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Related Person Transactions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Related Person Transactions  
Related Person Transactions

Note 5. Related Person Transactions

        We have adopted written Governance Guidelines that describe the consideration and approval of any related person transactions. Under these Governance Guidelines, we may not enter into any transaction in which any Trustee or executive officer, any member of the immediate family of any Trustee or executive officer or any other related person, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest unless that transaction has been disclosed or made known to our Board of Trustees and our Board of Trustees reviews and approves or ratifies the transaction by the affirmative vote of a majority of the disinterested Trustees, even if the disinterested Trustees constitute less than a quorum. If there are no disinterested Trustees, the transaction must be reviewed and approved or ratified by both (i) the affirmative vote of a majority of our Board of Trustees and (ii) the affirmative vote of a majority of our Independent Trustees. In determining whether to approve or ratify a transaction, our Board of Trustees, or disinterested Trustees or Independent Trustees, as the case may be, also act in accordance with any applicable provisions of our declaration of trust, consider all of the relevant facts and circumstances and approve only those transactions that are fair and reasonable to us and our shareholders. All related person transactions described below were reviewed and approved or ratified by a majority of the disinterested Trustees or otherwise in accordance with our policies and our declaration of trust, each as described above. In the case of transactions with us by RMR employees (other than our Trustees and executive officers) subject to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, the employee must seek approval from an executive officer who has no interest in the matter for which approval is being requested. Copies of our Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics are available on our website, www.govreit.com.

        RMR:    We have no employees. Personnel and various services we require to operate our business are provided to us by RMR. We have two agreements with RMR to provide management and administrative services to us: (i) a business management agreement, which relates to our business generally, and (ii) a property management agreement, which relates to our property level operations.

        One of our Managing Trustees, Mr. Barry Portnoy, is Chairman, majority owner and an employee of RMR. Our other Managing Trustee, Mr. Adam Portnoy, is the son of Mr. Barry Portnoy, and an owner, President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of RMR. Each of our executive officers is also an officer of RMR. Our Independent Trustees also serve as independent directors or independent trustees of other public companies to which RMR provides management services. Mr. Barry Portnoy serves as a managing director or managing trustee of those companies and Mr. Adam Portnoy serves as a managing trustee of a majority of those companies. In addition, officers of RMR serve as officers of those companies.

        Our Board of Trustees has given our Compensation Committee, which is comprised exclusively of our Independent Trustees, authority to act on our behalf with respect to our management agreements with RMR. The charter of our Compensation Committee requires the committee to annually review the terms of these agreements, evaluate RMR's performance under the agreements and determine whether to renew, amend or terminate the management agreements.

        In 2013, our Compensation Committee retained FTI Consulting, Inc., a nationally recognized compensation consultant experienced in REIT compensation programs, to assist the committee in developing the terms of the incentive fee payable to RMR under our business management agreement with RMR beginning in 2014. In connection with retaining this consultant, our Compensation Committee determined that the consultant did not have any conflicts of interest which would prevent the consultant from advising the committee.

        On December 23, 2013, we and RMR entered into an amended and restated business management agreement, effective with respect to services performed on and after January 1, 2014. Under the terms of this amended and restated business management agreement:

  • The annual amount of the base management fee to be paid to RMR by us for each applicable period will be equal to the lesser of:

    the sum of (a) 0.5% of the average historical cost of our real estate assets acquired from a REIT to which RMR provided business management or property management services, or the Transferred Assets, immediately prior to the contribution, sale or other transfer of such property to us, plus (b) 0.7% of the average historical cost of our real estate investments excluding the Transferred Assets up to $250,000, plus (c) 0.5% of the average historical cost of our real estate investments excluding the Transferred Assets exceeding $250,000; and
    • the sum of (a) 0.7% of the average closing price per share of our common shares on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, during such period, multiplied by the average number of our common shares outstanding during such period, plus the daily weighted average of the aggregate liquidation preference of each class of our preferred shares outstanding during such period, plus the daily weighted average of the aggregate principal amount of our consolidated indebtedness during such period, or, together, our Average Market Capitalization, up to $250,000, plus (b) 0.5% of our Average Market Capitalization exceeding $250,000.
    • The average historical cost of our real estate investments will include our consolidated assets invested, directly or indirectly, in equity interests in or loans secured by real estate and personal property owned in connection with such real estate (including acquisition related costs and costs which may be allocated to intangibles or are unallocated), all before reserves for depreciation, amortization, impairment charges or bad debts or other similar noncash reserves.

    Although the fee calculation is stated in annual percentages, the base management fee will be paid monthly to RMR, ninety percent (90%) in cash and ten percent (10%) in our common shares, which shall be fully-vested when issued. The number of our common shares to be issued in payment of the base management fee for each month will be equal to the value of 10% of the total base management fee for that month divided by the average daily closing price of our common shares during that month.

    The incentive management fee which may be earned by RMR for an annual period will be an amount, subject to a cap based on the value of our outstanding common shares, equal to 12% of the product of (a) our equity market capitalization on the last trading day on the year immediately prior to the relevant measurement period, and (b) the amount (expressed as a percentage) by which the total returns per share realized by the holders of our common shares (i.e., share price appreciation plus dividends) exceeds the total shareholder return of the SNL US REIT Equity Index (in each case subject to certain adjustments) for the relevant measurement period. The measurement periods are generally three-year periods ending with the year for which the incentive management fee is being calculated, with shorter periods applicable in the case of the calculation of the incentive management fee for 2014 (one year) and 2015 (two years).

    The incentive management fee is payable in our common shares, with one-third of our common shares issued in payment of an incentive management fee vested on the date of issuance, and the remaining two-thirds vesting thereafter in two equal annual installments. If the issuance of common shares in payment of a portion of the base management fee or incentive management fee would be limited by applicable law and regulations, such portion of the applicable fee will instead be paid in cash.

    RMR and certain eligible transferees of our common shares issued in payment of the base management fee or incentive management fee are entitled to demand registration rights, exercisable not more frequently than twice per year, and to "piggy-back" registration rights, with certain expenses to be paid by us. We and applicable selling shareholders also have agreed to indemnify each other (and their officers, trustees, directors and controlling persons) against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, in connection with any such registration.

        The terms of the amended and restated business management agreement described above were approved by our Compensation Committee, which is comprised solely of our Independent Trustees, and the terms of the incentive fee were developed by our Compensation Committee in consultation with FTI Consulting, Inc., an independent compensation consultant.

        For 2013, 2012 and 2011, our business management agreement provided for the base business management fee to be paid to RMR at an annual rate equal to the sum of (a) 0.5% of the historical cost of the Transferred Assets, plus (b) with respect to other properties we acquired excluding the Transferred Assets, 0.7% of our aggregate cost of those properties up to and including $250,000, and 0.5% thereafter. In addition, for 2013, 2012 and 2011, our business management agreement provided for RMR to be paid an incentive fee equal to 15% of the product of (i) the weighted average of our common shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis during a fiscal year and (ii) the excess, if any, of the FFO Per Share, as defined in the business management agreement, for such fiscal year over the FFO Per Share for the preceding fiscal year. We recognized business management fees of $9,341, $9,077 and $7,741 for 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. These amounts are included in general and administrative expenses in our consolidated financial statements. In March 2013 and 2012, we issued 20,230 and 39,141 of our common shares to RMR for the incentive fees for 2012 and 2011, respectively. No incentive fee was payable to RMR for 2013.

        Our property management agreement with RMR provides for management fees equal to 3.0% of gross collected rents and construction supervision fees equal to 5.0% of construction costs. The aggregate property management and construction supervision fees we recognized were $7,877, $7,018 and $6,321 for 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. These amounts are included in other operating expenses or have been capitalized, as appropriate, in our consolidated financial statements.

        RMR also provides internal audit services to us in return for our share of the total internal audit costs incurred by RMR for us and other publicly owned companies managed by RMR and its affiliates, which amounts are subject to approval by our Compensation Committee. Our Audit Committee appoints our Director of Internal Audit. Our share of RMR's costs of providing this internal audit function was approximately $203, $193 and $240 for 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, which amounts are included in general and administrative expenses in our consolidated financial statements. These allocated costs are in addition to the business and property management fees we paid to RMR.

        We are generally responsible for all of our operating expenses, including certain expenses incurred by RMR on our behalf. We are generally not responsible for payment of RMR's employment, office or administration expenses incurred to provide management services to us, except for the employment and related expenses of RMR employees who provide on-site property management services and our share of the staff employed by RMR who perform our internal audit function. Pursuant to our amended and restated business management agreement, RMR may from time to time negotiate on our behalf with certain third party vendors and suppliers for the procurement of services to us. As part of this arrangement, we may enter agreements with RMR and other companies to which RMR provides management services for the purpose of obtaining more favorable terms from such vendors and suppliers.

        The current terms of both our amended and restated business management agreement with RMR and our property management agreement with RMR end on December 31, 2014 and automatically renew for successive one year terms unless we or RMR give notice of non-renewal before the end of an applicable term. We or RMR may terminate either agreement upon 60 days' prior written notice, and RMR may also terminate either agreement upon five business days' notice if we undergo a change of control, as defined in the applicable agreement.

        Under our amended and restated business management agreement with RMR, we acknowledge that RMR may engage in other activities or businesses and act as the manager to any other person or entity (including other REITs) even though such person or entity has investment policies and objectives similar to ours and we are not entitled to preferential treatment in receiving information, recommendations and other services from RMR. Previously our business management agreement had provided that, with certain exceptions, if we determined to offer for sale or other disposition any real property that, at such time, is of a type within the investment focus of another REIT to which RMR provides management services, we would first offer that property for purchase or disposition to that REIT and negotiate in good faith for such purchase or disposition. This right of first offer provision was eliminated when the business management agreement was amended and restated on December 23, 2013.

        RMR leases from us approximately 1,650 square feet of office space for one of its regional offices. We earned approximately $31, $32 and $31 in rental income from RMR in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, which we believe was commercially reasonable rent for this office space, not all of which was leased to RMR for the entire three-year period. This lease is terminable by RMR if our management agreements with RMR are terminated.

        Under our equity compensation plan adopted in 2009, or the 2009 Plan, we grant restricted shares to certain employees of RMR, some of whom are our officers. We granted a total of 48,350 restricted shares with an aggregate value of $1,142, 43,917 restricted shares with an aggregate value of $1,043 and 40,850 restricted shares with an aggregate value of $922 to such persons in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, based upon the closing price of our common shares on the NYSE on the dates of grants. One fifth of those restricted shares vested on the grant dates and one fifth vests on each of the next four anniversaries of the grant dates. These share grants to RMR employees are in addition to the fees we pay to RMR. On occasion, we have entered into arrangements with former employees of RMR in connection with the termination of their employment with RMR, providing for the acceleration of vesting of restricted shares previously granted to them under the 2009 Plan. Additionally, each of our President and Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer received grants of restricted shares of other companies to which RMR provides management services in their capacities as officers of RMR.

        CWH:    CWH organized us as a 100% owned subsidiary. One of our Managing Trustees, Mr. Barry Portnoy, is a managing trustee of CWH. Our other Managing Trustee, Mr. Adam Portnoy, is a managing trustee and the President of CWH. RMR provides management services to both us and CWH. CWH's executive officers are officers of RMR.

        In 2009, we completed our IPO, pursuant to which we ceased to be a majority owned subsidiary of CWH. To facilitate our IPO, we and CWH entered into a transaction agreement that governs our separation from and relationship with CWH. Pursuant to this transaction agreement, among other things, we and CWH agreed that, so long as CWH owns in excess of 10% of our outstanding common shares, we and CWH engage the same manager or we and CWH have any common managing trustees: (i) CWH will not acquire ownership of properties that are majority leased to government tenants, unless a majority of our Independent Trustees who are not also trustees of CWH have determined that we not make the acquisition; (ii) we will not acquire ownership of office or industrial properties that are not majority leased to government tenants, unless a majority of CWH's independent trustees who are not also our Trustees have determined that CWH not make the acquisition; and (iii) we will have a right of first refusal to acquire any property owned by CWH that CWH determines to divest if the property is then majority leased to a government tenant, which right of first refusal will also apply in the event of an indirect sale of any such properties resulting from a change of control of CWH. The provisions described in (i) and (ii) do not prevent us from continuing to own and lease our current properties or properties otherwise acquired by us that cease to be majority leased to government tenants following the termination of government tenancies; and, similarly, the provisions described in (i) and (ii) also do not prohibit CWH from leasing its current or future properties to government tenants. We and CWH also agreed that disputes arising under the transaction agreement may be resolved by binding arbitration.

        On March 15, 2013, CWH sold all 9,950,000 of our common shares it owned in a public offering. In connection with this public offering, on March 11, 2013, we entered into a registration agreement with CWH under which CWH agreed to pay all expenses incurred by us relating to the registration and sale of our common shares owned by CWH in the offering, pursuant to which CWH paid us $310. In addition, under the registration agreement, CWH agreed to indemnify us and our officers, Trustees and controlling persons, and we agreed to indemnify CWH and its officers, trustees and controlling persons, against certain liabilities related to the public offering, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

        AIC:    We, RMR, CWH and five other companies to which RMR provides management services each currently own 12.5% of AIC. All of our Trustees and most of the trustees and directors of the other AIC shareholders currently serve on the board of directors of AIC. RMR provides management and administrative services to AIC pursuant to a management and administrative services agreement with AIC. Our Governance Guidelines provide that any material transaction between us and AIC shall be reviewed, authorized and approved or ratified by the affirmative votes of both a majority of our Board of Trustees and a majority of our Independent Trustees. The shareholders agreement among us, the other shareholders of AIC and AIC includes arbitration provisions for the resolution of disputes.

        As of December 31, 2013, we have invested approximately $5,194 in AIC since we became an equity owner of AIC in 2009. Although we own less than 20% of AIC, we use the equity method to account for this investment because we believe that we have significant influence over AIC as all of our Trustees are also directors of AIC. Our investment in AIC had a carrying value of $6,031 and $5,747 as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, which amounts are included in other assets on our consolidated balance sheets. We recognized income of $334, $316 and $139 related to our investment in AIC for 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. In June 2013, we and the other shareholders of AIC purchased a one-year property insurance policy providing $500,000 of coverage pursuant to an insurance program arranged by AIC and with respect to which AIC is a reinsurer of certain coverage amounts. We paid AIC a premium, including taxes and fees, of approximately $1,161 in connection with that policy, which amount may be adjusted from time to time as we acquire or dispose of properties that are included in the policy. Our annual premiums for this property insurance in 2012 and 2011 were $410 and $1,286, respectively, before adjustments made for acquisitions or dispositions we made during those periods. We periodically consider the possibilities for expanding our insurance relationships with AIC to include other types of insurance and may in the future participate in additional insurance offerings AIC may provide or arrange. We may invest additional amounts in AIC in the future if the expansion of this insurance business requires additional capital, but we are not obligated to do so. By participating in this insurance business with RMR and the other companies to which RMR provides management services, we expect that we may benefit financially by possibly reducing our insurance expenses or by realizing our pro rata share of any profits of this insurance business.

        Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance:    In July 2013, we, RMR, CWH and four other companies to which RMR provides management services purchased a combined directors' and officers' liability insurance policy providing $10,000 in aggregate primary non-indemnifiable coverage and $5,000 in aggregate excess coverage and we also purchased from an unrelated third party insurer a separate directors' and officers' liability insurance policy providing $5,000 in coverage. We paid aggregate premiums of approximately $333 for these policies.