12. Stockholders’ and Mezzanine equity

Stockholders’ equity is comprised of two classes of common stock, Class A common stock and Class B common stock. The Class B common stock is held by the owners of JEH prior to the Company’s IPO and can be exchanged (together with a corresponding number of units representing membership interests in JEH Units) for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to customary conversion rate adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassifications and other similar transactions. The Class B common stock has no economic rights but entitles its holders to one vote on all matters to be voted on by the Company’s stockholders generally.

The Company has classified the Series A preferred stock as mezzanine equity based upon the terms and conditions that contain various redemption and conversion features. For a description of these features, please see below under “—Offering of 8.0% Series A Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock.”

Equity Distribution Agreement

On May 24, 2016, the Company and JEH entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (“Equity Distribution Agreement”) with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC (each, a “Manager” and collectively, the “Managers”). Pursuant to the terms of the Equity Distribution Agreement, the Company may sell from time to time through the Managers, as the Company’s sales agents, the Company’s Class A common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $73.0 million (the “Class A Shares”). Under the terms of the Equity Distribution Agreement, the Company may also sell Class A Shares from time to time to any Manager as principal for its own account at a price to be agreed upon at the time of sale. Any sale of Class A Shares to a Manager as principal would be pursuant to the terms of a separate terms agreement between the Company and such Manager. Sales of the Class A Shares, if any, will be made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions, to or through a market maker or directly on or through an electronic communication network, a “dark pool” or any similar market venue, or as otherwise agreed by the Company and one or more of the Managers.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the Company sold approximately 3.7 million Class A Shares under the Equity Distribution Agreement for net proceeds of approximately $8.4 million ($8.7 million gross proceeds, net of approximately $0.3 million in commissions and professional services expenses). During the three months ended September 30, 2017, the Company did not sell any Class A Shares under the Equity Distribution Agreement. The Company used the net proceeds from the sale of shares under the Equity Distribution Agreement for general corporate purposes. As of September 30, 2017, approximately $62.2 million in aggregate offering proceeds remained available to be issued and sold under the Equity Distribution Agreement.

Offering of Class A Common Stock

On August 26, 2016, the Company issued 21,000,000 shares of Class A common stock pursuant to an underwritten public offering, and on September 12, 2016 the Company issued an additional 3,150,000 shares of Class A common stock in connection with the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. The total net proceeds (after underwriters’ discounts and commissions, but before estimated expenses) of the offering, including the exercise of the over-allotment option, was $64.0 million.

Offering of 8.0% Series A Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock

On August 26, 2016, the Company issued 1,840,000 shares of Series A preferred stock pursuant to an underwritten public offering for total net proceeds (after underwriters’ discounts and commissions but before expenses) of $88.3 million.

Holders of Series A preferred stock are entitled to receive, when as and if declared by the Company’s Board of Directors, cumulative dividends at the rate of 8.0% per annum (the “dividend rate”) per share on the $50.00 liquidation preference per share of the Series A Preferred Stock, payable quarterly in arrears on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 of each year, beginning on November 15, 2016. Dividends may be paid in cash or, subject to certain limitations, in Class A common stock, or a combination thereof.

Under the terms of the Series A preferred stock, the Company’s ability to declare or pay dividends or make distributions on, or purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire for consideration, shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, or any junior stock or parity stock currently outstanding or issued in the future, will be subject to certain restrictions in the event that the Company does not pay in full or declare and set aside for payment in full all accrued and unpaid dividends on the Series A preferred stock (including certain unpaid excess cash payment amounts excused from payment as a dividend due to restrictions in credit facilities or other indebtedness or legal requirements (“Unpaid Excess Cash Payment Amounts”)).

Each share of Series A preferred stock has a liquidation preference of $50.00 per share and is convertible, at the holder’s option at any time, into approximately 17.0683 shares of Class A common stock after adjusting the conversion ratio for the effects of the Special Stock Dividend, as defined in Note 12, “Stockholders’ and Mezzanine equity”, (which is equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $2.93 per share after adjusting for the effects of the Special Stock Dividend), subject to specified further adjustments and limitations as set forth in the certificate of designations for the Series A preferred stock. Based on the adjusted conversion rate and the full exercise of the Preferred Stock Underwriters’ over-allotment option, approximately 31.4 million shares of Class A common stock would be issuable upon conversion of all the Series A preferred stock.

On or after August 15, 2021, the Company may, at its option, give notice of its election to cause all outstanding shares of Series A preferred stock to be automatically converted into shares of Class A common stock at the conversion rate, if the closing sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds 175% of the conversion price for at least 20 trading days in a period of 30 consecutive trading days.

On August 15, 2024 (the “designated redemption date”), each holder of Series A preferred stock may require us to redeem any or all Series A preferred stock held by such holder outstanding on the designated redemption date at a redemption price equal to a liquidation preference of $50.00 per share plus all accrued dividends on the shares up to but excluding the designated redemption date that have not been paid plus any Unpaid Excess Cash Payment Amounts (the “redemption price”). At our option, the redemption price may be paid in cash or, subject to certain limitations, in Class A common stock, or a combination thereof.

Except as required by law or the Company’s certificate of incorporation, which includes the certificate of designations for the Series A preferred stock, the holders of Series A preferred stock have no voting rights (other than with respect to certain matters regarding the Series A preferred stock or when dividends payable on the Series A preferred stock have not been paid for an aggregate of six quarterly dividend periods, or more, whether or not consecutive, as provided in the certificate of designations for the Series A preferred stock).

The Series A preferred stock is classified as mezzanine equity on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet and is not listed on a national stock exchange.

A summary of the Company’s Mezzanine equity for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 is as follows:


(in thousands of dollars)
Mezzanine equity at December 31, 2016	$	88,975
Dividends on preferred stock, net		—
Accretion on preferred stock		438
Mezzanine equity at September 30, 2017	$	89,413

Preferred Stock Dividends

On January 19, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend per share equal to 8.0% based on the liquidation preference of $50.00 per share on an annualized basis, or $1.00 per share, on the Series A preferred stock. This dividend is for the period beginning on the last payment date of November 15, 2016 through February 14, 2017 and was paid in cash on February 15, 2017 to shareholders of record as of February 1, 2017.

On April 17, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend per share equal to 8.0% based on the liquidation preference of $50.00 per share on an annualized basis, or $1.00 per share, on the Series A preferred stock. On May 15, 2017, the dividend was paid in a combination of cash and the Company’s Class A common stock, with the cash component equal to $0.83 per share and the stock component equal to $0.17 per share. The price per share of the Class A common stock used to determine the number of shares issued was equal to 95% of the average volume-weighted average price per share for each day during the five-consecutive day trading period ending immediately prior to the payment date. This dividend was for the period beginning on the last payment date of February 15, 2017 through May 14, 2017 to shareholders of record as of May 1, 2017.

On July 13, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend per share equal to 8.0% based on the liquidation preference of $50.00 per share on an annualized basis, or $1.00 per share, on the Series A preferred stock. On August 15, 2017, the dividend was paid entirely in shares of Class A common stock. The price per share of the Class A common stock used to determine the number of shares issued was equal to 95% of the average volume-weighted average price per share for each day during the 5-consecutive day trading period ending immediately prior to the payment date. This dividend was for the period beginning on the last payment date of May 15, 2017 through August 14, 2017 to shareholders of record as of August 1, 2017.

Special Stock Dividend

On March 31, 2017, the Company paid a stock dividend (the “Special Stock Dividend”) of 0.087423 shares of the Class A common stock to holders of record as of March 15, 2017. From time-to-time, JEH makes cash distributions to the holders of JEH Units to cover tax obligations that may occur as a result of any net taxable income of JEH allocable to holders of JEH Units. As a holder of JEH Units, the Company has received such cash distributions from JEH in excess of the amount required to satisfy the Company’s associated tax obligations. As a result, the Company used the excess cash of approximately $17.5 million in the aggregate to acquire newly-issued JEH Units from JEH.

The Special Stock Dividend was distributed in order to equalize the number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding to the number of JEH Units held by the Company, and the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock issued in the Special Stock Dividend equaled the number of additional JEH Units the Company purchased from JEH. The Company purchased 4,999,927 JEH Units at a price of $3.50 per share, which is the volume weighted average price per share of the Class A common stock for the five trading days ended February 28, 2017. Immaterial cash payments were made in lieu of fractional shares. The comparative earnings per share information has been recast to retrospectively adjust for the effects of the Special Stock Dividend.