Series B-1 Preferred Stock

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Class of Stock Disclosures [Abstract]

Series B-1 Preferred Stock [Text Block]

9. Series B-1 Preferred Stock

On April 15, 2020, the Company and SunOpta Foods entered into a subscription agreement (the "Series B Subscription Agreement") with Oaktree Organics, L.P. and Oaktree Huntington Investment Fund II, L.P. (collectively, "Oaktree") and Engaged Capital, LLC, Engaged Capital Flagship Master Fund, LP and Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A, LP (collectively, "Engaged"). On April 24, 2020, pursuant to the Series B Subscription Agreement, SunOpta Foods issued 15,000 shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock to each of Oaktree and Engaged for aggregate consideration of $30.0 million and 30,000 shares total (the "Series B-1 Preferred Stock"). Preferred dividends accrue daily on the Series B-1 preferred stock at an annualized rate of 8.0% of the liquidation preference prior to September 30, 2029, and 10.0% of the liquidation preference thereafter. For the second quarter of 2020, SunOpta Foods elected to pay dividends on the Series B-1 preferred stock in kind and, as a result, the aggregate liquidation preference increased to $30.4 million, or approximately $1,015 per share.

On March 3, 2023, Engaged exercised their right to exchange all of their shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock for 6,089,331 shares of the Company's common stock ("Common Shares") at an exchange price of $2.50, together with a cash payment to adjust for fractional Common Shares, plus accrued and unpaid dividends as of the date of exchange. The Common Shares exchanged represented approximately 5.3% of the Company's issued and outstanding Common Shares on a post-exchange basis. After the exchange, the exchanged shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock previously held by Engaged were cancelled and SunOpta Foods is no longer required to pay dividends on those shares. Upon the exchange, the Company derecognized the $14.1 million carrying amount of the Series B-1 Preferred Stock previously held by Engaged, net of $1.1 million of unamortized issuance costs, and recognized a corresponding amount for the Common Shares issued on exchange, less common share issuance costs of $0.2 million.

In connection with the exchange of the Series B-1 Preferred Stock, the Company redeemed all Special Shares, Series 2, par value $0.00001 per share, of the Company that were held by Engaged. The Special Shares, Series 2 serve as a mechanism for attaching exchanged voting rights to the Series B-1 Preferred Stock and entitle the holder thereof to one vote per Special Share, Series 2 on all matters submitted to a vote of the holder of the Common Shares, voting together as a single class, subject to certain exemptions.

As at September 30, 2023, SunOpta Foods had 15,000 shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock issued and outstanding to Oaktree. At any time, Oaktree may exchange the Series B-1 Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, into the number of Common Shares equal to, per share of Series B-1 Preferred Stock, the quotient of the liquidation preference divided by the exchange price of $2.50. On or after April 24, 2023, SunOpta Foods may cause Oaktree to exchange all of their shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock if the volume-weighted average price of the Common Shares during the then preceding 20 trading day period is greater than 200% of the exchange price then in effect. In addition, at any time on or after April 24, 2025, SunOpta Foods may redeem all of the Series B-1 Preferred Stock for an amount per share equal to the value of the liquidation preference at such time, plus accrued and unpaid dividends.

On May 19, 2023, the Company issued 2,932,453 Special Shares, Series 2 to Oaktree. As a result of a permanent voting cap, the number of Special Shares, Series 2 issued to Oaktree at any time, when taken together with any other voting securities Oaktree then controls, cannot exceed 19.99% of the votes eligible to be cast by all security holders of the Company.

In the first quarter of 2023, the Company paid cash dividends on the Series B-1 Preferred Stock of $0.6 million in the aggregate to Oaktree and Engaged related to the fourth quarter of 2022, together with a cash dividend $0.2 million paid to Engaged for the period from January 1, 2023 to March 3, 2023. In each of the second and third quarters of 2023, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.3 million to Oaktree on the Series B-1 Preferred Stock, and, as at September 30, 2023, the Company accrued unpaid dividends to Oaktree of $0.3 million for the third quarter of 2023, which are recorded in accounts payable and accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet. The carrying value of the Series B-1 Preferred Stock, net of unamortized issuance costs, is being accreted to the redemption value through charges to accumulated deficit, which amounted to $0.4 million for the three quarters ended September 30, 2023 (October 1, 2022 - $0.5 million).