Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc S-3, filed Aug 9, 2024
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (GPMT)
S-3
2024-08-09
View Original
Added on
October 27, 2026
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2024
Registration Statement No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
GRANITE POINT MORTGAGE TRUST INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Maryland
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) |
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61-1843143
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
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3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A
New York, New York 10036
(212) 364-5500
New York, New York 10036
(212) 364-5500
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Michael J. Karber, Esq.
General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A
New York, New York 10036
Tel: (212) 364-5500
General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A
New York, New York 10036
Tel: (212) 364-5500
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Joseph A. Coco, Esq.
Michael J. Zeidel, Esq.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
One Manhattan West
New York, New York 10001
(212) 735-3000
Joseph A. Coco, Esq.
Michael J. Zeidel, Esq.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
One Manhattan West
New York, New York 10001
(212) 735-3000
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the
Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become
effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer
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Accelerated filer
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Non-accelerated filer
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Smaller reporting company
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Emerging growth company
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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You should rely only on the information contained in this document or to which we have referred you. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different. This document may only be used where it is legal to sell these securities. The information in this document may only be accurate on the date of this document.
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer and sell from time to time the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings for an aggregate offering price of up to $500,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. If required, each time we offer to sell securities, we will provide a supplement to this prospectus that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. It is important for you to consider the information contained in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under “Where You Can Find More Information.”
You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or set forth in this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with additional or different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement or any other offering material is accurate as of any date other than the dates on the front of those documents.
When used in this prospectus, the terms “Granite Point,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. and its subsidiaries, as a consolidated entity, unless otherwise specified.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains, or incorporates by reference, not only historical information, but also forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 1E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and that are subject to the safe harbors created by such sections. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ from our beliefs, expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature and can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “target,” “believe,” “outlook,” “potential,” “continue,” “intend,” “seek,” “plan,” “goals,” “future,” “likely,” “may” and similar expressions or their negative forms, or by references to strategy, plans or intentions. By their nature, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, are not statements of historical facts or guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Our expectations, beliefs and estimates are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs and estimates will prove to be correct or be achieved and actual results may vary materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, the information referred to under “Risk Factors” on page 2 of this prospectus and those described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. Other risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are described below and may be described from time to time in reports we file with the SEC, including our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Important factors that may affect our actual results include, among others:
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the general political, economic and competitive conditions in the markets in which we invest and their impact on our investment portfolio, financial condition and business operations;
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inflationary trends which have led to higher interest rates and increased market volatility;
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reduced demand for office, multifamily or retail space, including as a result of increased hybrid work schedules which allow work from remote locations other than the employer’s office premises;
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defaults by borrowers in paying debt service on outstanding indebtedness and borrowers’ abilities to manage and stabilize properties;
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our ability to obtain or maintain financing arrangements on terms favorable to us or at all;
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the level and volatility of prevailing interest rates and credit spreads;
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reductions in the yield on our investments and increases in the cost of our financing;
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general volatility of the securities markets in which we participate and the potential need to post additional collateral on our financing arrangements;
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the return or impact of current or future investments;
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changes in our business, investment strategies or target investments;
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increased competition from entities investing in our target investments;
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effects of hedging instruments on our target investments;
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changes in governmental regulations, tax law and rates and similar matters;
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our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes and our exclusion from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);
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availability of desirable investment opportunities;
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threats to information security, including by way of cyber-attacks;
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availability of qualified personnel;
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operational failures by third-parties on whom we rely in the conduct of our business;
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estimates relating to our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future;
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natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires and floods, including climate change-related risks; acts of war and/or terrorism; pandemics or outbreaks of infectious disease; and other events that may cause unanticipated and uninsured performance declines and/or losses to us or the owners and operators of the real estate securing our investments;
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deterioration in the performance of the properties securing our investments that may cause deterioration in the performance of our investments, risks in collection of contractual interest payments and, potentially, principal losses to us, including the risk of credit loss charges and any impact on our ability to satisfy the covenants and conditions in our debt agreements; and
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difficulty or delays in redeploying the proceeds from repayments of our existing investments.
All forward-looking statements included herein attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Except to the extent required by applicable laws and regulations, we undertake no obligations to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Before you make an investment decision, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference, may adversely affect us.
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights selected information about us. It may not contain all the information that may be important to you in deciding whether to invest in our securities. You should read this entire prospectus, together with the information incorporated by reference, including the risk factors, financial data and related notes, before making an investment decision.
Our Company
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. is an internally-managed real estate finance company that focuses primarily on directly originating, investing in and managing senior floating-rate commercial mortgage loans and other debt and debt-like commercial real estate investments. Our investment objective is to preserve our stockholders’ capital while generating attractive risk-adjusted returns over the long term, primarily through dividends derived from current income produced by our investment portfolio. We operate as a REIT, as defined under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). We operate our business as one segment. We were incorporated in Maryland on April 7, 2017, and commenced operations as a publicly traded company on June 28, 2017.
We have elected to be treated as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To qualify as a REIT, we are required to meet certain investment and operating tests and annual distribution requirements. We generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes on our taxable income to the extent that we annually distribute all of our net taxable income to stockholders, do not participate in prohibited transactions and maintain our intended qualification as a REIT. However, certain activities that we may perform may cause us to earn income which will not be qualifying income for REIT purposes. We have designated one of our subsidiaries as a taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”), as defined in the Code, to engage in such activities, and we may form additional TRSs in the future. We also operate our business in a manner intended to maintain our exclusion from registration under the Investment Company Act.
We are organized as a holding company and operate our business primarily through various subsidiaries in a single reporting segment that originates, acquires and finances our target investments.
Our principal executive office is located at 3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A, New York, New York 10036 and our telephone number is (212) 364-5500. We maintain a website at www.gpmtreit.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement, and you should not consider it a part of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves a number of risks. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully read and consider the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any subsequent Current Reports on Form 8-K (which descriptions are incorporated by reference herein), as well as the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any prospectus supplement hereto before making a decision to invest in our securities. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”
These risks could materially affect our business, strategies, prospects, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows and cause the value of our securities to decline. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business operations. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities. The discussion of risks incudes or refers to forward-looking statements. You should read the explanations and limitations on such forward-looking statements discussed under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
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USE OF PROCEEDS
Unless otherwise indicated in an accompanying prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds received from the sale of the securities offered by this prospectus and the related accompanying prospectus supplement to originate and acquire our target assets subject to our investment guidelines and to the extent consistent with maintaining our REIT qualification, and for general corporate purposes. Prior to such target assets being originated and acquired, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in interest-bearing short-term investments, including funds which are consistent with our REIT election. These investments are expected to provide a lower net return than we seek to achieve from our target assets. Prior to the time we have fully used the net proceeds of this offering to acquire our target assets, we may fund our quarterly dividends out of such net proceeds.
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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following is a summary of the rights and preferences of our capital stock. This summary is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our charter and bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law (the “MGCL”). While we believe that the following description covers the material terms of our capital stock, the description may not contain all of the information that is important to you. We encourage you to read carefully this entire prospectus, our charter and bylaws and the other documents we refer to for a more complete understanding of our capital stock. Copies of our charter and bylaws are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”
General
We are incorporated under the laws of the state of Maryland. The rights of our stockholders are governed by Maryland law, as well as our charter and bylaws.
Our charter authorizes us to issue up to 450,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share, of which 11,500,000 are classified as 7.00% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”). Our charter authorizes our board of directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire board and without stockholder approval, to amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue. Under Maryland law, stockholders are generally not liable for our debts or obligations.
As of August 6, 2024, 50,684,117 shares of common stock are issued and outstanding and 8,229,500 shares of Series A Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding.
Common Stock
Subject to the preferential rights of any other class or series of shares of stock and to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of our stock, holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends on such shares of common stock out of investments legally available therefor if, as and when authorized by our board of directors and declared by us, and the holders of our shares of common stock are entitled to share ratably in our investments legally available for distribution to our stockholders in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up after payment of, or adequate provision for payment of, all our known debts and liabilities.
Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on transfer and ownership of shares of our stock and except as may otherwise be specified in the terms of any class or series of shares of stock, each outstanding share of 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 provided with respect to any other class or series of shares of stock, the holders of such shares of common stock will possess the exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our board of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock can elect all of the directors then standing for election, and the holders of the remaining shares of common stock will not be able to elect any directors.
Holders of shares of common stock have no preference, conversion, exchange, sinking fund or redemption rights, have no preemptive rights to subscribe for any securities of our Company and generally have no appraisal rights. Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on transfer and ownership of shares of our stock, shares of common stock will have equal dividend, liquidation and other rights.
Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, amend its charter, merge with another entity, transfer all or substantially all of its investments, engage in a share exchange or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless declared advisable by its board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders holding 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 corporation’s charter. Our charter provides that these matters (other than certain amendments to the provisions of our charter related to the removal of directors, the restrictions on ownership
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and transfer of shares of our stock and the requirement of a two-thirds vote for amendment to these provisions) may be approved by our stockholders by a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. As permitted by the MGCL, our charter authorizes our board of directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire board and without stockholder approval, to amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue.
Transfer of Common Stock
We may, at our discretion, treat the nominee holder of a share of common stock as the absolute owner. In that case, the beneficial holder’s rights are limited solely to those that it has against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial owner and the nominee holder.
Common stock are securities and any transfers are subject to the laws governing the transfer of securities.
Until a share of common stock has been transferred on our books, we and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the common stock as the absolute owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange regulation.
Shares of Preferred Stock
The following description sets forth general terms and provisions of the preferred stock to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The statements below describing the preferred stock are in all respects subject to and qualified in their entirety by reference to our charter, as amended and restated, bylaws, as amended and restated, and any articles supplementary to our charter, designating terms of a series of preferred stock. The preferred stock, when issued in exchange for the consideration therefor, will be validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable. Because our board of directors has the power to establish the preferences, powers and rights of each series of preferred stock, our board of directors may afford the holders of any series of preferred stock preferences, powers and rights, voting or otherwise, senior to the rights of our common stockholders.
The rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of each series of preferred stock will be fixed by the articles supplementary to our charter relating to the series. A prospectus supplement, relating to each series, will specify the terms of the preferred stock, as follows:
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the title and stated value of the preferred stock;
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the voting rights of the preferred stock, if applicable;
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the preemptive rights of the preferred stock, if applicable;
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the restrictions on alienability of the preferred stock, if applicable;
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the number of shares offered, the liquidation preference per share and the offering price of the shares;
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liability to further calls or assessment of the preferred stock, if applicable;
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the dividend rate(s), period(s) and payment date(s) or method(s) of calculation applicable to the preferred stock;
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the date from which dividends on the preferred stock will accumulate, if applicable;
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the procedures for any auction and remarketing for the preferred stock;
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the provision for a sinking fund, if any, for the preferred stock;
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the provision for and any restriction on redemption, if applicable, of the preferred stock;
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the provision for and any restriction on repurchase, if applicable, of the preferred stock;
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any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange;
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the terms and provisions, if any, upon which the preferred stock will be convertible into common stock, including the conversion price (or manner of calculation) and conversion period;
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the terms under which the rights of the preferred stock may be modified, if applicable;
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any other specific terms, preferences, rights, limitations or restrictions of the preferred stock;
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a discussion of certain material federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock;
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the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs;
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any limitation on issuance of any series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs; and
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any limitations on direct or beneficial ownership and restrictions on transfer of the preferred stock, in each case as may be appropriate to preserve our qualification as a REIT.
Power to Reclassify Our Unissued Shares of Stock
Our charter authorizes our board of directors to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of common or preferred stock into other classes or series of shares of stock. Prior to issuance of shares of each other class or series, our board of directors will be required by Maryland law and by our charter to (a) designate the class or series to distinguish it from all other classes and series of our stock, (b) set, subject to our charter restrictions on transfer and ownership of shares of our stock, the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each class or series, and (c) cause the articles supplementary for such class or series to be filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland. Therefore, among other things, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of common or preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control or other transaction that might involve a premium price for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.
Series A Preferred Stock
The articles supplementary designating, and setting forth the terms of, the Series A Preferred Stock initially authorized 11,500,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, with a liquidation preference of $25 per share. As of the date hereof, we had 8,229,500 shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding. The Series A Preferred Stock ranks, with respect to dividend rights and rights upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, (1) senior to all classes or series of our common stock and to all other equity securities issued by us other than equity securities referred to in clauses (2) and (3) below; (2) on parity with all other equity securities issued by us with terms specifically providing that those equity securities rank on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to rights to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up; (3) junior to all equity securities issued by us with terms specifically providing that those equity securities rank senior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to rights to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up; and (4) effectively junior to all of our existing and future indebtedness (including indebtedness convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or preferred stock), and to the indebtedness of our existing subsidiaries and any future subsidiaries.
The holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive, when, as and if authorized by the our board of directors, cumulative cash dividends (i) to, but excluding, January 15, 2027 at a fixed rate equal to 7.00% per annum of the $25 per share liquidation preference (equivalent to $1.75 per annum per share) and (ii) from and including January 15, 2027 at a floating rate equal to a benchmark rate (which is expected to be Three-Month Term SOFR (as defined in the articles supplementary)) plus a spread of 5.83% per annum of the $25 per share liquidation preference (the “Floating Rate”); provided, however, that in no event shall the Floating Rate be lower than 7.00% per annum. Dividends will be paid in arrears, on the 15th day of April, July, October and January of each year (provided that if any dividend payment date is not a business day, then the dividend which would otherwise have been payable on that dividend payment date may be paid on the next succeeding business day).
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The Series A Preferred Stock is not redeemable by us prior to November 30, 2026 except under circumstances intended to preserve our qualification as a REIT and except upon the occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined in the articles supplementary). On and after November 30, 2026, we may, at our option, redeem the Series A Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, at any time or from time to time, for cash at a redemption price equal to $25 per share, plus any accumulated and unpaid dividends to, but not including, the date fixed for redemption. In addition, upon the occurrence of a Change of Control, we may, at our option, redeem the Series A Preferred Stock, in whole or in part on, or within 120 days after, the first date on which such Change of Control occurred, for cash at a redemption price of $25 per share, plus any accumulated and unpaid dividends to, but not including, the date fixed for redemption.
The Series A Preferred Stock has no stated maturity, is not subject to any sinking fund or mandatory redemption and will remain outstanding indefinitely unless repurchased or redeemed by us or converted into our common stock in connection with a Change of Control by the holders of Series A Preferred Stock. Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control, each holder of Series A Preferred Stock will have the right (unless we have exercised our right to redeem the Series A Preferred Stock in whole or in part, as described above, prior to the Change of Control Conversion Date (as defined in the articles supplementary)) to convert some or all of the Series A Preferred Stock held by such holder on the Change of Control Conversion Date into a number of shares of our common stock per share of Series A Preferred Stock determined by a formula, in each case, on the terms and subject to the conditions described in the articles supplementary, including provisions for the receipt, under specified circumstances, of alternative consideration.
There are restrictions on ownership of the Series A Preferred Stock intended to preserve our qualification as a REIT. See “Description of Capital Stock — Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer.” Except under limited circumstances, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have no voting rights.
Power to Increase or Decrease Authorized Shares of Common Stock and Issue Additional Shares of Common and Preferred Stock
We believe that the power of our board of directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire board and without stockholder approval, to amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue, to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of common or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify unissued shares of common or preferred stock and thereafter to issue such classified or reclassified shares of stock will provide us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs that might arise. The additional classes or series, as well as the shares of common stock, will be available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the terms of any issued and outstanding class or series, or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded. Although our board of directors does not intend to do so, the 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 change in control or other transaction that might involve a premium price for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.
Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer
In order for us to qualify as a REIT under the Code, our shares of stock must be 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 may be owned, directly or indirectly, applying certain attribution rules, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities) 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 shares of common stock and other outstanding shares of stock. The relevant sections of our charter provide that, subject to the exceptions described below, no person or entity may beneficially own, or be deemed to own, by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions of the Code, more than 9.8% by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our outstanding shares of common stock (the common share ownership limit), or 9.8% by value of our outstanding capital stock (the aggregate share ownership limit). We refer to the common share
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ownership limit and the aggregate share ownership limit collectively as the “ownership limits.” A person or entity that becomes subject to the ownership limits by virtue of a violative transfer that results in a transfer to a trust, as set forth below, is referred to as a “purported beneficial transferee” if, had the violative transfer been effective, the person or entity would have been a record owner and beneficial owner or solely a beneficial owner of our shares of stock, or is referred to as a “purported record transferee” if, had the violative transfer been effective, the person or entity would have been solely a record owner of our shares of stock.
The constructive ownership rules under the Code are complex and may cause shares of 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% by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our outstanding shares of common stock, or 9.8% by value of our outstanding capital stock (or the acquisition of an interest in an entity that owns, actually or constructively, our shares of stock by an individual or entity), could, nevertheless, cause that individual or entity, or another individual or entity, to own constructively in excess of 9.8% by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our outstanding shares of common stock, or 9.8% by value of our outstanding capital stock and thereby subject the shares of common stock or total shares of stock to the applicable ownership limits.
Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, exempt a person from the above-referenced ownership limits. However, the board of directors may not exempt any person whose ownership of our outstanding stock would result in our being “closely held” within the meaning of Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise would result in our failing to qualify as a REIT. As a condition of its waiver, our board of directors may require an opinion of counsel or IRS ruling satisfactory to our board of directors with respect to our qualification as a REIT.
In connection with any waiver of the ownership limits or at any other time, our board of directors may from time to time increase or decrease the ownership limits for all other persons and entities; provided, however, that any decrease may be made only prospectively as to existing holders (other than a decrease as a result of a retroactive change in existing law, in which case the decrease will be effective immediately); and provided further that the ownership limits may not be increased if, after giving effect to such increase, five or fewer individuals could beneficially own or constructively own in the aggregate, more than 50% in value of the shares then outstanding. Prior to the modification of the ownership limits, our board of directors may require such opinions of counsel, affidavits, undertakings or agreements as it may deem necessary or advisable in order to determine or ensure our qualification as a REIT. Reduced ownership limits will not apply to any person or entity whose percentage ownership in our shares of common stock or total shares of stock, as applicable, is in excess of such decreased ownership limits until such time as such person’s or entity’s percentage of our shares of common stock or total shares of stock, as applicable, equals or falls below the decreased ownership limits, but any further acquisition of our shares of common stock or total shares of stock, as applicable, in excess of such percentage ownership of our shares of common stock or total shares of stock will be in violation of the ownership limits.
Our charter provisions are further designed to prohibit:
•
any person from beneficially or constructively owning, applying certain attribution rules of the Code, our shares of stock that would result in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT; and
•
any person from transferring our shares of stock if such transfer would result in our shares of stock being owned by fewer than 100 persons (determined without reference to any rules of attribution).
Any person who acquires or attempts or intends to acquire beneficial or constructive ownership of our shares of stock that will or may violate any of the foregoing restrictions on transferability and ownership will be required to give at least 15 days prior written notice to us and provide us with such other information as we may request in order to determine the effect of such transfer on our qualification as a REIT. The foregoing restrictions on transferability and ownership 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.
Our charter provides that, if any transfer of our shares of stock would result in our shares of stock being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons, such transfer will be null and void and the intended transferee will acquire no rights in such shares. In addition, our charter provides that, if any purported transfer of our
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shares of 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 in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT, then that number of shares (rounded up to the nearest whole share) that would cause us to violate such restrictions will be automatically transferred to, and held by, a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable organizations selected by us and the intended transferee will acquire no rights in such shares. Our charter provides that 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 a transfer to the trust. Any dividend or other distribution paid to the purported record transferee, 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 for distribution to the beneficiary by the trust. If the transfer to the trust as described above is not automatically effective, for any reason, to prevent violation of the applicable ownership limits or our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT, then our charter provides that the transfer of the shares will be void.
Our charter provides that shares of 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 paid by the purported record transferee for the shares (or, if the event that resulted in the transfer to the trust did not involve a purchase of such shares of stock at market price, the last reported sales price reported on the NYSE (or other applicable exchange) on the day of the event which resulted in the transfer of such shares of stock to the trust) and (ii) the market price on the date we, or our designee, accepts such offer. We have the right to accept such offer until the trustee has sold the shares of stock held in the trust pursuant to the clauses discussed below. Upon a sale to us, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold terminates, our charter provides that the trustee must distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the purported record transferee and any dividends or other distributions held by the trustee with respect to such shares of stock will be paid to the charitable beneficiary.
Our charter provides that, 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 entity designated by the trustee who could own the shares without violating the ownership limits or such other limit as established by our board of directors. After that, the trustee must distribute to the purported record transferee an amount equal to the lesser of (1) the price paid by the purported record transferee for the shares (or, if the event which resulted in the transfer to the trust did not involve a purchase of such shares at market price, the last reported sales price reported on the NYSE (or other applicable exchange) on the day of the event which resulted in the transfer of such shares of stock to the trust) and (2) the sales proceeds (net of commissions and other expenses of sale) received by the trust for the shares. Any net sales proceeds in excess of the amount payable to the purported record transferee will be immediately paid to the beneficiary, together with any dividends or other distributions thereon. In addition, if prior to discovery by us that shares of stock have been transferred to a trust, such shares of stock are sold by a purported record transferee, then our charter provides that such shares will be deemed to have been sold on behalf of the trust and to the extent that the purported record transferee received an amount for or in respect of such shares that exceeds the amount that such purported record transferee was entitled to receive, such excess amount will be paid to the trustee upon demand. Our charter provides that the purported beneficial transferee or purported record transferee has no rights in the shares held by the trustee.
The trustee will be designated by us and will be unaffiliated with us and with any purported record transferee or purported beneficial transferee. Prior to the sale of any shares by the trust, our charter provides that the trustee will receive, in trust for the beneficiary, all dividends and other distributions paid by us with respect to the shares held in trust and may also exercise all voting rights with respect to the shares held in trust. These rights will be exercised for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary. Any dividend or other distribution paid prior to our discovery that shares of stock have been transferred to the trust will be paid by the recipient to the trustee upon demand. Any dividend or other distribution authorized but unpaid will be paid when due to the trustee.
Subject to Maryland law, effective as of the date that the shares have been transferred to the trust, our charter provides that the trustee will have authority, at the trustee’s sole discretion:
•
to rescind as void any vote cast by a purported record transferee prior to our discovery that the shares have been transferred to the trust; and
•
to recast the vote in accordance with the desires of the trustee acting for the benefit of the beneficiary of the trust.
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However, if we have already taken irreversible action, then the trustee may not rescind and recast the vote.
In addition, if our board of directors or other permitted designees determine in good faith that a proposed transfer would violate the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our shares of stock set forth in our charter, our board of directors or other permitted designees will take such action as it deems or they deem advisable to refuse to give effect to or to prevent such transfer, including, but not limited to, causing us to redeem the shares of stock, refusing to give effect to the transfer on our books or instituting proceedings to enjoin the transfer.
Every owner of more than 5% (or such lower percentage as required by the Code or applicable Treasury regulations) of our stock, within 30 days after the end of each taxable year, is required to give us written notice, stating such owner’s name and address, the number of shares of each class and series of our stock which such owner beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which the shares are held. Each such owner shall provide us with such additional information as we may request in order to determine the effect, if any, of such owner’s beneficial ownership on our status as a REIT and to ensure compliance with the ownership limits. In addition, each stockholder shall upon demand be required to provide us with such information as we may request in good faith in order to determine our status as a REIT and to comply with the requirements of any taxing authority or governmental authority or to determine such compliance.
These ownership limits could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for the common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of the stockholders.
Listing
Our common stock and our Series A Preferred Stock are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “GPMT” and “GPMT PrA,” respectively.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for shares of our common stock and Series A Preferred Stock is Equiniti Trust Company.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES
General
We may issue depositary shares, each of which would represent a fractional interest of a share of a particular series of preferred stock. We will deposit shares of preferred stock represented by depositary shares under a separate deposit agreement between (i) us and (ii) a bank, trust company or financial institution that meets certain requirements and is selected by us and named in the applicable prospectus supplement (the “depositary”). Subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, each owner of a depositary share will possess, in proportion to the fractional interest of a share of preferred stock represented by the depositary share, all the rights and preferences of the preferred stock represented by the depositary shares, including, where applicable, dividend, voting, redemption, conversion and liquidation rights, in proportion to the applicable fraction or multiple of a share of preferred stock represented by the depositary share. Depositary receipts will evidence the depositary shares issued pursuant to the deposit agreement. Immediately after we issue and delivers preferred stock to a depositary, the depositary will issue the depositary receipts.
The description in an accompanying prospectus supplement of any depositary shares we offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable depositary agreement, which will be filed with the SEC if we offer depositary shares. For more information on how you can obtain copies of any depositary agreement if we offer depositary shares, see “Where You Can Find More Information.” We urge you to read the applicable depositary agreement and any accompanying prospectus supplement in their entirety.
Dividends and Other Distributions
The depositary will distribute all cash dividends or other cash distributions on the preferred stock to the record holders of the depositary shares in proportion to the number of depositary shares owned by the holders. Holders of depositary shares generally must file proofs, certificates and other information and pay charges and expenses of the depositary in connection with distributions. If a distribution on the preferred stock is other than in cash and it is feasible for the depositary to distribute the property it receives, the depositary will distribute the property to the record holders of the depositary shares. If such a distribution is not feasible, the depositary, with our approval, may sell the property and distribute the net proceeds from the sale to the holders of the depositary shares. The amounts distributed to holders of depositary shares will be reduced by any amounts required to be withheld by the depositary or by us on account of taxes or other governmental charges.
Withdrawal of Stock
Unless we have previously called the underlying preferred stock for redemption or the holder of the depositary shares has converted such shares, a holder of depositary shares may surrender them at the corporate trust office of the depositary in exchange for the number of whole shares of the underlying preferred stock together with any money or other property represented by the depositary shares, paying any taxes, charges and fees provided for in the deposit agreement and complying with any other requirement of the deposit agreement. Once a holder has exchanged the depositary shares, the holder may not redeposit the preferred stock and receive depositary shares again. If a depositary receipt presented for exchange into preferred stock represents more shares of preferred stock than the number to be withdrawn, the depositary will deliver a new depositary receipt for the excess number of depositary shares.
Redemption of Depositary Shares
Whenever we redeem shares of preferred stock held by a depositary, the depositary will redeem the corresponding amount of depositary shares with funds it receives from us for the preferred stock. The redemption price per depositary share will be equal to the applicable fraction of the redemption price and any other amounts payable with respect to the preferred stock. If we intend to redeem less than all of the underlying preferred stock, we and the depositary will select the depositary shares to be redeemed by lot or pro rata as the depositary may determine without creating fractional depositary shares or by any other equitable method determined by us that preserves our REIT status.
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Voting of the Preferred Stock
When a depositary receives notice regarding a meeting at which the holders of the underlying preferred stock have the right to vote, it will mail that information to the holders of the depositary shares. Each record holder of depositary shares on the record date may then instruct the depositary to exercise its voting rights for the amount of preferred stock represented by that holder’s depositary shares. The depositary will endeavor, insofar as practicable, to vote the amount of the preferred stock represented by such depositary shares in accordance with these instructions. The depositary will abstain from voting to the extent it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary shares. A depositary will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instruction to vote, or for the manner or effect of any vote, as long as any action or non-action is in good faith and does not result from negligence or willful misconduct of the depositary.
Conversion of Preferred Stock
Depositary shares will not themselves be convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock or any other securities or property of the Company. However, if the underlying preferred stock is convertible, exercisable or exchangeable, holders of depositary shares may surrender them to the depositary with written instructions to instruct us to cause conversion, exercise or exchange of the preferred stock represented by the depositary shares into or for whole shares of common stock, other shares of our preferred stock or other shares of stock, as applicable.
Upon receipt of these instructions and any amounts payable in connection with a conversion, exercise or exchange, we will cause the conversion, exercise or exchange using the same procedures as those provided for conversion, exercise or exchange of the deposited preferred stock. If only some of the depositary shares are to be converted, exercised or exchanged, a new depositary receipt will be issued for any depositary shares not converted, exercised or exchanged. We will not issue fractional shares of common stock upon conversion, exercise or exchange. If a conversion, exercise or exchange will result in the issuance of a fractional share, we will pay an amount in cash equal to the value of the fractional interest based upon the closing price of the common stock on the last business day prior to the conversion, exercise or exchange.
Amendment and Termination of a Deposit Agreement
We and the depositary may amend any form of depositary receipt evidencing depositary shares and any provision of a deposit agreement. However, any amendment that materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders of depositary shares will not be effective unless such amendment has been approved by the holders of at least a majority of the depositary shares then outstanding. The depositary agreement may be terminated by the depositary or us only if (1) all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed or (2) there has been a final distribution of the underlying preferred stock in connection with any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company and such distribution has been distributed to the holders of the depositary shares.
Charges of the Depositary; Taxes and Other Governmental Charges
We will pay the fees, charges and expenses of the depositary provided in the deposit agreement to be payable by us. Holders of depositary shares will pay any taxes and governmental charges and any charges provided in the deposit agreement to be payable by them, including a fee for the withdrawal of shares of preferred stock upon surrender of depositary shares. If the depositary incurs fees, charges or expenses for which it is not otherwise liable at the election of a holder of a depositary share or other person, that holder or other person will be liable for those fees, charges and expenses.
Resignation and Removal of Depositary
The depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its election to resign. We may also remove a depositary at any time. Any resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary.
Reports to Holders
The depositary will forward to the holders of depositary shares any reports and communications from us with respect to the underlying preferred stock.
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Limitation on Liability of the Depositary
Neither we nor the depositary will be liable if any law or any circumstances beyond their control prevent or delay them from performing their obligations under a deposit agreement. The obligations of us and the depositary under a deposit agreement will be limited to performing their duties in good faith and without negligence and, in regard to voting of preferred stock, gross negligence or willful misconduct. Neither we nor the depositary will be required to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding with respect to any depositary shares or the underlying preferred stock unless they are furnished with satisfactory indemnity. We and the depositary may rely on the written advice of counsel or accountants, or information provided by persons presenting shares of preferred stock for deposit, holders of depositary shares or other persons they believe in good faith to be competent, and on documents they believe in good faith to be genuine and signed by a proper party.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The following description of the terms of our senior debt securities and subordinated debt securities, together, referred to herein as the debt securities, sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. Unless otherwise noted, the general terms and provisions of our debt securities discussed below apply to both our senior debt securities and our subordinated debt securities. Our debt securities may be issued from time to time in one or more series, which may be (i) convertible or exchangeable into another security or neither convertible or exchangeable, (ii) guaranteed or not guaranteed or (iii) secured or unsecured. The particular terms of any series of debt securities and the extent to which the general provisions may apply to a particular series of debt securities will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to that series.
The senior debt securities will be issued under an indenture, dated as of October 12, 2018, between us and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (as successor in interest to Wells Fargo Bank, National Association) (the “Senior Indenture Trustee”), referred to as the “senior indenture.” The subordinated debt securities will be issued under an indenture to be entered into between us and a “Subordinated Indenture Trustee,” referred to as the “subordinated indenture” and, together with the senior indenture, the “indentures.” The Senior Indenture Trustee and the Subordinated Indenture Trustee are both referred to, individually, as the “Trustee.” The senior debt securities will constitute our unsecured and unsubordinated obligations and the subordinated debt securities will constitute our unsecured and subordinated obligations. A detailed description of the subordination provisions is provided under “— Ranking and Subordination-Subordination.”
The statements and descriptions set forth below are brief summaries of certain provisions contained in the indentures, which summaries do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to all of the provisions of the indentures (and any amendments or supplements we may enter into from time to time which are permitted under each indenture) and the debt securities, including the definitions therein of certain terms, which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
General
Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be our direct unsecured obligations. The senior debt securities will rank equally with any of our other senior and unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in right of payment to any senior indebtedness.
The indentures will not limit the amount of debt securities that may be issued under the applicable indenture, and debt securities may be issued under the applicable indenture up to the aggregate principal amount that may be authorized from time to time by us. Any such limit applicable to a particular series will be specified in the prospectus supplement relating to that series.
The prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered will contain the following terms, among others, for each such series of debt securities:
•
the title of the debt securities of such series;
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the person to whom any interest on a debt security of such series is payable, if other than the registered holder at the close of business on the regular record date for such interest;
•
the date or dates on which the principal amount of the debt securities of such series is payable;
•
the rate or rates (or manner of calculation thereof) at which the debt securities of such series will bear interest, if any, the date or dates from which interest will accrue and the interest payment dates and regular record dates for the debt securities of such series;
•
the place or places where the principal of and any premium and interest on debt securities of such series is payable;
•
the period or periods within which the redemption price or prices or the repayment price or prices, as the case may be, at which, and the terms and conditions upon which, the debt securities of such series may be redeemed or repaid at our option or the option of the holder of such debt securities;
•
the obligation, if any, of us to purchase the debt securities of such series pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions or at the option of a holder of such debt securities and the period or periods
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within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which such debt securities of such series will be purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;
•
if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof, the denominations in which the debt securities of such series will be issuable;
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provisions, if any, with regard to the conversion or exchange of the debt securities of such series, at the option of the holders of such debt securities or us, as the case may be, for or into new securities of a different series or other securities;
•
if other than U.S. dollars, the currency or currencies or units based on or related to currencies in which the debt securities of such series will be denominated and in which payments of principal of, and any premium and interest on, such debt securities shall or may be payable;
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if the principal of (and premium, if any) or interest, if any, on the debt securities of such series are to be payable, at our or a holder’s of such debt securities election, in a currency (including a composite currency) other than that in which such debt securities are stated to be payable, the period or periods within which, and the terms and conditions upon which, such election may be made;
•
if the amount of payments of principal of (and premium, if any) or interest, if any, on the debt securities of such series may be determined with reference to an index based on a currency (including a composite currency) other than that in which such debt securities are stated to be payable, the manner in which such amounts shall be determined;
•
any limit upon the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of such series which may be authenticated and delivered under the applicable indenture;
•
provisions, if any, related to the exchange of the debt securities of such series, at the option of the holders of such debt securities, for other securities of the same series of the same aggregate principal amount or of a different authorized series or different authorized denomination or denominations, or both;
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provisions, if any, relating to the appointment by us of an authenticating agent other than in the location of the office of the Trustee, with power to act on behalf of the Trustee with respect to the authentication and delivery of a series of debt securities in connection with such transactions as are specified in any applicable indenture or any prospectus supplement;
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the portion of the principal amount of the debt securities of such series, if other than the principal amount thereof, which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof or provable in bankruptcy, as more fully described under the “— Events of Default, Notice and Waiver;”
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any event of default with respect to the debt securities of such series, if not set forth in the applicable indenture, and any additions, deletions or other changes to the events of default set forth in the applicable indenture that shall be applicable to the debt securities of such series;
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any covenants applicable to the particular debt securities being issued;
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if the provisions of the applicable indenture more fully described under “— Defeasance” will not be applicable to the debt securities of such series, and if such provisions shall be applicable to any covenant or event of default specified in the prospectus supplement relating to such series of debt securities that has not already been established in the applicable indenture;
•
whether the debt securities of such series will be issued in whole or in part in the form of global securities and, if so, the identity of the depositary with respect to such global securities and the terms and conditions, if any, upon which such global securities may be exchanged for other securities;
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if the debt securities of such series will be guaranteed, the terms and conditions of such guarantees and provisions for the accession of the guarantors to certain obligations under the applicable indenture;
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with respect to subordinated debt securities only, the amendment or modification of the subordination provisions in the subordinated indenture with respect to the debt securities of such series; and
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any other specific terms.
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We may issue debt securities of any series at various times and we may reopen any series for further issuances from time to time without notice to existing holders of securities of that series.
Some of the debt securities may be issued as original issue discount (“OID”) debt securities. OID debt securities bear no interest or bear interest at below-market rates. These are sold at a discount below their stated principal amount. If we issue these securities, the prospectus supplement relating to such series of debt securities will describe any special tax, accounting or other information which we think is important. We encourage you to consult with your tax and financial advisors on these important matters.
Unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to such series of debt securities, the covenants contained in the indentures will not provide special protection to holders of debt securities if we enter into a highly leveraged transaction, recapitalization or restructuring.
Unless otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to such series of debt securities, interest on outstanding debt securities will be paid to holders of record on the regular record date as specified in the applicable debt security. Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, debt securities will be issued in fully registered form only. Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, the principal amount of the debt securities will be payable at the corporate trust office of the Trustee in St. Paul, Minnesota. The debt securities may be presented for transfer or exchange at such office unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, subject to the limitations provided in the applicable indenture, without any service charge, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charges payable in connection therewith.
Subordination
If issued, the indebtedness evidenced by the subordinated debt securities will be subordinate to the prior payment in full of all our Senior Indebtedness (as defined below). During the continuance beyond any applicable grace period of any default in the payment of principal, premium, interest or any other payment due on any of our Senior Indebtedness, we may not make any payment of principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on the subordinated debt securities, except for certain sinking fund payments made in connection with the redemption of debt securities prior to such default and except for payments made in connection with a defeasance with monies deposited with the Trustee prior to such default. In addition, upon any payment or distribution of our assets to creditors upon any dissolution, winding up, liquidation or reorganization, the payment of the principal of, or premium, if any, and interest on the subordinated debt securities will be subordinated to the extent provided in the subordinated indenture in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all our Senior Indebtedness. Because of this subordination, if we dissolve or otherwise liquidate, holders of our subordinated debt securities may receive less, ratably, than holders of our Senior Indebtedness. The subordination provisions do not prevent the occurrence of an event of default under the subordinated indenture.
The subordination provisions also apply in the same way to any guarantor with respect to the Senior Indebtedness of such guarantor.
The term “Senior Indebtedness” of a person means with respect to such person the principal of, premium, if any, interest on, and any other payment due pursuant to any of the following, whether outstanding on the date of the subordinated indenture or incurred by that person in the future:
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all of the indebtedness of that person for borrowed money, including any indebtedness secured by a mortgage or other lien which is (1) given to secure all or part of the purchase price of property subject to the mortgage or lien, whether given to the vendor of that property or to another lender, or (2) existing on property at the time that person acquires it;
•
all of the indebtedness of that person evidenced by notes, debentures, bonds or other similar instruments sold by that person for money;
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all of the lease obligations which are capitalized on the books of that person in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
•
all indebtedness of others of the kinds described in the first two bullet points above and all lease obligations of others of the kind described in the third bullet point above, in each case, that the person,
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in any manner, assumes or guarantees or that the person in effect guarantees through an agreement to purchase, whether that agreement is contingent or otherwise; and
•
all renewals, extensions or refundings of indebtedness of the kinds described in the first, second or fourth bullet point above and all renewals or extensions of leases of the kinds described in the third or fourth bullet point above; unless, in the case of any particular indebtedness, lease, renewal, extension or refunding, the instrument or lease creating or evidencing it or the assumption or guarantee relating to it expressly provides that such indebtedness, lease, renewal, extension or refunding is not superior in right of payment to the subordinated debt securities. Our senior debt securities, and any unsubordinated guarantee obligations of ours or any guarantor to which we and the guarantors are a party, including the guarantors’ guarantees of our debt securities and other indebtedness for borrowed money, constitute Senior Indebtedness for purposes of the subordinated indenture.
Pursuant to the subordinated indenture, the subordinated indenture may not be amended, at any time, to alter the subordination provisions of any outstanding subordinated debt securities without the consent of the requisite holders of each outstanding series or class of Senior Indebtedness (as determined in accordance with the instrument governing such Senior Indebtedness) that would be adversely affected thereby.
Consolidation, Merger, Conveyance or Transfer on Certain Terms
Except as described in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to such debt securities, we will not consolidate with or merge into any other entity or convey or transfer our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any entity, unless:
(1)
the entity formed by such consolidation or into which we are merged or the entity that acquires by conveyance or transfer our properties and assets substantially as an entirety shall be organized and existing under the laws of the U.S. or any State or the District of Columbia, and will expressly assume, by supplemental indenture, executed and delivered to the Trustee, in form reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee, the due and punctual payment of the principal of (and premium, if any) and interest on all the debt securities and the performance of every covenant of the applicable indenture (as supplemented from time to time) on our part to be performed or observed;
(2)
immediately after giving effect to such transaction, no Event of Default (as defined below), and no event which, after notice or lapse of time, or both, would become an Event of Default, shall have happened and be continuing; and
(3)
we have delivered to the Trustee an officers’ certificate and an opinion of counsel each stating that such consolidation, merger, conveyance or transfer and such supplemental indenture comply with the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) above and that all conditions precedent relating to such transaction have been complied with.
Upon any consolidation or merger, or any conveyance or transfer of our properties and assets substantially as an entirety as set forth above, the successor person formed by such consolidation or into which we are merged or to which such conveyance or transfer is made shall succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of ours under the applicable indenture with the same effect as if such successor had been named in the applicable indenture. In the event of any such conveyance or transfer, we, as the predecessor, shall be discharged from all obligations and covenants under the applicable indenture and the debt securities issued under such indenture and may be dissolved, wound up or liquidated at any time thereafter.
Defeasance
Unless the applicable prospectus supplement provides otherwise, any debt securities, or portion of the principal amount of the debt securities, will be deemed to have been paid for purposes of the applicable indentures, and, at our election, our entire indebtedness with respect to the debt securities, or portion thereof, will be deemed to have been satisfied and discharged, if we have irrevocably deposited with the Trustee or any paying agent other than us, in trust, money, certain government obligations, as defined in the applicable indentures, or a combination of the two, sufficient to pay principal of and any premium and interest due and to become due on the debt securities or portions thereof.
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The applicable prospectus supplement will describe, if applicable, our ability to be released from any of our covenant obligations under the indentures.
Events of Default, Notice and Waiver
Except as otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to such series of debt securities, an “Event of Default” in respect of any series will be defined in the indentures as being any one of the following events:
(1)
default in the payment of any interest with respect to such series when it becomes due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days;
(2)
default in the payment of principal of (or premium, if any, on) with respect to such series at its stated maturity;
(3)
default in the payment of any sinking or purchase fund or analogous obligation when the same becomes due by the terms of such series;
(4)
our failure to observe or perform any other of our covenants or agreements with respect to such debt securities for 60 days after we receive notice of such failure;
(5)
default in the performance, or breach, of any covenant or warranty with respect to such series, and continuance of such default or breach for a period of 90 days after written notice to us by the Trustee thereunder or to us and the Trustee by holders of at least 33 1/3% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of such series specifying such default or breach and requiring it to be remedied;
(6)
certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization involving us or certain of our subsidiaries; and
(7)
any other event of default specified in the prospectus supplement for a series of debt securities.
Except as otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to such series of debt securities, each indenture will provide that, if an Event of Default specified therein with respect to any series of debt securities issued thereunder shall have happened and be continuing, either the Trustee thereunder or the holders of not less than 331∕3% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of such series (each such series acting as a separate class) may declare the principal of all the debt securities of such series to be due and payable; provided, that upon the occurrence of an event of default due to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, such amounts shall be immediately due and payable without action by the Trustee or the holders of such series of debt securities.
Each indenture will provide that the Trustee thereunder will, within 90 days after the occurrence of a default with respect to the debt securities of any series issued under such indenture, give to the holders of the debt securities of such series notice of all uncured and unwaived defaults known to it; provided, however, that, except in the case of default in the payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest, if any, on any of the debt securities of such series, the Trustee will be protected in withholding such notice if it in good faith determines that the withholding of such notice is in the interests of the holders of the debt securities of such series. The term “default” for the purpose of this provision means any event which is, or after notice or lapse of time or both would become, an Event of Default with respect to debt securities of such series.
Each indenture will contain provisions entitling the Trustee under such indenture, subject to the duty of the Trustee during an Event of Default to act with the required standard of care, to be indemnified to its reasonable satisfaction by the holders of the debt securities before proceeding to exercise any right or power under the applicable indenture at the request of holders of such debt securities.
Each indenture will provide that the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series issued under such indenture may direct the time, method and place of conducting proceedings for remedies available to the Trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the Trustee in respect of such series, subject to certain conditions.
Except as otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the debt securities, in certain cases, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind, on
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behalf of the holders of all debt securities of such series, a declaration of acceleration resulting from an Event of Default with respect to the debt securities of such series except, among other things, a declaration of acceleration resulting from an Event of Default not theretofore cured in payment of the principal of, or premium, if any, or interest, if any, on any of the senior debt securities of such series or payment of any sinking or purchase fund or analogous obligations with respect to such senior debt securities.
Each indenture will include a covenant that we will file annually with the Trustee a certificate of no default or specifying any default that exists.
Modification of the Indentures
Except as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the debt securities, we and the Trustee may, without the consent of the holders of the debt securities issued under the indenture governing such debt securities, enter into indentures supplemental to the applicable indenture for, among others, one or more of the following purposes:
(1)
to evidence the succession of another person to us or to a guarantor, if any, and the assumption by such successor of our or the guarantor’s obligations under the applicable indenture and the debt securities of any series;
(2)
to add to our covenants or those of any guarantor, if any, or to surrender any of our rights or powers or those of any guarantor for the benefit of the holders of debt securities of any or all series issued under such indenture;
(3)
to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any provision in the applicable indenture which may be inconsistent with any other provision therein, or to make any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under such indenture;
(4)
to add to the applicable indenture any provisions that may be expressly permitted by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, or the TIA, excluding the provisions referred to in Section 316(a) (2) of the TIA as in effect at the date as of which the applicable indenture was executed or any corresponding provision in any similar federal statute hereafter enacted;
(5)
to establish the form or terms of any series of debt securities to be issued under the applicable indenture, to provide for the issuance of any series of debt securities and/or to add to the rights of the holders of debt securities;
(6)
to evidence and provide for the acceptance of any successor Trustee with respect to one or more series of debt securities or to add or change any of the provisions of the applicable indenture as shall be necessary to facilitate the administration of the trusts thereunder by one or more trustees in accordance with the applicable indenture;
(7)
to provide any additional Events of Default;
(8)
to provide for uncertificated securities in addition to or in place of certificated securities; provided that the uncertificated securities are issued in registered form for certain federal tax purposes;
(9)
to provide for the terms and conditions of converting those debt securities that are convertible into common stock or another such similar security;
(10)
to secure any series of debt securities;
(11)
to add guarantees in respect of any series or all of the debt securities;
(12)
to make any change necessary to comply with any requirement of the SEC in connection with the qualification of the applicable indenture or any supplemental indenture under the TIA; and
(13)
to make any other change that does not adversely affect the rights of the holders of the debt securities.
No supplemental indenture for the purpose identified in clauses (2), (3) or (5) above may be entered into if to do so would adversely affect the rights of the holders of debt securities of any series issued under the same indenture in any material respect.
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Except as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to such series of debt securities, each indenture will contain provisions permitting us and the Trustee under such indenture, with the consent of the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series issued under such indenture to be affected voting as a single class, to execute supplemental indentures for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing or eliminating any of the provisions of the applicable indenture or modifying the rights of the holders of the debt securities of such series to be affected, except that no such supplemental indenture may, without the consent of each of the holders of affected debt securities, among other things:
(1)
change the maturity of the principal of, or the maturity of any premium on, or any installment of interest on, any such debt security, or reduce the principal amount or the interest or any premium of any such debt securities, or change the method of computing the amount of principal or interest on any such debt securities on any date or change any place of payment where, or the currency in which, any debt securities or any premium or interest thereon is payable, or impair the right to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment on or after the maturity of principal or premium, as the case may be, or alter the provisions of the indenture so as to adversely affect the terms, if any, of conversion of any series of debt securities into our common stock or other marketable securities;
(2)
reduce the percentage in principal amount of any such debt securities the consent of whose holders is required for any supplemental indenture, waiver of compliance with certain provisions of the applicable indenture or certain defaults under the applicable indenture;
(3)
modify any of the provisions of the applicable indenture related to (i) the requirement that the holders of debt securities issued under such indenture consent to certain amendments of the applicable indenture, (ii) the waiver of past defaults and (iii) the waiver of certain covenants, except to increase the percentage of holders required to make such amendments or grant such waivers;
(4)
amend or modify certain provisions of the indenture relating to guarantees, if any, and the obligations of guarantors thereunder; or
(5)
impair or adversely affect the right of any holder to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment on, or with respect to, such senior debt securities on or after the maturity of such debt securities.
In addition, the subordinated indenture will provide that we may not make any change in the terms of the subordination of the subordinated debt securities of any series in a manner adverse in any material respect to the holders of any series of subordinated debt securities without the consent of each holder of subordinated debt securities that would be adversely affected.
The Trustee
The Trustee shall be named in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Governing Law
The indentures and the debt securities will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.
Global Securities
Unless we inform you otherwise in an accompanying prospectus supplement, the debt securities of a series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, a depositary identified in an accompanying prospectus supplement. Unless and until a global security is exchanged in whole or in part for the individual debt securities, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary for such global security to a nominee of such depositary or by a nominee of such depositary to such depositary or another nominee of such depositary or by such depositary or any such nominee to a successor of such depositary or a nominee of such successor.
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DESCRIPTION OF PURCHASE CONTRACTS AND PURCHASE UNITS
We may issue purchase contracts, including contracts obligating holders to purchase from us, and obligating us to sell to the holders, a specified number of shares of our common stock, shares of our preferred stock, depositary shares, debt securities or a combination of the foregoing at a future date or dates, which we refer to in this prospectus as purchase contracts. The price of the securities and the number of securities may be fixed at the time the purchase contracts are issued or may be determined by reference to a specific formula set forth in the purchase contracts, and may be subject to adjustment under anti-dilution formulas. The purchase contracts may be issued separately or as part of units consisting of a purchase contract and other securities or obligations issued by us or third parties, including U.S. treasury securities, or any combination of the foregoing, securing the holders’ obligations to purchase the securities under the purchase contracts, which we refer to herein as purchase units. The purchase contracts may require holders to secure their obligations under the purchase contracts in a specified manner. The purchase contracts also may require us to make periodic payments to the holders of the purchase contracts or the purchase units, as the case may be, or vice versa, and those payments may be unsecured or pre-funded in whole or in part.
The description in an accompanying prospectus supplement of any purchase contract or purchase unit we offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable purchase contract or purchase unit, which will be filed with the SEC if we offer purchase contracts or purchase units. For more information on how you can obtain copies of any purchase contract or purchase unit we may offer, see “Where You Can Find More Information.” We urge you to read the applicable purchase contract or applicable purchase unit and any accompanying prospectus supplement in their entirety.
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CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE MARYLAND GENERAL CORPORATION LAW AND GRANITE POINT’S CHARTER AND BYLAWS
The following description of certain provisions of Maryland law, our charter and our bylaws is only a summary. This summary is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our charter and bylaws and the applicable provisions of the MGCL. For a complete description, we refer you to the MGCL, and our charter and our bylaws, copies of which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Our Board of Directors
Our charter and bylaws provide that the number of directors we have may be established only by our board of directors but may not be fewer than the minimum number required under the MGCL, which is one, and our bylaws provide that the number of our directors may not be more than 15. We currently have six directors. Except as may be provided by our board of directors in setting the terms of any class or series of stock, any vacancy on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of the remaining directors, even if the remaining directors do not constitute a quorum. Any director so elected to fill a vacancy will hold office for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred and until such director’s successor is duly elected and qualified.
Each of our directors elected by our stockholders is elected to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until such director’s successor is duly elected and qualified. Holders of shares of common stock will have no right to cumulative voting in the election of directors. Our bylaws provide for the election of directors, in uncontested elections, by a majority of the votes cast. In contested elections, the election of directors shall be 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, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of the holders of shares entitled to cast at least two-thirds of all the votes of common stockholders 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 vacancies on the board of directors, may preclude stockholders from (i) removing incumbent directors except upon a substantial affirmative vote and (ii) filling the vacancies created by such removal with their own nominees.
Business Combinations
Under certain provisions of the MGCL, “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities. An interested stockholder is defined as:
•
any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock; or
•
an affiliate or associate of the corporation who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which such person otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, the board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board.
After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:
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•
80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of voting stock of the corporation; and
•
two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting stock of the corporation other than shares held by the interested stockholder with whom or with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder.
These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation’s common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares.
The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by the board of directors before the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. As permitted by the MGCL, our board of directors has by resolution exempted business combinations between us and any person not then already an interested stockholder, provided that the business combination is first approved by our board of directors (including a majority of directors who are not affiliates or associates of such persons). Consequently, the five-year prohibition and the super-majority vote requirements will not apply to business combinations between us and any other person as described above, and as a result, any such person may be able to enter into business combinations with us that may not be in the best interest of our stockholders, without compliance with the super-majority vote requirements and the other provisions of the statute. However, no assurances can be given that our board of directors will not repeal or modify this resolution at any time in the future.
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 the control shares, except to the extent approved by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares owned by the acquiror, by officers or by employees who are directors of the corporation are excluded from shares entitled to vote on the matter. Control shares are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquiror or in respect of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquiror to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power:
•
one-tenth or more but less than one-third,
•
one-third or more but less than a majority, or
•
a majority or more of all voting power.
Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A control share acquisition means the acquisition of control shares, subject to certain exceptions.
A person who has made or proposes to make a control share acquisition may compel the board of directors of the corporation to call a special meeting of stockholders to be held within 50 days of demand to consider the voting rights of the shares. The right to compel the calling of a special meeting is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including an undertaking to pay the expenses of the meeting. If no request for a meeting is made, the corporation may itself present the question at any stockholders meeting.
If voting rights are not approved at the meeting or if the acquiring person does not deliver an acquiring person statement as required by the statute, then the corporation may redeem for fair value any or all of the control shares, except those for which voting rights have previously been approved. The right of the corporation to redeem control shares is subject to certain conditions and limitations. Fair value is 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 acquiror or of any meeting of stockholders at which the voting rights of the shares are considered and not approved. If voting rights for control shares are approved at a stockholders’ meeting and the acquiror 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 appraisal rights may not be less than the highest price per share paid by the acquiror in the control share acquisition.
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The control share acquisition statute does not apply (a) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction, or (b) to 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. There can be no assurance that this provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future.
Subtitle 8
Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL (“Subtitle 8”) 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, without stockholder approval, and notwithstanding any contrary provision in its charter or bylaws, to any or all of five provisions of Subtitle 8 which provide, respectively, that:
•
the corporation’s board of directors will automatically be divided into three classes with staggered terms of office of three years each,
•
the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors is required to remove a director,
•
the number of directors be fixed only by vote of the directors,
•
a vacancy on the board be filled only by the remaining directors and for the remainder of the full term of the class of directors in which the vacancy occurred, and
•
the request of stockholders entitled to cast at least a majority of all votes entitled to be cast at the meeting is required for the calling of a special meeting of stockholders.
Our charter provides that, pursuant to Subtitle 8, vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if the remaining directors do not constitute a quorum, and any director elected to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred. Through provisions in our charter and bylaws unrelated to Subtitle 8, we (i) require 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 for the removal of any director from the board, which removal can be with or without cause, (ii) vest in the board the exclusive power to fix the number of directorships and (iii) require, unless called by our chairman of the board, our chief executive officer, our president or the board of directors, the written request of stockholders of not less than a majority of all votes entitled to be cast at such a meeting to call a special meeting. If we made an election to be subject to the provision of Subtitle 8 relating to a classified board, the classification and staggered terms of office would make it more difficult for a third party to gain control of the board of directors because at least two annual meetings, instead of one, would generally be required to effect a change in the majority of the board of directors.
Meetings of Stockholders
Pursuant to our bylaws, a meeting of our stockholders for the election of directors and the transaction of any business will be held annually on a date and at the time and place set by our board of directors. The chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer, our president or our board of directors may call a special meeting of our stockholders. Subject to the provisions of our bylaws, a special meeting of our stockholders to act on any matter that may properly be brought before a meeting of our stockholders will also be called by our secretary upon the written request of stockholders entitled to cast not less than a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on such matter at the meeting containing the information required by our bylaws. Our secretary will inform the requesting stockholders of the reasonably estimated cost of preparing and delivering the notice of meeting (including our proxy materials), and the requesting stockholder must pay such estimated cost before our secretary is required to prepare and deliver the notice of the special meeting.
Amendment to Our Charter and Bylaws
Except for amendments to the provisions of our charter relating to the removal of directors, the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our shares of stock and the vote required to amend these provisions (each of which
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must be advised by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast not less than two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter), our charter generally may be amended only if advised by our 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. Our board of directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire board, and without any action by our stockholders, may also amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series we are authorized to issue.
Our board of directors has the power to adopt, alter or repeal any provision of our bylaws and to make new bylaws. In addition, stockholders may alter or repeal any provision of our bylaws and adopt new bylaws if such alteration, repeal or adoption is approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter at an annual or special meeting or by written consent, in each case in accordance with the procedures outlined in our bylaws.
Extraordinary Transactions
Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, merge, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a share exchange or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless declared advisable by its board of directors and 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 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 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 rights of objecting stockholders, or appraisal rights.
Dissolution of the Company
The dissolution of the Company must be advised 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.
Advance Notice of Director Nominations and New Business
Our bylaws provide that with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders, nominations of individuals for election to the board of directors and the proposal of business to be considered by stockholders may be made only (i) pursuant to our notice of the meeting, (ii) by or at the direction of our board of directors or (iii) by a stockholder who is a stockholder of record both at the time of giving the advance notice required by the bylaws and at the time of the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting in the election of each individual so nominated or on any such other business and who has complied with the advance notice procedures of the bylaws. With respect to special meetings of stockholders, only the business specified in our notice of the meeting may be brought before the meeting. Nominations of individuals for election to our board of directors at a special meeting may be made only (i) by or at the direction of our board of directors or (ii) provided that the special meeting has been called in accordance with the bylaws for the purpose of electing directors, by a stockholder who is a stockholder of record both at the time of giving the advance notice required by the bylaws and at the time of the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting in the election of each individual so nominated and who has complied with the advance notice provisions of the bylaws.
Anti-takeover Effect of Certain Provisions of Maryland Law and of the Charter and Bylaws
Our charter and bylaws and Maryland law contain provisions that may delay, defer or prevent a change in control or other transaction that might involve a premium price for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders, including
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•
supermajority vote for removal of directors;
•
requirement that stockholders holding at least a majority of our outstanding common stock must act together to make a written request before our stockholders can require us to call a special meeting of stockholders;
•
provisions that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by the remaining directors for the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred;
•
the power of our board to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of shares of any class or series of stock;
•
the power of our board of directors to cause us to issue additional shares of stock of any class or series and to fix the terms of one or more classes or series of stock without stockholder approval;
•
restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock; and
•
advance notice requirements for director nominations and stockholder proposals.
Likewise, if the provision in our bylaws opting out of the control share acquisition provisions of the MGCL or the resolution of our board opting out of the business combination provisions of the MGCL are rescinded or if we opt in to other provisions of Subtitle 8, these provisions of the MGCL could have similar antitakeover effects.
Indemnification and Limitation of Directors’ and Officers’ Liability
The MGCL permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter a provision limiting 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 established by a final judgment as being material to the cause of action. Our charter contains such a provision that eliminates such liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.
The MGCL requires us (unless our 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 such director is made or threatened to be made a party by reason of such director’s service in that capacity. The MGCL permits a 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 threatened to be made a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that:
•
the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and (i) was committed in bad faith or (ii) was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty;
•
the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services; or
•
in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.
A court may order indemnification if it determines that the director or officer is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification, even though the director or officer did not meet the prescribed standard of conduct or was adjudged liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received. However, indemnification for an adverse judgment in a suit by us or in our right, or for a judgment of liability on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received, is limited to expenses.
In addition, the MGCL permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon the corporation’s receipt of:
•
a written affirmation by the director or officer of the director or officer’s good faith belief that the director or officer has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the corporation; and
•
a written undertaking by the director or officer or on the director’s or officer’s behalf to repay the amount paid or reimbursed by the corporation if it is ultimately determined that the director or officer did not meet the standard of conduct.
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Our charter provides that we have the power, and our bylaws obligate us, to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law in effect from time to time, to indemnify and, without requiring a preliminary determination of the ultimate entitlement to indemnification, pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to:
•
any present or former director or officer who is made or threatened to be made a party to the proceeding by reason of such present or former director or officer’s service in that capacity; or
•
any individual who, while a director or officer of our company and at our request, serves or has served another corporation, REIT, partnership, joint venture, trust, limited liability company, employee benefit plan or any other enterprise as a director, officer, partner, trustee, member or manager of such corporation, REIT, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise and who is made or threatened to be made a party to the proceeding by reason of such individual’s service in that capacity.
Our charter and bylaws also permit us 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 directors and executive officers that provide for indemnification to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.
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.
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 qualify as a REIT.
Exclusive Forum Bylaws
Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, 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, shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the following: any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the corporation; any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed by any of our present or former directors, officers or other employees or our stockholders to the corporation or to our stockholders or any standard of conduct applicable to our directors; any action asserting a claim against the corporation or any of our present or former directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL or our charter or bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against the corporation or any of our present or former directors, officers or other employees that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
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U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following is a summary of the U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to an investment in common stock of Granite Point. This summary does not discuss the consequences of an investment in shares of our preferred stock, debt securities, depositary shares, purchase contracts, purchase units or other securities. The tax consequences of such an investment will be discussed in a relevant prospectus supplement. For purposes of this section under the heading “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations,” references to “Granite Point,” “we,” “our” and “us” mean only Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. and not its subsidiaries or other lower-tier entities, except as otherwise indicated. This summary is based upon the Code, the regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury Department, rulings and other administrative pronouncements issued by the IRS, and judicial decisions, all in effect as of the date of this prospectus, and all of which are subject to differing interpretations or to change, possibly with retroactive effect. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax consequences described below.
The summary is also based upon the assumption that we will operate Granite Point and its subsidiaries and affiliated entities in accordance with their applicable organizational documents or partnership agreements. This summary is for general information only and is not tax advice. The Code provisions governing the U.S. federal income tax treatment of REITs and their stockholders are highly technical and complex, and this summary is qualified in its entirety by the express language of applicable Code provisions, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof. Moreover, this summary does not purport to discuss all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to a particular investor in light of its investment or tax circumstances, or to investors subject to special tax rules, such as:
•
financial institutions;
•
insurance companies;
•
broker-dealers;
•
regulated investment companies;
•
partnerships and trusts;
•
persons who hold our stock on behalf of another person as a nominee;
•
persons who receive our stock through the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation;
•
persons holding our stock as part of a “straddle,” “hedge,” “conversion transaction,” “synthetic security” or other integrated investment;
•
U.S. expatriates;
•
persons whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;
•
persons subject to the mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities;
•
an accrual method taxpayer subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of its use of financial statements (within the meaning of Section 451(b)(3) of the Code);
•
persons who own (actually or constructively) more than 10% of our stock;
and, except to the extent discussed below:
•
tax-exempt organizations; and
•
foreign investors.
This summary assumes that investors will hold their common stock as a capital asset, which generally means as property held for investment.
For purposes of this discussion, a domestic holder is a stockholder of Granite Point that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
•
a citizen or resident of the U.S.,
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•
a corporation created or organized in the U.S. or under the laws of the U.S., or of any state thereof, or the District of Columbia,
•
an estate, the income of which is includable in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source, or
•
a trust if (i) a U.S. court is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of such trust and one or more U.S. fiduciaries have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) the trust has a valid election in place to be treated as a U.S. person.
A “non-U.S. holder” is a stockholder of Granite Point that is neither a domestic holder nor a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If a partnership, including for this purpose any entity or arrangement that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, holds our stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. An investor that is a partnership and the partners in such partnership should consult their tax advisors about the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our stock.
THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX TREATMENT OF OUR COMMON STOCKHOLDERS DEPENDS IN SOME INSTANCES ON DETERMINATIONS OF FACT AND INTERPRETATIONS OF COMPLEX PROVISIONS OF U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAW FOR WHICH NO CLEAR PRECEDENT OR AUTHORITY MAY BE AVAILABLE. IN ADDITION, THE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO ANY PARTICULAR STOCKHOLDER OF HOLDING OR DISPOSING OF OUR COMMON STOCK WILL DEPEND ON THE STOCKHOLDER’S PARTICULAR TAX CIRCUMSTANCES. FOR EXAMPLE, A STOCKHOLDER THAT IS A PARTNERSHIP OR TRUST WHICH HAS ISSUED AN EQUITY INTEREST TO CERTAIN TYPES OF TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS MAY BE SUBJECT TO A SPECIAL ENTITY-LEVEL TAX IF WE MAKE DISTRIBUTIONS ATTRIBUTABLE TO “EXCESS INCLUSION INCOME.” SEE “TAXATION OF GRANITE POINT — TAXABLE MORTGAGE POOLS AND EXCESS INCLUSION INCOME” BELOW. A SIMILAR TAX MAY BE PAYABLE BY PERSONS WHO HOLD OUR STOCK AS NOMINEE ON BEHALF OF SUCH A TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATION. YOU ARE URGED TO CONSULT YOUR TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSEQUENCES TO YOU IN LIGHT OF YOUR PARTICULAR INVESTMENT OR TAX CIRCUMSTANCES OF ACQUIRING, HOLDING, EXCHANGING, OR OTHERWISE DISPOSING OF OUR COMMON STOCK.
Taxation of Granite Point
We have elected to be treated as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2017, and intend to continue to operate in such a manner that will allow us to qualify for taxation, as a REIT.
The law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP has acted as our tax counsel. In connection with this prospectus, we expect to receive an opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP to the effect that we have been organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code, and that our actual method of operation has enabled, and our proposed method of operation will enable, us to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. It must be emphasized that the opinion of tax counsel will be based on various assumptions relating to our organization and operation, and will be conditioned upon fact-based representations and covenants made by our management regarding our organization, assets, income, and the past, present and future conduct of our business operations. While we intend to operate so that we will 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. The opinion will be expressed as of the date issued, and will not cover subsequent periods. Tax counsel will have no obligation to advise us or our stockholders of any subsequent change in the matters stated, represented or assumed, or of any subsequent change in the applicable law. You should be aware that opinions of counsel are not binding on the IRS, and no assurance can be given that the IRS will not challenge the conclusions set forth in such opinions. Tax counsel’s opinion assumes the correctness of certain other legal opinions issued by other counsel to Granite Point with respect to certain issues and transactions.
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Our qualification and taxation as a REIT depends on our ability to meet on a continuing basis, through actual operating results, distribution levels, and diversity of stock and asset ownership, various qualification requirements imposed upon REITs by the Code, the compliance with which will not be reviewed by tax counsel. In addition, our ability to qualify as a REIT depends in part upon the operating results, organizational structure and entity classification for U.S. federal income tax purposes of certain affiliated entities, the status of which may not have been reviewed by tax counsel. Our ability to qualify as a REIT also requires that we satisfy certain asset tests, some of which depend upon the fair market values of assets that we own directly or indirectly. Such values may not be susceptible to a precise determination. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the actual results of our operations for any taxable year will satisfy such requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT.
Taxation of REITs in General
As indicated above, our qualification and taxation as a REIT depends upon our ability to meet, on a continuing basis, various qualification requirements imposed upon REITs by the Code. The material qualification requirements are summarized below under “Requirements for Qualification — General.” While we intend to operate so that we qualify as a REIT, no assurance can be given that the IRS will not challenge our qualification, or that we will be able to operate in accordance with the REIT requirements in the future. See “Failure to Qualify.”
Provided that we qualify as a REIT, we generally will be entitled to a deduction for dividends that we pay and therefore will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our net income that is currently distributed to our stockholders. This treatment substantially eliminates the “double taxation” at the corporate and stockholder levels that generally results from investment in a corporation. In general, the income that we generate is taxed only at the stockholder level upon a distribution of dividends to our stockholders.
Most domestic holders that are individuals, trusts or estates will be taxed on corporate dividends at a reduced maximum rate. With limited exceptions, however, dividends from us or from other entities that are taxed as REITs are generally not eligible for the reduced rates, and will continue to be taxed at rates applicable to ordinary income. However, for taxable years that begin before January 1, 2026, stockholders that are individuals, trusts or estates are generally entitled to a deduction equal to 20% of the aggregate amount of ordinary income dividends received from a REIT (not including dividends that are eligible for the reduced rates applicable to “qualified dividend income” or treated as capital gain dividends), subject to certain limitations. See “Taxation of Stockholders- Taxation of Taxable Domestic Holders- Distributions.”
Net operating losses, foreign tax credits and other tax attributes generally do not pass through to our stockholders, subject to special rules for certain items such as the capital gains that we recognize. See “Taxation of Stockholders.”
Even if we qualify as a REIT, we will nonetheless be subject to U.S. federal tax in the following circumstances:
•
We will be taxed at regular corporate rates on any undistributed net taxable income, including undistributed net capital gains.
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If we have net income from prohibited transactions, which are, in general, sales or other dispositions of property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, other than foreclosure property, such income will be subject to a 100% tax. See “— Prohibited Transactions,” and “— Foreclosure Property.”
•
If we elect to treat property that we acquire in connection with a foreclosure of a mortgage loan or certain leasehold terminations as “foreclosure property,” we may thereby avoid the 100% tax on gain from a resale of that property (if the sale would otherwise constitute a prohibited transaction), but the income from the sale or operation of the property may be subject to corporate income tax at the highest applicable rate.
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If we derive “excess inclusion income” from an interest in certain mortgage loan securitization structures (i.e., a “taxable mortgage pool” or a residual interest in a real estate mortgage investment conduit (“REMIC”)), we could be subject to corporate level U.S. federal income tax at the highest applicable rate to the extent that such income is allocable to specified types of tax-exempt stockholders
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known as “disqualified organizations” that are not subject to unrelated business income tax. See “— Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income.”
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If we should fail to satisfy the 75% gross income test or the 95% gross income test, as discussed below, but nonetheless maintain our qualification as a REIT because we satisfy other requirements, we will be subject to a 100% tax on an amount based on the magnitude of the failure adjusted to reflect the profit margin associated with our gross income.
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If we should fail to satisfy the asset tests (other than certain de minimis violations) or other requirements applicable to REITs, as described below, and yet maintain our qualification as a REIT because there is reasonable cause for the failure and other applicable requirements are met, we may be subject to a penalty tax. In that case, the amount of the penalty tax will be at least $50,000 per failure, and, in the case of certain asset test failures, will be determined as the amount of net income generated by the assets in question multiplied by the highest corporate tax rate if that amount exceeds $50,000 per failure.
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If we should fail to distribute during each calendar year at least the sum of (a) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for such year, (b) 95% of our REIT capital gain net income for such year, and (c) any undistributed taxable income from prior periods, we would be subject to a non-deductible 4% excise tax on the excess of the required distribution over the sum of (i) the amounts that we actually distributed, plus (ii) the amounts we retained and upon which we paid income tax at the corporate level.
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We may be required to pay monetary penalties to the IRS in certain circumstances, including if we fail to meet record keeping requirements intended to monitor our compliance with rules relating to the composition of a REIT’s stockholders, as described in “— Requirements for Qualification — General.”
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A 100% tax may be imposed on transactions between us and a TRS (as described below) that do not reflect arm’s length terms.
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If we acquire appreciated assets from a corporation that is not a REIT (i.e., a corporation taxable under subchapter C of the Code) in a transaction in which the adjusted tax basis of the assets in our hands is determined by reference to the adjusted tax basis of the assets in the hands of the subchapter C corporation, we may be subject to tax on such appreciation at the highest corporate income tax rate then applicable if we subsequently recognize gain on a disposition of any such assets during a period of five years following their acquisition from the subchapter C corporation.
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The earnings of any subsidiary that is a subchapter C corporation, including any TRS, may be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax.
In addition, we and our subsidiaries may be subject to a variety of other taxes, including payroll taxes and state, local, and foreign income, property and other taxes on assets and operations. We could also be subject to tax in situations and on transactions not presently contemplated.
Requirements for Qualification — General
The Code defines a REIT as a corporation, trust or association:
(1)
that is managed by one or more trustees or directors;
(2)
the beneficial ownership of which is evidenced by transferable shares, or by transferable certificates of beneficial interest;
(3)
that would be taxable as a domestic corporation but for its election to be subject to tax as a REIT;
(4)
that is neither a financial institution nor an insurance company subject to specific provisions of the Code;
(5)
the beneficial ownership of which is held by 100 or more persons;
(6)
in which, during the last half of each taxable year, not more than 50% in value of the outstanding
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stock is owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer “individuals” (as defined in the Code to include specified tax-exempt entities);
(7)
which meets other tests described below, including with respect to the nature of its income and assets; and
(8)
that makes an election to be a REIT for the current taxable year or has made such an election for a previous taxable year that has not been terminated or revoked.
The Code provides that conditions (1) through (4) must be met during the entire taxable year, and that condition (5) must be met during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months, or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year. Our certificate of incorporation provides restrictions regarding the ownership and transfers of our shares, which are intended to assist us in satisfying the share ownership requirements described in conditions (5) and (6) above.
To monitor compliance with the share ownership requirements, we generally are required to maintain records regarding the actual ownership of our shares. To do so, we must demand written statements each year from the record holders of significant percentages of our stock pursuant to which the record holders must disclose the actual owners of the shares (i.e., the persons required to include our dividends in their gross income). We must maintain a list of those persons failing or refusing to comply with this demand as part of our records. We could be subject to monetary penalties if we fail to comply with these record keeping requirements. If you fail or refuse to comply with the demands, you will be required by Treasury regulations to submit a statement with your tax return disclosing the actual ownership of the shares and other information.
In addition, a corporation generally may not elect to become a REIT unless its taxable year is the calendar year. We have adopted December 31 as our year end, and therefore satisfy this requirement.
The Code provides relief from violations of the REIT gross income requirements, as described under “Income Tests,” in cases where a violation is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, and other requirements are met, including the payment of a penalty tax that is based upon the magnitude of the violation. In addition, certain provisions of the Code extend similar relief in the case of certain violations of the REIT asset requirements (see “— Asset Tests”) and other REIT requirements, again provided that the violation is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, and other conditions are met, including the payment of a penalty tax.
If we fail to satisfy any of the various REIT requirements, there can be no assurance that these relief provisions would be available to enable us to maintain our qualification as a REIT, and, if such relief provisions are available, the amount of any resultant penalty tax could be substantial.
Effect of Subsidiary Entities
Ownership of Partnership Interests. If we are a partner in an entity that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Treasury regulations provide that we are deemed to own our proportionate share of the partnership’s assets, and to earn our proportionate share of the partnership’s income, for purposes of the asset and gross income tests applicable to REITs. Our proportionate share of a partnership’s assets and income is based on our capital interest in the partnership (except that for purposes of the 10% value test described below, our proportionate share of the partnership’s assets is based on our proportionate interest in the equity and certain debt securities issued by the partnership). In addition, the assets and gross income of the partnership are deemed to retain the same character in our hands. Thus, our proportionate share of the assets and items of income of any of our subsidiary partnerships will be treated as our assets and items of income for purposes of applying the REIT requirements. A summary of certain rules governing the U.S. federal income taxation of partnerships and their partners is provided in “— Tax Aspects of Investments in Affiliated Partnerships.”
If we are a limited partner or non-managing member in any partnership or limited liability company and such entity 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 interest in the partnership or limited liability
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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.
Disregarded Subsidiaries. If we own a corporate subsidiary that is a “qualified REIT subsidiary,” that subsidiary is generally disregarded for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and all of the subsidiary’s assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit are treated as our assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit, including for purposes of the gross income and asset tests applicable to REITs. A qualified REIT subsidiary is any corporation, other than a TRS as described below, that we wholly own, either directly or through one or more other qualified REIT subsidiaries or disregarded entities. Other entities that are wholly owned by us (either directly or through other disregarded entities), including single member limited liability companies that have not elected to be taxed as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes, are also generally disregarded as separate entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including for purposes of the REIT income and asset tests. Disregarded subsidiaries, along with any partnerships in which we hold an equity interest, are sometimes referred to herein as “pass-through subsidiaries.”
In the event that a disregarded subsidiary of ours ceases to be wholly owned- for example, if any equity interest in the subsidiary is acquired by a person other than us or a disregarded subsidiary of ours — the subsidiary’s separate existence would no longer be disregarded for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Instead, the subsidiary would have multiple owners and would be treated as either a partnership or a taxable corporation. Such an event could, depending on the circumstances, adversely affect our ability to satisfy the various asset and gross income requirements applicable to REITs, including the requirement that REITs generally may not own, directly or indirectly, more than 10% of the securities of another corporation. See “Asset Tests” and “Income Tests.”
Subsidiary REITs. Granite Point owns interests in one or more corporations that have elected to be taxed as REITs. Provided that each such entity qualifies as a REIT, Granite Point’s interest in the entity will be treated as a qualifying real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests and any dividend income or gains derived by Granite Point from such entity will generally be treated as income that qualifies for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. To qualify as a REIT, each such entity must independently satisfy the various REIT qualification requirements described in this summary. If such an entity were to fail to qualify as a REIT, and certain relief provisions do not apply, it would be treated as a regular taxable corporation and its income would be subject to U.S. federal income tax. In addition, a failure of the entity to qualify as a REIT would have an adverse effect on Granite Point’s ability to comply with the REIT income and asset tests, and thus its ability to qualify as a REIT.
Taxable REIT Subsidiaries. In general, we may jointly elect with a subsidiary corporation, whether or not wholly owned, to treat the subsidiary corporation as a TRS. We generally may not own more than 10% of the securities of a taxable corporation, as measured by voting power or value, unless we and such corporation elect to treat such corporation as a TRS. The separate existence of a TRS or other taxable corporation is not ignored for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, a TRS or other taxable corporation generally would be subject to corporate income tax on its earnings, which may reduce the cash flow that we and our subsidiaries generate in the aggregate, and may reduce our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
We are not treated as holding the assets of a TRS or other taxable subsidiary corporation or as receiving any income that the subsidiary earns. Rather, the stock issued by a taxable subsidiary to us is an asset in our hands, and we treat the dividends paid to us from such taxable subsidiary, if any, as income. This treatment can affect our income and asset test calculations, as described below. Because we do not include the assets and income of TRSs or other taxable subsidiary corporations in determining our compliance with the REIT requirements, we may use such entities to undertake indirectly activities that the REIT rules might otherwise preclude us from doing directly or through pass-through subsidiaries. For example, we could use TRSs or other taxable subsidiary corporations to conduct activities that give rise to certain categories of income or to conduct activities that, if conducted by us directly, would be treated in our hands as prohibited transactions. We also use a TRS to earn income related to “excess inclusion income,” as discussed below, and certain other sources of nonqualifying income and to hold certain other assets.
The deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT could be limited under the Code. Accordingly, if we lend money to a TRS, the TRS may be unable to deduct all or a part of the interest paid on that loan, and the lack of an interest deduction could result in a material increase in the amount of tax paid by
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the TRS. Further, the TRS rules impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions involving a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. We intend that all of our transactions with any TRS will be conducted on an arm’s-length basis.
We may hold a significant amount of assets in one or more TRSs, subject to the limitation that securities in TRSs may not represent more than 20% of our assets. In general, we intend that real property, loans or other assets that we originate or buy with an intention of selling in a manner that might expose us to a 100% tax on “prohibited transactions” will be sold by a TRS. The TRS through which any such sales are made could be treated as a dealer for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a dealer, the TRS may in general mark all the loans it holds on the last day of each taxable year to their market value, and may recognize ordinary income or loss on such loans with respect to such taxable year as if they had been sold for that value on that day. In addition, the TRS may further elect to be subject to the mark-to-market regime described above in the event that the TRS is properly classified as a “trader” as opposed to a “dealer” for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Income Tests
In order to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy two annual gross income requirements. First, at least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year, excluding gross income from sales of inventory or dealer property in “prohibited transactions” and certain hedging transactions, generally must be derived from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property, including interest income derived from mortgage loans secured by real property (including, generally, certain mortgage-backed securities, or MBS), “rents from real property,” dividends received from other REITs, and gains from the sale of real property, mortgages on real property, and shares in other REITs, as well as specified income from temporary investments. Second, at least 95% of our gross income in each taxable year, excluding gross income from prohibited transactions and certain hedging transactions, must be derived from some combination of income that qualifies under the 75% gross income test described above, as well as other dividends, interest, and gain from the sale or disposition of stock or securities, which need not have any relation to real property. Income and gain from certain hedging transactions will be excluded from both the numerator and the denominator for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests. See “— Derivatives and Hedging Transactions.”
We expect that the commercial mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS, in which we invest generally will be treated either as interests in a grantor trust or as interests in a REMIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes and that all interest income from such CMBS will be qualifying income for the 95% gross income test. In the case of CMBS treated as interests in grantor trusts, we would be treated as owning an undivided beneficial ownership interest in the mortgage loans held by the grantor trust. The interest on such mortgage loans would be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test to the extent that the obligation is secured by real property, as discussed below. In the case of CMBS treated as interests in a REMIC, income derived from REMIC interests will generally be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests.
If less than 95% of the assets of a REMIC are real estate assets, however, then only a proportionate part of our interest in the REMIC and income derived from the interest will qualify for purposes of the 75% gross income test. In addition, some REMIC securitizations include imbedded interest rate swap or cap contracts or other derivative instruments that potentially could produce non-qualifying income for the holder of the related REMIC securities. See “— Asset Tests” for a discussion of the effect of such investments on our qualification as a REIT.
To the extent that we hold mortgage participations or MBS that do not represent REMIC interests, such assets may not qualify as real estate assets, and, consequently, the income generated from them might not qualify for purposes of either or both of the REIT income tests, depending upon the circumstances and the specific structure of the investment. Our ability to invest in those assets may be limited by our intention to qualify as a REIT.
Interest income constitutes qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the 75% gross income test to the extent that the obligation upon which such interest is paid is secured by a mortgage on real property. If we receive interest income with respect to a mortgage loan that is secured by both real property and other property, and the highest principal amount of the loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property on the date that we acquired or originated the mortgage loan, the interest income generally
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will be apportioned between the real property and the other collateral, and our income from the arrangement will qualify for purposes of the 75% gross income test only to the extent that the interest is allocable to the real property. In certain cases, personal property collateral securing a loan that we hold may be treated as real property for purposes of the foregoing rules. In addition, in certain cases (unless a safe harbor applies pursuant to IRS guidance), the modification of a debt instrument could result in the conversion of the interest paid on the instrument from qualifying income to wholly or partially non-qualifying income, which may require that we dispose of the debt instrument or contribute it to our TRS in order to satisfy the income tests described above. Moreover, the IRS has taken the position that, for purposes of the REIT income tests, the principal amount of a loan is equal to its face amount, even in situations where the loan was acquired at a significant discount. Under this position, a portion of the income generated by the instrument would not qualify for purposes of the 75% gross income test in cases where the underlying real property has declined in value. Even if a loan is not secured by real property, or is undersecured, the income that it generates may nonetheless qualify for purposes of the 95% gross income test.
To the extent that the terms of a loan provide for contingent interest that is based on the cash proceeds realized upon the sale of the property securing the loan, income attributable to the participation feature will be treated as gain from sale of the underlying property, which generally will be qualifying income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests provided that the property is not held as inventory or dealer property. To the extent that we derive interest income from a mortgage loan, or income from the rental of real property, where all or a portion of the amount of interest or rental income payable is contingent, such income generally will qualify for purposes of the gross income tests only if it is based upon the gross receipts or sales, and not the net income or profits, of the borrower or lessee. This limitation does not apply, however, where the borrower or lessee leases substantially all of its interest in the property to tenants or subtenants, to the extent that the rental income derived by the borrower or lessee, as the case may be, would qualify as rents from real property had we earned the income directly.
We may invest in mezzanine loans, which are loans secured by equity interests in an entity that directly or indirectly owns real property, rather than by a direct mortgage of the real property. The IRS has issued Revenue Procedure 2003-65, which provides a safe harbor applicable to mezzanine loans. Under the Revenue Procedure, if a mezzanine loan meets each of the requirements contained in the Revenue Procedure, (1) the mezzanine loan will be treated as a real estate asset for purposes of the asset tests described below, and (2) interest derived from the mezzanine loan will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Although the Revenue Procedure provides a safe harbor on which taxpayers may rely, it does not prescribe rules of substantive tax law. We intend to structure any investments in mezzanine loans in a manner that complies with the various requirements applicable to our qualification as a REIT. To the extent that any of our mezzanine loans do not meet all of the requirements for reliance on the safe harbor set forth in the Revenue Procedure, however, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge the tax treatment of these loans.
We may hold certain participation interests, including B-Notes, in mortgage loans and other instruments. Such interests in an underlying loan are created by virtue of a participation or similar agreement to which the originator of the loan is a party, along with one or more participants. The borrower on the underlying loan is typically not a party to the participation agreement. The performance of this investment depends upon the performance of the underlying loan, and if the underlying borrower defaults, the participant typically has no recourse against the originator of the loan. The originator often retains a senior position in the underlying loan, and grants junior participations which absorb losses first in the event of a default by the borrower. We intend that any participation interests in which we may invest will qualify as real estate assets for purposes of the REIT asset tests described below, and that any interest that we derive from such investments will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the 75% gross income test. The appropriate treatment of participation interests for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not entirely certain, however, and no assurance can be given that the IRS will not challenge our treatment of our participation interests. In the event of a determination that such participation interests do not qualify as real estate assets, or that the income that we derive from such participation interests does not qualify as mortgage interest for purposes of the REIT asset and income tests, we could be subject to a penalty tax, or could fail to qualify as a REIT, if we were to invest in such participation interests. See “Taxation of REITs in General,” “Requirements for Qualification — General,” “Asset Tests” and “Failure to Qualify.”
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Rents received by us, if any, will qualify as “rents from real property” in satisfying the gross income requirements described above only if several conditions are met. If rent is partly attributable to personal property leased in connection with a lease of real property, the portion of the rent that is attributable to the personal property will not qualify as “rents from real property” unless it constitutes 15% or less of the total rent received under the lease. In addition, the amount of rent must not be based in whole or in part on the income or profits of any person. Amounts received as rent, however, generally will not be excluded from rents from real property solely by reason of being based on fixed percentages of gross receipts or sales. Moreover, for rents received by us, if any, to qualify as “rents from real property,” we generally must not operate or manage the property or furnish or render services to the tenants of such property, other than through an “independent contractor” from which we derive no revenue. We are permitted, however, to perform services that are “usually or customarily rendered” in connection with the rental of space for occupancy only and which are not otherwise considered rendered to the occupant of the property. In addition, we may directly or indirectly provide non-customary services to tenants of our properties without disqualifying all of the rent from the property if the payments for such services does not exceed 1% of the total gross income from the property. For purposes of this test, we are deemed to have received income from such non-customary services in an amount at least 150% of the direct cost of providing the services. Moreover, we are generally permitted to provide services to tenants or others through a TRS without disqualifying the rental income received from tenants for purposes of the income tests. Also, rental income will generally not qualify as rents from real property if we directly or constructively hold a 10% or greater interest, as measured by vote or value, in the lessee’s equity.
We may directly or indirectly receive distributions from TRSs or other corporations that are not REITs or qualified REIT subsidiaries. These distributions generally are treated as dividend income to the extent of the earnings and profits of the distributing corporation. Such distributions will generally constitute qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test, but not for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Any dividends that we receive from a REIT, however, will be qualifying income for purposes of both the 95% and 75% gross income tests.
Fees will generally be qualifying income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests if they are received in consideration for entering into an agreement to make a loan secured by real property and the fees are not determined by income and profits. Other fees generally will not be qualifying income for purposes of either gross income test. Any fees earned by a TRS will not be included for purposes of the gross income tests.
Any income or gain that we or our pass-through subsidiaries derive from instruments that hedge certain specified risks, such as the risk of changes in interest rates with respect to our borrowings, will be excluded from gross income for purposes of both the 75% and the 95% gross income tests (i.e., will be excluded from both the numerator and the denominator), provided that specified requirements are met, including the requirement that the instrument be properly identified as a hedge along with the risk that it hedges within prescribed time periods. Income and gain from all other hedging transactions will generally not be qualifying income for either the 95% or 75% gross income test.
If we fail to satisfy one or both of the 75% or 95% gross income tests for any taxable year, we may still qualify as a REIT for the year if we are entitled to relief under applicable provisions of the Code. Those relief provisions generally will be available if our failure to meet the gross income tests was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect and we file a schedule of the sources of our gross income in accordance with Treasury regulations. It is not possible to state whether we would be entitled to the benefit of these relief provisions in all circumstances. If these relief provisions are inapplicable to a particular set of circumstances, we will not qualify as a REIT. As discussed above under “ Taxation of REITs in General,” even where these relief provisions apply, the Code imposes a tax based upon the amount by which we fail to satisfy the particular gross income test.
Asset Tests
At the close of each calendar quarter, we must also satisfy five tests relating to the nature of our assets. First, at least 75% of the value of our total assets must be represented by some combination of “real estate assets,” cash, cash items, U.S. government securities, and, under some circumstances, stock or debt instruments purchased with new capital. For this purpose, real estate assets include interests in real property, such as land, buildings, and leasehold interests in real property (and certain ancillary personal property), stock of other
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corporations that qualify as REITs, some kinds of MBS and mortgage loans, and debt instruments (whether or not secured by real property) that are issued by a “publicly offered REIT” (i.e., a REIT that is required to file annual and periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Assets that do not qualify for purposes of the 75% asset test are subject to the additional asset tests described below.
Second, the value of any one issuer’s securities that we own may not exceed 5% of the value of our total assets.
Third, we may not own more than 10% of any one issuer’s outstanding securities, as measured by either voting power or value. The 5% and 10% asset tests do not apply to real estate assets, securities of TRSs, and qualified REIT subsidiaries and the value prong of the 10% asset test does not apply to “straight debt” having specified characteristics and to certain other securities described below. Solely for purposes of the 10% asset test, the determination of our interest in the assets of a partnership or limited liability company in which we own an interest will be based on our proportionate interest in any securities issued by the partnership or limited liability company, excluding for this purpose certain securities described in the Code.
Fourth, the aggregate value of all securities of TRSs that we hold may not exceed 20% of the value of our total assets.
Fifth, no more than 25% of the total value of our assets may be represented by “nonqualified publicly offered REIT debt instruments” (i.e., real estate assets that would cease to be real estate assets if debt instruments issued by publicly offered REITs were not included in the definition of real estate assets).
Notwithstanding the general rule, as noted above, that for purposes of the REIT income and asset tests, we are treated as owning our proportionate share of the underlying assets of a subsidiary partnership, if we hold indebtedness issued by a partnership, the indebtedness will be subject to, and may cause a violation of, the asset tests unless the indebtedness is a qualifying mortgage asset, or other conditions are met. Similarly, although stock of another REIT is a qualifying asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests, any non-mortgage debt that is issued by a non-publicly offered REIT may not so qualify (such debt, however, will not be treated as a “security” for purposes of the 10% value test, as explained below).
The Code provides that certain securities will not cause a violation of the 10% value test described above. Such securities include instruments that constitute “straight debt,” which term generally excludes, among other things, securities having certain contingency features. A security does not qualify as “straight debt” where a REIT (or a controlled TRS of the REIT) owns other securities of the same issuer which do not qualify as straight debt, unless the value of those other securities constitute, in the aggregate, 1% or less of the total value of that issuer’s outstanding securities. In addition to straight debt, the Code provides that certain other securities will not violate the 10% value test. Such securities include (a) any loan made to an individual or an estate, (b) certain rental agreements pursuant to which one or more payments are to be made in subsequent years (other than agreements between a REIT and certain persons related to the REIT under attribution rules), (c) any obligation to pay rents from real property, (d) securities issued by governmental entities that are not dependent in whole or in part on the profits of (or payments made by) a non-governmental entity, (e) any security (including debt securities) issued by another REIT, and (f) any debt instrument issued by a partnership if the partnership’s income is of a nature that it would satisfy the 75% gross income test described above under “ Income Tests.” The Code also provides that in applying the 10% value test, a debt security issued by a partnership is not taken into account to the extent, if any, of the REIT’s proportionate interest in that partnership.
For purposes of the 75% asset test, mortgage loans will generally qualify as real estate assets to the extent that they are secured by real property. Additionally, as noted above, we expect that our investments in CMBS will generally be treated as interests in a grantor trust or as interests in a REMIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In the case of CMBS treated as interests in grantor trusts, we would be treated as owning an undivided beneficial ownership interest in the mortgage loans held by the grantor trust. In the case of CMBS treated as an interest in a REMIC, such interests will generally qualify as real estate assets, and income derived from REMIC interests will generally be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the REIT income tests described above. If less than 95% of the assets of a REMIC are real estate assets, however, then only a proportionate part of our interest in the REMIC and income derived from the interest will qualify for purposes
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of the REIT asset and income tests. Such interests will generally qualify as real estate assets, and income derived from REMIC interests will generally be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the REIT income tests described above.
To the extent that we hold mortgage participations or MBS that do not represent REMIC interests, such assets may not qualify as real estate assets, depending upon the circumstances and the specific structure of the investment. Our ability to invest in those assets may be limited by our intention to qualify as a REIT.
In addition, in certain cases (unless a safe harbor applies pursuant to IRS guidance), the modification of a debt instrument or, potentially, an increase in the value of a debt instrument that we acquired at a significant discount, could result in the conversion of the instrument from a qualifying real estate asset to a wholly or partially non-qualifying asset that must be contributed to a TRS or disposed of in order for us to satisfy the asset tests described above.
If we hold a “residual interest” in a REMIC from which we derive “excess inclusion income,” we will be required to either distribute the excess inclusion income or pay tax on it (or a combination of the two), even though we may not receive the income in cash. To the extent that distributed excess inclusion income is allocable to a particular stockholder, the income (1) would not be allowed to be offset by any net operating losses otherwise available to the stockholder, (2) would be subject to tax as unrelated business taxable income in the hands of most types of stockholders that are otherwise generally exempt from U.S. federal income tax, and (3) would result in the application of U.S. federal income tax withholding at the maximum rate, without reduction pursuant to any otherwise applicable income tax treaty or other exemption, to the extent allocable to most types of non-U.S. holders. Moreover, any excess inclusion income that we receive that is allocable to specified categories of tax-exempt investors which are not subject to unrelated business income tax, such as government entities or charitable remainder trusts, may be subject to corporate-level income tax in our hands, whether or not it is distributed. See “Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income.”
In addition, certain of our mezzanine loans may qualify for the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2003-65 pursuant to which certain loans secured by a first priority security interest in ownership interests in a partnership or limited liability company will be treated as qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% real estate asset test and the 10% vote or value test. See “ Income Tests.” We may make some mezzanine loans that do not qualify for that safe harbor and that do not qualify as “straight debt” securities or for one of the other exclusions from the definition of “securities” for purposes of the 10% value test. We intend to make such investments in such a manner as not to fail the asset tests described above, and we believe that our existing investments satisfy such requirements. We believe that our holdings of securities and other assets will comply with the foregoing REIT asset requirements, and we intend to monitor compliance on an ongoing basis.
We have entered into sale and repurchase agreements under which we nominally sell certain of our mortgage investments to a counterparty and simultaneously enter into an agreement to repurchase the sold assets in exchange for a purchase price that reflects a financing charge. We believe that we are treated for REIT asset and income test purposes as the owner of the mortgage investments that are the subject of any such agreement notwithstanding that such agreements may transfer record ownership of the assets to the counterparty during the term of the agreement. It is possible, however, that the IRS could assert that we do not own the mortgage investments during the term of the sale and repurchase agreement, in which case we could fail to qualify as a REIT.
Independent valuations have not been obtained to support our conclusions as to the value of all of our assets. Moreover, values of some assets, including instruments issued in securitization transactions, may not be susceptible to a precise determination, and values are subject to change in the future. Furthermore, the proper classification of an instrument as debt or equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be uncertain in some circumstances, which could affect the application of the REIT asset requirements. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not contend that our interests in our subsidiaries or in the securities of other issuers will not cause a violation of the REIT asset tests.
The Code contains a number of relief provisions that make it easier for REITs to satisfy the asset requirements, or to maintain REIT qualification notwithstanding certain violations of the asset and other requirements. One such provision allows a REIT which fails one or more of the asset requirements to nevertheless maintain its REIT qualification if (1) the REIT provides the IRS with a description of each asset causing the failure,
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(2) the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, (3) the REIT pays a tax equal to the greater of (a) $50,000 per failure, and (b) the product of the net income generated by the assets that caused the failure multiplied by the highest applicable corporate tax rate, and (4) the REIT either disposes of the assets causing the failure within 6 months after the last day of the quarter in which it identifies the failure, or otherwise satisfies the relevant asset tests within that time frame. A second relief provision applies to de minimis violations of the 10% and 5% asset tests. A REIT may maintain its qualification despite a violation of such requirements if (a) the value of the assets causing the violation does not exceed the lesser of 1% of the REIT’s total assets, and $10,000,000, and (b) the REIT either disposes of the assets causing the failure within 6 months after the last day of the quarter in which it identifies the failure, or the relevant tests are otherwise satisfied within that time frame.
If we fail to satisfy the asset tests at the end of a calendar quarter, such a failure would not cause us to lose our REIT qualification if we (1) satisfied the asset tests at the close of the preceding calendar quarter and (2) the discrepancy between the value of our assets and the asset requirements was not wholly or partly caused by an acquisition of non-qualifying assets, but instead arose from changes in the market value of our assets. If the condition described in (2) were not satisfied, we still could avoid disqualification by eliminating any discrepancy within 30 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which it arose or by making use of relief provisions described below. No assurance can be given that we would qualify for relief under those provisions.
Annual Distribution Requirements
In order to qualify as a REIT, we are required to distribute dividends, other than capital gain dividends, to our stockholders in an amount at least equal to:
(1)
the sum of
•
90% of our “REIT taxable income,” computed without regard to our net capital gains and the deduction for dividends paid, and
•
90% of our net income, if any, (after tax) from foreclosure property (as described below), minus
(2)
the sum of specified items of noncash income.
We generally must make these distributions in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if declared before we timely file our tax return for the year and if paid with or before the first regular dividend payment after such declaration. In addition, any dividend declared by us in October, November, or December of any year and payable to a stockholder of record on a specified date in any such month will be treated as both paid by us and received by the stockholder on December 31 of such year, so long as the dividend is actually paid by us before the end of January of the next calendar year. If we cease to be a “publicly offered REIT,” then in order for distributions to be counted as satisfying the annual distribution requirement, and to give rise to a tax deduction for us, the distributions must not be “preferential dividends.” A dividend is not a preferential dividend if the distribution is (1) pro rata among all outstanding shares of stock within a particular class, and (2) in accordance with the preferences among different classes of stock as set forth in our organizational documents.
To the extent that we distribute at least 90%, but less than 100%, of our “REIT taxable income,” as adjusted, we will be subject to tax at ordinary corporate tax rates on the retained portion. We may elect to retain, rather than distribute, our net long-term capital gains and pay tax on such gains. In this case, we could elect for our stockholders to include their proportionate shares of such undistributed long-term capital gains in income, and to receive a corresponding credit for their share of the tax that we paid. Our stockholders would then increase their adjusted basis of their stock by the difference between (a) the amounts of capital gain dividends that we designated and that they include in their taxable income, and (b) the tax that we paid on their behalf with respect to that income.
To the extent that in the future we may have available net operating losses carried forward from prior tax years, such losses may, subject to limitations, reduce the amount of distributions that we must make in order to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. Such losses, however, will generally not affect the character of any distributions that are actually made as ordinary dividends or capital gains. See “Taxation of Stockholders — Taxation of Taxable Domestic Holders — Distributions.”
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If we should fail to distribute during each calendar year at least the sum of (a) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for such year, (b) 95% of our REIT capital gain net income for such year, and (c) any undistributed taxable income from prior periods, we would be subject to a non-deductible 4% excise tax on the excess of such required distribution over the sum of (x) the amounts actually distributed, plus (y) the amounts of income we retained and on which we have paid corporate income tax.
It is possible that, from time to time, we may not have sufficient cash to meet the distribution requirements due to timing differences between (a) our actual receipt of cash, including receipt of distributions from our subsidiaries, or the actual payment of deductible expenses and (b) our inclusion of items in income or deduction, as applicable, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For example, the Code contains various limitations on the deductibility of interest and other expenses and various rules that may accelerate income before the receipt of cash. Other potential sources of non-cash taxable income include:
•
loans or MBS held as assets that are issued at a discount and require the accrual of taxable interest in advance of receipt in cash,
•
loans on which the borrower is permitted to defer cash payments of interest, and distressed loans on which we may be required to accrue taxable interest income even though the borrower is unable to make current servicing payments in cash,
•
real estate securities that are financed through securitization structures, and
•
“residual interests” in REMICs or taxable mortgage pools.
Other debt instruments that we may acquire may be issued with, or treated as issued with, original issue discount. We will generally be required to recognize original issue discount in advance of the receipt of cash attributable to that original issue discount.
We may acquire debt instruments in the secondary market for less than their face amount. The amount of such discount will generally be treated as “market discount” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we so elect, accrued market discount will be recognized as taxable income over our holding period in the instrument in advance of the receipt of cash. If we collect less on the debt instrument than our purchase price plus the market discount we had previously reported as income, we may not be able to benefit from any offsetting loss deductions.
In addition, we may acquire debt investments that are subsequently modified by agreement with the borrower. If the amendments to the outstanding debt are “significant modifications” under the applicable Treasury regulations, the modified debt may be considered to have been reissued to us in a debt-for-debt exchange with the borrower. In that event, we may be required to recognize taxable gain to the extent the principal amount of the modified debt exceeds our adjusted tax basis in the unmodified debt, even if the value of the debt or the payment expectations have not changed. Following such a taxable modification, we would hold the modified loan with a cost basis equal to its principal amount for U.S. federal tax purposes. To the extent that such modifications are made with respect to a debt instrument held by a TRS that is treated as a dealer or trader and that makes an election to use mark-to-market accounting, such TRS would be required at the end of each taxable year, including the taxable year in which any such modification were made, to mark the modified debt instrument to its fair market value as if the debt instrument were sold. In that case, the TRS could recognize a loss at the end of the taxable year in which the modifications were made to the extent that the fair market value of such debt instrument at such time was less than the instrument’s tax basis.
Moreover, in the event that any debt instruments or MBS acquired by us are delinquent as to mandatory principal and interest payments, or in the event payments with respect to a particular debt instrument are not made when due, we may nonetheless be required to continue to recognize the unpaid interest as taxable income. Similarly, we may be required to accrue interest income with respect to subordinate MBS at the stated rate regardless of whether corresponding cash payments are received.
Differences in timing between the recognition of taxable income and the actual receipt of cash could require us to (i) sell assets, (ii) borrow funds on a short-term or long-term basis, or (iii) pay dividends in the form of taxable in-kind distributions of property, to meet the 90% distribution requirement. Alternatively, we may declare a taxable distribution payable in cash or stock at the election of each stockholder, where the aggregate amount of cash to be distributed in such distribution may be subject to limitation. In such case, for U.S.
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federal income tax purposes, the amount of the distribution paid in stock will be equal to the amount of cash that could have been received instead of stock.
We may be able to rectify a failure to meet the distribution requirements for a year by paying “deficiency dividends” to stockholders in a later year, which may be included in our deduction for dividends paid for the earlier year. In this case, we may be able to avoid losing REIT status or being taxed on amounts distributed as deficiency dividends. We will be required to pay interest and a penalty based on the amount of any deduction taken for deficiency dividends.
Failure to Qualify
If we fail to satisfy one or more requirements for REIT qualification other than the gross income or asset tests, we could avoid disqualification if our failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect and we pay a penalty of $50,000 for each such failure. Relief provisions are available for failures of the income tests and asset tests, as described above in “Income Tests” and “Asset Tests.”
If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year, and the relief provisions described above do not apply, we would be subject to tax on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. We cannot deduct distributions to stockholders in any year in which we are not a REIT, nor would we be required to make distributions in such a year. In this situation, to the extent of current and accumulated earnings and profits, distributions to domestic holders that are individuals, trusts and estates would generally be taxable at capital gains rates. In addition, subject to the limitations of the Code, corporate distributees may be eligible for the dividends received deduction. Unless we are entitled to relief under specific statutory provisions, we would also be disqualified from re-electing to be taxed as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we lost qualification. It is not possible to state whether, in all circumstances, we would be entitled to this statutory relief.
Prohibited Transactions
Net income that we derive from a “prohibited transaction” is subject to a 100% tax. The term “prohibited transaction” generally includes a sale or other disposition of property (other than foreclosure property, as discussed below) that is held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business. We intend to conduct our operations so that no asset that we own (or are treated as owning) will be treated as, or as having been, held for sale to customers, and that a sale of any such asset will not be treated as having been in the ordinary course of our business. Whether property is held “primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business” depends on the particular facts and circumstances. No assurance can be given that any property that we sell will not be treated as property held for sale to customers, or that we can comply with certain safe-harbor provisions of the Code that would prevent such treatment. The 100% tax does not apply to gains from the sale of property that is held through a TRS or other taxable corporation, although such income will be subject to tax in the hands of the corporation at regular corporate rates.
Foreclosure Property
Foreclosure property is real property and any personal property incident to such real property (1) that we acquire as the result of having bid in the property at foreclosure, or having otherwise reduced the property to ownership or possession by agreement or process of law, after a default (or upon imminent default) on a lease of the property or a mortgage loan held by us and secured by the property, (2) for which we acquired the related loan or lease at a time when default was not imminent or anticipated, and (3) with respect to which we made a proper election to treat the property as foreclosure property. We generally will be subject to tax at the maximum corporate rate on any net income from foreclosure property, including any gain from the disposition of the foreclosure property, other than income that would otherwise be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Any gain from the sale of property for which a foreclosure property election has been made will not be subject to the 100% tax on gains from prohibited transactions described above, even if the property would otherwise constitute inventory or dealer property.
Derivatives and Hedging Transactions
We and our subsidiaries may enter into hedging transactions with respect to interest rate exposure on one or more assets or liabilities. Any such hedging transactions could take a variety of forms, including the use of
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derivative instruments such as interest rate swap contracts, interest rate cap or floor contracts, futures or forward contracts and options. Except to the extent provided by Treasury regulations, any income from a hedging transaction (including gain from the sale, disposition, or termination of a position in such a transaction) will not constitute gross income for purposes of the 75% or 95% gross income test if we properly identify the transaction as specified in applicable Treasury regulations and we enter into such transaction (i) in the normal course of our business primarily to manage risk of interest rate 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; (ii) primarily to manage risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the 75% or 95% income tests; or (iii) in connection with the extinguishment of indebtedness with respect to which we have entered into a qualified hedging position described in clause (i) or the disposition of property with respect to which we have entered into a qualified hedging position described in clause (ii), primarily to manage the risks of such hedging positions. To the extent that we hedge in certain other situations, the resultant income may be treated as income that does not qualify under the 75% or 95% gross income tests. We intend to structure any hedging transactions in a manner that does not jeopardize our status as a REIT. We may conduct some or all of our hedging activities through a TRS or other corporate entity, the income from which may be subject to U.S. federal income tax, rather than by participating in the arrangements directly or through pass-through subsidiaries.
No assurance can be given, however, that our hedging activities will not give rise to income that does not qualify for purposes of the REIT gross income tests, or that our hedging activities will not adversely affect our ability to satisfy the REIT qualification requirements.
Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income
An entity, or a portion of an entity, may be classified as a taxable mortgage pool (“TMP”) under the Code if:
•
substantially all of its assets consist of debt obligations or interests in debt obligations,
•
more than 50% of those debt obligations are real estate mortgages or interests in real estate mortgages as of specified testing dates,
•
the entity has issued debt obligations (liabilities) that have two or more maturities, and
•
the payments required to be made by the entity on its debt obligations (liabilities) “bear a relationship” to the payments to be received by the entity on the debt obligations that it holds as assets.
Under regulations issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, if less than 80% of the assets of an entity (or a portion of an entity) consist of debt obligations, these debt obligations are considered not to comprise “substantially all” of its assets, and therefore the entity would not be treated as a TMP. We may enter into financing and securitization arrangements that are classified as TMPs, with the consequences as described below.
Where an entity, or a portion of an entity, is classified as a TMP, it is generally treated as a taxable corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In the case of a REIT, or a portion of a REIT, or a disregarded subsidiary of a REIT, that is a TMP, however, special rules apply. The TMP is not treated as a corporation that is subject to corporate income tax, and the TMP classification does not directly affect the tax status of the REIT. Rather, the consequences of the TMP classification would, in general, except as described below, be limited to the stockholders of the REIT.
A portion of the REIT’s income from the TMP arrangement, which might be non-cash accrued income, could be treated as “excess inclusion income.” Under IRS guidance, the REIT’s excess inclusion income, including any excess inclusion income from a residual interest in a REMIC, must be allocated among its stockholders in proportion to dividends paid. The REIT is required to notify stockholders of the amount of “excess inclusion income” allocated to them. A stockholder’s share of excess inclusion income:
•
cannot be offset by any net operating losses otherwise available to the stockholder,
•
is subject to tax as unrelated business taxable income in the hands of most types of stockholders that are otherwise generally exempt from U.S. federal income tax, and
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•
results in the application of U.S. federal income tax withholding at the maximum rate, without reduction for any otherwise applicable income tax treaty or other exemption, to the extent allocable to most types of non-U.S. holders.
See “Taxation of Stockholders.” Under IRS guidance, to the extent that excess inclusion income is allocated to a tax-exempt stockholder of a REIT that is not subject to unrelated business income tax (such as a government entity or charitable remainder trust), the REIT may be subject to tax on this income at the highest applicable corporate tax rate. In that case, the REIT could reduce distributions to such stockholders by the amount of such tax paid by the REIT attributable to such stockholder’s ownership. Treasury regulations provide that such a reduction in distributions does not give rise to a preferential dividend that could adversely affect the REIT’s compliance with its distribution requirements. See “Annual Distribution Requirements.” The manner in which excess inclusion income is calculated, or would be allocated to stockholders, including allocations among shares of different classes of stock, is not clear under current law. As required by IRS guidance, we intend to make such determinations using a reasonable method. We do not intend to distribute any “excess inclusion income” that we may recognize to our stockholders. Instead, we have implemented certain structures intended to cause any excess inclusion income to be allocated to a TRS rather than being passed through to our shareholders, and the TRS will be subject to corporate-level tax on any such income. However, there can be no assurance that a stockholder will not receive excess inclusion income. Tax-exempt investors, foreign investors and taxpayers with net operating losses should carefully consider the tax consequences described above, and are urged to consult their tax advisors.
If a subsidiary partnership of ours that we do not wholly-own, directly or through one or more disregarded entities, were a TMP, the foregoing rules would not apply. Rather, the partnership that is a TMP would be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and potentially would be subject to corporate income tax or withholding tax. In addition, this characterization would alter our income and asset test calculations, and could adversely affect our compliance with those requirements. We intend to monitor the structure of any TMPs in which we have an interest to ensure that they will not adversely affect our status as a REIT.
Tax Aspects of Investments in Affiliated Partnerships
General
We may hold investments through entities that are classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In general, partnerships are “pass-through” entities that are not subject to U.S. federal income tax. Rather, partners are allocated their proportionate shares of the items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit of a partnership, and are potentially subject to tax on these items, without regard to whether the partners receive a distribution from the partnership. We will include in our income our proportionate share of these partnership items for purposes of the various REIT income tests and in computation of our REIT taxable income. Moreover, for purposes of the REIT asset tests, we will include in our calculations our proportionate share of any assets held by subsidiary partnerships. Our proportionate share of a partnership’s assets and income is based on our capital interest in the partnership (except that for purposes of the 10% value test, our proportionate share is based on our proportionate interest in the equity and certain debt securities issued by the partnership). See “Taxation of Granite Point- Effect of Subsidiary Entities- Ownership of Partnership Interests.”
Entity Classification
Any investment in partnerships involves special tax considerations, including the possibility of a challenge by the IRS of the status of any subsidiary partnership as a partnership, as opposed to an association taxable as a corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes (for example, if the IRS were to assert that a subsidiary partnership is a TMP). See “Taxation of Granite Point- Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income.” If any of these entities were treated as an association for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it would be taxable as a corporation and therefore could be subject to an entity-level tax on its income. In such a situation, the character of our assets and items of gross income would change and could preclude us from satisfying the REIT asset tests or the gross income tests as discussed in “ Taxation of Granite Point-Asset Tests” and “Income Tests,” and in turn could prevent us from qualifying as a REIT, unless we are eligible for
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relief from the violation pursuant to relief provisions described above. See “Taxation of Granite Point-Asset Tests,” “Income Tests” and “Failure to Qualify,” above, for discussion of the effect of failure to satisfy the REIT tests for a taxable year, and of the relief provisions. In addition, any change in the status of any subsidiary partnership for tax purposes might be treated as a taxable event, in which case we could have taxable income that is subject to the REIT distribution requirements without receiving any cash.
Tax Allocations with Respect to Partnership Properties
Under the Code and the Treasury regulations, 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 for tax purposes so that the contributing partner is charged with, or benefits from, the unrealized gain or unrealized loss associated with the property at the time of the contribution. The amount of the unrealized gain or unrealized 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. Such allocations are solely for U.S. federal income tax purposes and do not affect the book capital accounts or other economic or legal arrangements among the partners.
To the extent that any of our subsidiary partnerships acquires appreciated (or depreciated) properties by way of capital contributions from its partners, allocations would need to be made in a manner consistent with these requirements. Where a partner contributes cash to a partnership at a time that the partnership holds appreciated (or depreciated) property, the Treasury regulations provide for a similar allocation of these items to the other (i.e., non-contributing) partners. These rules may apply to a contribution that we make to any subsidiary partnerships of the cash proceeds received in offerings of our stock. As a result, the partners of our subsidiary partnerships, including us, could be allocated greater or lesser amounts of depreciation and taxable income in respect of a partnership’s properties than would be the case if all of the partnership’s assets (including any contributed assets) had a tax basis equal to their fair market values at the time of any contributions to that partnership. This could cause us to recognize, over a period of time, taxable income in excess of cash flow from the partnership, which might adversely affect our ability to comply with the REIT distribution requirements discussed above.
Partnership Audit Rules
The rules applicable to U.S. federal income tax audits of partnerships provide that, subject to certain exceptions, any audit adjustment to items of income, gain, loss, deduction or credit of a partnership (and any partner’s distributive share thereof) is determined, and taxes, interest, or penalties attributable thereto are assessed and collected, at the partnership level. It is possible that these rules could result in partnerships in which we directly or indirectly invest being required to pay additional taxes, interest and penalties as a result of an audit adjustment, and we, as a direct or indirect partner of these partnerships, could be required to bear the economic burden of those taxes, interest and penalties even though we, as a REIT, may not otherwise have been required to pay additional corporate-level taxes as a result of the related audit adjustment.
Taxation of Stockholders
Taxation of Taxable Domestic Holders
Distributions. As a REIT, the distributions that we make to our taxable domestic holders out of current or accumulated earnings and profits that we do not designate as capital gain dividends will generally be taken into account by stockholders as ordinary income and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporations. With limited exceptions, our dividends are not eligible for taxation at the preferential income tax rates for qualified dividends received by domestic holders that are individuals, trusts and estates from taxable C corporations. Such stockholders, however, are taxed at the preferential rates on dividends designated by and received from REITs to the extent that the dividends are attributable to:
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income retained by the REIT in the prior taxable year on which the REIT was subject to corporate level income tax (less the amount of tax),
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dividends received by the REIT from TRSs or other taxable C corporations, or
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income in the prior taxable year from the sales of “built-in gain” property acquired by the REIT from C corporations in carryover basis transactions (less the amount of corporate tax on such income).
In addition, for taxable years that begin before January 1, 2026, stockholders that are individuals, trusts or estates are generally entitled to a deduction equal to 20% of the aggregate amount of ordinary income dividends received from a REIT (not including capital gain dividends, as described below, or dividends eligible for the reduced rates applicable to “qualified dividend income,” as described above), subject to certain limitations. Under final regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service, in order to qualify for this deduction with respect to a dividend on shares of our common stock, a shareholder must hold such shares for more than 45 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date which is 45 days before the date on which such shares become ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (taking into account certain special holding period rules that may, among other consequences, reduce a shareholder’s holding period during any period in which the shareholder has diminished its risk of loss with respect to the shares). Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to their ability to claim this deduction.
Distributions that we designate as capital gain dividends will generally be taxed to our stockholders as long-term capital gains, to the extent that such distributions do not exceed our actual net capital gain for the taxable year, without regard to the period for which the stockholder that receives such distribution has held its stock. We may elect to retain and pay taxes on some or all of our net long-term capital gains, in which case provisions of the Code will treat our stockholders as having received, solely for tax purposes, our undistributed capital gains, and the stockholders will receive a corresponding credit for taxes that we paid on such undistributed capital gains. See “Taxation of Granite Point- Annual Distribution Requirements.” Corporate stockholders may be required to treat up to 20% of some capital gain dividends as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains are generally taxable at reduced maximum federal rates in the case of stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates, and ordinary income rates in the case of stockholders that are corporations. Capital gains attributable to the sale of depreciable real property held for more than 12 months are subject to a 25% maximum federal income tax rate for taxpayers who are taxed as individuals, to the extent of previously claimed depreciation deductions.
Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will generally represent a return of capital and will not be taxable to a stockholder to the extent that the amount of such distributions does not exceed the adjusted basis of the stockholder’s shares in respect of which the distributions were made. Rather, the distribution will reduce the adjusted basis of the stockholder’s shares. To the extent that such distributions exceed the adjusted basis of a stockholder’s shares, the stockholder generally must include such distributions in income as long-term capital gain, or short-term capital gain if the shares have been held for one year or less. In determining the extent to which a distribution will be treated as being made from our earnings and profits, our earnings and profits will be allocated first to distributions with respect to our preferred stock, and then to distributions with respect to our common stock, in each case on a pro rata basis.
In addition, any dividend that we declare in October, November or December of any year and that is payable to a stockholder of record on a specified date in any such month will be treated as both paid by us and received by the stockholder on December 31 of such year, provided that we actually pay the dividend before the end of January of the following calendar year.
To the extent that we have available net operating losses and capital losses carried forward from prior tax years, such losses may, subject to limitations, reduce the amount of distributions that we must make in order to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. See “Taxation of Granite Point- Annual Distribution Requirements.” Such losses, however, are not passed through to stockholders and do not offset income of stockholders from other sources, nor would such losses generally affect the character of any distributions that we make, which are generally subject to tax in the hands of stockholders to the extent that we have current or accumulated earnings and profits.
If excess inclusion income from a taxable mortgage pool or REMIC residual interest is allocated to any stockholder, that income will be taxable in the hands of the stockholder and would not be offset by any net operating losses of the stockholder that would otherwise be available. See “Taxation of Granite Point — Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income.” As required by IRS guidance, we intend to notify our stockholders if a portion of a dividend paid by us is attributable to excess inclusion income.
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Dispositions of Granite Point Stock. In general, capital gains recognized by individuals, trusts and estates upon the sale or disposition of our stock will be subject to reduced maximum U.S. federal income tax rates if the stock is held for more than one year, and will be taxed at ordinary income rates if the stock is held for one year or less. Gains recognized by stockholders that are corporations are subject to U.S. federal income tax at ordinary income rates, whether or not such gains are classified as long-term capital gains. Capital losses recognized by a stockholder upon the disposition of our stock that was held for more than one year at the time of disposition will be considered long-term capital losses. Capital losses are generally available only to offset capital gain income of the stockholder but not ordinary income (except in the case of individuals, who may offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income each year). In addition, any loss upon a sale or exchange of shares of our stock by a stockholder who has held the shares for six months or less, after applying holding period rules, will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of distributions that we make that are required to be treated by the stockholder as long-term capital gain.
If an investor recognizes a loss upon a subsequent disposition of our stock or other securities in an amount that exceeds a prescribed threshold, it is possible that the provisions of Treasury regulations involving “reportable transactions” could apply, with a resulting requirement to separately disclose the loss-generating transaction to the IRS. These regulations, though directed towards “tax shelters,” are written quite broadly, and apply to transactions that would not typically be considered tax shelters. The Code imposes significant penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. You should consult your tax advisors concerning any possible disclosure obligation with respect to the receipt or disposition of our stock or securities, or transactions that we might undertake directly or indirectly. Moreover, you should be aware that we and other participants in the transactions in which we are involved (including their advisors) might be subject to disclosure or other requirements pursuant to these regulations.
Medicare Tax. Certain U.S. stockholders who are individuals, estates or trusts and whose income exceeds certain thresholds will be required to pay a 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes dividends received from us and capital gains from the sale or other disposition of our stock.
Taxation of Non-U.S. Holders
The following is a summary of certain U.S. federal income and estate tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our stock applicable to non-U.S. holders. This discussion is based on current law, and is for general information only. It addresses only selected, and not all, aspects of U.S. federal income and estate taxation.
Ordinary Dividends. The portion of dividends received by non-U.S. holders that is (1) payable out of our earnings and profits, (2) which is not attributable to our capital gains and (3) which is not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. holder, will be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless reduced or eliminated by treaty. Reduced treaty rates and other exemptions are not available to the extent that income is attributable to excess inclusion income allocable to the non-U.S. holder. Accordingly, we will withhold at a rate of 30% on any portion of a dividend that is paid to a non-U.S. holder and attributable to that stockholder’s share of our excess inclusion income. See “Taxation of Granite Point-Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income.” As required by IRS guidance, we intend to notify our stockholders if a portion of a dividend paid by us is attributable to excess inclusion income.
In general, non-U.S. holders will not be considered to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business solely as a result of their ownership of our stock. In cases where the dividend income from a non-U.S. holder’s investment in our stock is, or is treated as, effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a U.S. trade or business, the non-U.S. holder generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same rates and in the same manner as domestic holders are taxed with respect to such dividends. Such income must generally be reported on a U.S. income tax return filed by or on behalf of the non-U.S. holder. The income may also be subject to the 30% branch profits tax in the case of a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation.
Non-Dividend Distributions. Unless our stock constitutes a U.S. real property interest, or USRPI, distributions that we make which are not dividends out of our earnings and profits will generally not be subject to U.S. income tax. If we cannot determine at the time a distribution is made whether or not the distribution will exceed current and accumulated earnings and profits, the distribution will be subject to
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withholding at the rate applicable to dividends. The non-U.S. holder may seek a refund from the IRS of any amounts withheld if it is subsequently determined that the distribution was, in fact, in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. If our stock constitutes a USRPI, as described below, distributions that we make in excess of the sum of (a) the stockholder’s proportionate share of our earnings and profits, plus (b) the stockholder’s basis in its stock, will be taxed under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980, as amended, or FIRPTA, at the rate of tax, including any applicable capital gains rates, that would apply to a domestic holder of the same type (e.g., an individual or a corporation, as the case may be), and the collection of the tax may be enforced by a refundable withholding tax at a rate of 15% of the amount by which the distribution exceeds the stockholder’s share of our earnings and profits. As described below, although it is not currently anticipated that our stock will constitute a USRPI, we cannot assure you that our stock will not become a USRPI.
Capital Gain Dividends. Under FIRPTA, a dividend that we make to a non-U.S. holder, to the extent attributable to gains from dispositions of USRPIs that we held directly or through pass-through subsidiaries (such gains, “USRPI capital gains”), will, except as described below, be considered effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. holder and will be subject to U.S. income tax at the rates applicable to U.S. individuals or corporations. We will be required to withhold tax at a rate equal to the maximum corporate rate (currently 21%) of the maximum amount that could have been designated as a USRPI capital gain dividend. Distributions subject to FIRPTA may also be subject to a 30% branch profits tax in the hands of a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation. A distribution is not a USRPI capital gain dividend if we held an interest in the underlying asset solely as a creditor. Capital gain dividends received by a non-U.S. holder that are attributable to dispositions of our assets other than USRPIs are not subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless (1) the gain is effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s U.S. trade or business, in which case the non-U.S. holder would be subject to the same treatment as U.S. holders with respect to such gain, or (2) the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who was present in the U.S. for 183 days or more during the taxable year and has a “tax home” in the U.S., in which case the non-U.S. holder will incur a 30% tax on such holder’s capital gains.
A dividend that would otherwise have been treated as a USRPI capital gain dividend will not be so treated or be subject to FIRPTA, and generally will not be treated as income that is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business, but instead will be treated in the same manner as ordinary income dividends (discussed above), provided that (1) the dividend is received with respect to a class of stock that is regularly traded on an established securities market located in the U.S., and (2) the recipient non-U.S. holder does not own more than 10% of that class of stock at any time during the year ending on the date on which the dividend is received. We anticipate that our common stock will be “regularly traded” on an established securities exchange.
Dispositions of Granite Point Stock. Unless our stock constitutes a USRPI, a sale of our stock by a non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. taxation under FIRPTA. Our stock will not be treated as a USRPI if less than 50% of our assets throughout a prescribed testing period consist of interests in real property located within the U.S., excluding, for this purpose, interests in real property solely in a capacity as a creditor. It is not currently anticipated that our stock will constitute a USRPI. However, we cannot assure you that our stock will not become a USRPI.
Even if the foregoing 50% test is not met, our stock nonetheless will not constitute a USRPI if we are a “domestically-controlled qualified investment entity.” A domestically-controlled qualified investment entity includes a REIT, less than 50% of value of which is held directly or indirectly by non-U.S. holders at all times during a specified testing period (after applying certain presumptions regarding the ownership of our stock, as described in the Code). We believe that we will be a domestically-controlled qualified investment entity, and that a sale of our stock should not be subject to taxation under FIRPTA. No assurance can be given that we will remain a domestically-controlled qualified investment entity.
In the event that we are not a domestically-controlled qualified investment entity, but our stock is “regularly traded,” as defined by applicable Treasury regulations, on an established securities market, a non-U.S. holder’s sale of our stock nonetheless would not be subject to tax under FIRPTA as a sale of a USRPI, provided that the selling non-U.S. holder held 10% or less of our stock at all times during a specified testing period. Our common stock is, and we expect that it will continue to be publicly traded.
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In addition, if a non-U.S. holder disposes of such common stock during the 30-day period preceding the ex-dividend date of any dividend payment, and such non-U.S. holder acquires or enters into a contract or option to acquire our common stock within 61 days of the first day of such 30-day period described above, and any portion of such dividend payment would, but for the disposition, be treated as USRPI capital gain to such non-U.S. holder under FIRPTA, then such non-U.S. holder will be treated as having USRPI capital gain in an amount that, but for the disposition, would have been treated as USRPI capital gain.
If gain on the sale of our stock were subject to taxation under FIRPTA, the non-U.S. holder would be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return and would be subject to the same treatment as a domestic holder with respect to such gain, subject to applicable alternative minimum tax and a special alternative minimum tax in the case of non-resident alien individuals, and the purchaser of the stock could be required to withhold 15% of the purchase price and remit such amount to the IRS.
Gain from the sale of our stock that would not otherwise be subject to FIRPTA will nonetheless be taxable in the U.S. to a non-U.S. holder in two cases: (1) if the non-U.S. holder’s investment in our stock is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business conducted by such non-U.S. holder, the non-U.S. holder will be subject to the same treatment as a domestic holder with respect to such gain, or (2) if the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who was present in the U.S. for 183 days or more during the taxable year and has a “tax home” in the U.S., the nonresident alien individual will be subject to a 30% tax on the individual’s capital gain.
Special FIRPTA Rules. Special rules under FIPRTA create certain exemptions from FIRPTA and otherwise modify the application of the foregoing FIRPTA rules for particular types of non-U.S. investors, including “qualified foreign pension funds” and their wholly owned foreign subsidiaries and certain widely held, publicly traded “qualified collective investment vehicles.” Non-U.S. stockholders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the applicability of these or any other special FIRPTA rules to their particular investment in our common stock.
Non-U.S. holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income and other tax consequences of owning our stock.
Other Withholding Rules. Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, withholding at a rate of 30% will generally be required on dividends in respect of our common stock held by or through certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the Treasury to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to shares in, and accounts maintained by, the institution to the extent such shares or accounts are held by certain U.S. persons and by certain non-U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons and to withhold on certain payments. Accordingly, the entity through which our common stock is held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Similarly, dividends in respect of our common stock held by an investor that is a non-financial non-U.S. entity that does not qualify under certain exemptions will be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (i) certifies 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 or the applicable withholding agent will in turn provide to the Secretary of the Treasury. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country, or future Treasury regulations or other guidance, may modify these requirements. We will not pay any additional amounts to stockholders in respect of any amounts withheld. Non-U.S. stockholders are encouraged to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of the legislation on their investment in our common stock.
Estate Tax. If our stock is owned or treated as owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident (as specially defined for U.S. federal estate tax purposes) of the U.S. at the time of such individual’s death, the stock will be includable in the individual’s gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise, and may therefore be subject to U.S. federal estate tax.
Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders
Tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts, generally are exempt from U.S. federal income taxation. Such entities, however, may be subject to taxation on their unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI. While some investments in real estate may
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generate UBTI, the IRS has ruled that dividend distributions from a REIT to a tax-exempt entity do not constitute UBTI. Based on that ruling, and provided that (1) a tax-exempt stockholder has not held our stock as “debt financed property” within the meaning of the Code (i.e., where the acquisition or holding of the property is financed through a borrowing by the tax-exempt stockholder), and (2) our stock is not otherwise used in an unrelated trade or business, distributions that we make and income from the sale of our stock generally should not give rise to UBTI to a tax-exempt stockholder.
To the extent that we are (or a part of us, or a disregarded subsidiary of ours is) a TMP, or if we hold residual interests in a REMIC, a portion of the dividends paid to a tax-exempt stockholder that is allocable to excess inclusion income may be treated as UBTI. If, however, excess inclusion income is allocable to some categories of tax-exempt stockholders that are not subject to UBTI, we might be subject to corporate level tax on such income, and, in that case, may reduce the amount of distributions to those stockholders whose ownership gave rise to the tax. See “Taxation of Granite Point — Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income.” As required by IRS guidance, we intend to notify our stockholders if a portion of a dividend paid by us is attributable to excess inclusion income.
Tax-exempt stockholders that are social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts, and qualified group legal services plans exempt from U.S. federal income taxation under sections 501(c)(7), (c)(9), (c)(17) and (c)(20) of the Code are subject to different UBTI rules, which generally require such stockholders to characterize distributions that we make as UBTI.
In certain circumstances, a pension trust that owns more than 10% of our stock could be required to treat a percentage of the dividends as UBTI, if we are a “pension-held REIT.” We will not be a pension-held REIT unless (1) we are required to “look through” one or more of our pension stockholders in order to satisfy the REIT closely held test and (2) either (i) one pension trust owns more than 25% of the value of our stock, or (ii) a group of pension trusts, each individually holding more than 10% of the value of our stock, collectively owns more than 50% of our stock. Certain restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock should generally prevent a tax-exempt entity from owning more than 10% of the value of our stock, and should generally prevent us from becoming a pension-held REIT.
Tax-exempt stockholders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the federal, state, local and foreign income and other tax consequences of owning our stock.
Other Tax Considerations
Legislative or Other Actions Affecting REITs
The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department. Changes to the U.S. federal tax laws and interpretations thereof could adversely affect an investment in our stock. We cannot predict the impact, if any, of these potential changes to our business or an investment in our stock.
State, Local and Foreign Taxes
We and our subsidiaries and stockholders may be subject to state or local taxation in various jurisdictions, including those in which we or they transact business, own property or reside. Our state and local tax treatment and that of our stockholders may not conform to the U.S. federal income tax treatment discussed above. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the application and effect of state and local income and other tax laws on an investment in our stock or other securities.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell the securities offered by this prospectus from time to time in one or more transactions, including without limitation:
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to or through underwriters or dealers, including, without limitation, through one or more underwritten offerings on a firm commitment or best efforts basis, and purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker dealer for its account;
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directly to purchasers, including through a specific bidding, auction or other process or in privately negotiated transactions;
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in ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers;
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in market transactions, including transactions on a national securities exchange or quotations service or over-the-counter market;
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in “at the market” offerings, within the meaning of Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market on an exchange or otherwise;
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to purchasers through agents;
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through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise;
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in block trades;
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by entering into transactions with third parties who may (or may cause others to) issue securities convertible or exchangeable into, or the return of which is derived in whole or in part from the value of, the securities covered hereby;
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through a combination of these methods; or
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through any other method permitted by applicable law and described in a prospectus supplement.
The foregoing dispositions may be made from time to time in one or more transactions at: (i) fixed prices, which may be changed, (ii) prevailing market prices at the time of sale, (iii) prices related to the prevailing market price, (iv) varying prices determined at the time of sale or (v) negotiated prices.
The prospectus supplement with respect to any offering of securities will include certain information, including, but not limited to:
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the terms of the offering;
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the name or names of any underwriters or agents and the amounts of securities underwritten or purchased by each of them, if any;
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the public offering price or purchase price of the securities and the net proceeds to be received by us from the sale;
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any delayed delivery arrangements;
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any initial public offering price;
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any underwriting discounts or commissions or agency fees and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation;
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any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and
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any securities exchange on which the securities may be listed.
Sale Through Underwriters or Dealers
If underwriters are used in the sale, the underwriters may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters.
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Unless we inform you otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the offered securities if they purchase any of them. The underwriters may change from time to time any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers.
Underwriters could make sales in privately negotiated transactions and/or any other method permitted by law, including sales deemed to be an “at-the-market” offering, sales made directly on the NYSE, the existing trading market for shares of our common stock, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange.
If dealer are used in the sale, we will sell the securities to them as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. The dealers participating in any sale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act, with respect to any sale of those securities.
Sale Through Agents
We may also sell the securities through agents designated by us from time to time. In the applicable prospectus supplement, we will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the offered securities, and we will describe any commissions payable to the agent. Unless we inform you otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, any agent will agree to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of its appointment.
Direct Sales
We may sell the securities directly. In that event, no underwriters or agents would be involved. We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell offered securities directly.
Institutional Purchasers
We may authorize agents, dealers or underwriters to solicit certain institutional investors to purchase offered securities on a delayed delivery basis pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified future date. The applicable prospectus supplement or pricing supplement, as the case may be will provide the details of any such arrangement, including the offering price and commissions payable on the solicitations.
We will enter into such delayed contracts only with institutional purchasers that we approve. These institutions may include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies and educational and charitable institutions.
Remarketing Arrangements
Securities may also be offered and sold, if so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, in connection with a remarketing upon their purchase, in accordance with a redemption or repayment pursuant to their terms, or otherwise, by one or more remarketing firms, acting as principals for their own accounts or as agents for us. Any remarketing firm will be identified and the terms of its agreements, if any, with us and its compensation will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Remarketing firms may be deemed underwriters under the Securities Act.
Delayed Delivery or Forward Contracts
If we so indicate in the prospectus supplement, we may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus under delayed delivery or forward contracts. These contracts would provide for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future at prices determined as described in the prospectus supplement. The prospectus supplement would describe the commission payable for solicitation of those contracts.
Derivative Transactions
We may enter into derivative transactions or hedging transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus
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supplement indicates, in connection with those derivatives, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, including in short sale transactions. If so, the third parties may use securities pledged by us or borrowed from us or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of stock, and may use securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives to close out any related open borrowings of stock. The third parties in these sale transactions will be underwriters and, if not identified in this prospectus, will be identified in the applicable prospectus supplement or in a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. In addition, we may otherwise loan or pledge securities to a financial institution or other third party that in turn may sell the securities short using this prospectus. Such financial institution or other third party may transfer its economic short position to investors in our securities or in connection with a concurrent offering of other securities.
General Information
In connection with the sale of the securities, underwriters may receive compensation from us or from purchasers of the securities, for whom they may act as agents, in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters may sell the securities to or through dealers, and these dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents, which is not expected to exceed that customary in the types of transactions involved. Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts or commissions they receive from us, and any profit on the resale of the securities they realize may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions, under the Securities Act. We will provide in the applicable prospectus supplement information regarding any underwriting discounts or other compensation that we pay to underwriters or agents in connection with the securities offering, and any discounts, concessions or commissions which underwriters allow to dealers.
We may have agreements with the underwriters, dealers, agents and remarketing firms to indemnify them against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute with respect to payments that the underwriters, dealers, agents or remarketing firms may be required to make. Underwriters, dealers, agents and remarketing firms may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of their businesses.
Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, each series of the securities will be a new issue with no established trading market, other than shares of our common stock, which are currently listed on the NYSE. We currently intend to list any shares of common stock sold pursuant to this prospectus on the NYSE. We may elect to list any series of shares of preferred stock on an exchange, but are not obligated to do so. It is possible that one or more underwriters may make a market in a series of the securities, but underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. Therefore, we can give no assurance about the liquidity of the trading market for any of the securities.
Under agreements we may enter into, we may indemnify underwriters, dealers, and agents who participate in the distribution of the securities against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute with respect to payments that the underwriters, dealers or agents may be required to make.
To facilitate the offering of securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain, or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than we sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option, if any. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing securities in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time. From time to time, we may engage in transactions with these underwriters, dealers, and agents in the ordinary course of business.
52
LEGAL MATTERS
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, certain legal matters will be passed upon for us will be passed upon for us by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Ballard Spahr LLP. If legal matters in connection with offerings made pursuant to this prospectus are passed upon by counsel for the underwriters, dealers or agents, if any, such counsel will be named in the prospectus supplement relating to such offering.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements and schedule of Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. incorporated by reference in Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the effectiveness of Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
53
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings, including the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, are also available to you on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Those filings are also available to the public on, or accessible through, our website at www.gpmtreit.com. The information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement, and you should not consider it a part of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.
54
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of filing those documents. Any reports filed by us with the SEC on or after the date of this prospectus will automatically update and, where applicable, supersede any information contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. This supplement incorporates by reference the documents listed below that we have previously filed with the SEC, other than any portions of such documents that are not deemed “filed” under the Exchange Act, in accordance with the Exchange Act and applicable SEC rules:
•
•
the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 22, 2024;
•
our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on May 7, 2024 and August 5, 2024, respectively;
•
•
•
All documents filed by us pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and before the termination of the offering also shall be deemed to be incorporated herein by reference. We are not, however, incorporating by reference any documents or portions thereof that are not deemed “filed” with the SEC, including any information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K.
We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus but not delivered with this prospectus (other than the exhibits to such documents which are not specifically incorporated by reference therein). You may request a copy of these filings, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address:
Michael J. Karber
General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A
New York, New York 10036
(212) 364-5500.
General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A
New York, New York 10036
(212) 364-5500.
55
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The expenses relating to the registration of the securities will be borne by the registrant.
| |
Securities and Exchange Commission Registration Fee
|
| | | $ | 64,568.15 | | |
| |
Accounting Fees and Expenses
|
| | | $ | * | | |
| |
Legal Fees and Expenses
|
| | | $ | * | | |
| |
Printing Fees
|
| | | $ | * | | |
| |
Transfer Agents and Trustees’ Fees and Expenses
|
| | | $ | * | | |
| |
Rating Agency Fees
|
| | | $ | * | | |
| |
Stock Exchange Listing Fees
|
| | | $ | * | | |
| |
Miscellaneous
|
| | | $ | * | | |
| |
Total
|
| | | $ | 64,568.15 | | |
*
Fees and expenses (other than the Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee to be paid upon the filing of this registration statement) will depend on the number and nature of the offerings, and cannot be estimated at this time. An estimate of the aggregate expenses in connection with the issuance and distribution of securities being offered will be included in any applicable prospectus supplement.
Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Maryland law permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter a provision limiting the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from (1) actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (2) active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment as being material to the cause of action. Our charter contains such a provision that eliminates such liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.
The Maryland General Corporations Law (“MGCL”) requires us (unless our 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 the director or officer is made or threatened to be made a party by reason of the director or officer’s service in that capacity. The MGCL permits a 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 threatened to be made a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that:
•
the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and (1) was committed in bad faith or (2) was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty;
•
the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services; or
•
in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.
A court may order indemnification if it determines that the director or officer is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification, even though the director or officer did not meet the prescribed standard of conduct or was adjudged liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received. However, indemnification for an adverse judgment in a suit by us or in our right, or for a judgment of liability on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received, is limited to expenses.
In addition, the MGCL permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon the corporation’s receipt of:
II-1
•
a written affirmation by the director or officer of the director or officer’s good faith belief that the director or officer has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the corporation; and
•
a written undertaking by the director or officer or on the director’s or officer’s behalf to repay the amount paid or reimbursed by the corporation if it is ultimately determined that the director or officer did not meet the standard of conduct.
Our charter provides that we have the power and our bylaws obligate us, to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law in effect from time to time, to indemnify and, without requiring a preliminary determination of the ultimate entitlement to indemnification, pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to:
•
any present or former director or officer who is made or threatened to be made a party to the proceeding by reason of the present or former director or officer’s service in that capacity; or
•
any individual who, while a director or officer of our company and at our request, serves or has served another corporation, real estate investment trust, partnership, joint venture, trust, limited liability company, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a director, officer, partner, trustee, member or manager of such corporation, real estate investment trust, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or any other enterprise and who is made or threatened to be made a party to the proceeding by reason of the individual’s service in that capacity.
Our charter and bylaws also permit us 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 ours or a predecessor of ours.
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that provide for indemnification to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.
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.
Item 16. Exhibits.
See the Exhibit Index, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 17. Undertakings.
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)
To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i)
To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(ii)
To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;
(iii)
To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
II-2
provided, however, that paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of this registration statement;
(2)
That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3)
To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4)
That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
(i)
Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in this registration statement; and
(ii)
Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in this registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of this registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into this registration statement or prospectus that is part of this registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in this registration statement or prospectus that was part of this registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
(5)
That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i)
Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii)
Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii)
The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv)
Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
II-3
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”) in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the SEC under Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act.
II-4
EXHIBIT INDEX
| |
Exhibit
Number |
| |
Exhibit Description
|
|
| | 1.1* | | | Form of Underwriting Agreement. | |
| | 3.1 | | | | |
| | 3.2 | | | | |
| | 3.3 | | | | |
| | 3.4* | | | Form of Preferred Stock Articles Supplementary. | |
| | 4.1 | | | | |
| | 4.2 | | | | |
| | 4.3 | | | | |
| | 4.4* | | | Form of Depositary Agreement (including form of Depositary Receipt). | |
| | 4.5* | | | Form of Purchase Contract Agreement (including form of Purchase Contract Certificate). | |
| | 4.6* | | | Form of Purchase Unit Agreement (including form of Purchase Unit Certificate). | |
| | 5.1 | | | | |
| | 5.2 | | | | |
| | 8.1 | | | | |
| | 23.1 | | | | |
| | 23.2 | | | | |
| | 23.3 | | | | |
| | 23.4 | | | | |
| | 24.1 | | | | |
| | 25.1 | | | | |
| | 25.2** | | |
Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility and Qualification under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 under the Subordinated Indenture.
|
|
| | 107 | | | |
*
To be filed by amendment to the Registration Statement or incorporated by reference from documents filed or to be filed with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
**
To be filed separately pursuant to Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, if applicable.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement on Form S-3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, State of New York on August 9, 2024.
GRANITE POINT MORTGAGE TRUST INC.
By:
/s/ John A. Taylor
John A. Taylor
President, Chief Executive Officer
President, Chief Executive Officer
POWER OF ATTORNEY
In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates stated. Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints John A. Taylor and Marcin Urbaszek and each of them severally, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, each acting along with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments (including post-effective amendments) and exhibits to the Registration Statement on Form S-3, and to any registration statement filed under SEC Rule 462, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement on Form S-3 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| |
Signature
|
| |
Title
|
| |
Date
|
|
| |
/s/ John A. Taylor
John A. Taylor
|
| |
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer) |
| |
August 9, 2024
|
|
| |
/s/ Marcin Urbaszek
Marcin Urbaszek
|
| |
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
| |
August 9, 2024
|
|
| |
/s/ Stephen G. Kasnet
Stephen G. Kasnet
|
| |
Chairman of the Board of Directors
|
| |
August 9, 2024
|
|
| |
/s/ Tanuja M. Dehne
Tanuja M. Dehne
|
| |
Director
|
| |
August 9, 2024
|
|
| |
/s/ Sheila K McGrath
Sheila K McGrath
|
| |
Director
|
| |
August 9, 2024
|
|
| |
/s/ W. Reid Sanders
W. Reid Sanders
|
| |
Director
|
| |
August 9, 2024
|
|
| |
/s/ Hope B. Woodhouse
Hope B. Woodhouse
|
| |
Director
|
| |
August 9, 2024
|
|
Exhibit 5.1
[Letterhead of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP]
August 9, 2024
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A
New York, New York 10036
| Re: | Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. | |
| Registration Statement on Form S-3 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special United States counsel to Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) to be filed on the date hereof by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale by the Company from time to time, pursuant to Rule 415 of the General Rules and Regulations of the Commission promulgated under the Securities Act (the “Rules and Regulations”), of (i) shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”), (ii) shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Preferred Stock”), which may be issued in one or more series, (iii) depositary receipts (the “Receipts”) representing fractional shares of Preferred Stock, which are called depositary shares (the “Depositary Shares”) and which may be issued pursuant to one or more depositary agreements (each, a “Depositary Agreement”) proposed to be entered into between the Company and one or more bank or trust companies to be named in the applicable Depositary Agreement (each, a “Bank Depositary”), (iv) senior debt securities of the Company (the “Senior Debt Securities”), which may be issued in one or more series under the indenture, dated as of October 12, 2018 (the “Senior Indenture”), between the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (as successor in interest to Wells Fargo Bank, National Association), as trustee, which is filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, (v) subordinated debt securities of the Company (together with the Senior Debt Securities, the “Debt Securities”), which may be issued in one or more series under an indenture (the “Subordinated Indenture” and, together with the Senior Indenture, the “Indentures”) proposed to be entered into by the Company and the trustee to be named therein, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, (vi) purchase contracts (“Purchase Contracts”) obligating the holders thereof to purchase from the Company, and the Company to sell to such holders, shares of Common Stock, shares of Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares or Debt Securities at a future date or dates, which may be issued pursuant to one or more purchase contract agreements (each, a “Purchase Contract Agreement”) proposed to be entered into by the Company and one or more purchase contract agents to be named therein, (vii) units comprised of one or more securities in any combination (the “Units”), which may be issued pursuant to one or more agreements (each, a “Unit Agreement”) proposed to be entered into by the Company and one or more unit agents to be named therein and (viii) such indeterminate number of shares of Common Stock, Preferred Stock or Depositary Shares and indeterminate amount of Debt Securities as may be issued upon conversion, exchange or exercise, as applicable, of any Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares or Debt Securities or settlement of any Purchase Contracts or Units, including such shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock as may be issued pursuant to anti-dilution adjustments determined at the time of offering (collectively, “Indeterminate Securities”). The Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares, Debt Securities, Purchase Contracts, Units and Indeterminate Securities offered pursuant to the Registration Statement are collectively referred to herein as the “Securities.”
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 2
This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act.
In rendering the opinions stated herein, we have examined and relied upon the following:
(a) the Registration Statement;
(b) an executed copy of the Senior Indenture filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement; and
(c) the form of Subordinated Indenture filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.
We have also examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such records of the Company and such agreements, certificates and receipts of public officials, certificates of officers or other representatives of the Company and others, and such other documents as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinions stated below.
In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, including electronic signatures, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as facsimile, electronic, certified or photocopied copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such copies. As to any facts relevant to the opinions stated herein that we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others and of public officials.
We do not express any opinion with respect to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of New York (the foregoing being referred to as “Opined-on Law”). The Securities may be issued from time to time on a delayed or continuous basis, and this opinion is limited to the laws, including the rules and regulations, as in effect on the date hereof, which laws are subject to change with possible retroactive effect.
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 3
As used herein, “Transaction Documents” means the Depositary Agreements, the Indentures and the supplemental indentures and officer’s certificates establishing the terms of the Debt Securities pursuant thereto, the Purchase Contract Agreements, the Unit Agreements and any applicable underwriting or purchase agreement.
The opinions stated in paragraphs 1 and 4 below presume that all of the following (collectively, the “general conditions”) shall have occurred prior to the issuance of the Securities referred to therein: (i) the Registration Statement, as finally amended (including all necessary post-effective amendments), has become effective under the Securities Act; (ii) an appropriate prospectus supplement or term sheet with respect to such Securities has been prepared, delivered and filed in compliance with the Securities Act and the applicable Rules and Regulations; (iii) the applicable Transaction Documents shall have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto, including, if such Securities are to be sold or otherwise distributed pursuant to a firm commitment underwritten offering, the underwriting agreement or purchase agreement with respect thereto; (iv) the Board of Directors of the Company, including any duly authorized committee thereof, has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and sale of such Securities and related matters and appropriate officers of the Company have taken all related action as directed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors of the Company; and (v) the terms of the applicable Transaction Documents and the issuance and sale of such Securities have been duly established in conformity with the articles of incorporation of the Company so as not to violate any applicable law, the articles of incorporation of the Company or the bylaws of the Company, or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company or its properties, and so as to comply with any requirement or restriction imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company or its properties.
Based upon the foregoing and subject to the qualifications and assumptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that:
1. With respect to any Depositary Shares offered by the Company, including any Indeterminate Securities constituting Depositary Shares (the “Offered Depositary Shares”), when (a) the general conditions shall have been satisfied, (b) the Preferred Stock relating to such Offered Depositary Shares has been duly authorized for issuance by the Company, (c) the Offered Depositary Shares have been duly executed, delivered, countersigned, issued and sold in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Depositary Agreement, and the Offered Depositary Shares have been delivered to the Bank Depositary for deposit in accordance with the applicable Depositary Agreement and (d) the Receipts evidencing the Depositary Shares have been duly issued against deposit of the related shares of Preferred Stock with the Bank Depositary in accordance with the applicable Depositary Agreement, the Offered Depositary Shares evidenced by such Receipts will entitle the registered holder thereof to the rights specified in such Receipt and in the Depositary Agreement.
2. With respect to any series of Debt Securities offered by the Company, including any Indeterminate Securities constituting Debt Securities of such series (the “Offered Debt Securities”), when (a) the general conditions shall have been satisfied, (b) with respect to any Offered Debt Securities that are Subordinated Debt Securities, the Subordinated Debt Indenture has been qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, (c) the issuance, sale and terms of the Offered Debt Securities and related matters have been approved and established in conformity with the applicable Transaction Documents and (d) the certificates evidencing the Offered Debt Securities have been issued in a form that complies with the provisions of the applicable Transaction Documents and have been duly executed and authenticated in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture and any other applicable Transaction Documents and issued and sold or otherwise distributed in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Transaction Document upon payment of the agreed-upon consideration therefor, the Offered Debt Securities will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their respective terms under the laws of the State of New York.
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 4
3. With respect to any Purchase Contracts offered by the Company (the “Offered Purchase Contracts”), when (a) the general conditions shall have been satisfied, (b) the Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares and/or Debt Securities relating to such Offered Purchase Contracts have been duly authorized for issuance by the Company and (c) the Offered Purchase Contracts have been duly executed, delivered and countersigned in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Purchase Contract Agreement, the Offered Purchase Contracts, when issued and sold or otherwise distributed in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Transaction Document upon payment of the agreed-upon consideration therefor, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their respective terms under the laws of the State of New York.
4. With respect to any Units offered by the Company (the “Offered Units”), when (a) the general conditions shall have been satisfied, (b) the Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares or Debt Securities, included in such Offered Units, in any combination, have been duly authorized for issuance by the Company and (c) certificates evidencing the Offered Units have been duly executed, delivered and countersigned in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Unit Agreement, the Offered Units, when issued and sold or otherwise distributed in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Transaction Document upon payment of the agreed-upon consideration therefor, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their respective terms under the laws of the State of New York.
The opinions stated herein are subject to the following qualifications:
(a) we do not express any opinion with respect to the effect on the opinions stated herein of any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer, preference and other similar laws or governmental orders affecting creditors’ rights generally, and the opinions stated herein are limited by such laws and orders and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in equity or at law);
(b) we do not express any opinion with respect to any law, rule or regulation that is applicable to any party to any of the Transaction Documents or the transactions contemplated thereby solely because such law, rule or regulation is part of a regulatory regime applicable to any such party or any of its affiliates as a result of the specific assets or business operations of such party or such affiliates;
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 5
(c) except to the extent expressly stated in the opinions contained herein, we have assumed that each of the Transaction Documents constitutes the valid and binding obligation of each party to such Transaction Document, enforceable against such party in accordance with its terms;
(d) we do not express any opinion with respect to the enforceability of any provision contained in any Transaction Document relating to any indemnification, contribution, non-reliance, exculpation, release, limitation or exclusion of remedies, waiver or other provisions having similar effect that may be contrary to public policy or violative of federal or state securities laws, rules or regulations, or to the extent any such provision purports to, or has the effect of, waiving or altering any statute of limitations;
(e) we do not express any opinion with respect to the enforceability of any provision of any Transaction Document to the extent that such provision purports to bind the Company to the exclusive jurisdiction of any particular federal court or courts;
(f) we call to your attention that irrespective of the agreement of the parties to any Transaction Document, a court may decline to hear a case on grounds of forum non conveniens or other doctrine limiting the availability of such court as a forum for resolution of disputes; in addition, we call to your attention that we do not express any opinion with respect to the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts of the United States of America in any action arising out of or relating to any Transaction Document;
(g) we have assumed that any agent of service will have accepted appointment as agent to receive service of process and call to your attention that we do not express any opinion if and to the extent such agent shall resign such appointment; further, we do not express any opinion with respect to the irrevocability of the designation of such agent to receive service of process;
(h) we have assumed that the choice of New York law to govern the Indentures and any supplemental indenture thereto is a valid and legal provision;
(i) subsequent to the effectiveness of the Indentures and immediately prior to the issuance of any series of Offered Debt Securities, the applicable Indenture has not been amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified in any way that affects or relates to such series of Offered Debt Securities other than by the applicable Transaction Documents relating to such series of Offered Debt Securities;
(j) we have assumed that the laws of the State of New York will be chosen to govern any Depositary Agreements, Purchase Contract Agreements or Unit Agreements and that such choice is and will be a valid and legal provision;
(k) we have assumed that the Subordinated Debt Indenture will be duly authorized, executed and delivered by the trustee in substantially the form reviewed by us;
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August 9, 2024
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(l) the shares of Preferred Stock that will be deposited with the Bank Depositary in connection with the issuance of the Offered Depositary Shares will have been duly authorized, validly issued and will be fully paid and nonassessable and that (i) any preemptive rights with respect to such Preferred Stock will have been validly waived or exercised, (ii) such Preferred Stock will be free and clear of any pledge, lien, security interest, charge, claim, equity or encumbrance of any kind or any restriction on transfer or voting, and (iii) certificates for the Preferred Stock will have been duly executed and delivered and will have been properly deposited with the Bank Depositary pursuant to the terms of the Depositary Agreement;
(m) our opinion addresses only the Offered Depositary Shares and the Receipt issued pursuant to the Depositary Agreement and we express no opinion with respect to the Preferred Stock deposited with the Bank Depositary; and
(n) to the extent that any opinion relates to the enforceability of the choice of New York law and choice of New York forum provisions contained in any Transaction Document, the opinions stated herein are subject to the qualification that such enforceability may be subject to, in each case, (i) the exceptions and limitations in New York General Obligations Law sections 5-1401 and 5-1402 and (ii) principles of comity and constitutionality.
In addition, in rendering the foregoing opinions we have assumed that:
(a) the Company (i) is duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing, (ii) has requisite legal status and legal capacity under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization and (iii) has complied and will comply with all aspects of the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization in connection with the transactions contemplated by, and the performance of its obligations under, the Transaction Documents;
(b) the Company has the corporate power and authority to execute, deliver and perform all its obligations under each of the Transaction Documents;
(c) the Senior Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all requisite corporate action on the part of the Company;
(d) neither the execution and delivery by the Company of the Transaction Documents nor the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder, including the issuance and sale of the applicable Securities: (i) conflicts or will conflict with the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the Company, (ii) constitutes or will constitute a violation of, or a default under, any lease, indenture, agreement or other instrument to which the Company or its property is subject, (iii) contravenes or will contravene any order or decree of any governmental authority to which the Company or its property is subject or (iv) violates or will violate any law, rule or regulation to which the Company or its property is subject (except that we do not make the assumption set forth in this clause (iv) with respect to the Opined-on Law); and
(e) neither the execution and delivery by the Company of the Transaction Documents nor the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder, including the issuance and sale of the applicable Securities, requires or will require the consent, approval, licensing or authorization of, or any filing, recording or registration with, any governmental authority under any law, rule or regulation of any jurisdiction.
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 7
We hereby consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Legal Matters” in the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement. We also hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations. This opinion is expressed as of the date hereof unless otherwise expressly stated, and we disclaim any undertaking to advise you of any subsequent changes in the facts stated or assumed herein or of any subsequent changes in applicable laws.
| Very truly yours, | |
| /s/ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP |
MJZ
Exhibit 5.2
111 S. Calvert Street
27th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202-6174
Tel 410.528.5600
Fax 410.528.5650
www.ballardspahr.com
August 9, 2024
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
3 Bryant Park
Suite 2400-A
New York, New York 10036
| Re: | Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”) – Registration Statement on Form S-3 pertaining to the registration of up to $500,000,000 aggregate offering price of: (i) shares of common stock of the Company, par value $.01 per share (“Common Stock”); (ii) shares of preferred stock of the Company, par value $.01 per share (“Preferred Stock”); (iii) shares of Preferred Stock represented by Depositary Shares (“Depositary Shares”); (iv) debt securities of the Company (“Debt Securities”); (v) purchase contracts to purchase shares of Common Stock, shares of Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares or Debt Securities or a combination of the foregoing (“Purchase Contracts”) and (v) purchase units, each representing ownership of a Purchase Contract and other securities or obligations issued by the Company or third parties, including U.S. treasury securities, or any combination of the foregoing, securing the holder’s obligation to purchase the securities under the Purchase Contracts (“Purchase Units”) |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as Maryland corporate counsel to the Company in connection with the registration by the Company of shares of Common Stock, shares of Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares, Debt Securities, Purchase Contracts and Purchase Units (each a “Security” and collectively, the “Securities”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), on the Form S-3 Registration Statement (the “Registration Statement”), filed or to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on or about the date hereof. You have requested our opinion with respect to the matters set forth below.
In our capacity as Maryland corporate counsel to the Company and for the purposes of this opinion, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the following documents (collectively, the “Documents”):
BALLARD SPAHR LLP
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 2
| (i) | the corporate charter of the Company (the “Charter”) represented by Articles of Amendment and Restatement filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland (the “Department”) on June 19, 2017, Articles Supplementary filed with the Department on June 19, 2017, Articles Supplementary filed with the Department on November 29, 2021 and Articles Supplementary filed with the Department on January 20, 2022; |
| (ii) | the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, adopted on or as of June 14, 2017 (the “Bylaws”); |
| (iii) | resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) on August 5, 2024 (the “Directors’ Resolutions”); |
| (iv) | the Registration Statement and the related form of prospectus included therein, in substantially the form to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Act; |
| (v) | a status certificate of the Department, dated as of a recent date, to the effect that the Company is duly incorporated and existing under the laws of the State of Maryland; |
| (vi) | a certificate of two officers of the Company dated as of a recent date (the “Officers’ Certificate”), to the effect that, among other things, the Charter, the Bylaws, and the Directors’ Resolutions are true, correct and complete, have not been rescinded or modified and are in full force and effect on the date of the Officers’ Certificate; and |
| (vii) | such other documents and matters as we have deemed necessary and appropriate to render the opinions set forth in this letter, subject to the limitations, assumptions, and qualifications noted below. |
In reaching the opinions set forth below, we have assumed the following:
| (a) | each person executing any of the Documents on behalf of any party (other than the Company) is duly authorized to do so; |
| (b) | each natural person executing any of the Documents is legally competent to do so; |
| (c) | any of the Documents submitted to us as originals are authentic; the form and content of any Documents submitted to us as unexecuted drafts do not differ in any respect relevant to this opinion from the form and content of such documents as executed and delivered; any of the Documents submitted to us as certified, facsimile or photostatic copies conform to the original document; all signatures on all of the Documents are genuine; all public records reviewed or relied upon by us or on our behalf are true and complete; all statements and information contained in the Documents are true and complete; there has been no modification of, or amendment to, any of the Documents, and there has been no waiver of any provision of any of the Documents by action or omission of the parties or otherwise; |
BALLARD SPAHR LLP
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 3
| (d) | the resolutions to be adopted subsequent to the date hereof, and the actions to be taken by the Board of Directors subsequent to the date hereof, including, but not limited to, the adoption of all resolutions and the taking of all actions necessary to authorize the issuance and sale (and execution and delivery, if applicable) of the Securities by the Company in accordance with the procedures set forth in Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 below, will occur at duly called meetings at which a quorum of the incumbent directors of the Company is present and acting throughout, or by unanimous written consent of all incumbent directors, all in accordance with the Charter and Bylaws of the Company and applicable law; |
| (e) | the number of shares of Preferred Stock and the number of shares of Common Stock to be offered and sold subsequent to the date hereof as Securities under the Registration Statement, together with the number of shares of Preferred Stock and the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of, or in exchange for, or pursuant to, any Securities offered and sold subsequent to the date hereof, will not, in the aggregate, exceed the number of shares of Preferred Stock, and the number of shares of Common Stock, respectively, authorized in the Charter of the Company, less the number of shares of Preferred Stock and the number of shares of Common Stock, respectively, authorized and reserved for issuance and issued and outstanding on the date subsequent to the date hereof on which the Securities are authorized, the date subsequent to the date hereof on which the Securities are issued and delivered, the date subsequent to the date hereof on which any Securities are converted into, or exchanged for, shares of Common Stock or shares of Preferred Stock, respectively, or pursuant to which any shares of Common Stock or shares of Preferred Stock are purchased and sold and the date subsequent to the date hereof on which shares of Preferred Stock and shares of Common Stock, respectively, are issued upon in conversion of, or in exchange for, or sold pursuant to, such Securities; |
| (f) | none of the terms of any of the Securities or any agreements related thereto to be established subsequent to the date hereof, nor the issuance or delivery of any such Securities containing such terms established subsequent to the date hereof, nor the compliance by the Company with the terms of any such Securities or agreements established subsequent to the date hereof will violate any applicable law or will conflict with, or result in a breach or violation of, the Charter or Bylaws of the Company, or any instrument or agreement to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or any order or decree of any court, administrative or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; |
BALLARD SPAHR LLP
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 4
| (g) | the form of certificate or other instrument or document representing the Securities approved subsequent to the date hereof will conform in all respects to the requirements applicable under Maryland law; |
| (h) | none of the Securities to be offered and sold subsequent to the date hereof, and none of the shares of Preferred Stock or shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion or exchange of, or purchase and sale pursuant to, any Securities, will be issued in violation of the provisions of Article VII of the Charter of the Company relating to restrictions on ownership and transfer of shares of stock of the Company; |
| (i) | all Depositary Shares offered and sold subsequent to the date hereof will be issued under a valid, legally binding and enforceable deposit agreement; all Debt Securities to be offered and sold subsequent to the date hereof will be issued and sold under a valid, legally binding and enforceable indenture or similar instrument; all Purchase Contracts will be valid, legally binding and enforceable agreements; and all instruments representing Purchase Units will be valid, legally binding and enforceable; |
| (j) | prior to or contemporaneous with the authorization, execution and delivery of any Purchase Contracts or Purchase Units by the Company issued, executed and delivered subsequent to the date hereof, the issuance of the shares of Common Stock or shares of Preferred Stock or Depositary Shares, the issuance, execution and delivery of the Debt Securities, and the issuance, execution and delivery of any other securities or obligations of the Company relating to such Purchase Contracts or Purchase Units, as applicable, will have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company; and |
| (k) | none of the Securities to be offered and sold subsequent to the date hereof, and none of the shares of Preferred Stock or shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion or exchange of, or the purchase and sale pursuant to, any such Securities, will be issued and sold to an Interested Stockholder of the Company or an Affiliate thereof, all as defined in Subtitle 6 of Title 3 of the Maryland General Corporation Law (the “MGCL”), in violation of Section 3-602 of the MGCL. |
BALLARD SPAHR LLP
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 5
Based on our review of the foregoing and subject to the assumptions and qualifications set forth herein, it is our opinion that, as of the date of this letter:
| (1) | The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland. |
| (2) | Upon due authorization by the Board of Directors of a designated number of shares of Common Stock for issuance at a minimum price or value of consideration as set by the Board of Directors, all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company will have been taken to authorize the issuance and sale of such shares of Common Stock, and when such shares of Common Stock are issued and delivered against payment of the consideration therefor as set by the Board of Directors, such shares of Common Stock will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. |
| (3) | Upon: (a) designation by the Board of Directors of one or more series of Preferred Stock to distinguish each such series from any other existing series of Preferred Stock; (b) setting by the Board of Directors of the number of shares of Preferred Stock to be included in such series; (c) establishment by the Board of Directors of the preferences, conversion and other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends, qualifications and terms and conditions of redemption of such series of Preferred Stock; (d) filing by the Company with the Department of articles supplementary setting forth a description of such series of Preferred Stock, including the preferences, conversion and other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends, qualifications and terms and conditions of redemption as set by the Board of Directors and a statement that such series of the Preferred Stock has been classified by the Board of Directors under the authority contained in the Charter, and the acceptance for record by the Department of such articles supplementary; (e) due authorization by the Board of Directors of a designated number of shares of such series of Preferred Stock for issuance at a minimum price or value of consideration as set by the Board of Directors, and (f) reservation and due authorization for issuance by the Board of Directors of any shares of any other series of Preferred Stock and/or any shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of such series of Preferred Stock in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Paragraph 3 and in Paragraph 2 above, respectively, all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company will have been taken to authorize the issuance and sale of the shares of such series of Preferred Stock and when such shares of such series of Preferred Stock are issued and delivered against payment of the consideration therefor as set by the Board of Directors, such shares of such series of Preferred Stock will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. |
BALLARD SPAHR LLP
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 6
| (4) | The Company has the corporate power to enter into deposit agreements, and upon: (a) completion of the procedures set forth in Paragraph 3 above for the authorization of the issuance and sale of shares of any series of Preferred Stock, and due authorization and approval by the Board of Directors of a deposit agreement and the delivery of Depositary Shares pursuant to such deposit agreement; (b) due execution of such deposit agreement on behalf of the Company; and (c) compliance with the conditions established by the Board of Directors for the delivery of the Depositary Shares, such Depositary Shares will have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company and such Depositary Shares may be delivered by or on behalf of the Company, and the Preferred Stock represented by the Depositary Shares will, upon issuance and delivery against payment of the consideration therefor as set by the Board of Directors, be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. |
| (5) | The Company has the corporate power to enter into, execute and deliver Debt Securities and upon: (a) designation and titling by the Board of Directors of the Debt Securities; (b) establishment by the Board of Directors of the terms, conditions and provisions of such Debt Securities; (c) establishment by the Board of Directors of the aggregate principal amount of such Debt Securities and any limit on such aggregate principal amount; (d) due authorization by the Board of Directors of the form, terms and conditions of one or more indentures or similar instruments pursuant to which such Debt Securities will be issued, each dated as of a date prior to the issuance of such Debt Securities; (e) due authorization by the Board of Directors of the execution, delivery and performance of such Debt Securities by the Company, and the issuance and sale of such Debt Securities by the Company at a minimum price or value of consideration as set by the Board of Directors; and (f) reservation and due authorization for issuance by the Board of Directors of any shares of Common Stock and/or any shares of Preferred Stock issuable upon exchange of such Debt Securities in accordance with the procedures set forth in Paragraphs 2 and 3 above, respectively, due authorization by the Board of Directors of any Debt Securities of another series issuable upon conversion of or in exchange for such Debt Securities in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Paragraph 5 and/or due authorization by the Board of Directors of any other securities of the Company issuable upon conversion of, or in exchange for, such Debt Securities in accordance with resolutions adopted or actions taken by the Board of Directors subsequent to the date hereof at a minimum price or value of consideration as set by the Board of Directors, all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company will have been taken to authorize such Debt Securities. |
BALLARD SPAHR LLP
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 7
| (6) | The Company has the corporate power to enter into, execute and deliver Purchase Contracts, and upon (a) completion of the procedures set forth in Paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and/or 5, as applicable, for authorization of the issuance and sale of shares of Common Stock, shares of Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares and/or Debt Securities, as applicable, to be purchased and sold under the Purchase Contracts; (b) due authorization and approval by the Board of Directors of the terms, conditions and provisions of the Purchase Contracts, the execution, delivery, issuance and sale thereof by the Company for a minimum price or value of consideration, and the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder, including the sale of a specified number or amount of shares of Common Stock, shares of Preferred Stock, Depositary Shares and/or Debt Securities pursuant thereto at a future date or dates; and compliance with the conditions established by the Board of Directors for issuance, sale and delivery of the Purchase Contracts, the execution, delivery, issuance and sale of the Purchase Contracts will have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company. |
| (7) | The Company has the corporate power to enter into, execute and deliver Purchase Units, and upon (a) completion of the procedures set forth in Paragraph 6 for authorization of Purchase Contracts, and Paragraph 5 for authorization of Debt Securities, if applicable, and due authorization and approval by the Board of Directors of the terms, conditions and provisions, and the execution, delivery and issuance, of any other securities or obligations of the Company, if applicable, the ownership thereof, or other interest therein, is represented by the Purchase Units; and (b) due authorization and approval by the Board of Directors of the terms, conditions and provisions of the Purchase Units, the execution, delivery, issuance and sale thereof by the Company for a minimum price or value of consideration and the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder; and (c) compliance with the conditions established by the Board of Directors for issuance, sale and delivery of the Purchase Units, the execution, delivery, issuance and sale of the Purchase Units will have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company. |
The foregoing opinion is limited to the laws of the State of Maryland, and we do not express any opinion herein concerning any other law. We express no opinion as to the applicability or effect of any federal or state securities laws, including the securities laws of the State of Maryland, or as to federal or state laws regarding fraudulent transfers. To the extent that any matter as to which our opinion is expressed herein would be governed by the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Maryland, we do not express any opinion on such matter.
BALLARD SPAHR LLP
Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 8
This opinion letter is issued as of the date hereof and is necessarily limited to laws now in effect and facts and circumstances presently existing and brought to our attention. We assume no obligation to supplement this opinion letter if any applicable laws change after the date hereof, or if we become aware of any facts or circumstances that now exist or that occur or arise in the future and may change the opinions expressed herein after the date hereof.
We consent to your filing this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and further consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the applications to securities commissioners for the various states of the United States for registration of the Company Securities. We also consent to the identification of our firm as Maryland corporate counsel to the Company in the section of the Registration Statement entitled “Legal Matters.” In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Act.
| Very truly yours, | |
| /s/ Ballard Spahr LLP |
Exhibit 8.1
[Letterhead of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP]
August 9, 2024
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
3 Bryant Park, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10036
| Re: | Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
You have requested our opinion concerning certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc., a Maryland corporation, (“GPMT”), in connection with the filing by GPMT of a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Registration Statement”). We have acted as tax counsel to GPMT in connection with the filing of the Registration Statement.
In connection with this opinion, we have examined and relied on originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the Registration Statement and such other documentation and information provided to us by you as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinion set forth herein. In addition, you have provided us with, and we are relying upon, a certificate containing certain factual statements, factual representations and covenants of officers of GPMT (the “Officers’ Certificate”) relating to, among other things, the actual and proposed operations of GPMT and the entities in which it holds, or has held, a direct or indirect interest (collectively, the “Company”). For purposes of our opinion, although we are not aware of any facts inconsistent with the statements, representations, and covenants in the Officers’ Certificate, we have not independently verified the facts, statements, representations and covenants set forth in the Officers’ Certificate, the Registration Statement, or in any other document. In particular, we note that the Company may engage in transactions in connection with which we have not provided legal advice, and have not reviewed, and of which we may be unaware. We have, consequently, assumed and relied on GPMT’s representations that the statements, representations, and covenants presented in the Officers’ Certificate, the Registration Statement, and other documents, or otherwise furnished to us, accurately and completely describe all material facts relevant to such statements, representations and covenants. We have assumed that all such facts, statements, representations and covenants are true without regard to any qualification as to knowledge, belief, intent, materiality, or otherwise. Our opinion is conditioned on the continuing accuracy and completeness of such facts, statements, representations and covenants. Any material change or inaccuracy in the facts, statements, representations, and covenants referred to, set forth, or assumed herein or in the Officers’ Certificate may affect our conclusions set forth herein. Additionally, we have, with your permission, assumed the correctness of certain prior opinions previously issued by Dechert LLP that certain notes issued by the Company will be treated as indebtedness for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Moreover, we have assumed, consistent the conclusions of prior opinions of counsel received by GPMT, that GPMT was organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and that its actual method of operation enabled it to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, for its taxable year ended on December 31, 2017, and its taxable year ended on December 31, 2018.
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 2
In our review of certain documents in connection with our opinion as expressed below, we have assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified, conformed, photostatic, or electronic copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such copies. Where documents have been provided to us in draft form, we have assumed that the final executed versions of such documents will not differ materially from such drafts.
Our opinion is also based on the correctness of the following assumptions: (i) GPMT and each of the entities comprising the Company has been and will continue to be operated in accordance with the laws of the jurisdictions in which they were formed and in the manner described in the relevant organizational documents, (ii) there will be no changes in the applicable laws of the State of Maryland or of any other jurisdiction under the laws of which any of the entities comprising the Company have been formed, and (iii) each of the written agreements to which the Company is a party has been and will be implemented, construed and enforced in accordance with its terms.
In rendering our opinion, we have considered and relied upon the Code, the regulations promulgated thereunder (“Regulations”), and administrative rulings and other Treasury interpretations of the Code and the Regulations by the courts and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), all as they exist at the date hereof. It should be noted that the Code, Regulations, judicial decisions, and administrative interpretations are subject to change or differing interpretations at any time and, in some circumstances, with retroactive effect. A material change that is made after the date hereof in any of the foregoing bases for our opinion could affect our conclusions set forth herein. There can be no assurance, moreover, that our opinion will be accepted by the IRS, or, if challenged, by a court.
Based on and subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that, commencing with GPMT’s taxable year that ended on December 31, 2019, GPMT has been organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) under the Code, and its actual method of operation through the date of this opinion has enabled, and its proposed method of operation will continue to enable, it to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT for its taxable year ending December 31, 2024, and subsequent years. As noted in the Registration Statement, GPMT’s qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon its ability to meet, through actual operating results, certain requirements relating to the sources of its income, the nature of its assets, its distribution levels and the diversity of its stock ownership, and various other qualification tests imposed under the Code, the results of which are not reviewed by us. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the actual results of GPMT’s operations for any one taxable year will satisfy the requirements for taxation as a REIT under the Code.
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
August 9, 2024
Page 3
We express no opinion on any issue relating to GPMT or any investment therein or any other matter, other than as expressly stated herein. This opinion is furnished to you in connection with the filing of the Registration Statement. We consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP under the headings “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” and “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. This opinion is expressed as of the date hereof, and we are under no obligation to supplement or revise our opinion to reflect any legal developments or factual matters arising subsequent to the date hereof, or the impact of any information, document, certificate, record, statement, representation, covenant, or assumption relied upon herein that becomes incorrect or untrue.
| Very truly yours, | |
| /s/ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP |
NG
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Experts” in the Registration Statement (Form S-3) and related Prospectus of Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. for the registration of its common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, debt securities, purchase contracts and purchased units and to the incorporation by reference therein of our reports dated March 1, 2024, with respect to the consolidated financial statements and schedule of Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc., and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc., included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
| /s/ Ernst & Young LLP | |
| Minneapolis, MN | |
| August 9, 2024 |
Exhibit 25.1
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM T-1
STATEMENT OF ELIGIBILITY
UNDER THE TRUST INDENTURE ACT OF 1939 OF A
CORPORATION DESIGNATED TO ACT AS TRUSTEE
CHECK IF AN APPLICATION TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY OF A
TRUSTEE PURSUANT TO SECTION 305(b)(2) [___]
Computershare Trust Company, National Association
(Exact name of trustee as specified in its charter)
| National
Banking Association (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization if not a U.S. national bank) |
04-3401714 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
| 150
Royall Street, Canton, MA (Address of principal executive offices) |
02021 (Zip Code) |
Law Department Computershare Trust Company, National Association 150 Royall Street, Canton, MA 02021 (781) 575-2000 (Name, address and telephone number of agent for service) | |
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
(Exact name of obligor as specified in its charter)
Maryland |
61-1843143 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
3 Bryant Park, Suite 2400A New York, NY (Address of principal executive offices) |
10036 |
Debt Securities
(Title of the indenture securities)
| Item 1. | General Information. Furnish the following information as to the trustee: |
| (a) | Name and address of each examining or supervising authority to which it is subject. | |
| Comptroller of the Currency | ||
| 340 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor | ||
| New York, NY 10017-2613 |
| (b) | Whether it is authorized to exercise corporate trust powers. |
| The trustee is authorized to exercise corporate trust powers. |
| Item 2. | Affiliations with the obligor. If the obligor is an affiliate of the trustee, describe such affiliation. |
| None. |
| Items 3-15. | No responses are included for Items 3-15 of this Form T-1 because, to the best of the Trustee’s knowledge, neither the obligor nor any guarantor is in default under any Indenture for which the Trustee acts as Trustee and the Trustee is not a foreign trustee as provided under Item 15. |
| Item 16. | List of exhibits. List below all exhibits filed as a part of this statement of eligibility. |
| 1. | A copy of the articles of association of the trustee. (See Exhibit 1 to Form T-1 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-200089). |
| 2. | A copy of the certificate of authority of the trustee to commence business. |
| 3. | A copy of the Comptroller of the Currency Certification of Fiduciary Powers for Computershare Trust Company, National Association. |
| 4. | A copy of the existing bylaws of the trustee, as now in effect. (See Exhibit 4 to Form T-1 filed with Registration Statement No. 333-200089). |
| 5. | Not applicable |
| 6. | The consent of the Trustee required by Section 321(b) of the Act. |
| 7. | A copy of the latest report of condition of the trustee published pursuant to law or the requirements of its supervising or examining authority. |
| 8. | Not applicable |
| 9. | Not applicable |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the trustee, Computershare Trust Company, National Association, a national banking association, organized and existing under the laws of the United States, has duly caused this statement of eligibility to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, all in the City of St. Paul, and State of Minnesota, on the 9th day of August, 2024.
| COMPUTERSHARE TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | |||
| By: | /s/ Corey J. Dahlstrand | ||
| Name: | Corey J. Dahlstrand | ||
| Title: | Vice President | ||
| EXHIBIT 2 |
A copy of the Comptroller of the Currency Certificate of Corporate Existence for Computershare Trust Company, National Association, dated July 1, 2024.
| EXHIBIT 3 |
A copy of the Comptroller of the Currency Certification of Fiduciary Powers for Computershare Trust Company, National Association, dated July 1, 2024.
| EXHIBIT 6 |
CONSENT OF THE TRUSTEE
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 321 (b) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, and in connection with the proposed issue of debt securities, Computershare Trust Company, National Association hereby consents that reports of examinations by Federal, State, Territorial or District authorities may be furnished by such authorities to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request therefore.
| COMPUTERSHARE TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | |||
| By: | /s/ Corey J. Dahlstrand | ||
| Title: | Vice President | ||
August 9, 2024
EXHIBIT 7
Consolidated Report of Condition of
Computershare TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
150 Royall Street, Canton, MA 02021
at the close of business December 31, 2023.
ASSETS | Dollar Amounts In Thousands | |||
| Cash and balances due from depository institutions: | ||||
| Noninterest-bearing balances and currency and coin | 2,219 | |||
| Interest-bearing balances | 559,064 | |||
| Securities: | ||||
| Held-to-maturity securities | -0- | |||
| Available-for-sale securities | -0- | |||
| Federal funds sold and securities purchased under agreements to resell: | ||||
| Federal funds sold in domestic offices | -0- | |||
| Securities purchased under agreements to resell | -0- | |||
| Loans and lease financing receivables: | ||||
| Loans and leases held for sale | -0- | |||
| Loans and leases, net of unearned income | -0- | |||
| LESS: Allowance for loan and lease losses | -0- | |||
| Loans and leases, net of unearned income and allowance | -0- | |||
| Trading assets | -0- | |||
| Premises and fixed assets (including capitalized leases) | 9,275 | |||
| Other real estate owned | -0- | |||
| Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries and associated companies | -0- | |||
| Direct and indirect investments in real estate ventures | -0- | |||
| Intangible assets: | ||||
| Goodwill | 134,206 | |||
| Other intangible assets | 487,199 | |||
| Other assets | 125,357 | |||
| Total assets | 1,317,320 | |||
| LIABILITIES | ||||
| Deposits: | ||||
| In domestic offices | -0- | |||
| Noninterest-bearing | -0- | |||
| Interest-bearing | -0- | |||
| Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase: | ||||
| Federal funds purchased in domestic offices | -0- | |||
| Securities sold under agreements to repurchase | -0- | |||
| Trading liabilities | -0- | |||
| Other borrowed money: (includes mortgage indebtedness and obligations under capitalized leases) | -0- | |||
| Not applicable | ||||
| Not applicable | ||||
| Subordinated notes and debentures | -0- | |||
| Other liabilities | 241,258 | |||
| Total liabilities | 241,258 | |||
| EQUITY CAPITAL | ||||
| Perpetual preferred stock and related surplus | 0 | |||
| Common stock | 500 | |||
| Surplus (exclude all surplus related to preferred stock) | 850,876 | |||
| Retained earnings | 224,686 | |||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | -0- | |||
| Other equity capital components | -0- | |||
| Total bank equity capital | 1,076,062 | |||
| Noncontrolling (minority) interests in consolidated subsidiaries | -0- | |||
| Total equity capital | 1,076,062 | |||
| Total liabilities and equity capital | 1,317,320 |
2
I, Robert G. Marshall, Assistant Controller of the above named bank do hereby declare that this Report of Condition is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
| Robert G. Marshall | |
| Robert G. Marshall | |
| Assistant Controller |
3