Agreement and Plan of Merger

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Business Combination and Asset Acquisition [Abstract]

Agreement and Plan of Merger

Agreement and Plan of Merger

On April 29, 2021, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, as amended, or the Merger Agreement, with VEREIT, Inc., or VEREIT, its operating partnership, VEREIT Operating Partnership, L.P., or VEREIT OP, and two newly formed wholly-owned subsidiaries of us. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, (i) one of the newly formed subsidiaries of us agreed to merge with and into VEREIT OP, with VEREIT OP as the surviving entity, which we refer to as the Partnership Merger, and (ii) immediately thereafter, VEREIT agreed to merge with and into the other newly formed subsidiary of us, with our subsidiary as the surviving corporation, which we refer to as the Merger and, together with the Partnership Merger, the Mergers.

On November 1, 2021, we completed our acquisition of VEREIT, and the Mergers were consummated. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement and subject to the terms thereof, upon the consummation of the Mergers, (i) each outstanding share of VEREIT common stock, and each outstanding common partnership unit of VEREIT OP owned by any of its partners other than VEREIT, Realty Income or their respective affiliates, was automatically

converted into 0.705 of newly issued shares of our common stock, and (ii) each VEREIT OP outstanding common unit owned by VEREIT, Realty Income or their respective affiliates remained outstanding as partnership interests in the surviving entity. For more information, see Note 22, Subsequent Events.

Following the Mergers, we intend to contribute certain of our office real estate properties to a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary, Orion Office REIT, Inc., or Orion, and distribute all of the outstanding shares of Orion common stock to our stockholders (including legacy VEREIT stockholders who received shares of our common stock in the Mergers) on a pro rata basis at a rate of one share of Orion common stock for every ten shares of Realty Income common stock held on the applicable record date, which we refer to as the Orion Divestiture. We have currently set a record date for the distribution of shares in the Orion Divestiture for November 2, 2021 and expect the distribution to occur on November 12, 2021. Following the consummation of the Orion Divestiture, Orion will operate as a separate, independent public company.

A.    Merger-related Costs
In conjunction with our acquisition of VEREIT, we incurred approximately $16.8 million and $30.1 million of merger-related transaction costs during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively. The merger-related costs incurred to date primarily consist of advisory fees, attorney fees, accountant fees and SEC filing fees.

In addition, we have engaged service providers, including investment banks and advisors, to help us negotiate the terms of the Merger and to advise us on other merger-related matters. In connection with these services, we expect to be required to pay success-based fees to the extent that certain conditions, including the closing of the Merger and consummation of the Orion Divestiture, are met. As of September 30, 2021, we expect to incur approximately $19.0 million of such success fees.

B.    Litigation Relating to the Mergers
To date, purported stockholders of VEREIT filed 12 lawsuits challenging disclosures related to the Merger (Stein v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-01409 (D. Ct. Md., June 7, 2021) (the “Stein Complaint”); Bowles v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-00845 (D. Ct. Del., June 10, 2021) (the “Bowles Complaint”); Leach v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-05270 (D. Ct. S.D.N.Y., June 14, 2021) (the “Leach Complaint”); Jenkins v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-05286 (D. Ct. S.D.N.Y., June 15, 2021) (the “Jenkins Complaint”); Tacka v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-05357 (D. Ct. S.D.N.Y., June 17, 2021) (the “Tacka Complaint”); Congregation Zichron Moishe v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-01729 (D. Ct. Colo., June 24, 2021) (the “Congregation Zichron Moishe Complaint”); Mishra v. VEREIT, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-01758 (D. Colo. June 28, 2021) (the “Mishra Complaint”); Walker v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-01791 (D. Ct. Colo. July 1, 2021) (the “Walker Complaint”); Ciccotelli v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 2:21-cv-02983 (D. Ct. E.D. Pa. July 2, 2021) (the “Ciccotelli Complaint”); Upton v. VEREIT, Inc., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-06129 (D. Ct. S.D.N.Y July 16, 2021) (the “Upton Complaint”); Matten v. VEREIT, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-06212 (S.D.N.Y. July 21, 2021) (the “Matten Complaint”); and Halberstam v. VEREIT, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-02000 (D. Colo. July 23, 2021 (the “Halberstam Complaint”)). Purported stockholders of Realty Income filed one lawsuit challenging the disclosures related to the Merger (Boyko v. Realty Income Corp., et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-01653 (D. Ct. Colo., June 16, 2021) (the “Boyko Complaint,” and collectively, the “Complaints”)). A stockholder of Realty Income also sent the Company a demand disclosure letter on June 30, 2021 (the “Demand Letter”).

The Stein, Leach, Tacka, Matten and Halberstam Complaints name VEREIT and the members of the VEREIT board of directors as defendants. The Congregation Zichron Moishe, Mishra, Walker and Upton Complaints name VEREIT, VEREIT OP, and the members of the VEREIT board of directors as defendants. The Bowles and Ciccotelli Complaints name VEREIT, the members of the VEREIT board of directors, VEREIT OP, Realty Income, Merger Sub 1 and Merger Sub 2 as defendants. The Jenkins Complaint names VEREIT, the members of the VEREIT board of directors, Realty Income, Merger Sub 1 and Merger Sub 2 as defendants. The Boyko Complaint names Realty Income and the members of the Realty Income board of directors as defendants. The Demand Letter is addressed to Realty Income and the members of the Realty Income board of directors.

The Complaints each allege generally that the entities and individual defendants named in such Complaint violated Section 14(a) and Rule 14a-9 promulgated thereunder and that the individual defendants violated Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act by preparing and disseminating a registration statement that misstates or omits certain allegedly material information. The Demand Letter includes similar allegations. Furthermore, the Jenkins Complaint also alleges that: (1) members of the VEREIT board of directors breached their fiduciary duties by entering into the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement through a flawed and unfair process and by failing to disclose

all material information to VEREIT’s stockholders; and (2) VEREIT, Realty Income, Merger Sub 1 and Merger Sub 2 each aided and abetted such breach of fiduciary duty by the VEREIT board of directors.

Each Complaint seeks, among other things, injunctive relief enjoining the consummation of the Merger, if the Merger is consummated, rescission or rescissory damages and an award of the plaintiff’s costs, including attorneys’ and experts’ fees. The defendants believe that all of the claims asserted in the Complaints are without merit and intend to defend against them vigorously. On July 30, 2021, VEREIT filed a Form 8-K containing supplemental disclosures regarding the Mergers and related transactions in response to allegations set forth in the Complaints and the Demand letter. We have determined that there is a reasonable possibility that we and/or VEREIT will incur losses associated with the Complaints and Demand letter, though the amount of the reasonably possible loss or range of losses is not expected to be material. Accordingly, no accrual for merger-related litigation matters has been recorded as of September 30, 2021. However, litigation is inherently uncertain and there can be no assurance regarding the likelihood that the defendants’ defense of the actions will be successful. The outcome of these lawsuits can’t be predicted and additional lawsuits arising out of the Mergers may also be filed in the future.