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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

14.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments

Line of Credit

On October 1, 2018, PJT Partners Holdings LP, as borrower (“Borrower”) entered into an Amended and Restated Loan Agreement (the “Amended and Restated Loan Agreement”) and related documents with First Republic Bank, as lender (the “Lender”). The Amended and Restated Loan Agreement provides for a revolving credit facility with aggregate commitments in an amount equal to $40.0 million, which aggregate commitments may be increased, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement, to up to $60.0 million during the period beginning December 1 each year through March 1 of the following year. The revolving credit facility will mature and the commitments thereunder will terminate on October 1, 2020, subject to extension by agreement of the Borrower and Lender.

As of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, there were no outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility.

Term Loan

The Amended and Restated Loan Agreement also provides for a term loan with an aggregate commitment of $30.0 million (the “Term Loan”). The Term Loan matures on January 2, 2021. In addition to the payment of interest described below, Borrower shall pay to the Lender installment payments of principal in the amount of (a) $4.25 million on July 1, 2019 and quarterly thereafter to January 2, 2021, and (b) $4.5 million on January 2, 2021.

The Amended and Restated Loan Agreement requires the Borrower to maintain certain minimum financial covenants and limits or restricts the ability of the Borrower (subject to certain qualifications and exceptions) to incur additional indebtedness in excess of $20.0 million. Borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement are secured by the accounts receivable of Park Hill Group LLC and PJT Partners LP.

Outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility bear interest equal to the greater of a per annum rate of (a) 3%, or (b) the prime rate minus 1.0%. Outstanding borrowings under the Term Loan bear interest equal to the greater of a per annum rate of (a) 3.25%, or (b) the prime rate minus 0.75%. During an event of default, overdue principal under both the revolving credit facility and Term Loan bear interest at a rate 2.0% in excess of the otherwise applicable rate of interest. In connection with the closing of the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement, the Borrower paid the Lender certain closing costs and fees. In addition, on and after the closing date, the Borrower will also pay a commitment fee on the undrawn portion of the revolving credit facility of 0.125% per annum, payable quarterly in arrears.

As of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company was in compliance with the debt covenants under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement.

As of June 30, 2019, the future scheduled principal payments on the Term Loan were as follows:

 

Year Ending December 31,

 

 

 

 

2019

 

$

8,500

 

2020

 

 

17,000

 

2021

 

 

4,500

 

 

 

$

30,000

 

 

Contingencies

Litigation

From time to time, the Company is named as a defendant in legal actions relating to transactions conducted in the ordinary course of business. Some of these matters may involve claims of substantial amounts. Although there can be no assurance of the outcome of such legal actions, in the opinion of management, after consultation with external counsel, the Company believes it is not probable and/or reasonably possible that any current legal proceedings or claims would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on the condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company.

As previously disclosed, with respect to actual and potential additional claims related to funds fraudulently obtained by Andrew Caspersen, the Company believes that any such claims are without merit and the Company will vigorously defend any such matters.

With respect to the Company’s other litigation matters, the Company is not currently able to estimate the possible loss or range of loss until developments in such matters have provided sufficient information to support such an assessment, including quantification of a damage demand from plaintiffs, discovery from other parties and investigation of factual allegations, rulings by courts on motions or appeals, analysis by experts or the status of any settlement negotiations.

Guarantee

The Company provides a guarantee to a lending institution for certain loans held by employees for investment in funds of its former Parent, which are secured by the underlying investments in those funds. The amount guaranteed was $11.5 million and $8.9 million as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. In connection with this guarantee, the Company currently expects any associated risk of loss to be insignificant.

Indemnifications

The Company has entered and may continue to enter into contracts, including contracts with Blackstone relating to the spin-off, which contain a variety of indemnification obligations. The Company’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is not known; however, the Company currently expects any associated risk of loss to be insignificant. In connection with these matters, the Company has incurred and may continue to incur legal expenses, which are expensed as incurred.

Transactions and Agreements with Blackstone

Employee Matters Agreement

The Company is required to reimburse Blackstone for the value of forfeited unvested equity awards granted to former Blackstone employees that transitioned to PJT Partners in connection with the spin-off. Such reimbursement is recorded in Accounts Payable, Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities with an offset to Equity in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. The Company will cash settle the liability to Blackstone quarterly as the forfeitures attributable to these employees crystallize. The accrual for these forfeitures was $0.9 million as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018.

Pursuant to the Employee Matters Agreement, the Company has agreed to pay Blackstone the net realized cash benefit resulting from certain compensation-related tax deductions. The amount payable to Blackstone arising from the tax deductions has been recorded in Other Expenses in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and is payable annually (for periods in which a cash benefit is realized) within nine months of the end of the relevant tax period. As of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had accrued $1.4 million and $4.3 million, respectively, which the Company anticipates will be payable to Blackstone after the Company files its respective tax returns. The tax deduction and corresponding payable to Blackstone related to such deliveries will fluctuate primarily based on the price of Blackstone common units at the time of delivery.

Tax Matters Agreement

The Company entered into a Tax Matters Agreement with Blackstone that governs the respective rights, responsibilities and obligations of the Company and Blackstone after the spin-off with respect to tax liabilities and benefits, tax attributes, tax contests and other tax sharing regarding U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income taxes, other tax matters and related tax returns. The Company has joint and several liability with Blackstone to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for the consolidated U.S. federal income taxes of the Blackstone consolidated group relating to the taxable periods in which the Company was part of that group. However, the Tax Matters Agreement specifies the portion, if any, of this tax liability for which the Company bears responsibility, and Blackstone agrees to indemnify the Company against any amounts for which the Company is not responsible. The Tax Matters Agreement also provides special rules for allocating tax liabilities in the event that the spin-off is determined not to be tax-free. Though valid as between the parties, the Tax Matters Agreement is not binding on the IRS.