Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Stock

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Stock

Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Stock

4.       Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Stock

On February 19, 2020, the Company issued and sold 200,000 shares of 8.0% Series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock at $23.00 per share, resulting in gross proceeds of $4,600,000.  Net proceeds from the issuance were $3,860,882, which includes the impact of the underwriter’s discounts, selling commissions and legal, accounting and other professional fees, and is presented on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets as mandatorily redeemable preferred stock.

The mandatorily redeemable preferred stock has an aggregate liquidation preference of $5 million, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon. The mandatorily redeemable preferred stock is senior to the Company’s common stock and any class or series of capital stock expressly designated as ranking junior to the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock as to distribution rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up (“Junior Stock”).  The mandatorily redeemable preferred stock is on a parity with any class or series of the Company’s capital stock expressly designated as ranking on a parity with the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock as to distribution rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up (“Parity Stock”).

If outstanding on February 19, 2025, the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock must be redeemed by the Company on that date, the fifth anniversary of the date of issuance.  Beginning on February 19, 2022, the second anniversary of the issuance, the Company may redeem the outstanding mandatorily redeemable preferred stock for an amount equal to its aggregate liquidation preference, plus any accrued but unpaid dividends.  The holders of the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock may also require the Company to redeem the stock upon a change of control of the Company for an amount equal to its aggregate liquidation preference plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon.

Holders of the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock generally have no voting rights. However, if the Company does not pay dividends on the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock for six consecutive quarterly periods, the holders of that stock, voting together as a single class with the holders of any outstanding Parity Stock having similar voting rights, will be entitled to vote for the election of two additional directors to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors until the Company pays all dividends owed on the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock. The affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of mandatorily redeemable preferred stock, voting together as a single class with the holders of any other class or series of the Company’s preferred stock upon which like voting rights have been conferred and are exercisable, is required for the Company to authorize, create or increase the number of shares of any class or series of capital stock expressly designated as ranking senior to the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock as to distribution rights and rights upon the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up.  In addition, the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of mandatorily redeemable preferred stock (voting as a separate class) is required to amend the Company’s charter (including the articles supplementary designating the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock) in a manner that materially and adversely affects the rights of the holders of mandatorily redeemable preferred stock. Among other things, the Company may, without any vote of the holders of mandatorily redeemable preferred stock, issue additional shares of mandatorily redeemable preferred stock and may authorize and issue additional shares of any class or series of any Junior Stock or Parity Stock.

The Company has classified the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock as a liability in accordance with ASC Topic No. 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity,” which states that mandatorily redeemable financial instruments should be classified as liabilities and therefore the related dividend payments are treated as a component of interest expense in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations (see Note 5, below, for a discussion of interest expense associated with the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock).

For all periods the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock has been outstanding, the Company has paid a cash dividend on the stock equal to 8 percent per annum, paid quarterly, as follows:

		Amount
Payment Date	Record Date	per share		For the period
April 27, 2020	April 24, 2020	$	0.37	February 19, 2020 - April 27, 2020
July 24, 2020	July 22, 2020		0.50	April 28, 2020 - July 24, 2020
October 26, 2020	October 23, 2020		0.50	July 25, 2020 - October 26, 2020
February 1, 2021	January 29, 2021		0.50	October 27, 2020 - February 1, 2021
April 30, 2021	April 26, 2021		0.50	February 2, 2021 – April 30, 2021
July 26, 2021	July 12, 2021		0.50	May 1, 2021 - July 26, 2021
October 27, 2021	October 25, 2021		0.50	July 27, 2021 – October 26, 2021
January 20, 2022	January 13, 2022		0.50	October 27, 2021 – January 19, 2022
April 21, 2022	April 18, 2022		0.50	January 20, 2022 - April 20, 2022
July 21, 2022	July 18, 2022		0.50	April 21, 2022 - July 20, 2022
October 20, 2022	October 17, 2022		0.50	July 21, 2022 - October 19, 2022

As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company recorded $70,004 and $70,004, respectively, in accrued but unpaid dividends on the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock. This amount is reported in accounts payable and accrued liabilities on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The mandatorily redeemable preferred stock was issued at $23.00 per share, a $2.00 per share discount. The total discount of $400,000 is being amortized over the five-year life of the shares using the effective interest method. Additionally, the Company incurred $739,118 in legal, accounting, other professional fees and underwriting discounts related to this offering. These costs were recorded as deferred financing costs on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock liability and are being amortized using the effective interest method over the term of the agreement.

Amortization of the discount and deferred financing costs related to the mandatorily redeemable preferred stock totaling $56,311 and $165,338 were included in interest expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, respectively, and $51,637 and $151,616 were included in interest expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. Accumulated amortization of the discount and deferred financing costs was $532,096 and $366,758 as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.