securities will be described in a prospectus supplement relating to such series, including any pricing supplement or term sheet.
Unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be direct, unsecured obligations of our Operating Partnership, and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the Company. We, through our Operating Partnership, can issue an unlimited amount of debt securities under the indenture that may be in one or more series with the same or various maturities, at par, at a premium, or at a discount. We will set forth in a prospectus supplement, including any pricing supplement or term sheet, relating to any series of debt securities being offered, the aggregate principal amount and the following terms of the debt securities, to the extent applicable:
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Our Operating Partnership may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.
If our Operating Partnership denominates the purchase price of any of the debt securities in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, or if the principal of, and any premium and interest on, any series of debt securities is payable in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, we will provide you with information on the restrictions, elections, general United States federal income tax considerations, specific terms and other information with respect to that issue of debt securities and such foreign currency or currencies or foreign currency unit or units in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Transfer and Exchange
Each debt security will be represented by either one or more global securities registered in the name of DTC or a nominee of the depositary (we will refer to any debt security represented by a global debt security as a "book-entry debt security"), or a certificate issued in definitive registered form (we will refer to any debt security represented by a certificated security as a "certificated debt security") as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Except as otherwise set forth in this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement, book-entry debt securities will not be issuable in certificated form.
Certificated Debt Securities. A debtholder may transfer or exchange certificated debt securities at any office we maintain for this purpose in accordance with the terms of the indenture. No service charge will be made for any transfer or exchange of certificated debt securities, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with a transfer or exchange.
A debtholder may effect the transfer of certificated debt securities and the right to receive the principal of, and any premium and interest on, certificated debt securities only by surrendering the certificate representing those certificated debt securities and either reissuance by us or the trustee of
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the certificate to the new holder or the issuance by us or the trustee of a new certificate to the new holder.
No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control
Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event the Operating Partnership undergoes a change in control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change in control) that could adversely affect holders of debt securities.
Covenants
We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement any restrictive covenants applicable to any issue of debt securities.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets
We may not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our properties and assets to, any person, which we refer to as a successor person, unless:
Notwithstanding the above, any of our subsidiaries may consolidate with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties and assets to us.
Events of Default
The term "event of default" means, with respect to any series of our Operating Partnership's debt securities, any of the following:
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majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series as provided in the indenture;
No event of default with respect to a particular series of the Operating Partnership's debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an event of default with respect to any other series of debt securities. The occurrence of certain events of default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain of our or our subsidiaries' indebtedness outstanding from time to time.
If an event of default with respect to the Operating Partnership's outstanding debt securities of any series occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) of, and any accrued and unpaid interest on, all debt securities of that series. In the case of an event of default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, the principal (or such specified amount) of, and any accrued and unpaid interest on, all outstanding debt securities will become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or any holder of outstanding debt securities. At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to debt securities of any series has been made, but before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may rescind and annul the acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the indenture. We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an event of default.
The indenture provides that the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture unless the trustee receives indemnity satisfactory to it against any cost, liability or expense that might be incurred by it in exercising such right or power. Subject to certain rights of the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series.
No holder of any debt security of any series will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any remedy under the indenture, unless:
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Notwithstanding any other provision in the indenture, the holder of any debt security will have an absolute and unconditional right to receive payment of the principal of, and any premium and interest on, that debt security on or after the due dates expressed in that debt security and to institute suit for the enforcement of payment.
The indenture requires our Operating Partnership, within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year, to furnish to the trustee a statement as to compliance with the indenture. If a default or event of default occurs and is continuing with respect to the debt securities of any series and if it is known to a responsible officer of the trustee, the trustee shall mail to each holder of the debt securities of that series notice of a default or event of default within 90 days after knowledge of its occurrence. The indenture provides that the trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any series of any default or event of default (except in payment on any debt securities of that series) with respect to debt securities of that series if the trustee determines in good faith that withholding notice is in the interest of the holders of those debt securities.
Modification and Waiver
Our Operating Partnership and the trustee may modify and amend the indenture or the debt securities of any series without the consent of any holder of any debt security:
Our Operating Partnership may also modify and amend the indenture with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the modifications or amendments. Our Operating Partnership may not make any
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modification or amendment without the consent of the holders of each affected debt security then outstanding if that amendment will:
Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all of the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, or any premium or interest on, any debt security of that series; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration.
Defeasance of Debt Securities and Certain Covenants in Certain Circumstances
Legal Defeasance. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, our Operating Partnership may be discharged from any and all obligations in respect of the debt securities of any series (subject to certain exceptions). Our Operating Partnership will be so discharged upon the deposit with the trustee, in trust, of money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money or U.S. government obligations in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each
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installment of principal of, any premium and interest on, and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of, the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities.
This discharge may occur only if, among other things, our Operating Partnership has delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel stating that our Operating Partnership has received from, or there has been published by, the IRS a ruling or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable United States federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to United States federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred.
Defeasance of Certain Covenants. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, upon compliance with certain conditions:
The conditions include:
Covenant Defeasance and Events of Default. In the event our Operating Partnership exercises its option to effect covenant defeasance with respect to any series of debt securities and the debt securities of that series are declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any event of default, the amount of money and/or U.S. government obligations or foreign government obligations on deposit with the trustee will be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of that series at the time of their stated maturity but may not be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of that series at the time of the acceleration resulting from the event of default. In such a case, we would remain liable for those payments.
"Foreign Government Obligations" means, with respect to debt securities of any series that are denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars, direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by,
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the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged and which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof.
Regarding the Trustee
The indenture provides that, except during the continuance of an event of default, the trustee will perform only such duties as are specifically set forth in the indenture. During the existence of an event of default, the trustee will exercise such rights and powers vested in it under the indenture and use the same degree of care and skill in its exercise as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person's own affairs.
The indenture and provisions of the Trust Indenture Act that are incorporated by reference therein contain limitations on the rights of the trustee, should it become one of our creditors, to obtain payment of claims in certain cases or to realize on certain property received by it in respect of any such claim as security or otherwise. The trustee is permitted to engage in other transactions with us or any of our affiliates; provided, however, that if it acquires any conflicting interest (as defined in the indenture or in the Trust Indenture Act), it must eliminate such conflict or resign.
No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees or Stockholders
None of our past, present or future directors, officers, employees, stockholders or controlling persons, as such, will have any liability for any of our obligations under the debt securities or the indenture or for any claim based on, or in respect or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. By accepting a debt security, each holder waives and releases all such liability. This waiver and release is part of the consideration for the issue of the debt securities. However, this waiver and release may not be effective to waive liabilities under United States federal securities laws, and it is the view of the SEC that such a waiver is against public policy.
Governing Law
The indenture and the debt securities, including any claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the indenture or the debt securities, will be governed by the laws of the State of New York (without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof other than Section 5-1401 of the General Obligations Law).
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Book-Entry, Delivery and Form
Unless we indicate differently in a prospectus supplement, the securities initially will be issued in book-entry form and represented by one or more global notes or global securities, or, collectively, global securities. The global securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC and registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of DTC. Unless and until it is exchanged for individual certificates evidencing securities under the limited circumstances described below, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary.
DTC has advised that it is:
DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement among its participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in participants' accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. "Direct participants" in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, including underwriters, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other organizations. DTC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTCC. DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others, which we sometimes refer to as indirect participants, that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Purchases of securities under the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for the securities on DTC's records. The ownership interest of the actual purchaser of a security, which we sometimes refer to as a beneficial owner, is in turn recorded on the direct and indirect participants' records. Beneficial owners of securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchases. However, beneficial owners are expected to receive written confirmations providing details of their transactions, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which they purchased securities. Transfers of ownership interests in global securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the global securities, except under the limited circumstances described below.
To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities deposited by direct participants with DTC will be registered in the name of DTC's partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other nominee will not change the beneficial ownership of the securities. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the securities. DTC's records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the securities are credited,
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which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants are responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.
So long as the securities are in book-entry form, you will receive payments and may transfer securities only through the facilities of the depositary and its direct and indirect participants. We will maintain an office or agency in the location specified in the prospectus supplement for the applicable securities, where notices and demands in respect of the securities and the indenture may be delivered to us and where certificated securities may be surrendered for payment, registration of transfer or exchange.
Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any legal requirements in effect from time to time.
Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the securities of a particular series are being redeemed, DTC's practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in the securities of such series to be redeemed.
Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (or such other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to the securities. Under its usual procedures, DTC will mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns the consenting or voting rights of Cede & Co. to those direct participants to whose accounts the securities of such series are credited on the record date, identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy.
So long as securities are in book-entry form, we will make payments on those securities to the depositary or its nominee, as the registered owner of such securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. If securities are issued in definitive certificated form under the limited circumstances described below, we will have the option of making payments by check mailed to the addresses of the persons entitled to payment or by wire transfer to bank accounts in the United States designated in writing to the applicable trustee or other designated party at least 15 days before the applicable payment date by the persons entitled to payment, or such shorter time as may be satisfactory to the applicable trustee or other designated party.
Redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments on the securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC's practice is to credit direct participants' accounts upon DTC's receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in "street name." Those payments will be the responsibility of participants and not of DTC or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC, is our responsibility, disbursement of payments to direct participants is the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of payments to the beneficial owners is the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.
Except under the limited circumstances described below, purchasers of securities will not be entitled to have securities registered in their names and will not receive physical delivery of securities. Accordingly, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights under the securities and the indenture.
The laws of some jurisdictions may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. Those laws may impair the ability to transfer or pledge beneficial interests in securities.
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DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depositary with respect to the securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor depositary is not obtained, securities certificates are required to be printed and delivered.
As noted above, beneficial owners of a particular series of securities generally will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in those securities. However, if:
we will prepare and deliver certificates for such securities in exchange for beneficial interests in the global securities. Any beneficial interest in a global security that is exchangeable under the circumstances described in the preceding sentence will be exchangeable for securities in definitive certificated form registered in the names that the depositary directs. It is expected that these directions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the global securities.
We have obtained the information in this section and elsewhere in this prospectus concerning DTC and DTC's book-entry system from sources that are believed to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.
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CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF MARYLAND LAW AND OF OUR
CHARTER AND BYLAWS
The following summary of certain provisions of Maryland law and of our charter and bylaws does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to Maryland law and our charter and bylaws, copies of which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is part. See "Where You Can Find More Information" and "Incorporation Of Certain Documents By Reference."
Our Board of Directors
Our charter and bylaws provide that the number of directors of our company may be established, increased or decreased only by a majority of our entire board of directors but may not be fewer than the minimum number required under the MGCL, which is one, nor, unless our bylaws are amended, more than 11. We currently have five members on our board of directors.
Each of our directors is elected by our stockholders to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualifies under the MGCL. Holders of shares of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast.
Removal of Directors
Our charter provides that, subject to the rights of holders of one or more classes or series of preferred stock to elect or remove one or more directors, a director may be removed only for cause (as defined in our charter) and only by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors. This provision, when coupled with the exclusive power of our board of directors to fill vacant directorships, may preclude stockholders from removing incumbent directors except for cause and by a substantial affirmative vote and filling the vacancies created by such removal with their own nominees.
Business Combinations
Under the MGCL, certain "business combinations" (including a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in certain circumstances specified under the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities) between a Maryland corporation and any interested stockholder, or an affiliate of such an interested stockholder, are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Maryland law defines an interested stockholder as any person (other than the corporation or any of its subsidiaries) who:
A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which the person otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. In approving a transaction, however, a board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of the approval, with any terms and conditions determined by it.
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After such five-year period, any such business combination must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:
These supermajority approval requirements do not apply if, among other conditions, the corporation's common stockholders receive a minimum price (as defined in the MGCL) for their shares and the consideration is received in cash or in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares.
These provisions of the MGCL do not apply, however, to business combinations that are approved or exempted by a corporation's board of directors prior to the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Our board of directors has, by resolution, elected to opt out of the business combination provisions of the MGCL and will not be permitted to opt in in the future without the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by stockholders entitled to vote. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an alteration or repeal of this resolution will not have any effect on any business combinations that have been consummated or upon any agreements existing at the time of such modification or repeal.
Control Share Acquisitions
The MGCL provides that holders of "control shares" of a Maryland corporation acquired in a "control share acquisition" have no voting rights with respect to their control shares except to the extent approved by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast in the election of directors, generally, excluding shares of stock in a corporation in respect of which any of the following persons is entitled to exercise or direct the exercise of the voting power of such shares in the election of directors: (1) the person who made or proposes to make a control share acquisition, (2) an officer of the corporation or (3) an employee of the corporation who is also a director of the corporation. "Control shares" are voting shares of stock that, if aggregated with all other such shares of stock previously acquired by the acquirer or in respect of which the acquirer is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquirer to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power:
Control shares do not include shares that the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A "control share acquisition" means the acquisition, directly or indirectly, of ownership of, or the power to direct the exercise of voting power with respect to, issued and outstanding control shares, subject to certain exceptions.
A person who has made or proposes to make a control share acquisition, upon satisfaction of certain conditions (including an undertaking to pay expenses and making an "acquiring person statement" as described in the MGCL), may compel the board of directors to call a special meeting of stockholders to be held within 50 days of demand to consider the voting rights of the control shares. If no request for a special meeting is made, the corporation may itself present the question at any stockholders meeting.
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If voting rights of control shares are not approved at the meeting or if the acquiring person does not deliver an "acquiring person statement" as required by the statute, then, subject to certain conditions and limitations, the corporation may redeem any or all of the control shares (except those for which voting rights have previously been approved) for fair value determined, without regard to the absence of voting rights for the control shares, as of the date of the last control share acquisition by the acquirer or of any meeting of stockholders at which the voting rights of such shares are considered and not approved. If voting rights for control shares are approved at a stockholders meeting and the acquirer becomes entitled to vote a majority of the shares entitled to vote, all other stockholders may exercise appraisal rights. The fair value of the shares as determined for purposes of such appraisal rights may not be less than the highest price per share paid by the acquirer in the control share acquisition.
The control share acquisition statute does not apply to: (1) shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction or (2) acquisitions approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the corporation.
Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share acquisition statute any and all acquisitions by any person of shares of our stock. Our board of directors may not amend or eliminate this provision at any time in the future without the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by stockholders entitled to vote.
Subtitle 8
Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL permits a Maryland corporation with a class of equity securities registered under the Exchange Act and at least three independent directors to elect to be subject, by provision in its charter or bylaws or a resolution of its board of directors and notwithstanding any contrary provision in the charter or bylaws, to any or all of the following five provisions:
We have opted in our charter not to be subject to any provision of Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL unless approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by stockholders entitled to vote generally in the election of directors. However, through provisions in our charter and bylaws unrelated to Subtitle 8, we already (1) require a two-thirds vote for the removal of any director from the board, which removal will be allowed only for cause, (2) vest in the board the exclusive power to fix the number of directorships, subject to limitations set forth in our charter and bylaws, and (3) require, unless called by the chairman of our board of directors, our president, our chief executive officer or our board of directors, the request of stockholders entitled to cast not less than a majority of all votes entitled to be cast on a matter at such meeting to call a special meeting to consider and vote on any matter that may properly be considered at a meeting of stockholders.
Stockholder Rights Plan
We do not have a stockholder rights plan and our board of directors has adopted a policy providing that our board may not adopt any stockholder rights plan unless the adoption of the plan has been approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by stockholders entitled to vote on the matter, except that our board of directors may adopt a stockholder rights plan
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without the prior approval of our stockholders if our board, in the exercise of its duties, determines that seeking prior stockholder approval would not be in our best interests under the circumstances then existing. The policy further provides that if a stockholder rights plan is adopted by our board without the prior approval of our stockholders, the stockholder rights plan will expire on the date of the first annual meeting of stockholders held after the first anniversary of the adoption of the plan, unless an extension of the plan is approved by our stockholders.
Amendments to Our Charter and Bylaws
Other than amendments to certain provisions of our charter described below and amendments permitted to be made without stockholder approval under Maryland law or by a specific provision in the charter, our charter may be amended only if such amendment is declared advisable by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on such matter. The provisions of our charter relating to the removal of directors or the vote required to amend such provisions may be amended only if such amendment is declared advisable by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast not less than two-thirds of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Except for amendments to the provisions of the bylaws related to the control share acquisition act and the business combination statute, which require the approval of not less than a majority of votes entitled to be cast on the matter, our board of directors has the exclusive power to adopt, alter or repeal any provision of our bylaws or to make new bylaws.
Exclusive Forum
Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed by us or by any director or officer or other employee to us or to our stockholders, (c) any action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer or other employee arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL or our charter or bylaws or (d) any action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer or other employee that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, or, if that Court does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division.
Meetings of Stockholders
Under our bylaws, annual meetings of stockholders must be held each year at a date, time and place determined by our board of directors. Special meetings of stockholders may be called by the chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer, our president and our board of directors. Subject to the provisions of our bylaws, a special meeting of stockholders to act on any matter that may properly be considered at a meeting of stockholders must be called by our secretary upon the written request of stockholders entitled to cast a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter at such meeting who have requested the special meeting in accordance with the procedures specified in our bylaws and provided the information and certifications required by our bylaws. Only matters set forth in the notice of a special meeting of stockholders may be considered and acted upon at such a meeting.
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Advance Notice of Director Nominations and New Business
Our bylaws provide that:
The purpose of requiring stockholders to give advance notice of nominations and other proposals is to afford our board of directors the opportunity to consider the qualifications of the proposed nominees or the advisability of the other proposals and, to the extent considered necessary by our board of directors, to inform stockholders and make recommendations regarding the nominations or other proposals. The advance notice procedures also permit a more orderly procedure for conducting our stockholder meetings.
Anti-takeover Effect of Certain Provisions of Maryland Law and of Our Charter and Bylaws
The restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, the provisions of our charter regarding the removal of directors, the exclusive power of our board of directors to fill vacancies on the board and the advance notice provisions of the bylaws could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interests. Likewise, if our board of directors or stockholders, as applicable, were to opt in to the business combination provisions of the MGCL or the provisions of Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL, or if the provision in our bylaws opting out of the control share acquisition provisions of the MGCL were amended or rescinded, these provisions of the MGCL could have similar anti-takeover effects.
Extraordinary Transactions
Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, merge, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a statutory share exchange or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter unless a lesser percentage (but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter) is set forth in the
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corporation's charter. As permitted by the MGCL, our charter provides that any of these actions may be approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Many of our operating assets are and will be held by our subsidiaries, and these subsidiaries may be able to merge or sell all or substantially all of their assets without the approval of our stockholders.
Appraisal Rights
Our charter provides that our stockholders generally will not be entitled to exercise statutory appraisal rights.
Dissolution
Our dissolution must be declared advisable by a majority of our entire Board of Directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter.
Indemnification and Limitation of Directors' and Officers' Liability
Maryland law permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter a provision eliminating the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages except for liability resulting from actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or active and deliberate dishonesty that is established by a final judgment and is material to the cause of action. Our charter contains a provision that eliminates such liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.
The MGCL requires a Maryland corporation (unless its charter provides otherwise, which our charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made a party by reason of his or her service in that capacity. The MGCL permits a Maryland corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made or are threatened to be made a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that:
However, under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation may not indemnify a director or officer for an adverse judgment in a suit by or on behalf of the corporation or if the director or officer was adjudged liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received, unless in either case a court orders indemnification and then only for expenses. In addition, the MGCL permits a Maryland corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer, without requiring a preliminary
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determination of the director's or officer's ultimate entitlement to indemnification, upon the corporation's receipt of:
Our charter authorizes us to obligate our company and our bylaws obligate us, to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law in effect from time to time, to indemnify and to pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding, without requiring a preliminary determination of the director's or officer's ultimate entitlement to indemnification, to:
Our charter and bylaws also permit us, with the approval of our board of directors, to indemnify and advance expenses to any person who served a predecessor of ours in any of the capacities described above and to any employee or agent of our company or a predecessor of our company.
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors whereby we agree to indemnify such executive officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law against all expenses and liabilities, subject to limited exceptions. These indemnification agreements also provide that upon an application for indemnity by an executive officer or directors to a court of appropriate jurisdiction, such court may order us to indemnify such executive officer or directors.
Insofar as the foregoing provisions permit indemnification of directors, officers or persons controlling us for liability arising under the Securities Act, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC, this indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer
Subject to certain exceptions, our charter provides that no person or entity may actually or beneficially own, or be deemed to own by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions of the Code, more than 9.8% (in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of the outstanding shares of our common stock or more than 9.8% in value of the outstanding shares of our capital stock. For a more detailed description of this and other restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, see "Description of Common StockRestrictions on Ownership and Transfer."
REIT Qualification
Our charter provides that our board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to be qualified as a REIT.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE OP, LP
We have summarized the material terms and provisions of the Agreement of Limited Partnership of Community Healthcare OP, LP, which we refer to as the "partnership agreement." This summary is not complete. For more detail, you should refer to the partnership agreement itself, a copy of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. See "Where You Can Find More Information" and "Incorporation Of Certain Documents By Reference." For purposes of this section, references to "we," "our, "us" and "our company" refer to Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated.
General
Our Operating Partnership was formed on February 12, 2015 to acquire, own and operate our assets. We are structured as an UPREIT in which substantially all of our assets are owned by our Operating Partnership, of which we are the sole general partner, and its subsidiary entities. For purposes of satisfying the asset and income tests for qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our proportionate share of the assets and income of our Operating Partnership will be deemed to be our assets and income. We conduct substantially all of our business through our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries.
We own directly or indirectly 100% of the OP units in our Operating Partnership. Except as otherwise expressly provided in the partnership agreement, we, as the sole general partner, have the exclusive power to manage and conduct the business of our Operating Partnership. The limited partners of our Operating Partnership have no authority in their capacity as limited partners to transact business for, or participate in the management activities or decisions of, our Operating Partnership except as required by applicable law. Consequently, we, as general partner, have full power and authority to do all things we deem necessary or desirable to conduct the business of our Operating Partnership, as described below. The limited partners have no power to remove us as general partner.
Capital Contributions
We intend to transfer the net proceeds of any offering made pursuant to this prospectus to our Operating Partnership as a capital contribution. When we make such a transfer, we will be deemed to have made capital contributions in the amount of the gross offering proceeds and our Operating Partnership will be deemed to have simultaneously paid the selling commissions and other costs associated with such offering, if any. Upon contribution of the net proceeds of an offering made pursuant to this prospectus, we expect that we will receive a number of OP units based upon the number of securities issued in such offering. If our Operating Partnership requires additional funds at any time in excess of capital contributions made by us or from borrowing, we may borrow funds from a financial institution or other lender and lend such funds to our Operating Partnership on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to our borrowing of such funds. In addition, we are authorized to cause our Operating Partnership to issue OP units for less than fair market value if we conclude in good faith that such issuance is in the best interest of our Operating Partnership and our stockholders.
Operations
The partnership agreement requires that our Operating Partnership be operated in a manner that will enable us to (1) satisfy the requirements for classification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (2) avoid any U.S. federal income or excise tax liability and (3) ensure that our Operating Partnership will not be classified as a "publicly traded partnership" for purposes of Section 7704 of the Code, which classification could result in our Operating Partnership being taxed as a corporation, rather than as a partnership.
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Distributions
The Operating Partnership distributes cash to its partners at such times and in such amounts as are determined by us in our sole and absolute discretion in accordance with the partners' relative percentage interests.
Unless we otherwise specifically agree in the partnership agreement or in an agreement entered into at the time a new class or series is created, no OP unit will be entitled to a distribution in preference to any other OP unit. A partner will not in any event receive a distribution of available cash with respect to an OP unit for a quarter or shorter period if the partner is entitled to receive a distribution out of that same available cash with respect to a share of our company for which that OP unit has been exchanged or redeemed.
Upon the liquidation of our Operating Partnership, after payment of debts and obligations, any remaining assets of our Operating Partnership will be distributed to the partners in accordance with their capital accounts, after giving effect to all contributions, distributions and allocations for all periods.
Allocations of Profit and Loss
Profit and loss of our Operating Partnership are determined and allocated with respect to each fiscal year of our Operating Partnership. Except as otherwise provided in the partnership agreement, an allocation of a share of profit or loss is treated as an allocation of the same share of each item of income, gain, loss or deduction that is taken into account in computing profit or loss. Except as otherwise provided in the partnership agreement, profit and loss are allocated to the general partner and the other holders of the OP units in accordance with their respective percentage interests in the partnership. All allocations are subject to compliance with the provisions of Sections 704(b) and 704(c) of the Code and Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder. See "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations."
Transfers
We, as general partner, generally may not transfer any of our general partner interest in our Operating Partnership or voluntarily withdraw as the general partner of our Operating Partnership, except in connection with a merger, consolidation or other combination with or into another person, a sale of all or substantially all of our assets or any reclassification, recapitalization or change of our outstanding shares.
With certain limited exceptions, the limited partners may not transfer their interests in our Operating Partnership, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent, which consent may be withheld in our sole and absolute discretion. We also have the right to prohibit transfers by limited partners under certain circumstances if it would have certain adverse tax consequences to us or our Operating Partnership.
Except with our consent to the admission of the transferee as a limited partner, no transferee shall have any rights by virtue of the transfer other than the rights of an assignee, and will not be entitled to vote OP units in any matter presented to the limited partners for a vote. We, as general partner, will have the right to consent to the admission of a transferee of the interest of a limited partner, which consent may be given or withheld by us in our sole and absolute discretion.
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Mergers and Sales of Assets
We may not engage in any merger, consolidation or other combination, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets in a transaction that results in a change in control of our company unless:
We also may merge with or into or consolidate with another entity if immediately after such merger or consolidation (i) substantially all of the assets of the successor or surviving entity, other than OP units held by us, are contributed, directly or indirectly, to the partnership as a capital contribution in exchange for OP units with a fair market value equal to the value of the assets so contributed as determined by the survivor in good faith and (ii) the survivor expressly agrees to assume all of our obligations under the partnership agreement, including our obligations as the general partner, and the partnership agreement shall be amended after any such merger or consolidation so as to arrive at a new method of calculating the amounts payable upon exercise of the redemption right that approximates the existing method for such calculation as closely as reasonably possible.
As the general partner, we may also (i) transfer all or any portion of our general partner interest to (A) a wholly owned subsidiary or (B) a parent company, and following such transfer may withdraw as the general partner, and (ii) engage in a transaction required by law or by the rules of any national securities exchange on which our shares of common stock is listed.
We, without the consent of the limited partners, may (i) merge or consolidate our Operating Partnership with or into any other domestic or foreign partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company or corporation or (ii) sell all or substantially all of the assets of our Operating Partnership in a transaction pursuant to which the limited partners (other than us or any of our subsidiaries) receive consideration as set forth above.
Redemption Right
As a general rule, limited partners will have the right to cause our Operating Partnership to redeem their OP units at any time beginning one year following the date of the issuance of the OP units held by any such limited partner.
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Unless we elect to assume and perform our Operating Partnership's obligation with respect to the unit redemption right, as described below, a limited partner exercising a unit redemption right will receive cash from our Operating Partnership in an amount equal to the market value of our shares of common stock for which the OP units would have been redeemed if we had assumed and satisfied our Operating Partnership's obligation by paying the redemption amount in our shares of common stock, as described below. The market value of our common stock for this purpose (assuming a market then exists) will be equal to the average of the closing trading price of our shares of common stock on the NYSE for the 10 trading days before the day on which we received the redemption notice.
We have the right to elect to acquire the OP units being redeemed directly from a limited partner in exchange for either cash in the amount specified above or a number of our common stock equal to the number of OP units offered for redemption, adjusted as specified in the partnership agreement to take into account prior share dividends or any subdivisions or combinations of our shares of common stock. As general partner, we will have the sole discretion to elect whether the redemption right will be satisfied by us in cash or our common stock. No redemption or exchange can occur if delivery of shares of common stock by us would be prohibited either under the provisions of our charter or bylaws or under applicable federal or state securities laws, in each case regardless of whether we would in fact elect to assume and satisfy the unit redemption right with shares.
Issuance of Additional Partnership Interests
We, as general partner, are authorized to cause our Operating Partnership to issue additional OP units or other partnership interests to its partners, including us and our affiliates, or other persons. These OP units may be issued in one or more classes or in one or more series of any class, with designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, powers and duties, including rights, powers and duties senior to one or more other classes of partnership interests (including OP units held by us), as determined by us in our sole and absolute discretion without the approval of any limited partner, subject to the limitations described below.
No OP unit or interest may be issued to us as general partner or limited partner unless:
Indemnification and Limitation of Liability
The partnership agreement expressly limits our liability by providing that neither we, as the general partner of our Operating Partnership, nor any of our directors or officers, will be liable or accountable in damages to our Operating Partnership, the limited partners or assignees for errors in judgment, mistakes of fact or law or for any act or omission if we, or such director or officer, acted in good faith. In addition, our Operating Partnership is required to indemnify us, and our officers, directors, employees, agents and designees to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law from and against any and all claims arising from operations of our Operating Partnership, unless it is established that (1) the act or omission was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (2) the indemnified party actually received an
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improper personal benefit in money, property or services or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the indemnified person had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. Our Operating Partnership also must pay or reimburse the reasonable expenses of any such person 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 to repay any amounts paid or advanced if it is ultimately determined that the person did not meet the standard of conduct for indemnification.
Amendment of Partnership Agreement
As general partner, we have the power, without the consent of the limited partners, to amend the partnership agreement in any respect, provided that the approval of limited partners holding more than 50% of the partnership interests held by limited partners (other than those held by us or our subsidiaries) to make the following amendments:
Term
Our Operating Partnership will continue until dissolved pursuant to the partnership agreement or as otherwise provided by law.
Tax Matters
Pursuant to the partnership agreement, the Company is the tax matters partner of our Operating Partnership. Accordingly, we have authority to make tax elections under the Code on behalf of our Operating Partnership, and to take such other actions as permitted under the partnership agreement.
Fiduciary Responsibilities
Our directors and officers have duties to our company and our stockholders under applicable Maryland law in connection with their management of the Company. At the same time, we, as sole general partner, have fiduciary duties to our Operating Partnership and to its limited partners under Delaware law in connection with the management of our Operating Partnership. Our duties as sole general partner to our Operating Partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to our company and our stockholders. The partnership agreement provides that in the event of a conflict between the interests of our stockholders, on the one hand, and the limited partners of the Operating Partnership, on the other hand, as general partner we will endeavor in good faith to resolve the conflict in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners; provided that, so long as we own a controlling interest in the Operating Partnership, any such conflict that we, in our sole and absolute discretion, determine cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to our stockholders or the limited partners shall be resolved in favor of our stockholders and we shall not be liable for monetary damages for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived by the limited partners in connection with such decisions.
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following discussion summarizes the current material U.S. federal income tax considerations associated with an investment in shares of our common stock and debt securities. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms "we" and "our" refer solely to Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated and not to our subsidiaries and affiliates, which have not elected to be taxed as REITs for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The statements in this section are based on the current U.S. federal income tax laws, including the Code, the Treasury Regulations, rulings and other administrative interpretations and practices of the IRS, and judicial decisions, all as currently in effect, and all of which are subject to differing interpretations or to change, possibly with retroactive effect. We cannot assure you that new laws, interpretations of law, or court decisions, any of which may take effect retroactively, will not cause any statement in this section to be inaccurate. Moreover, this summary does not deal with all tax aspects that might be relevant to you, as a prospective stockholder or holder of debt securities, in light of your personal circumstances, nor does it deal with particular types of stockholders or holder of debt securities that are subject to special treatment under the Code, such as insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations (except to the limited extent discussed below under "Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders"), financial institutions, broker-dealers persons subject to alternative minimum tax, persons holding our stock as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction, constructive sale or conversion transaction, non-U.S. individuals and foreign corporations (except to the limited extent discussed below under "Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders") and other persons subject to special tax rules. Moreover, this summary assumes that you will hold our capital stock or debt securities as a "capital asset" for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which generally means property held for investment.
This summary does not constitute tax advice and is not a substitute for careful tax planning. We urge you, as a prospective investor, to consult your own tax advisor regarding the specific tax consequences to you of a purchase of shares of our common stock or debt securities, the ownership and sale of such shares or debt securities and of our election to be taxed as a REIT. These consequences include the federal, state, local, foreign and other tax consequences of such purchase, ownership, sale and election and the effect of potential changes in the applicable tax laws.
Opinion of Counsel
In connection with the filing of this prospectus, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell and Berkowitz, PC, or Baker Donelson, will render an opinion that we qualified to be taxed as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws for our taxable year ended December 31, 2015 and our organization and current and proposed method of operations will enable us to continue to qualify for taxation as a REIT for our taxable year ending December 31, 2016 and thereafter. Investors should be aware that Baker Donelson's opinion will be based upon various customary assumptions relating to our organization and operation, will be conditioned upon certain representations and covenants made by our management as to factual matters, including representations regarding our organization, the nature of our assets and income, and the conduct of our business operations. Baker Donelson's opinion is not binding upon the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, or any court and speaks as of the date issued. In addition, Baker Donelson's opinion will be based on existing U.S. federal income tax law governing qualification as a REIT, which is subject to change either prospectively or retroactively. Moreover, our qualification and taxation as a REIT will depend upon our ability to meet on a continuing basis, through actual results, certain qualification tests set forth in the U.S. federal income tax laws. Those qualification tests involve the percentage of income that we earn from specified sources, the percentage of our assets that falls within specified categories, the diversity of ownership of shares of our beneficial interest, and the percentage of our earnings that we distribute. Baker Donelson will not review our compliance with those tests on a continuing basis. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that our actual results of operations for any particular taxable year will satisfy such requirements. While we
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intend to operate so that we will continue to qualify as a REIT, given the highly complex nature of the rules governing REITs, the ongoing importance of factual determinations, and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, no assurance can be given by tax counsel or by us that we will qualify as a REIT for any particular year. Baker Donelson's opinion does not foreclose the possibility that we may have to use one or more of the REIT savings provisions described below, which could require us to pay an excise or penalty tax (which could be material) in order for us to maintain our REIT qualification. For a discussion of the tax consequences of our failure to qualify as a REIT, see "Failure to Qualify."
Taxation of our Company
We were organized on March 28, 2014 as a Maryland corporation. We have elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2015. We believe that, commencing with such taxable year, we were organized and have operated in such a manner as to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws, and we intend to continue to operate in such a manner, but no assurances can be given that we will operate in a manner so as to qualify or remain qualified as a REIT. This section discusses the laws governing the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a REIT and its stockholders. These laws are highly technical and complex.
Assuming we qualify as a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on that portion of the ordinary income or capital gain that we distribute currently to our stockholders because the REIT provisions of the Code generally allow a REIT to deduct distributions paid to its stockholders. The benefit of that tax treatment is that it avoids the "double taxation," or taxation at both the corporate and stockholder levels, that generally results from owning shares in a corporation.
However, even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we will be subject to U.S. federal tax in the following circumstances:
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a C corporation (i.e., a corporation generally subject to corporate-level tax) in a carryover-basis transaction and we subsequently recognize gain on the disposition of the asset during the ten-year period beginning on the date on which we acquired the asset (7 years for dispositions in 2009 or 2010 and 5 years for dispositions after 2010 and before August 8, 2016), then all or a portion of the gain may be subject to tax at the highest regular corporate rate, pursuant to guidelines issued by the IRS;
The earnings of our lower-tier entities that are treated as C corporations, including any TRS, will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax.
In addition, notwithstanding our qualification as a REIT, we may also have to pay certain taxes, including payroll taxes and state and local income, property and other taxes on our assets and operations. We also could be subject to tax in situations and on transactions not presently contemplated.
Requirements for Qualification
In order for us to qualify, and continue to qualify, as a REIT, we must meet, generally on a continuing basis, the requirements discussed below relating to our organization, sources of income, nature of assets, distributions of income to our stockholders and recordkeeping.
Organization Requirements
In order to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the Code, we are required to:
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As a Maryland corporation, we satisfy the first and second requirements, and we have filed an election to be taxed as a REIT with the IRS with our federal tax return for 2015. In addition, we are managed by a board of directors, we have transferable shares and we do not intend to operate as a financial institution or insurance company. We utilize the calendar year for federal income tax reporting purposes. We would be treated as closely held only if five or fewer individuals or certain tax-exempt entities own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% (by value) of our shares at any time during the last half of our taxable year. For purposes of the closely held test, the Code generally permits a look-through for pension funds and certain other tax-exempt entities to the beneficiaries of the entity to determine if the REIT is closely held. After the issuance of our common stock pursuant to our IPO, we had issued stock with enough diversity of ownership to meet this requirement and the 100 stockholder requirement.
In addition, our charter provides for restrictions regarding transfer of shares that are intended to assist us in continuing to satisfy these share ownership requirements. Such transfer restrictions are described in "Description of Common StockRestrictions on Ownership and Transfer." These provisions permit us to refuse to recognize certain transfers of shares that may violate these share ownership requirements. However, we can offer no assurance that our refusal to recognize a transfer will be effective. Notwithstanding compliance with the share ownership requirements outlined above, tax-exempt stockholders may be required to treat all or a portion of their distributions from us as unrelated business taxable income as defined in Section 512(a) of the Code if tax-exempt stockholders, in the aggregate, exceed certain ownership thresholds set forth in the Code. See "Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders" below.
Ownership of Interests in Partnerships and Qualified REIT Subsidiaries
In the case of a REIT that is a partner in an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Treasury Regulations provide that the REIT is deemed to own its proportionate share, based on its interest in partnership capital, of the assets of the partnership and is deemed to have earned its allocable share of partnership income for purposes of the applicable REIT qualification tests. Also, if a REIT owns a qualified REIT subsidiary, which is defined as a corporation wholly-owned by a REIT that does not elect to be taxed as a TRS under the Code, the REIT will be deemed to own all of the subsidiary's assets and liabilities and it will be deemed to be entitled to treat the income of that subsidiary as its own. In addition, the character of the assets and gross income of the partnership or qualified REIT subsidiary shall retain the same character in the hands of the REIT for purposes of satisfying the gross income tests and asset tests set forth in the Code.
We intend to control any partnerships and limited liability companies we may invest in, and we intend to operate them in a manner consistent with the requirements for our qualification as a REIT. However, we may from time to time be a limited partner or non-managing member in some of our partnerships and limited liability companies. If a partnership or limited liability company in which we own an interest takes or expects to take actions that could jeopardize our status as a REIT or require us to pay tax, we may be forced to dispose of our interest in such entity. In addition, it is possible that a partnership or limited liability company could take an action which could cause us to fail a gross income or asset test, and that we would not become aware of such action in time to dispose of our
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interest in the partnership or limited liability company or take other corrective action on a timely basis. In that case, we could fail to qualify as a REIT unless we were entitled to relief, as described below.
Taxable REIT Subsidiaries
A TRS is a subsidiary of a REIT that makes a joint election with the REIT to be treated as a TRS. Additionally, a corporation of which a TRS directly or indirectly owns more than 35% of the voting power or value of the securities is automatically treated as a TRS without an election. The separate existence of a TRS, unlike a "qualified REIT subsidiary" as discussed above, is not ignored for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, a TRS is generally subject to corporate income tax on its earnings, which may reduce the cash flow generated by such entity. Because a parent REIT does not include the assets and income of a TRS in determining the parent's compliance with the REIT qualification requirements, a TRS may be used by the parent REIT to undertake activities indirectly that the REIT might otherwise be precluded from undertaking directly or through pass-through subsidiaries. Certain restrictions imposed on TRSs are intended to ensure that such entities and their parent REITs will be subject to appropriate levels of U.S. federal income taxation.
A TRS may not directly or indirectly operate or manage any healthcare facilities or lodging facilities or provide rights to any brand name under which any healthcare facility or lodging facility is operated. A TRS is not considered to operate or manage a "qualified healthcare property" or "qualified lodging facility" solely because the TRS directly or indirectly possesses a license, permit, or similar instrument enabling it to do so.
Rent that we receive from a TRS will qualify as "rents from real property" under two scenarios. Under the first scenario, rent we receive from a TRS will qualify as "rents from real property" as long as (1) at least 90% of the leased space in the property is leased to persons other than TRSs and related-party tenants, and (2) the amount paid by the TRS to rent space at the property is substantially comparable to rents paid by other tenants of the property for comparable space, as described in further detail below under "Gross Income TestsRents from Real Property." If we lease space to a TRS in the future, we will seek to comply with these requirements. Under the second scenario, rents that we receive from a TRS will qualify as "rents from real property" if the TRS leases a property from us that is a "qualified healthcare property" and such property is operated on behalf of the TRS by a person who qualifies as an "independent contractor" and who is, or is related to a person who is, actively engaged in the trade or business of operating "qualified healthcare properties" for any person unrelated to us and the TRS (an "eligible independent contractor"). A "qualified healthcare property" includes any real property and any personal property that is, or is necessary or incidental to the use of, a hospital, nursing facility, assisted living facility, congregate care facility, qualified continuing care facility, or other licensed facility which extends medical or nursing or ancillary services to patients and which is operated by a provider of such services which is eligible for participation in the Medicare program with respect to such facility. Our properties generally will not be treated as "qualified healthcare properties." Accordingly, we do not currently intend to lease our properties to a TRS. However, to the extent we acquire or own "qualified healthcare properties" in the future, we may lease such properties to a TRS.
Gross Income Tests
We must satisfy two gross income tests annually to maintain our qualification as a REIT:
First, at least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year must consist of defined types of income that we derive, directly or indirectly, from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property or qualified temporary investment income. Qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test generally includes:
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Second, in general, at least 95% of our gross income for each taxable year must consist of income that is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, other types of interest and dividends, gain from the sale or disposition of shares or securities, or any combination of these.
The Secretary of the Treasury is given broad authority to determine whether particular items of gain or income qualify under the 75% and 95% gross income tests, or are to be excluded from the measure of gross income for such purposes. For example, cancellation of indebtedness income and gross income from our sale of property that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business is excluded from both the numerator and the denominator in both gross income tests. In addition, income and gain from "hedging transactions," as defined in "Gross Income TestsHedging Transactions," that we enter into to hedge indebtedness incurred or to be incurred to acquire or carry real estate assets and that are clearly and timely identified as such will be excluded from both the numerator and the denominator for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. In addition, certain foreign currency gains will be excluded from gross income for purposes of one or both of the gross income tests. See "Gross Income TestsForeign Currency Gain" below.
The following paragraphs discuss the specific application of the gross income tests to us.
Rents from Real Property
Rent that we receive, or are deemed to receive, from real property that we own and lease to tenants will qualify as "rents from real property," which is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests, only if each of the following conditions is met:
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There are two exceptions to the related-party tenant rule described in the preceding paragraph for TRSs. Under the first exception, rent that we receive from a TRS will qualify as "rents from real property" as long as (1) at least 90% of the leased space in the property is leased to persons other than TRSs and related-party tenants, and (2) the amount paid by the TRS to rent space at the property is substantially comparable to rents paid by other tenants of the property for comparable space. The "substantially comparable" requirement must be satisfied when the lease is entered into, when it is extended, and when the lease is modified, if the modification increases the rent paid by the TRS. If the requirement that at least 90% of the leased space in the related property is rented to unrelated tenants is met when a lease is entered into, extended, or modified, such requirement will continue to be met as long as there is no increase in the space leased to any TRS or related party tenant. Any increased rent attributable to a modification of a lease with a TRS in which we own directly or indirectly more than 50% of the voting power or value of the stock (a "controlled TRS") will not be treated as "rents from real property." If in the future we receive rent from a TRS, we will seek to comply with this exception.
Under the second exception, a TRS is permitted to lease healthcare properties from the related REIT as long as it does not directly or indirectly operate or manage any healthcare facilities or provide rights to any brand name under which any healthcare facility is operated. Rent that we receive from a TRS will qualify as "rents from real property" as long as the "qualified healthcare property" is operated on behalf of the TRS by an "independent contractor" who is adequately compensated, who does not, directly or through its stockholders, own more than 35% of our shares, taking into account certain ownership attribution rules, and who is, or is related to a person who is, actively engaged in the trade or business of operating "qualified healthcare properties" for any person unrelated to us and the TRS (an "eligible independent contractor"). A "qualified healthcare property" includes any real property and any personal property that is, or is necessary or incidental to the use of, a hospital, nursing facility, assisted living facility, congregate care facility, qualified continuing care facility, or other licensed facility which extends medical or nursing or ancillary services to patients and which is operated by a provider of such services which is eligible for participation in the Medicare program with respect to such facility. Our properties generally will not be treated as "qualified healthcare properties." Accordingly, we do not currently intend to lease properties to a TRS. However, to the extent we acquire or own "qualified healthcare properties" in the future, we may lease such properties to a TRS.
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not treated as service contracts, joint ventures, financing arrangements, or another type of arrangement. We generally treat our leases with respect to our properties as true leases for federal income tax purposes; however, there can be no assurance that the IRS would not consider a particular lease a financing arrangement instead of a true lease for federal income tax purposes. In that case, our income from that lease would be interest income rather than rent and would be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test to the extent that our "loan" does not exceed the fair market value of the real estate assets associated with the facility. All of the interest income from our loan would be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test. We believe that the characterization of a lease as a financing arrangement would not adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.
If a portion of the rent that we receive from a property does not qualify as "rents from real property" because the rent attributable to personal property exceeds 15% of the total rent for a taxable year, the portion of the rent that is attributable to personal property will not be qualifying income for purposes of either the 75% or 95% gross income test. Thus, if such rent attributable to personal property, plus any other income that is nonqualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test, during a taxable year exceeds 5% of our gross income during the year, we would lose our REIT qualification. If, however, the rent from a particular property does not qualify as "rents from real property" because either (1) the rent is considered based on the income or profits of the related tenant, (2) the tenant either is a related party tenant or fails to qualify for the exceptions to the related party tenant rule for qualifying TRSs or (3) we furnish noncustomary services to the tenants of the property in excess of the one percent threshold, or manage or operate the property, other than through a qualifying independent contractor or a TRS, none of the rent from that property would qualify as "rents from real property."
We do not anticipate leasing significant amounts of personal property pursuant to our leases. Moreover, we do not intend to perform any services other than customary ones for our tenants, unless such services are provided through independent contractors from whom we do not receive or derive income or a TRS. Accordingly, we anticipate that our leases will generally produce rent that qualifies as "rents from real property" for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests.
In addition to the rent, the tenants may be required to pay certain additional charges. To the extent that such additional charges represent reimbursements of amounts that we are obligated to pay to third parties such charges generally will qualify as "rents from real property." To the extent such additional charges represent penalties for nonpayment or late payment of such amounts, such charges should qualify as "rents from real property." However, to the extent that late charges do not qualify as "rents from real property," they instead will be treated as interest that qualifies for the 95% gross income test.
Interest
The term "interest" generally does not include any amount received or accrued, directly or indirectly, if the determination of such amount depends in whole or in part on the income or profits of any person. However, interest generally includes the following:
If a loan contains a provision that entitles a REIT to a percentage of the borrower's gain upon the sale of the real property securing the loan or a percentage of the appreciation in the property's value
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as of a specific date, income attributable to that loan provision will be treated as gain from the sale of the property securing the loan, which generally is qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests.
Interest on debt secured by a mortgage on real property or on interests in real property generally is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. For taxable years after December 31, 2015, interest on debt secured by mortgages on both real and personal property if the fair market value of such personal property does not exceed 15% of the total fair market value of all such property is also qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. However, if a loan is secured by real property and other property and the highest principal amount of a loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property securing the loan as of the date the REIT agreed to originate or acquire the loan (or, if the loan has experienced a "significant modification" since its origination or acquisition by the REIT, then as of the date of that "significant modification"), a portion of the interest income from such loan will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, but will be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test. The portion of the interest income that will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test will be equal to the interest income attributable to the portion of the principal amount of the loan that is not secured by real property, that is, the amount by which the loan exceeds the value of the real estate that is security for the loan.
Dividends
Our share of any dividends received from any corporation (including any TRS, but excluding any REIT) in which we own an equity interest will qualify for purposes of the 95% gross income test but not for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Our share of any dividends received from any other REIT in which we own an equity interest, if any, will be qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests.
Prohibited Transactions
A REIT will incur a 100% tax on the net income derived from any sale or other disposition of property, other than foreclosure property, that the REIT holds primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business. Net income derived from such prohibited transactions is excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. We believe that none of our properties will be held primarily for sale to customers and that a sale of any of our properties will not be in the ordinary course of our business. Whether a REIT holds a property "primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business" depends, however, on the facts and circumstances in effect from time to time, including those related to a particular property. The Code provides safe harbor provisions pursuant to which sales of properties held for at least two years and meeting certain other requirements will not give rise to prohibited transactions income.
We will attempt to comply with the terms of the safe-harbor provisions. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with the safe-harbor provisions or that we will avoid owning property that may be characterized as property that we hold "primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business." The prohibited transactions tax will not apply to gains from the sale of property that is held through a TRS or other taxable corporation, although such income will be taxed to the corporation at regular corporate income tax rates.
Fee Income
Fee income generally will not be qualifying income for purposes of either the 75% or 95% gross income tests. Any fees earned by a TRS, such as fees for providing asset management and construction management services to third parties, will be excluded from the gross income tests.
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Foreclosure Property
We will be subject to tax at the maximum corporate rate on any income from foreclosure property, which includes certain foreign currency gains and related deductions, other than income that otherwise would be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, less expenses directly connected with the production of that income. However, gross income from foreclosure property will qualify under the 75% and 95% gross income tests. Foreclosure property is any real property, including interests in real property, and any personal property incident to such real property:
Foreclosure property also includes certain "qualified healthcare properties" (as defined above under "Rents from Real Property") acquired by a REIT as a result of the termination or expiration of a lease of such property (other than by reason of a default, or the imminence of a default, on the lease).
A REIT will not be considered to have foreclosed on a property where the REIT takes control of the property as a mortgagee-in-possession and cannot receive any profit or sustain any loss except as a creditor of the mortgagor. Property generally ceases to be foreclosure property at the end of the third taxable year (or, with respect to qualified healthcare property, the second taxable year) following the taxable year in which the REIT acquired the property, or longer if an extension is granted by the Secretary of the Treasury. However, this grace period terminates and foreclosure property ceases to be foreclosure property on the first day:
Hedging Transactions
From time to time, we may enter into hedging transactions with respect to one or more of our assets or liabilities. Our hedging activities may include entering into interest rate swaps, caps, and floors, options to purchase such items, and futures and forward contracts. Income and gain from "hedging transactions" will be excluded from gross income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests provided we satisfy the indemnification requirements discussed below. A "hedging transaction" means either (1) any transaction entered into in the normal course of our trade or business primarily to manage the risk of interest rate, price changes, or currency fluctuations with respect to borrowings made or to be made, or ordinary obligations incurred or to be incurred, to acquire or carry real estate assets, (2) any transaction entered into primarily to manage the risk of
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currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the 75% or 95% gross income test (or any property which generates such income or gain) or (3) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, to hedge the income or loss from prior hedging transactions, where the property or indebtedness which was the subject of the prior hedging transaction was extinguished or disposed of. We are required to clearly identify any such hedging transaction before the close of the day on which it was acquired, originated, or entered into and to satisfy other identification requirements. We intend to structure any hedging transactions in a manner that does not jeopardize our qualification as a REIT.
Foreign Currency Gain
Certain foreign currency gains will be excluded from gross income for purposes of one or both of the gross income tests. "Real estate foreign exchange gain" will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. Real estate foreign exchange gain generally includes foreign currency gain attributable to any item of income or gain that is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, foreign currency gain attributable to the acquisition or ownership of (or becoming or being the obligor under) obligations secured by mortgages on real property or an interest in real property and certain foreign currency gain attributable to certain "qualified business units" of a REIT. "Passive foreign exchange gain" will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 95% gross income test. Passive foreign exchange gain generally includes real estate foreign exchange gain as described above, and also includes foreign currency gain attributable to any item of income or gain that is qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test and foreign currency gain attributable to the acquisition or ownership of (or becoming or being the obligor under) obligations. These exclusions for real estate foreign exchange gain and passive foreign exchange gain do not apply to any certain foreign currency gain derived from dealing, or engaging in substantial and regular trading, in securities. Such gain is treated as nonqualifying income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests.
Failure to Satisfy Gross Income Tests
If we fail to satisfy one or both of the gross income tests for any taxable year, we nevertheless may qualify as a REIT for that year if we qualify for relief under certain provisions of the U.S. federal income tax laws. Those relief provisions are generally available if:
We cannot predict, however, whether in all circumstances we would qualify for the relief provisions. In addition, as discussed above in "Taxation of Our Company," even if the relief provisions apply, we would incur a 100% tax on the gross income attributable to the greater of the amount by which we fail the 75% gross income test or the 95% gross income test multiplied, in either case, by a fraction intended to reflect our profitability.
Asset Tests
To qualify as a REIT, we also must satisfy the following asset tests at the end of each quarter of each taxable year. First, at least 75% of the value of our total assets must consist of:
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Second, of our investments not included in the 75% asset class, the value of our interest in any one issuer's securities may not exceed 5% of the value of our total assets, or the 5% asset test.
Third, of our investments not included in the 75% asset class, we may not own more than 10% of the voting power of any one issuer's outstanding securities or more than 10% of the value of any one issuer's outstanding securities, or the 10% vote test and 10% value test, respectively.
Fourth, for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2018, no more than 25% of the value of our total assets may consist of the securities of one or more TRSs, and for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, no more than 20% of the value of our total assets may consist of the securities of one or more TRSs.
Fifth, no more than 25% of the value of our total assets may consist of the securities of TRSs, other non-TRS taxable subsidiaries and other assets that are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test, or the 25% securities test.
For purposes of the 5% asset test, the 10% vote test and the 10% value test, the term "securities" does not include shares in another REIT, equity or debt securities of a qualified REIT subsidiary or a TRS, mortgage loans that constitute real estate assets, or equity interests in a partnership. The term "securities," however, generally includes debt securities issued by a partnership or another REIT, except that for purposes of the 10% value test, the term "securities" does not include:
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For purposes of the 10% value test, our proportionate share of the assets of a partnership is our proportionate interest in any securities issued by the partnership, without regard to the securities described in the last two bullet points above.
We will monitor the status of our assets for purposes of the various asset tests and will manage our portfolio in order to comply at all times with such tests. If we fail to satisfy the asset tests at the end of a calendar quarter, we will not lose our REIT qualification if:
If we did not satisfy the condition described in the second item, above, we still could avoid disqualification by eliminating any discrepancy within 30 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which it arose.
If we violate the 5% asset test, the 10% vote test or the 10% value test described above at the end of any quarter of a taxable year, we will not lose our REIT qualification if (1) the failure is de minimis (up to the lesser of 1% of the value of our assets or $10 million) and (2) we dispose of assets causing the failure or otherwise comply with the asset tests within six months after the last day of the quarter in which we identify such failure. In the event of a failure of any of the asset tests (other than de minimis failures described in the preceding sentence), as long as the failure was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect, we will not lose our REIT qualification if we (1) dispose of assets causing the failure or otherwise comply with the asset tests within six months after the last day of the quarter in which we identify the failure, (2) we file a schedule with the IRS describing each asset that caused the failure and (3) pay a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or 35% of the net income from the assets causing the failure during the period in which we failed to satisfy the asset tests.
We believe that the assets that we will hold will satisfy the foregoing asset test requirements. However, we will not obtain independent appraisals to support our conclusions as to the value of our assets. Moreover, the values of some assets may not be susceptible to a precise determination. As a result, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not contend that our ownership of assets violates one or more of the asset tests applicable to REITs.
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Distribution Requirements
Each year, we must distribute dividends, other than capital gain dividends and deemed distributions of retained capital gain, to our stockholders in an aggregate amount at least equal to:
We must pay such distributions in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if either (1) we declare the distribution before we timely file our U.S. federal income tax return for the year and pay the distribution on or before the first regular dividend payment date after such declaration or (2) we declare the distribution in October, November or December of the taxable year, payable to stockholders of record on a specified day in any such month, and we actually pay the dividend before the end of January of the following year. The distributions under clause (1) are taxable to the stockholders in the year in which paid, and the distributions in clause (2) are treated as paid on December 31st of the prior taxable year. In both instances, these distributions relate to our prior taxable year for purposes of the 90% distribution requirement.
We will pay U.S. federal income tax on any taxable income, including net capital gain that we do not distribute to our stockholders. Furthermore, if we fail to distribute during a calendar year, or by the end of January following the calendar year in the case of distributions with declaration and record dates falling in the last three months of the calendar year, at least the sum of:
We will incur a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the excess of such required distribution over the amounts we actually distribute.
We may elect to retain and pay income tax on the net long-term capital gain we receive in a taxable year. If we so elect, we will be treated as having distributed any such retained amount for purposes of the 4% nondeductible excise tax described above. We intend to make timely distributions sufficient to satisfy the annual distribution requirements and to avoid corporate federal income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax.
It is possible that, from time to time, we may experience timing differences between the actual receipt of income and actual payment of deductible expenses and the inclusion of that income and deduction of such expenses in arriving at our REIT taxable income. For example, we may not deduct recognized capital losses from our "REIT taxable income." Further, it is possible that, from time to time, we may be allocated a share of net capital gain from an entity taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes in which we own an interest that is attributable to the sale of depreciated property that exceeds our allocable share of cash attributable to that sale. As a result of the foregoing, we may have less cash than is necessary to distribute taxable income sufficient to avoid corporate income tax and the excise tax imposed on certain undistributed income. In such a situation, we may need to borrow funds or issue additional shares of common or preferred stock, if possible, pay taxable dividends of our shares or debt securities.
We may be able to satisfy the 90% distribution test with taxable distributions of our shares or debt securities. The IRS has issued private letter rulings to other REITs treating certain distributions that
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are paid partly in cash and partly in shares as dividends that would satisfy the REIT annual distribution requirement and qualify for the dividends paid deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Those rulings may be relied upon only by taxpayers whom they were issued. In such a circumstance we might request a similar ruling from the IRS. In addition, the IRS previously issued a revenue procedure authorizing publicly traded REITs to make elective cash/shares dividends, but that revenue procedure does not apply to 2015 and future taxable years. Accordingly, it is unclear whether and to what extent we will be able to make taxable dividends payable in cash and shares. We have no current intention to make a taxable dividend payable in our shares.
In order for distributions to be counted as satisfying the annual distribution requirement applicable to REITs and to provide us with a REIT-level tax deduction, the distributions must not be "preferential dividends" unless we qualify as a "publicly offered REIT." A distribution is not a preferential dividend if the distribution is (1) pro rata among all outstanding shares within a particular class, and (2) in accordance with the preferences among different classes of stock as set forth in our organizational documents. We believe that we are, and expect we will continue to be, a "publicly offered REIT."
Under certain circumstances, we may be able to correct a failure to meet the distribution requirement for a year by paying "deficiency dividends" to our stockholders in a later year. We may include such deficiency dividends in our deduction for dividends paid for the earlier year. Although we may be able to avoid income tax on amounts distributed as deficiency dividends, we will be required to pay interest to the IRS based upon the amount of any deduction we take for deficiency dividends.
Recordkeeping Requirements
We must maintain certain records in order to qualify as a REIT. In addition, to avoid a monetary penalty, we must request, on an annual basis, information from certain of our stockholders designed to disclose the actual ownership of our outstanding shares, and we must maintain a list of those persons failing or refusing to comply with such request as part of our records. We intend to comply with these requirements.
Failure to Qualify
If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, and no relief provision applies, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax and any applicable alternative minimum tax at regular corporate income tax rates on our taxable income determined without reduction for amounts distributed to stockholders. In addition, we may be required to pay penalties and interest with respect to such tax. In fact, we would not be required to distribute any amounts to stockholders in that year. In such event, to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, distributions to stockholders generally would be taxable as ordinary dividend income. Subject to certain limitations under the U.S. federal income tax laws, corporate stockholders may be eligible for the dividends received deduction and stockholders taxed at individual rates may be eligible for the reduced federal income tax rate of up to 20% on such dividends. Unless we qualified for relief under specific statutory provisions, we also would be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we ceased to qualify as a REIT. We cannot predict whether we would qualify for such statutory relief in all circumstances.
Taxation of Taxable U.S. Stockholders
As used in this prospectus, the term "U.S. stockholder" means a holder of our common stock that for U.S. federal income tax purposes is:
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If a partnership, entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our common stock, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner in a partnership holding our common stock, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the consequences of the ownership and disposition of our common stock by the partnership.
As long as we qualify as a REIT, a taxable U.S. stockholder must generally take into account as ordinary income distributions made out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits that we do not designate as capital gain dividends or retained long-term capital gain.
A corporate U.S. stockholder will not qualify for the dividends received deduction generally available to corporations. In addition, dividends paid to a U.S. stockholder generally will not qualify for the preferential tax rate for "qualified dividend income." The maximum tax rate for qualified dividend income received by U.S. stockholders taxed at individual rates is 20%. The maximum tax rate on qualified dividend income is lower than the maximum tax rate on ordinary income, which is currently 39.6%. Qualified dividend income generally includes dividends paid by domestic C corporations and certain qualified foreign corporations to U.S. stockholders that are taxed at individual rates. As long as we qualify as a REIT, our dividends generally will not be eligible for the 20% rate on qualified dividend income. As a result, our ordinary REIT dividends will be taxed at the higher tax rate applicable to ordinary income. However, the 20% tax rate for qualified dividend income will apply to our ordinary REIT dividends, if any, that are (1) attributable to dividends received by us from non REIT corporations, such as any TRS we may form, or (2) attributable to income upon which we have paid corporate income tax (e.g., to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our taxable income). In general, to qualify for the reduced tax rate on qualified dividend income, a stockholder must hold our common stock for more than 60 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the date on which our common stock become ex-dividend.
Individuals, trusts and estates whose income exceeds certain thresholds are also subject to an additional 3.8% net investment income tax on dividends received from us. U.S. stockholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the net investment income tax resulting from an investment in our shares.
A U.S. stockholder generally will take into account as long-term capital gain any distributions that we designate as capital gain dividends without regard to the period for which the U.S. stockholder has held our common stock. We generally will designate our capital gain dividends as either 20% or 25% rate distributions. See "Taxation of Taxable U.S. StockholdersCapital Gains and Losses" for additional information. A corporate U.S. stockholder, however, may be required to treat up to 20% of certain capital gain dividends as ordinary income.
Under recently enacted legislation, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, the amount of dividends we designate as qualified dividends and capital gains dividends with respect to any taxable year may not exceed the dividends we pay with respect to such year.
We may elect to retain and pay income tax on the net long-term capital gain that we receive in a taxable year. In that case, to the extent that we designate such amount in a timely notice to such
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stockholder, a U.S. stockholder would be taxed on its proportionate share of our undistributed long-term capital gain. The U.S. stockholder would receive a credit for its proportionate share of the tax we paid. The U.S. stockholder would increase the basis in its shares by the amount of its proportionate share of our undistributed long-term capital gain, minus its share of the tax we paid. We currently do not intend to retain any capital gains.
A U.S. stockholder will not incur tax on a distribution in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits if the distribution does not exceed the adjusted basis of the U.S. stockholder's common stock. Instead, the distribution will reduce the U.S. stockholder's adjusted basis in such shares. A U.S. stockholder will recognize a distribution in excess of both our current and accumulated earnings and profits and the U.S. stockholder's adjusted basis in his or her shares as long-term capital gain, or short-term capital gain if the shares have been held for one year or less, assuming the shares are a capital asset in the hands of the U.S. stockholder. In addition, if we declare a distribution in October, November, or December of any year that is payable to a U.S. stockholder of record on a specified date in any such month, such distribution will be treated as both paid by us and received by the U.S. stockholder on December 31 of such year, provided that we actually pay the distribution during January of the following calendar year.
U.S. stockholders may not include in their individual income tax returns any of our net operating losses or capital losses. Instead, these losses are generally carried over by us for potential offset against our future income. Taxable distributions from us and gain from the disposition of our common stock will not be treated as passive activity income and, therefore, stockholders generally will not be able to apply any "passive activity losses," such as losses from certain types of limited partnerships in which the U.S. stockholder is a limited partner, against such income or gain. In addition, taxable distributions from us and gain from the disposition of our common stock generally will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest limitations. We will notify U.S. stockholders after the close of our taxable year as to the portions of the distributions attributable to that year that constitute ordinary income, return of capital and capital gain.
Taxation of U.S. Stockholders on the Disposition of Common Stock
In general, a U.S. stockholder will realize gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the sum of the fair market value of any property and the amount of cash received in such disposition and the U.S. stockholder's adjusted tax basis. A stockholder's adjusted tax basis generally will equal the U.S. stockholder's acquisition cost, increased by the excess of net capital gains deemed distributed to the U.S. stockholder (discussed above) less tax deemed paid on such gains and reduced by any returns of capital. A U.S. stockholder generally must treat any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of our common stock as long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. stockholder has held our common stock for more than one year and otherwise as short-term capital gain or loss. However, a U.S. stockholder must treat any loss upon a sale or exchange of common stock held by such stockholder for six months or less as a long-term capital loss to the extent of capital gain dividends and any other actual or deemed distributions from us that such U.S. stockholder treats as long-term capital gain. All or a portion of any loss that a U.S. stockholder realizes upon a taxable disposition of our common stock may be disallowed if the U.S. stockholder purchases other shares of our common stock within 30 days before or after the disposition.
If we redeem shares held by a U.S. stockholder, such U.S. stockholder will be treated as having sold the redeemed shares if (1) all of the U.S. stockholder's shares are redeemed (after taking into consideration certain ownership attribution rules) or (2) such redemption is either (i) "not essentially equivalent" to a dividend or (ii) "substantially disproportionate." If a redemption is not treated as a sale of the redeemed shares, it will be treated as a distribution made with respect to such shares. U.S. stockholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the taxation of any particular redemption of our shares.
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Capital Gains and Losses
A taxpayer generally must hold a capital asset for more than one year for gain or loss derived from its sale or exchange to be treated as long-term capital gain or loss. The highest marginal individual income tax rate on ordinary income and short-term capital gains currently is 39.6%. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gain applicable to taxpayers taxed at individual rates is 20% for sales and exchanges of assets held for more than one year. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gain from the sale or exchange of "Section 1250 property," or depreciable real property, is 25%, which applies to the lesser of the total amount of the gain or the accumulated depreciation on the Section 1250 property.
Individuals, trusts and estates whose income exceeds certain thresholds are also subject to an additional 3.8% net investment income tax on gain from the sale of shares of our common stock. U.S. stockholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the net investment income tax resulting from an investment in our shares.
With respect to distributions that we designate as capital gain dividends and any retained capital gain that we are deemed to distribute, we generally may designate whether such a distribution is taxable to U.S. stockholders taxed at individual rates currently at a 20% or 25% rate. Thus, the tax rate differential between capital gain and ordinary income for those taxpayers may be significant. In addition, the characterization of income as capital gain or ordinary income may affect the deductibility of capital losses. A non-corporate taxpayer may deduct capital losses not offset by capital gains against its ordinary income only up to a maximum annual amount of $3,000. A non-corporate taxpayer may carry forward unused capital losses indefinitely. A corporate taxpayer must pay tax on its net capital gain at ordinary corporate rates. A corporate taxpayer may deduct capital losses only to the extent of capital gains, with unused losses being carried back three years and forward five years.
Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders
This section is a summary of rules governing the U.S. federal income taxation of U.S. stockholders that are tax-exempt entities and is for general information only. We urge tax-exempt stockholders to consult their own tax advisors to determine the impact of U.S. federal, state, and local income tax laws on the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock, including any reporting requirements.
Tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts, generally are exempt from U.S. federal income taxation. However, they are subject to taxation on their unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI. Although many investments in real estate generate UBTI, the IRS has issued a ruling that dividend distributions from a REIT to an exempt employee pension trust do not constitute UBTI so long as the exempt employee pension trust does not otherwise use the shares of the REIT in an unrelated trade or business of the pension trust. Based on that ruling, amounts that we distribute to tax-exempt stockholders generally should not constitute UBTI. However, if a tax-exempt stockholder were to finance (or be deemed to finance) its acquisition of our common stock with debt, a portion of the income that it receives from us would constitute UBTI pursuant to the "debt-financed property" rules. Moreover, social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts and qualified group legal services plans that are exempt from taxation under special provisions of the U.S. federal income tax laws are subject to different UBTI rules, which generally will require them to characterize distributions that they receive from us as UBTI. Finally, in certain circumstances, a qualified employee pension or profit sharing trust that owns more than 10% of our shares must treat a percentage of the dividends that it receives from us as UBTI. Such percentage is equal to the gross income we derive from an unrelated trade or business, determined as if we were a pension trust, divided by our total gross income
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for the year in which we pay the dividends. That rule applies to a pension trust holding more than 10% of our shares only if:
Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders
This section is a summary of the rules governing the U.S. federal income taxation of non-U.S. stockholders. The term "non-U.S. stockholder" means a holder of shares of our common stock that is not a U.S. stockholder, a partnership (or entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) or a tax-exempt stockholder. The rules governing U.S. federal income taxation of nonresident alien individuals, foreign corporations, foreign partnerships, and other foreign stockholders are complex. We urge non-U.S. stockholders to consult their own tax advisors to determine the impact of U.S. federal, state, and local income tax laws on the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock, including any reporting requirements.
Distributions
A non-U.S. stockholder that receives a distribution that is not attributable to gain from our sale or exchange of a "United States real property interest," or USRPI, as defined below, and that we do not designate as a capital gain dividend or retained capital gain will recognize ordinary income to the extent that we pay such distribution out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. A withholding tax equal to 30% of the gross amount of the distribution ordinarily will apply to such distribution unless an applicable tax treaty reduces or eliminates the tax. Under some treaties, lower withholding rates on dividends do not apply, or do not apply as favorably, to dividends from REITs.
However, if a distribution is treated as effectively connected with the non-U.S. stockholder's conduct of a U.S. trade or business, the non-U.S. stockholder generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the distribution at graduated rates, in the same manner as U.S. stockholders are taxed with respect to such distribution, and a non-U.S. stockholder that is a corporation also may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax with respect to that distribution. The branch profits tax may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty. We plan to withhold U.S. income tax at the rate of 30% on the gross amount of any such distribution paid to a non-U.S. stockholder unless either:
A non-U.S. stockholder will not incur tax on a distribution in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits if the excess portion of such distribution does not exceed the adjusted basis of the non-U.S. stockholder in its shares of our common stock. Instead, the excess portion of such
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distribution will reduce the adjusted basis of the non-U.S. stockholder in such shares. A non-U.S. stockholder will be subject to tax on a distribution that exceeds both our current and accumulated earnings and profits and the adjusted basis of the non-U.S. stockholder in its shares of our common stock, if the non-U.S. stockholder otherwise would be subject to tax on gain from the sale or disposition of its shares of our common stock, as described below. Because we generally cannot determine at the time we make a distribution whether the distribution will exceed our current and accumulated earnings and profits, we normally will withhold tax on the entire amount of any distribution at the same rate as we would withhold on a dividend. However, a non-U.S. stockholder may claim a refund of amounts that we withhold if we later determine that a distribution in fact exceeded our current and accumulated earnings and profits.
Under FIRPTA (discussed below), we may be required to withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits. Consequently, although we intend to withhold at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be provided under an applicable tax treaty) on the entire amount of any distribution, to the extent that we do not do so, we will withhold at a rate of 15% on any portion of a distribution not subject to withholding at a rate of 30%.
For any year in which we qualify as a REIT, a non-U.S. stockholder may incur tax on distributions that are attributable to gain from our sale or exchange of a USRPI under FIRPTA. A USRPI includes interests in real property located in the United States or the Virgin Islands and shares in corporations at least 50% by value of whose real property interests and assets used or held for use in a trade or business consist of USRPI. Under FIRPTA, a non-U.S. stockholder is taxed on distributions attributable to gain from sales of USRPIs as if such gain were effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. stockholder. A non-U.S. stockholder thus would be taxed on such a distribution at the normal capital gains rates applicable to U.S. stockholders, subject to applicable alternative minimum tax and a special alternative minimum tax in the case of a nonresident alien individual. A non-U.S. corporate stockholder not entitled to treaty relief or exemption also may be subject to the 30% branch profits tax on such a distribution. Unless you are a stockholder that owns not more than 10% of our capital stock, or are a "qualified shareholder" or a "qualified foreign pension fund" (both as defined below), we must withhold 35% of any distribution that we could designate as a capital gain dividend. A non-U.S. stockholder may receive a credit against its tax liability for the amount we withhold.
In addition, distributions to certain non-U.S. publicly traded stockholders that meet certain record-keeping and other requirements ("qualified shareholders") are exempt from FIRPTA, except to the extent owners of such qualified shareholders that are not also qualified stockholders own, actually or constructively, more than 10% of our capital stock. Furthermore, distributions to "qualified foreign pension funds" or entities all of the interests of which are held by "qualified foreign pension funds" are exempt from FIRPTA. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of these rules.
Although not free from doubt, amounts we designate as retained capital gains in respect of the common stock held by U.S. stockholders generally should be treated with respect to non-U.S. stockholders in the same manner as actual distributions by us of capital gain dividends. Under this approach, a non-U.S. stockholder would be able to offset as a credit against its U.S. federal income tax liability resulting from its proportionate share of the tax paid by us on such retained capital gains, and to receive from the IRS a refund to the extent the non-U.S. stockholder's proportionate share of such tax paid by us exceeds its actual U.S. federal income tax liability, provided that the non-U.S. stockholder furnishes required information to the IRS on a timely basis. We currently do not intend to retain any capital gains.
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Dispositions
A non-U.S. stockholder generally will not incur tax under FIRPTA with respect to gain on a sale of shares of common stock as long as, at all times during a specified testing period, non-United States persons hold, directly or indirectly, less than 50% in value of our outstanding stock. We cannot assure you that this test will be met. Even if we meet this test, pursuant to "wash sale" rules under FIRPTA, a non-U.S. stockholder may incur tax under FIRPTA to the extent such stockholder disposes of our common stock within a certain period prior to a capital gain distribution and directly or indirectly (including through certain affiliates) reacquires our common stock within certain prescribed periods. In addition, even if we do not meet the "domestically controlled" test, a non-U.S. stockholder that owned, actually or constructively, 10% or less of the outstanding common stock at all times during a specified testing period will not incur tax under FIRPTA on gain from a sale of common stock if the stock is "regularly traded" on an established securities market. An actual or deemed disposition of our capital stock by such stockholders may also be treated as a dividend. Furthermore, dispositions of our capital stock by "qualified foreign pension funds" or entities all of the interests of which are held by "qualified foreign pension funds" are exempt from FIRPTA. Any gain subject to tax under FIRPTA will be treated in the same manner as it would be in the hands of U.S. stockholders subject to alternative minimum tax, but under a special alternative minimum tax in the case of nonresident alien individuals. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of these rules.
A non-U.S. stockholder generally will incur tax on gain from the sale of common stock not subject to FIRPTA if:
Taxation of Holders of Debt Securities
The following is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to the ownership and disposition of debt securities that we may offer for "U.S. Holders" or "Non-U.S. Holders" (each, as defined below and collectively, "Holders"). Except where noted, this summary deals only with debt securities held as capital assets (within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code), by a Holder who purchases the debt securities for cash at their original "issue price" within the meaning of Section 1273 of the Code (generally, the first price at which a substantial amount of the debt securities are sold to the public). This discussion does not address the tax consequences to subsequent purchasers of debt securities.
This discussion does not describe all of the U.S. federal income tax considerations that may be relevant to a Holder in light of its particular circumstances or to Holders subject to special rules, including, without limitation, dealers in securities or currencies, financial institutions, insurance companies, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, tax-exempt entities, former citizens or residents of the United States, pass-through entities (e.g., S corporations, partnerships or other entities taxable as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes), "controlled foreign corporations," "passive foreign investment companies," U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, and persons that hold the debt securities in connection with a straddle, hedging, conversion or other risk reduction transaction. Furthermore, this summary does not consider the effect of the U.S. federal estate or gift tax laws, state, local, or foreign income tax laws, or any U.S. federal alternative minimum tax considerations.
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The U.S. federal income tax considerations set forth below are based upon the Code, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, court decisions, and rulings and pronouncements of the IRS all as in effect on the date hereof, and all of which are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis, and to differing interpretations, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax considerations different from those summarized below. We have not sought any ruling from the IRS with respect to statements made and conclusions reached in this summary, and there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with such statements and conclusions.
As used herein, the term "U.S. Holder" means a beneficial owner of a debt security that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
As used herein, the term "Non-U.S. Holder" means a beneficial owner of a debt security that is a non-resident alien or a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of a debt security, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A partnership considering an investment in the debt securities and partners in such a partnership are urged to consult their tax advisors about the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of the debt securities.
Investors considering the purchase of the debt securities are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the application of the U.S. federal income tax laws to their particular situations as well as any tax consequences arising under the U.S. federal estate or gift tax rules or under the laws of any state, local or foreign taxing jurisdiction or under any applicable tax treaty.
U.S. Holders
The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to a U.S. Holder.
Effect of contingent interest
We may issue debt securities on which we may be required to pay additional interest in certain circumstances. If we cannot determine that the contingencies triggering such additional interest payments are remote or incidental, a U.S. Holder of such debt securities generally would be required to accrue ordinary income on such debt securities in excess of stated interest, and to treat any income realized on the taxable disposition of such debt securities as ordinary income rather than capital gain. The remainder of this discussion assumes that the debt securities are not treated as "contingent payment debt instruments" within the meaning of the Code.
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Stated interest and original issue discount
Qualified stated interest on a note (as defined below) generally will be included in the income of a U.S. Holder as ordinary income from domestic sources at the time such interest is received or accrued in accordance with the U.S. Holder's method of accounting for tax purposes.
If the issue price of the debt securities is less than their stated redemption price at maturity, then the debt securities will be treated as being issued with original issue discount ("OID") for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless the difference between their issue price and their stated redemption price at maturity is less than a statutory de minimis amount.
The amount of OID on the debt securities will be de minimis if it is less than 0.0025 multiplied by the product of their stated redemption price at maturity and the number of complete years to maturity. The "stated redemption price at maturity" of a debt security is the total of all payments to be made under the debt security other than "qualified stated interest" (generally, stated interest that is unconditionally payable in cash or property at least annually at a single fixed rate or at certain floating rates that properly take into account the length of the interval between stated interest payments); and, generally, is expected to equal the principal amount of the debt security.
If the difference between the issue price and the stated redemption price at maturity of the debt securities is more than the statutory de minimis amount, the debt securities will be treated as having been issued with OID. The amount of OID on the debt securities, which is equal to such difference, must be included in income as ordinary interest as it accrues (generally using a constant yield method), regardless of such U.S. Holder's regular method of tax accounting. This may result in recognition of income in advance of receipt of the cash payments attributable to such income.
U.S. Holders purchasing debt securities with OID should consult their tax advisors regarding computation of OID accruals.
Sale, redemption, exchange or other taxable disposition of debt securities
Upon the sale, exchange, redemption, repurchase, retirement or other disposition of a debt security, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between (i) the amount of cash proceeds and the fair market value of any property received on the disposition (except to the extent such amount is attributable to accrued but unpaid stated interest, which is taxable as ordinary income if not previously included in such Holder's income) and (ii) such U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in the debt security.
A U.S. Holder's adjusted tax basis in a debt security generally will equal the cost of the debt security to such Holder increased by the amount of OID (if any) previously included in income by such Holder and decreased by the amount of any prior payments other than qualified stated interest payments.
Capital gain or loss recognized upon the disposition of a debt security will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the debt security was held for more than one year. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains to non-corporate U.S. Holders is currently 20%. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Information Reporting Requirements and Withholding
We will report to our stockholders and to the IRS the amount of distributions we pay during each calendar year, and the amount of tax we withhold, if any. Under the backup withholding rules, a
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stockholder may be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 28% with respect to distributions unless the stockholder:
A stockholder who does not provide us with its correct taxpayer identification number also may be subject to penalties imposed by the IRS. Any amount paid as backup withholding will be creditable against the stockholder's U.S. federal income tax liability. In addition, we may be required to withhold a portion of capital gain distributions to any stockholders who fail to certify their non-foreign status to us.
Backup withholding will generally not apply to payments of dividends made by us or our paying agents, in their capacities as such, to a non-U.S. stockholder provided that the non-U.S. stockholder furnishes to us or our paying agent the required certification as to its non-U.S. status, such as providing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, as applicable, or W-8ECI, or certain other requirements are met. Notwithstanding the foregoing, backup withholding may apply if either we or our paying agent has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that the holder is a U.S. person that is not an exempt recipient. Payments of the proceeds from a disposition or a redemption of our stock effected outside the U.S. by a non-U.S. stockholder made by or through a foreign office of a broker generally will not be subject to information reporting or backup withholding. However, information reporting (but not backup withholding) generally will apply to such a payment if the broker has certain connections with the U.S. unless the broker has documentary evidence in its records that the beneficial owner is a non-U.S. stockholder and specified conditions are met or an exemption is otherwise established. Payment of the proceeds from a disposition by a non-U.S. stockholder of common stock made by or through the U.S. office of a broker is generally subject to information reporting and backup withholding unless the non-U.S. stockholder certifies under penalties of perjury that it is not a U.S. person and satisfies certain other requirements, or otherwise establishes an exemption from information reporting and backup withholding.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be refunded or credited against the stockholder's U.S. federal income tax liability if certain required information is furnished to the IRS. Stockholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding application of backup withholding to them and the availability of, and procedure for obtaining an exemption from, backup withholding.
Tax Aspects of Our Investments in Partnerships
The following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to our direct or indirect investments in our Operating Partnership and any subsidiary partnerships or limited liability companies that we form or acquire (each individually a "Partnership" and, collectively, the "Partnerships"). The discussion does not cover state or local tax laws or any U.S. federal tax laws other than income tax laws.
Classification as Disregarded Entities
An unincorporated entity with one owner will be classified as an entity disregarded from such owner for U.S. federal income tax purposes if it does not elect to be taxed as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and otherwise is treated as a disregarded entity under the Treasury Regulations relating to entity classification, or check-the-box regulations. For U.S. federal income tax
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purposes, the assets, income and loss of an entity disregarded from its owner are treated as the direct assets, income and loss of the owner. Initially, and until the admission of additional partners, if any, we expect our Operating Partnership to be classified as an entity disregarded from us for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Classification as Partnerships
An unincorporated entity with at least two owners will be classified as a partnership, rather than as a corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes if it:
We do not intend to make an election to treat any Partnership as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
In addition, we intend to structure our investments in any Partnership to avoid the treatment of such Partnership as a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation. A publicly-traded partnership is a partnership whose interests are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof. Treasury Regulations provide limited safe harbors from the definition of a publicly-traded partnership. Pursuant to one of those safe harbors, or the private placement exclusion, interests in a partnership will not be treated as readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof if (1) all interests in the partnership were issued in a transaction or transactions that were not required to be registered under the Securities Act, and (2) the partnership does not have more than 100 partners at any time during the partnership's taxable year. In determining the number of partners in a partnership, a person owning an interest in a partnership, grantor trust, or S corporation that owns an interest in the partnership is treated as a partner in such partnership only if (1) substantially all of the value of the owner's interest in the entity is attributable to the entity's direct or indirect interest in the partnership and (2) a principal purpose of the use of the entity is to permit the partnership to satisfy the 100-partner limitation. A publicly-traded partnership will not, however, be treated as a corporation for any taxable year if 90% or more of the partnership's gross income for such year consists of certain passive income, including real property rents, gains from the sale or other disposition of real property, interest, and dividends, or the 90% passive income exception. We intend that each Partnership in which we own an interest either will qualify for the private placement exception or will qualify for the 90% passive income exception.
Although we intend that each Partnership will be classified either as a disregarded entity (in the case of a Partnership with one owner) or as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have not requested, and do not intend to request, a ruling from the IRS that any Partnership will be classified as either a partnership or disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If any material Partnership were taxable as a corporation, rather than as a partnership or a disregarded entity, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we likely would not be able to qualify as a REIT. SeeGross Income Tests" andAsset Tests." In addition, any change in a Partnership's status for tax purposes might be treated as a taxable event, in which case we might incur tax liability without any related cash distribution. See "Distribution Requirements." Further, items of income and deduction of such Partnership would not pass through to its partners, and its partners would be treated as stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Consequently, such Partnership would be required to pay income tax at corporate rates on its net income, and distributions to its partners would constitute dividends that would not be deductible in computing such Partnership's taxable income.
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Partners, Not the Partnerships, Subject to Tax
A partnership is not a taxable entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Rather, we are required to take into account our allocable share of each Partnership's income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits for any taxable year of such Partnership ending within or with our taxable year, without regard to whether we have received or will receive any distribution from such Partnership.
Partnership Allocations
Although a partnership agreement generally will determine the allocation of income and losses among partners, such allocations will be disregarded for tax purposes if they do not comply with the provisions of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing partnership allocations. If an allocation is not recognized for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the item subject to the allocation will be reallocated in accordance with the partners' interests in the partnership, which will be determined by taking into account all of the facts and circumstances relating to the economic arrangement of the partners with respect to such item. Each Partnership's allocations of taxable income, gain, and loss are intended to comply with the requirements of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing partnership allocations.
Tax Allocations with Respect to Contributed Properties
Income, gain, loss, and deduction attributable to appreciated or depreciated property that is contributed to a partnership in exchange for an interest in the partnership must be allocated in a manner such that the contributing partner is charged with, or benefits from, respectively, the unrealized gain or unrealized loss associated with the property at the time of the contribution, or the 704(c) Allocations. The amount of the unrealized gain or unrealized loss ("built-in gain" or "built-in loss") is generally equal to the difference between the fair market value of the contributed property at the time of contribution and the adjusted tax basis of such property at the time of contribution (a "book-tax difference"). Any property purchased for cash initially will have an adjusted tax basis equal to its fair market value, resulting in no book-tax difference. A book-tax difference attributable to depreciable property generally is decreased on an annual basis as a result of depreciation deductions to the contributing partner for book purposes but not for tax purposes. The 704(c) Allocations are solely for federal income tax purposes and do not affect the book capital accounts or other economic or legal arrangements among the partners.
The Treasury Department has issued regulations requiring partnerships to use a "reasonable method" for allocating items with respect to which there is a book-tax difference and outlining several reasonable allocation methods. Under certain available methods, the carryover basis of contributed properties in the hands of a partnership we own an interest in (1) could cause us to be allocated lower amounts of depreciation deductions for tax purposes than would be allocated to us if all contributed properties were to have a tax basis equal to their fair market value at the time of the contribution and (2) in the event of a sale of such properties, could cause us to be allocated taxable gain in excess of the economic or book gain allocated to us as a result of such sale, with a corresponding benefit to the contributing partners. An allocation described in (2) above might cause us to recognize taxable income in excess of cash proceeds in the event of a sale or other disposition of property, which may adversely affect our ability to comply with the REIT distribution requirements and may result in a greater portion of our distributions being taxed as dividends. We do not know what method a partnership we own an interest in will use to account for book-tax differences.
Basis in Partnership Interest
Our adjusted tax basis in any Partnership interest we own generally will be:
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Loss allocated to us in excess of our basis in a Partnership interest will not be taken into account until we again have basis sufficient to absorb the loss. A reduction of our share of Partnership indebtedness will be treated as a constructive cash distribution to us, and will reduce our adjusted tax basis in the partnership interest. Distributions, including constructive distributions, in excess of the basis of our Partnership interest will constitute taxable income to us. Such distributions and constructive distributions normally will be characterized as long-term capital gain.
Partnership Audits
Under recently enacted legislation that will apply for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 (unless a Partnership elects to apply the legislative changes sooner), in the event of a federal income tax audit the Partnership, rather than the Partnership's partners, could be liable for the payment of certain taxes, including interest and penalties, or the partners could be liable for the tax but required to pay interest at a higher rate than would otherwise apply to underpayments. Furthermore, the "partnership representative" of the partnership will have exclusive authority to bind all partners to any federal income tax proceeding.
Depreciation Deductions Available to Partnerships
The initial tax basis of property is the amount of cash and the basis of property given as consideration for the property. A Partnership in which we are a partner generally will depreciate property for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the modified accelerated cost recovery system of depreciation, or MACRS. Under MACRS, each partnership generally will depreciate furnishings over a seven year recovery period and equipment over a five year recovery period using a 200% declining balance method and a half-year convention. If, however, the partnership places more than 40% of its furnishings and equipment in service during the last three months of a taxable year, a mid-quarter depreciation convention must be used for the furnishings and equipment placed in service during that year. Under MACRS, the partnership generally will depreciate buildings and improvements over a 39 year recovery period using a straight line method and a mid-month convention. A partnership's initial basis in properties acquired in exchange for units of a partnership should be the same as the transferor's basis in such properties on the date of acquisition by the partnership. Although the law is not entirely clear, a partnership generally will depreciate such property for U.S. federal income tax purposes over the same remaining useful lives and under the same methods used by the transferors. A Partnership's tax depreciation deductions will be allocated among the partners in accordance with their respective interests in the partnership, except to the extent that any Partnership is required under the U.S. federal income tax laws governing partnership allocations to use a method for allocating tax depreciation deductions attributable to contributed or revalued properties that results in our receiving a disproportionate share of such deductions.
Sale of a Partnership's Property
Generally, any gain realized by a Partnership on the sale of property held by the Partnership for more than one year will be long-term capital gain, except for any portion of such gain that is treated as depreciation or cost recovery recapture. Under Section 704(c) of the Code, any gain or loss recognized by a Partnership on the disposition of contributed or revalued properties will be allocated first to the partners of the Partnership who contributed such properties or who were partners at the time of such
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revaluation to the extent of their built-in gain or built-in loss on those properties for federal income tax purposes. The partners' built-in gain or built-in loss on such contributed properties will equal the difference between the partners' proportionate share of the book value of those properties and the partners' tax basis allocable to those properties at the time of the contribution as reduced for any decrease in the "book-tax difference." See "Tax Aspects of Our Investments in PartnershipsTax Allocations With Respect to Contributed Properties." Any remaining gain or loss recognized by the Partnership on the disposition of the contributed properties, and any gain or loss recognized by the Partnership on the disposition of the other properties, will be allocated among the partners in accordance with the Partnership's allocation provisions (subject to the restrictions described above).
Our share of any gain realized by a Partnership on the sale of any property held by the Partnership as inventory or other property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of the Partnership's trade or business will be treated as income from a prohibited transaction that is subject to a 100% tax. Such prohibited transaction income may have an adverse effect upon our ability to satisfy the income tests for REIT status. See "Gross Income Tests" for additional information. We do not presently intend to acquire or hold or to allow any Partnership to acquire or hold any property that represents inventory or other property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of our or such Partnership's trade or business.
Other Tax Consequences
Legislative or Other Actions Affecting REITs
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of REITs may be modified, possibly with retroactive effect, by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time. The REIT rules are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department which may result in statutory changes as well as revisions to regulations and interpretations. Additionally, several of the tax considerations described in this prospectus are currently under review and are subject to change. Prospective stockholders are urged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the effect of potential changes to the federal tax laws on an investment in our common stock.
State and Local Taxes
We and/or our stockholders may be subject to taxation by various states and localities, including those in which we or a stockholder transacts business, owns property or resides. The state and local tax treatment may differ from the U.S. federal income tax treatment described above. Consequently, you should consult your own tax advisor regarding the effect of state and local tax laws on an investment in our common stock.
Foreign Accounts
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, withholding is required at a rate of 30 percent on dividends in respect of, and, after December 31, 2018, gross proceeds from the sale of, our common stock held by certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the Secretary of the Treasury to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to shares in the institution held by certain United States persons and by certain non-US entities that are wholly or partially owned by United States persons and to withhold certain amounts paid to certain account holders and financial institutions. Similarly, dividends in respect of, and gross proceeds from the sale of, our common stock held by an investor that is a non-financial non-US entity will be subject to withholding at a rate of 30 percent, unless such entity either (i) certifies to us that such entity does not have any "substantial United States owners" or (ii) provides certain information regarding the entity's "substantial United States owners," which we will in turn provide to the Secretary of the Treasury. Non-United States stockholders are encouraged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of the legislation on their investment in our common stock.
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The validity of the securities offered by means of this prospectus and certain U.S. federal income tax matters have been passed upon for us by Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C.
The consolidated financial statements and schedules of Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 and for the year ended December 31, 2015 and for the period from March 28, 2014 (the date of inception) through December 31, 2014 incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in the registration statement have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The historical statement of revenues and certain direct operating expenses of (a) the Rockside Medical property for the year ended December 31, 2015, (b) the Treasure Coast Medical Pavilion property for the year ended December 31, 2015, (c) the Parkway Professional Plaza property for the year ended December 31, 2015, and (d) the Mercy Health Medical Office Building property for the year ended December 31, 2015, incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in the registration statement have been so incorporated in reliance on the reports of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and, in accordance therewith, file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the Public Reference Room. These documents also may be accessed through the SEC's electronic data gathering, analysis and retrieval system, or EDGAR, via electronic means, including the SEC's home page on the Internet (www.sec.gov).
We have the authority to designate and issue more than one class or series of shares capital stock having various preferences, conversion and other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends, qualifications, and terms and conditions of redemption. See "Description of Common Stock " and "Description of Preferred Stock". We will furnish a full statement of the relative rights and preferences of each class or series of our shares of capital stock which has been so designated and any restrictions on the ownership or transfer of our shares of capital stock to any stockholder upon request and without charge. Written requests for such copies should be directed to Investor Relations, Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated, 3326 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 150, Franklin, TN 37067, or by telephone request to (615) 771-3052. Our website is located at www.chct.reit . Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and, therefore, is not part of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us and our Operating Partnership to incorporate by reference the information and reports we or our Operating Partnership file with it, which means that we or our Operating Partnership can disclose important information to you by referring you to these documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we or our Operating Partnership file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede the information already incorporated by reference. We are incorporating by reference the documents listed below, which we have already filed with the SEC, and any future filings we or our Operating Partnership make
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with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, except as to any portion of any future report or document that is not deemed filed under such provisions, until we sell all of the securities:
In addition, any future filings we or our Operating Partnership make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference, except as to any portion of any future report or document that is not deemed filed under such provisions.
Upon written or oral request, we or our Operating Partnership will provide, without charge, to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus is delivered, a copy of the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You may request a copy of these filings, and any exhibits we or our Operating Partnership have specifically incorporated by reference as an exhibit in this prospectus, at no cost by writing or telephoning us at the following address:
Investor
Relations
Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated
3326 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 150
Franklin, TN 37067
Telephone: (615) 771-3052.
This prospectus is part of a registration statement we filed with the SEC. We have incorporated exhibits into this registration statement. You should read the exhibits carefully for provisions that may be important to you.
You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We and our Operating Partnership have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We and our Operating Partnership are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus or those documents.
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON, OR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH, OUR WEBSITE IS NOT INCORPORATED INTO AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A PART OF THIS PROSPECTUS.
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4,250,000 Shares of Common Stock
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P.
Evercore ISI
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BB&T Capital Markets
Fifth Third Securities
Janney Montgomery Scott
July 20, 2017