You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Form 10-Q in evaluating us and our common shares. Any of the following risks, as well as additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial, could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. The risk factors generally have been separated into the following categories: risks related to our business, risks related to our Manager, risks related to taxation and risks related to our commonthe Company’s shares. However, these categories do overlap and should not be considered exclusive.
Uncertainty relating to macroeconomic conditions may reduce the demand for our assets, result in non-performance of contracts by our lessees, or charterers, limit our ability to obtain additional capital to finance new investments, or have other unforeseen negative effects.
Uncertainty and negative trends in general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, including significant tightening of credit markets and commodity price volatility, historically have created difficult operating environments for owners and operators in the transportation industry.aviation industries. Many factors, including factors that are beyond our control, may impact our operating results or financial condition and/or affect the lessees and charterers that form our customer base. For some years, the world has experienced weakened economic conditions and volatility following adverse changes in global capital markets. More recently, excess supply in oil and gas markets has put significant downward pressure on prices for these commodities, and may affect demand for assets used in production, refining and transportation of oil and gas. In particular, the significant decline in oil prices during 2016 has resulted in lower offshore exploration and production budgets worldwide, with industry experts predicting that offshore exploration and production spending will decrease by approximately 9% in 2017, as compared to 2016. These conditions have resulted in significant contraction, de-leveraging and reduced liquidity in the credit markets. A number of governments have implemented, or are considering implementing, a broad variety of governmental actions or new regulations for the financial markets. In addition, limitations on the availability of capital, higher costs of capital for financing expenditures or the desire to preserve liquidity, may cause our current or prospective customers to make reductions in future capital budgets and spending.
Further, demand for our assets is related to passenger and cargo traffic growth, which in turn is dependent on general business and economic conditions. Global economic downturns could have an adverse impact on passenger and cargo traffic levels and consequently our lessees’ and charterers’ business, which may in turn result in a significant reduction in revenues, earnings and cash flows, difficulties accessing capital and a deterioration in the value of our assets. We may also becomehave in the past been exposed to increased credit risk from our customers and third parties who have obligations to us, which could resultresulted in increased non-performance of contracts by our lessees or charterers and adversely impactimpacted our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We cannot assure you that similar loss events may not occur in the future.
These and other related factors are generally outside of our control and could lead to persistence of, or increase in, the oversupply of the types of assets that we acquire or decreased utilization of our assets, either of which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flow. In addition, aviation lessees may redeliver our assets to locations where there is oversupply, which may lead to additional repositioning costs for us if we move them to areas with higher demand. Positioning expenses vary depending on geographic location, distance, freight rates and other factors, and may not be fully covered by drop-off charges collected from the last lessees of the equipment or pick-up charges paid by the new lessees. Positioning expenses can be significant if a large portion of our assets are returned to locations with weak demand, which could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.flows.
Contractual defaults may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows by decreasing revenues and increasing storage, positioning, collection, recovery and lost equipment expenses.
The success of our business depends in large part on the success of the operators in the sectors in which we participate. Cash flows from our assets are substantially impacted by our ability to collect compensation and other amounts to be paid in respect of such assets from the customers with whichwhom we enter into leases charters or other contractual arrangements. Inherent in the nature of the leases charters and other arrangements for the use of such assets is the risk that we may not receive, or may experience delay in realizing, such amounts to be paid. While we target the entry into contracts with credit-worthy counterparties, no assurance can be given that such counterparties will perform their obligations during the term of the leases charters or other contractual arrangements. In addition, when counterparties default, we may fail to recover all of our assets, and the assets we do recover may be returned in damaged condition or to locations where we will not be able to efficiently lease charter or sell them. In most cases, we maintain, or require our lessees to maintain, certain insurances to cover the risk of damages or loss of our assets. However, these insurance policies may not be sufficient to protect us against a loss.
Depending on the specific sector, the risk of contractual defaults may be elevated due to excess capacity as a result of oversupply during the most recent economic downturn. We lease assets to our customers pursuant to fixed-price contracts, and our customers then seek to utilize those assets to transport goods and provide services. If the price at which our customers receive for their transportation services decreases as a result of an oversupply in the marketplace, then our customers may be forced to reduce their prices in order to attract business (which may have an adverse effect on their ability to meet their contractual lease obligations to us), or may seek to renegotiate or terminate their contractual lease arrangements with us to pursue a lower-priced opportunity with another lessor, which may have a direct, adverse effect on us. See “-The industries in which we operate have experienced periods of oversupply during which lease rates and asset values have declined, particularly during the financial crisis,most recent economic downturn, and any future oversupply could materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.” Any default by a material customer would have a significant impact on our profitability at the time the customer defaulted, which could materially adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects. In addition, some of our counterparties may reside in jurisdictions with legal and regulatory regimes that make it difficult and costly to enforce such counterparties’ obligations.
If we acquire a high concentration of a particular type of asset, or concentrate our investments in a particular sector, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected by changes in market demand or problems specific to that asset or sector.
If we acquire a high concentration of a particular asset, or concentrate our investments in a particular sector, our business and financial results could be adversely affected by sector-specific or asset-specific factors. For example, if a particular sector experiences difficulties such as increased competition or oversupply, the operators we rely on as a lessor may be adversely affected and consequently our business and financial results may be similarly affected. If we acquire a high concentration of a particular asset and the market demand for a particular asset declines, it is redesigned or replaced by its manufacturer or it experiences design or technical problems, the value and rates relating to such asset may decline, and we may be unable to lease or charter such asset on favorable terms, if at all. Any decrease in the value and rates of our assets may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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We operate in highly competitive markets.
The business of acquiring transportation and transportation-related infrastructureaviation assets is highly competitive. Market competition for opportunities includes traditional transportation and infrastructure companies, commercial and investment banks, as well as a growing number of non-traditional participants, such as hedge funds, private equity funds and other private investors, including Fortress-related entities. Some of these competitors may have access to greater amounts of capital and/or to capital that may be committed for longer periods of time or may have different return thresholds than us, and thus these competitors may have certain advantages not shared by us. In addition, competitors may have incurred, or may in the future incur, leverage to finance their debt investments at levels or on terms more favorable than those available to us. Strong competition for investment opportunities could result in fewer such opportunities for us, as certain of these competitors have established and are establishing investment vehicles that target the same types of assets that we intend to purchase.
In addition, some of our competitors may have longer operating histories, greater financial resources and lower costs of capital than us, and consequently, may be able to compete more effectively in one or more of our target markets. We likely will not always be able to compete successfully with our competitors and competitive pressures or other factors may also result in significant price competition, particularly during industry downturns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Certain liens may arise on our assets.
Certain of our assets are currently subject to liens under separate financing arrangements entered into by certain subsidiaries in connection with acquisitions of assets. In the event of a default under such arrangements by the applicable subsidiary, the lenders thereunder would be permitted to take possession of or sell such assets. In addition, our currently owned assets and assets that we purchase in the future may be subject to other liens based on the industry practices relating to such assets. Until they are discharged, these liens could impair our ability to repossess, re-lease or sell our assets, and to the extent our lessees do not comply with their obligations to discharge any liens on the applicable assets, we may find it necessary to pay the claims secured by such liens in order to repossess such assets. Such payments could materially adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects.
The values of our assets may fluctuate due to various factors.
The fair market values of our assets may decrease or increase depending on a number of factors, including the prevailing level of lease rates from time to time, general economic and market conditions affecting our target markets, type and age of assets, supply and demand for assets, competition, new governmental or other regulations and technological advances, all of which could impact our profitability and our ability to lease, develop, operate, or sell such assets. In addition, our assets depreciate as they age and may generate lower revenues and cash flows. We must be able to replace such older, depreciated assets with newer assets, or our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and cash flows will decline. In addition, if we dispose of an asset for a price that is less than the depreciated book value of the asset on our balance sheet or if we determine that an asset’s value has been impaired, we will recognize a related charge in our consolidated statement of operations and such charge could be material.
We may not generate a sufficient amount of cash or generate sufficient free cash flow to fund our operations or repay our indebtedness.
Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness as required depends on our ability to generate cash flow in the future. This ability, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. If we do not generate sufficient free cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations, including interest payments and the payment of principal at maturity, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling assets, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. We cannot provide assurance that any refinancing would be possible, that any assets could be sold, or, if sold, of the timeliness and amount of proceeds realized from those sales, that additional financing could be obtained on acceptable terms, if at all, or that additional financing would be permitted under the terms of our various debt instruments then in effect. Furthermore, our ability to refinance would depend upon the condition of the finance and credit markets. Our inability to generate sufficient free cash flow to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our obligations on commercially reasonable terms or on a timely basis, would materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our use of joint ventures or partnerships, and our Manager’s outsourcing of certain functions, may present unforeseen obstacles or costs.
We have acquired and may in the future acquire interests in certain assets in cooperation with third-party partners or co-investors through jointly-owned acquisition vehicles, joint ventures or other structures. In these co-investment situations, our ability to control the management of such assets depends upon the nature and terms of the joint arrangements with such partners and our relative ownership stake in the asset, each of which will be determined by negotiation at the time of the investment and the determination of which is subject to the discretion of our Manager. Depending on our Manager’s perception of the relative risks and rewards of a particular asset, our Manager may elect to acquire interests in structures that afford relatively little or no operational and/or management control to us. Such arrangements present risks not present with wholly-owned assets, such as the possibility that a co-investor becomes bankrupt, develops business interests or goals that conflict with our interests and goals in respect of the assets, all of which could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, our Manager expects to utilize third-party contractors to perform services and functions related to the operation and leasing of our assets. These functions may include billing, collections, recovery and asset monitoring. Because we and our Manager do not directly control these third parties, there can be no assurance that the services they provide will be delivered at a level commensurate with our expectations, or at all. The failure of any such third-party contractors to perform in accordance with our expectations could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to the risks and costs of obsolescence of our assets.
Technological and other improvements expose us to the risk that certain of our assets may become technologically or commercially obsolete. For example, as manufacturers introduce technological innovations and new types of aircraft, some of our assets could become less desirable to potential lessees. Such technological innovations may increase the rate of obsolescence of existing aircraft faster than currently anticipated by us. In addition, the imposition of increased regulation regarding stringent noise or emissions restrictions may make some of our aircraft less desirable and less valuable in the marketplace. Any of these risks may adversely affect our ability to lease or sell our assets on favorable terms, if at all, which could materially adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects.
The inability to obtain certain components from suppliers could harm our business.
Our business is affected by the availability and price of the component parts that we use to manufacture our products. Our ability to manage inventory and meet delivery requirements may be constrained by our suppliers’ ability to adjust delivery of long-lead time products during times of volatile demand. The supply chains for our business could also be disrupted by external events such as natural disasters, extreme weather events, pandemics, labor disputes, governmental actions and legislative or regulatory changes. As a result, our suppliers may fail to perform according to specifications when required and we may be unable to identify alternate suppliers or to otherwise mitigate the consequences of their non-performance.
Transitions to new suppliers may result in significant costs and delays, including those related to the required recertification of parts obtained from new suppliers with our customers and/or regulatory agencies. Our inability to fill our supply needs could jeopardize our ability to fulfill obligations under customer contracts, which could result in reduced revenues and profits, contract penalties or terminations, and damage to customer relationships. Further, increased costs of such components could reduce our profits if we were unable to pass along such price in-creases to our customers.
We could be negatively impacted by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability-related matters.
Governments, investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders are increasingly focusing on corporate ESG practices and disclosures, and expectations in this area are rapidly evolving. We have announced, and may in the future announce, sustainability-focused investments, partnerships and other initiatives and goals. These initiatives, aspirations, targets or objectives reflect our current plans and aspirations and are not guarantees that we will be able to achieve them. Our efforts to accomplish and accurately report on these initiatives and goals present numerous operational, regulatory, reputational, financial, legal, and other risks, any of which could have a material negative impact, including on our reputation and stock price.
In addition, the standards for tracking and reporting on ESG matters are relatively new, have not been harmonized and continue to evolve. Our selection of disclosure frameworks that seek to align with various voluntary reporting standards may change from time to time and may result in a lack of comparative data from period to period. Moreover, our processes and controls may not always align with evolving voluntary standards for identifying, measuring, and reporting ESG metrics, our interpretation of reporting standards may differ from those of others, and such standards may change over time, any of which could result in significant revisions to our goals or reported progress in achieving such goals. In this regard, the criteria by which our ESG practices and disclosures are assessed may change due to the quickly evolving landscape, which could result in greater expectations of us and cause us to undertake costly initiatives to satisfy such new criteria. The increasing attention to corporate ESG initiatives could also result in increased investigations and litigation or threats thereof. If we are unable to satisfy such new criteria, investors may conclude that our ESG and sustainability practices are inadequate. If we fail or are perceived to have failed to achieve previously announced initiatives or goals or to accurately disclose our progress on such initiatives or goals, our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted.
We may be affected by fluctuating prices for fuel and energy.
Volatility in energy prices could have a significant effect on a variety of items including, but not limited to: the economy and demand for transportation services.
International, political, and economic factors, events and conditions, including current sanctions against Russia related to its invasion of Ukraine, affect the volatility of fuel prices and supplies. Weather can also affect fuel supplies and limit domestic refining capacity. A severe shortage of, or disruption to, domestic fuel supplies could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.
Our assets generally require routine maintenance, and we may be exposed to unforeseen maintenance costs.
We may be exposed to unforeseen maintenance costs for our assets associated with a lessee’s failure to properly maintain the asset. We enter into leases with respect to some of our assets pursuant to which the lessees are primarily responsible for many obligations, which generally include complying with all governmental requirements applicable to the lessee, including operational, maintenance, government agency oversight, registration requirements and other applicable directives. Failure of a lessee to perform required maintenance during the term of a lease could result in a decrease in value of an asset, an inability to re-lease an asset at favorable rates, if at all, or a potential inability to utilize an asset. Maintenance failures would also likely require us to incur maintenance and modification costs upon the termination of the applicable lease; such costs to restore the asset to an acceptable condition prior to re-leasing or sale could be substantial. Any failure by our lessees to meet their obligations to perform required scheduled maintenance or our inability to maintain our assets could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Some of our customers operate in highly regulated industries and changes in laws or regulations, including laws with respect to international trade, may adversely affect our ability to lease or sell our assets.
Some of our customers operate in highly regulated industries. A number of our contractual arrangements-for example, our leasing aircraft engines to third-party operators-require the operator (our customer) to obtain specific governmental or regulatory licenses, consents or approvals. These include consents for certain payments under such arrangements and for the export, import or re-export of the related assets. Failure by our customers or, in certain circumstances, by us, to obtain certain licenses and approvals could negatively affect our ability to conduct our business. In addition, the shipment of goods, services and technology across international borders subjects the operation of our assets to international trade laws and regulations. Moreover, many countries, including the United States, control the export and re-export of certain goods, services and technology and impose related export recordkeeping and reporting obligations. Governments also may impose economic sanctions against certain countries, persons and other entities that may restrict or prohibit transactions involving such countries, persons and entities. If any such regulations or sanctions affect the asset operators that are our customers, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be materially adversely affected.
Certain of our assets are subject to purchase options held by the lessee of the asset which, if exercised, could reduce the size of our asset base and our future revenues.
We have granted purchase options to the lessees of certain of our assets. The market values of these assets may change from time to time depending on a number of factors, such as general economic and market conditions affecting the industries in which we operate, competition, cost of construction, governmental or other regulations, technological changes and prevailing levels of lease rates from time to time. The purchase price under a purchase option may be less than the asset’s market value at the time the option may be exercised. In addition, we may not be able to obtain a replacement asset for the price at which the asset is sold. In such cases, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be materially adversely affected.
We may not be able to renew or obtain new or favorable leases, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our operating leases are subject to greater residual risk than direct finance leases because we will own the assets at the expiration of an operating lease term and we may be unable to renew existing leases at favorable rates, or at all, or sell the leased assets, and the residual value of the asset may be lower than anticipated. In addition, our ability to renew existing leases or obtain new leases will also depend on prevailing market conditions, and upon expiration of the contracts governing the leasing of the applicable assets, we may be exposed to increased volatility in terms of rates and contract provisions. Our customers may reduce their activity levels or seek to terminate or renegotiate their leases with us. If we are not able to renew or obtain new leases in direct continuation, or if new leases are entered into at rates substantially below the existing rates or on terms otherwise less favorable compared to existing contractual terms, or if we are unable to sell assets for which we are unable to obtain new contracts or leases, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
Litigation to enforce our contracts and recover our assets has inherent uncertainties that are increased by the location of our assets in jurisdictions that have less developed legal systems.
While some of our contractual arrangements are governed by New York law and provide for the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in the state of New York, our ability to enforce our counterparties’ obligations under such contractual arrangements is subject to applicable laws in the jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought. While some of our existing assets are used in specific jurisdictions, transportation and transportation-related infrastructureaviation assets by their nature generally move throughout multiple jurisdictions in the ordinary course of business. As a result, it is not possible to predict, with any degree of certainty, the jurisdictions in which enforcement proceedings may be commenced. Litigation and enforcement proceedings have inherent uncertainties in any jurisdiction and are expensive. These uncertainties are enhanced in countries that have less developed legal systems where the interpretation of laws and regulations is not consistent, may be influenced by factors other than legal merits and may be cumbersome, time-consuming and even more expensive. For example, repossession from defaulting lessees may be difficult and more expensive in jurisdictions whose laws do not confer the same security interests and rights to creditors and lessors as those in the United States and where the legal system is not as well developed. As a result, the remedies available and the relative success and expedience of collection and enforcement proceedings with respect to the owned assets in various jurisdictions cannot be predicted. To the extent more of our business shifts to areas outside of the United States and Europe, such as ChinaAsia and Malaysia,the Middle East, it may become more difficult and expensive to enforce our rights and recover our assets.
Certain liens may arise on our assets.
Certain of our assets are currently subject to liens under separate financing arrangements entered into by certain subsidiaries in connection with acquisitions of assets. In the event of a default under such arrangements by the applicable subsidiary, the lenders thereunder would be permitted to take possession of or sell such assets. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Liquidity and Capital Resources.” In addition, our currently owned assets and assets that we purchase in the future may be subject to other liens based on the industry practices relating to such assets. Until they are discharged, these liens could impair our ability to repossess, re-lease or sell our assets, and to the extent our lessees or charterers do not comply with their obligations to discharge any liens on the applicable assets, we may find it necessary to pay the claims secured by such liens in order to repossess such assets. Such payments could materially adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects.
The values of the assets that we purchase may fluctuate due to various factors.
The fair market values of our assets may decrease or increase depending on a number of factors, including the prevailing level of charter or lease rates from time to time, general economic and market conditions affecting our target markets, type and age of assets, supply and demand for assets, competition, new governmental or other regulations and technological advances, all of which could impact our profitability and our ability to lease, charter, develop, operate, or sell such assets. In addition, our assets depreciate as they age and may generate lower revenues and cash flows. We must be able to replace such older, depreciated assets with newer assets, or our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and cash flows will decline. In addition, if we dispose of an asset for a price that is less than the depreciated book value of the asset on our balance sheet or if we determine that an asset’s value has been impaired, we will recognize a related charge in our consolidated statement of operations and such charge could be material.
Our use of joint ventures or partnerships, and our Manager’s outsourcing of certain functions, may present unforeseen obstacles or costs.
We have acquired and may in the future acquire interests in certain assets in cooperation with third-party partners or co-investors through jointly-owned acquisition vehicles, joint ventures or other structures. In these co-investment situations, our ability to control the management of such assets depends upon the nature and terms of the joint arrangements with such partners and our relative ownership stake in the asset, each of which will be determined by negotiation at the time of the investment and the determination of which is subject to the discretion of our Manager. Depending on our Manager’s perception of the relative risks and rewards of a particular asset, our Manager may elect to acquire interests in structures that afford relatively little or no operational and/or management control to us. Such arrangements present risks not present with wholly-owned assets, such as the possibility that a co-investor becomes bankrupt, develops business interests or goals that conflict with our interests and goals in respect of the assets, all of which could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, our Manager expects to utilize third party contractors to perform services and functions related to the operation and leasing of our assets. These functions may include billing, collections, recovery and asset monitoring. Because we and our Manager do not directly control these third parties, there can be no assurance that the services they provide will be delivered at a level commensurate with our expectations, or at all. The failure of any such third party contractors to perform in accordance with our expectations could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to the risks and costs of obsolescence of our assets.
Technological and other improvements expose us to the risk that certain of our assets may become technologically or commercially obsolete. For example, in our Aviation Leasing segment, as manufacturers introduce technological innovations and new types of aircraft, some of our assets could become less desirable to potential lessees. Such technological innovations may increase the rate of obsolescence of existing aircraft faster than currently anticipated by us. In addition, the imposition of increased regulation regarding stringent noise or emissions restrictions may make some of our aircraft less desirable and less valuable in the marketplace. In our Offshore Energy segment, development and construction of new, sophisticated, high-specification assets could cause our assets to become less desirable to potential charterers, and insurance rates may also increase with the age of a vessel, making older vessels less desirable to potential charterers. Any of these risks may adversely affect our ability to lease, charter or sell our assets on favorable terms, if at all, which could materially adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects.
The North American rail sector is a highly regulated industry and increased costs of compliance with, or liability for violation of, existing or future laws, regulations and other requirements could significantly increase our costs of doing business, thereby adversely affecting our profitability.
The rail sector is subject to extensive laws, regulations and other requirements including, but not limited to, those relating to the environment, safety, rates and charges, service obligations, employment, labor, immigration, minimum wages and overtime pay, health care and benefits, working conditions, public accessibility and other requirements. These laws and regulations are enforced by U.S. and Canadian federal agencies including the U.S. and Canadian Environmental Protection Agencies, the U.S. and Canadian Departments of Transportation (USDOT or Transport Canada), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA or Canadian provincial equivalents), the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, or FRA, and the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, or STB, as well as numerous other state, provincial, local and federal agencies. Ongoing compliance with, or a violation of, these laws, regulations and other requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that our rail operations are in substantial compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, these laws and regulations, and the interpretation or enforcement thereof, are subject to frequent change and varying interpretation by regulatory authorities, and we are unable to predict the ongoing cost to us of complying with these laws and regulations or the future impact of these laws and regulations on our operations. In addition, from time to time we are subject to inspections and investigations by various regulators. Violation of environmental or other laws, regulations and permits can result in the imposition of significant administrative, civil and criminal penalties, injunctions and construction bans or delays.
Legislation passed by the U.S. Congress or Canadian Parliament or new regulations issued by federal agencies can significantly affect the revenues, costs and profitability of our business. For instance, in December 2009, a proposed bill called the “Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2009” was introduced in the Senate but not advanced. In addition, more recently proposed bills such as the “Rail Shipper Fairness Act of 2015,” if adopted, could increase government involvement in railroad pricing, service and operations and significantly change the federal regulatory framework of the railroad industry. Several of the changes under consideration could have a significant negative impact on FTAI’s ability to determine prices for rail services, meet service standards and could force a reduction in capital spending. Statutes imposing price constraints or affecting rail-to-rail competition could adversely affect FTAI’s profitability.
Under various U.S. and Canadian federal, state, provincial and local environmental requirements, as the owner or operator of terminals or other facilities, we may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of contamination at or from our existing locations, whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of such contamination. The failure to timely report and properly remediate contamination may subject us to liability to third parties and may adversely affect our ability to sell or rent our property or to borrow
money using our property as collateral. Additionally, we may be liable for the costs of remediating third-party sites where hazardous substances from our operations have been transported for treatment or disposal, regardless of whether we own or operate that site. In the future, we may incur substantial expenditures for investigation or remediation of contamination that has not yet been discovered at our current or former locations or locations that we may acquire.
A discharge of hydrocarbons or hazardous substances into the environment associated with operating our rail assets could subject us to substantial expense, including the cost to recover the materials spilled, restore the affected natural resources, pay fines and penalties, and natural resource damages and claims made by employees, neighboring landowners, government authorities and other third parties, including for personal injury and property damage. We may experience future catastrophic sudden or gradual releases into the environment from our facilities or discover historical releases that were previously unidentified or not assessed. Although our inspection and testing programs are designed to prevent, detect and address any such releases promptly, the liabilities incurred due to any future releases into the environment from our assets, have the potential to substantially affect our business. Such events could also subject us to media and public scrutiny that could have a negative effect on our operations and also on the value of our common shares.
Our business could be adversely affected if service on the railroads is interrupted or if more stringent regulations are adopted regarding railcar design or the transportation of crude oil by rail.
As a result of hydraulic fracturing and other improvements in extraction technologies, there has been a substantial increase in the volume of crude oil and liquid hydrocarbons produced and transported in North America, and a geographic shift in that production versus historical production. The increase in volume and shift in geography has resulted in a growing percentage of crude oil being transported by rail. High-profile accidents involving crude-oil-carrying trains in Quebec, North Dakota and Virginia, and more recently in West Virginia and Illinois, have raised concerns about the environmental and safety risks associated with crude oil transport by rail and the associated risks arising from railcar design.
In May 2015, the DOT issued new production standards and operational controls for rail tank cars used in “High-Hazard Flammable Trains” (i.e., trains carrying commodities such as ethanol, crude oil and other flammable liquids). Similar standards have been adopted in Canada. The new standard applies for all cars manufactured after October 1, 2015, and existing tank cars must be retrofitted within the next three to eight years. The applicable operational controls include reduced speed restrictions, and maximum lengths on trains carrying these materials. Retrofitting our tank cars will be required under these new standards. While we may be able to pass some of these costs on to our customers, there may be costs that we cannot pass on to them. We continue to monitor the railcar regulatory landscape and remain in close contact with railcar suppliers and other industry stakeholders to stay informed of railcar regulation rulemaking developments. It is unclear how these regulations will impact the crude-by-rail industry, and any such impact would depend on a number of factors that are outside of our control. If, for example, overall volume of crude-by-rail decreases, or if we do not have access to a sufficient number of compliant cars to transport required volumes under our existing contracts, our operations may be negatively affected. This may lead to a decrease in revenues and other consequences.
The adoption of additional federal, state, provincial or local laws or regulations, including any voluntary measures by the rail industry regarding railcar design or crude oil and liquid hydrocarbon rail transport activities, or efforts by local communities to restrict or limit rail traffic involving crude oil, could affect our business by increasing compliance costs and decreasing demand for our services, which could adversely affect our financial position and cash flows. Moreover, any disruptions in the operations of railroads, including those due to shortages of railcars, weather-related problems, flooding, drought, accidents, mechanical difficulties, strikes, lockouts or bottlenecks, could adversely impact our customers’ ability to move their product and, as a result, could affect our business.
Our assets are exposed to unplanned interruptions caused by catastrophic events outside of our control which may disrupt our business and cause damage or losses that may not be adequately covered by insurance.
The operations of transportation and infrastructure projects are exposed to unplanned interruptions caused by significant catastrophic events, such as cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, floods, explosions, fires, major plant breakdowns, pipeline or electricity line ruptures or other disasters. Operational disruption, as well as supply disruption, could adversely impact the cash flows available from these assets. In addition, the cost of repairing or replacing damaged assets could be considerable. Repeated or prolonged interruption may result in temporary or permanent loss of customers, substantial litigation or penalties for regulatory or contractual non-compliance, and any loss from such events may not be recoverable under relevant insurance policies. Although we believe that we are adequately insured against these types of events, either indirectly through our lessees or charterers or through our own insurance policies, no assurance can be given that the occurrence of any such event will not materially adversely affect us. In addition, if a lessee or charterer is not obligated to maintain sufficient insurance, we may incur the costs of additional insurance coverage during the related lease or charter. We can give no assurance that such insurance will be available at commercially reasonable rates, if at all.
Our assets generally require routine maintenance, and we may be exposed to unforeseen maintenance costs.
We may be exposed to unforeseen maintenance costs for our assets associated with a lessee’s or charterer’s failure to properly maintain the asset. We enter into leases and charters with respect to some of our assets pursuant to which the lessees are primarily responsible for many obligations, which generally include complying with all governmental requirements applicable to the lessee or charterer, including operational, maintenance, government agency oversight, registration requirements and other applicable directives. Failure of a lessee or charterer to perform required maintenance during the term of a lease or charter could result in a decrease in value of an asset, an inability to re-lease or charter an asset at favorable rates, if at all, or a potential inability to utilize an asset. Maintenance failures would also likely require us to incur maintenance and modification costs upon the termination of the applicable lease or charter; such costs to restore the asset to an acceptable condition prior to re-leasing, charter or sale could be substantial. Any failure by our lessees or charterers to meet their obligations to perform required scheduled maintenance or our inability to maintain our assets could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Some of our customers operate in highly regulated industries and changes in laws or regulations, including laws with respect to international trade, may adversely affect our ability to lease, charter or sell our assets.
Some of our customers operate in highly regulated industries such as aviation and offshore energy. A number of our contractual arrangements-for example, our leasing aircraft engines or offshore energy equipment to third-party operators-require the operator (our customer) to obtain specific governmental or regulatory licenses, consents or approvals. These include consents for certain payments under such arrangements and for the export, import or re-export of the related assets. Failure by our customers or, in certain circumstances, by us, to obtain certain licenses and approvals could negatively affect our ability to conduct our business. In addition, the shipment of goods, services and technology across international borders subjects the operation of our assets to international trade laws and regulations. Moreover, many countries, including the United States, control the export and re-export of certain goods, services and technology and impose related export recordkeeping and reporting obligations. Governments also may impose economic sanctions against certain countries, persons and other entities that may restrict or prohibit transactions involving such countries, persons and entities. If any such regulations or sanctions affect the asset operators that are our customers, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be materially adversely affected.
It is impossible to predict whether third parties will allege liability related to our purchase of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (“MM&A”) assets out of bankruptcy, including possible claims related to the July 6, 2013 train derailment near Lac-Mégantic, Quebec.
On July 6, 2013, prior to our ownership, a train carrying crude oil on the MM&A line derailed near Lac-Mégantic, Quebec which resulted in fires that claimed the lives of 47 individuals (the “Incident”). Approximately two million gallons of crude oil were either burned or released into the environment, including into the nearby Chaudière River. Prior to our acquisition of the MM&A assets in May and June 2014, we received written assurance from the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, Wildlife and Parks that it would take full responsibility for the environmental clean-up and that it would not hold CMQR liable for any environmental damages or costs relating to clean-up or restoration of the affected area as a result of the Incident. While we don’t anticipate any liability relating to the Incident, including liability for claims alleging personal injury, property damage or natural resource damages, there can be no assurance that such claims relating to the Incident will not arise in the future. No claims have been made or threatened against us as of September 30, 2017 and we do not anticipate any expenditures relating to environmental clean-up (including impacts to the Chaudière River) as a result of the Incident.
Certain of our assets are subject to purchase options held by the charterer or lessee of the asset which, if exercised, could reduce the size of our asset base and our future revenues.
We have granted purchase options to the charterers and lessees of certain of our assets. The market values of these assets may change from time to time depending on a number of factors, such as general economic and market conditions affecting the industries in which we operate, competition, cost of construction, governmental or other regulations, technological changes and prevailing levels of charter or lease rates from time to time. The purchase price under a purchase option may be less than the asset’s market value at the time the option may be exercised. In addition, we may not be able to obtain a replacement asset for the price at which the asset is sold. In such cases, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be materially adversely affected.
The profitability of our Offshore Energy segment may be impacted by the profitability of the offshore oil and gas industry generally, which is significantly affected by, among other things, volatile oil and gas prices.
Demand for assets in the Offshore Energy segment and our ability to secure charter contracts for our assets at favorable charter rates following expiry or termination of existing charters will depend, among other things, on the level of activity in the offshore oil and gas industry. The offshore oil and gas industry is cyclical and volatile, and demand for oil-service assets depends on, among other things, the level of development and activity in oil and gas exploration, as well as the identification and development of oil and gas reserves and production in offshore areas worldwide. The availability of high quality oil and gas prospects, exploration success, relative production costs, the stage of reservoir development, political concerns and regulatory requirements all affect the level of activity for charterers of oil-service vessels. Accordingly, oil and gas prices and market expectations of potential changes in these prices significantly affect the level of activity and demand for oil-service assets. Oil and gas prices can be extremely volatile (and have declined significantly in the last year) and are affected by numerous factors beyond the Company’s control, such as: worldwide demand for oil and gas; costs of exploring, developing, producing and delivering oil and gas; expectations regarding future energy prices; the ability of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) to set and maintain production levels and impact pricing; the level of production in non-OPEC countries; governmental regulations and policies regarding development of oil and gas reserves; local and international political, economic and weather conditions; domestic and foreign tax policies; political and military conflicts in oil-producing and other countries; and the development and exploration of alternative fuels. Any reduction in the demand for our assets due to these or other factors could materially adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects.
Our Shipping Containers segment is affected by the lack of an international title registry for containers, which increases the risk of ownership disputes.
Although the Bureau International des Containers registers and allocates a unique four letter prefix to every container in accordance with International Standardization Organization (“ISO”) standard 6346 (Freight container coding, identification and marking) there is no internationally recognized system of recordation or filing to evidence our title to containers nor is there an internationally recognized system for filing security interest in containers. While this has not historically had a material impact on our intermodal assets, the lack of a title recordation system with respect to containers could result in disputes with lessees, end-users, or third parties, such as creditors of end-users, who may improperly claim ownership of the containers, especially in countries with less developed legal systems.
Our international operations involve additional risks, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We and our customers operate in various regions throughout the world. As a result, we may, directly or indirectly, be exposed to political and other uncertainties, including risks of:
terrorist acts, armed hostilities, war and civil disturbances;
potential cybersecurity attacks;
significant governmental influence over many aspects of local economies;
seizure, nationalization or expropriation of property or equipment;
repudiation, nullification, modification or renegotiation of contracts;
limitations on insurance coverage, such as war risk coverage, in certain areas;
foreign and U.S. monetary policy and foreign currency fluctuations and devaluations;
the inability to repatriate income or capital;
complications associated with repairing and replacing equipment in remote locations;
import-export quotas, wage and price controls, imposition of trade barriers;
U.S. and foreign sanctions or trade embargoes;
restrictions on the transfer of funds into or out of countries in which we operate;
compliance with U.S. Treasury sanctions regulations restricting doing business with certain nations or specially designated nationals;
regulatory or financial requirements to comply with foreign bureaucratic actions;
compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and regulations;
changing taxation policies, including confiscatory taxation;
other forms of government regulation and economic conditions that are beyond our control; and
Any of these or other risks could adversely impact our customers’ international operations which could materially adversely impact our operating results and growth opportunities.
We may make acquisitions in emerging markets throughout the world, and investments in emerging markets are subject to greater risks than developed markets and could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
To the extent that we acquire assets in emerging markets-which we may do throughout the world-additional risks may be encountered that could adversely affect our business. Emerging market countries have less developed economies and infrastructure and are often more vulnerable to economic and geopolitical challenges and may experience significant fluctuations in gross domestic product, interest rates and currency exchange rates, as well as civil disturbances, government instability, nationalization and expropriation of private assets and the imposition of taxes or other charges by government authorities. In addition, the currencies in which investments are denominated may be unstable, may be subject to significant depreciation and may not be freely convertible or may be subject to the imposition of other monetary or fiscal controls and restrictions.
Emerging markets are still in relatively early stages of their development and accordingly may not be highly or efficiently regulated. Moreover, emerging markets tend to be shallower and less liquid than more established markets which may adversely affect our ability to realize profits from our assets in emerging markets when we desire to do so or receive what we perceive to be their fair value in the event of a realization. In some cases, a market for realizing profits from an investment may not exist locally. In addition, issuers based in emerging markets are not generally subject to uniform accounting and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to issuers based in more developed countries, thereby potentially increasing the risk of fraud and other deceptive practices. Settlement of transactions may be subject to greater delay and administrative uncertainties than in developed markets and less complete and reliable financial and other information may be available to investors in emerging markets than in developed markets. In addition, economic instability in emerging markets could adversely affect the value of our assets subject to leases or charters in such countries, or the ability of our lessees, or charters, which operate in these markets, to meet their contractual obligations. As a result, lessees or charterers that operate in emerging market countries may be more likely to default under their contractual obligations than those that operate in developed countries. Liquidity and volatility limitations in these markets may also adversely affect our ability to dispose of our assets at the best price available or in a timely manner.
As we have and may continue to acquire assets located in emerging markets throughout the world, we may be exposed to any one or a combination of these risks, which could adversely affect our operating results.
We are actively evaluating potential acquisitions of assets and operating companies in other transportation and infrastructureaviation sectors which could result in additional risks and uncertainties for our business and unexpected regulatory compliance costs.
While our existing portfolio consists of assets in the aviation energy, intermodal transport and rail sectors,sector, we are actively evaluating potential acquisitions of assets and operating companies in other sectors of the transportation and transportation-related infrastructure and equipment marketsaviation market and we plan to be flexible as other attractive opportunities arise over time. To the extent we make acquisitions in other sectors, we will face numerous risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the required investment of capital and other resources and with combining or integrating operational and management systems and controls. Entry into certain lines of business may subject us to new laws and regulations and may lead to increased litigation and regulatory risk. Many types of transportation assets, including certain rail, airport and seaport assets, are subject to registration requirements by U.S. governmental agencies, as well as foreign governments if such assets are to be used outside of the United States. Failing to register the assets, or losing such registration, could result in substantial penalties, forced liquidation of the assets and/or the inability to operate and, if applicable, lease the assets. We may need to incur significant costs to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to any such new acquisition. The failure to comply with these laws and regulations could cause us to incur significant costs, fines or penalties or require the assets to be removed from service for a period of time resulting in reduced income from these assets. In addition, if our acquisitions in other sectors produce insufficient revenues, or produce investment losses, or if we are unable to efficiently manage our expanded operations, our results of operations will be adversely affected, and our reputation and business may be harmed.
We may acquire operating businesses, including businesses whose operations are not fully matured and stabilized. These businesses may be subject to significant operating and development risks, including increased competition, cost overruns and delays, and difficulties in obtaining approvals or financing. These factors could materially affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We have acquired, and may in the future acquire, operating businesses including businesses whose operations are not fully matured and stabilized (such as Jefferson Terminal). While we have deep experience in the construction and operation of these companies, we are nevertheless subject to significant risks and contingencies of an operating business, and these risks are greater where the operations of such businesses are not fully matured and stabilized. Key factors that may affect our operating businesses include, but are not limited to:
competition from market participants;
general economic and/or industry trends, including pricing for the products or services offered by our operating businesses;
the issuance and/or continued availability of necessary permits, licenses, approvals and agreements from governmental agencies and third parties as are required to construct and operate such businesses;
changes or deficiencies in the design or construction of development projects;
unforeseen engineering, environmental or geological problems;
potential increases in construction and operating costs due to changes in the cost and availability of fuel, power, materials and supplies;
the availability and cost of skilled labor and equipment;
our ability to enter into additional satisfactory agreements with contractors and to maintain good relationships with these contractors in order to construct development projects within our expected cost parameters and time frame, and the ability of those contractors to perform their obligations under the contracts and to maintain their creditworthiness;
potential liability for injury or casualty losses which are not covered by insurance;
potential opposition from non-governmental organizations, environmental groups, local or other groups which may delay or prevent development activities;
local and economic conditions;
changes in legal requirements; and
force majeure events, including catastrophes and adverse weather conditions.
Any of these factors could materially affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
The agreements governing our indebtedness place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries, reducing operational flexibility and creating default risks.
The agreements governing our indebtedness, including, but not limited to, the indenture governing our Senior Notes and the amended and restated revolving credit facility entered into on December 2, 2021 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated as of April 28, 2022 and Amendment No. 2 dated as of September 20, 2022, the “Revolving Credit Facility”), contain covenants that place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries. The indentureindentures governing our Senior Notes restricts,and the Revolving Credit Facility restrict among other things, our and certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to:
merge, consolidate or transfer all, or substantially all, of our assets;
incur additional debt or issue preferred stock;shares;
make certain investments or acquisitions;
create liens on our or our subsidiaries’ assets;
make distributions on or repurchase our stock;shares;
enter into transactions with affiliates; and
create dividend restrictions and other payment restrictions that affect our subsidiaries.
These covenants could impair our ability to grow our business, take advantage of attractive business opportunities, pay dividends on our ordinary shares or successfully compete. A breach of any of these covenants could result in an event of default. Cross-default provisions in our debt agreements could cause an event of default under one debt agreement to trigger an event of default under our other debt agreements. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under any of our debt agreements, the lenders or holders thereof could elect to declare all outstanding debt under such agreements to be immediately due and payable.
Terrorist attacks or other hostilities could negatively impact our operations and our profitability and may expose us to liability and reputational damage.
Terrorist attacks may negatively affect our operations. Such attacks have contributed to economic instability in the United States and elsewhere, and further acts of terrorism, violence or war could similarly affect world trade and the industries in which we and our customers operate. In addition, terrorist attacks or hostilities may directly impact airports or aircraft, ports where our containers and vessels travel, or our physical facilities or those of our customers. In addition, it is also possible that our assets could be involved in a terrorist attack.attack or other hostilities. The consequences of any terrorist attacks or hostilities are unpredictable, and we may not be able to foresee events that could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Although our lease and charter agreements generally require the counterparties to indemnify us against all damages arising out of the use of our assets, and we carry insurance to potentially offset any costs in the event that our customer indemnifications prove to be insufficient, our insurance does not cover certain types of terrorist attacks, and we may not be fully protected from liability or the reputational damage that could arise from a terrorist attack which utilizes our assets.
Because we are a recently formed company with a limited operating history, our historical financial and operating data may not be representative of our future results.
We are a recently formed limited liability company with a limited operating history. Our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows reflected in our consolidated financial statements may not be indicative of the results we would have achieved if we were a public company or results that may be achieved in future periods. Consequently, there can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient income to pay our operating expenses and make satisfactory distributions to our shareholders, or any distributions at all. Further, we only make acquisitions identified by our Manager. As a result of this concentration of assets, our financial performance depends on the performance of our Manager in identifying target assets, the availability of opportunities falling within our asset acquisition strategy and the performance of those underlying assets.
Our leases and charters require payments in U.S. dollars, but many of our customers operate in other currencies; if foreign currencies devalue against the U.S. dollar, our lessees or charterers may be unable to meet their payment obligations to us in a timely manner.
Our current leases and charterstypically require that payments be made in U.S. dollars. If the currency that our lessees or charterers typically use in operating their businesses devalues against the U.S. dollar, our lessees or charterers could encounter difficulties in making payments to us in U.S. dollars. Furthermore, many foreign countries have currency and exchange laws regulating international payments that may impede or prevent payments from being paid to us in U.S. dollars. Future leases or charters may provide for payments to be made in euros or other foreign currencies. Any change in the currency exchange rate that reduces the amount of U.S. dollars obtained by us upon conversion of future lease payments denominated in euros or other foreign currencies, may, if not appropriately hedged by us, have a material adverse effect on us and increase the volatility of our earnings.
Our inability to obtain sufficient capital would constrain our ability to grow our portfolio and to increase our revenues.
Our business is capital intensive, and we have used and may continue to employ leverage to finance our operations. Accordingly, our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and maintain our operations depends on the availability and cost of debt and equity capital. Additionally, our ability to borrow against our assets is dependent, in part, on the appraised value of such assets. If the appraised value of such assets declines, we may be required to reduce the principal outstanding under our debt facilities or otherwise be unable to incur new borrowings.
We can give no assurance that the capital we need will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all. Our inability to obtain sufficient capital, or to renew or expand our credit facilities, could result in increased funding costs and would limit our ability to:
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meet the terms and maturities of our existing and future debt facilities;
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purchase new assets or refinance existing assets;
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fund our working capital needs and maintain adequate liquidity; and
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finance other growth initiatives.
In addition, we conduct our operations so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”). As such, certain forms of financing such as finance leases may not be available to us. Please see “-“Risks Related to Our Business.” If we are deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”
The effects of various environmental regulations may negatively affect the industries in which we operate which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharge of pollutants to air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the cleanup of contaminated sites and noise and emission levels. levels and greenhouse gas emissions. Legislative and regulatory measures currently under consideration or being implemented by government authorities to address climate change could require reductions in our greenhouse gas or other emissions, establish a carbon tax or increase fuel or energy taxes. These legal requirements are expected to result in increased capital expenditures and compliance costs, and could result in higher costs and may require us to acquire emission credits or carbon offsets. These costs and restrictions could harm our business and results of operations by increasing our expenses or requiring us to alter our operations. The inconsistent international, regional and/or national requirements associated with climate change regulations also create economic and regulatory uncertainty.
Under some environmental laws in the United States and certain other countries, strict liability may be imposed on the owners or operators of assets, which could render us liable for environmental and natural resource damages without regard to negligence or fault on our part. We could incur substantial costs, including cleanup costs, fines and third-party claims for property or natural resource damage and personal injury, as a result of violations of or liabilities under environmental laws and regulations in connection with our or our lessee’s or charterer’s current or historical operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, a variety of new legislation is being enacted, or considered for enactment, at the federal, state and local levels relating to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. While there has historically been a lack of consistent climate change legislation, as climate change concerns continue to grow, further legislation and regulations are expected to continue in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions control, emission disclosure requirements and building codes or other infrastructure requirements that impose energy efficiency standards. Government mandates, standards or regulations intended to mitigate or reduce greenhouse gas emissions or projected climate change impacts could result in increased energy and transportation costs, and increased compliance expenses and other financial obligations to meet permitting or development requirements that we may be unable to fully recover (due to market conditions or other factors), any of which could result in reduced profits and adversely affect our results of operations. While we typically maintain liability insurance coverage and typically require our lessees to provide us with indemnity against certain losses, the insurance coverage is subject to large deductibles, limits on maximum coverage and significant exclusions and may not be sufficient or available to protect against any or all liabilities and such indemnities may not cover or be sufficient to protect us against losses arising from environmental damage. In addition, changes to environmental standards or regulations in the industries in which we operate could limit the economic life of the assets we acquire or reduce their value, and also require us to make significant additional investments in order to maintain compliance, which would negatively impact our cash flows and results of operations.
The discontinuation of the LIBOR benchmark interest rate may have an impact on our business.
On July 27, 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA"), which regulates LIBOR, announced that it will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR rates after 2021. On November 30, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration, or the IBA, the administrator of LIBOR, with the support of the United States Federal Reserve and the FCA, announced plans to consult on ceasing publication of LIBOR on December 31, 2021, for only the one-week and two-month LIBOR tenors, and on June 30, 2023, for all other LIBOR tenors. The U.S. Federal Reserve concurrently issued a statement advising banks to stop new LIBOR issuances by the end of 2021. The IBA ceased publication of one-week and two-month USD LIBOR settings after December 31, 2021, and intends to cease publishing the remaining USD LIBOR settings after June 30, 2023.
In the United States, the Alternative Reference Rate Committee (“ARRC”), a group of diverse private-market participants assembled by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was tasked with identifying alternative reference rates to replace LIBOR. The Secured Overnight Finance Rate (“SOFR”) has emerged as the ARRC's preferred alternative rate for LIBOR. SOFR is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by Treasury securities in the repurchase agreement market. At this time, it is not possible to predict how markets will respond to SOFR or other alternative reference rates.
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Our Repauno siteA cyberattack that bypasses our information technology (“IT”), security systems or the IT security systems of our third-party providers, causing an IT security breach, may lead to a disruption of our IT systems and Hannibal property are subjectthe loss of business information which may hinder our ability to environmental lawsconduct our business effectively and regulationsmay result in lost revenues and additional costs.
Parts of our business depend on the secure operation of our IT systems and the IT systems of our third-party providers to manage, process, store, and transmit information associated with aircraft leasing. We have, from time to time, experienced threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks. A cyberattack that may expose usbypasses our IT security systems or the IT security systems of our third-party providers, causing an IT security breach, could adversely impact our daily operations and lead to significantthe loss of sensitive information, including our own proprietary information and that of our customers, suppliers and employees. Such losses could harm our reputation and result in competitive disadvantages, litigation, regulatory enforcement actions, lost revenues, additional costs and liabilities.
Our Repauno site is subject While we devote substantial resources to on-going environmental investigationmaintaining adequate levels of cyber-security, our resources and remediation by the former owner of the property related to historic industrial operations. The former owner is responsible for completion of this work, and we benefit from a related indemnity and insurance policy. If the former owner fails to fulfill its investigation and remediation, or indemnity obligations and the related insurance, which are subject to limits and conditions, fail to cover our costs, we could incur losses. Redevelopment of the property in those areas undergoing investigation and remediation must await state environmental agency confirmation that no further investigation or remediation is required before redevelopment activities can occur in such areas of the property. Therefore, any delay in the former owner’s completion of the environmental work or receipt of related approvals in an area of the property could delay our redevelopment activities. In addition, once received, permits and approvalstechnical sophistication may not be subject to litigation, and projects may be delayed or approvals reversed or modified in litigation. If there is a delay in obtaining any required regulatory approval, it could delay projects and cause us to incur costs.
In connection with our acquisition of Hannibal, the former owner of the property is obligated to perform certain post-closing demolition activities, remove specified containers, equipment and structures and conduct investigation, removal, cleanup and decontamination related thereto. In addition, the former owner is responsible for on-going environmental remediation related to historic industrial operations on and off Hannibal. Pursuant to an order issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (“Ohio EPA”), the former owner is responsible for completing the removal and off-site disposal of electrolytic pots associated with the former use of Hannibal as an aluminum reduction plant. In addition, Hannibal is located adjacent to the former Ormet Corporation Superfund site (the “Ormet site”), which is owned and operated by the former owner of Hannibal. Pursuant to an order with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“US EPA”), the former owner is obligated to pump groundwater that has been impacted by the adjacent Ormet site beneath our site and discharge it to the Ohio River and monitor the groundwater annually. Hannibal is also subject to an environmental covenant related to the adjacent Ormet site that, inter alia, restricts the use of groundwater beneath our site and requires US EPA consent for activities on Hannibal that could disrupt the groundwater monitoring or pumping. The former owner is contractually obligated to complete its regulatory obligations on Hannibal and we benefit from a related indemnity and insurance policy. If the former owner fails to fulfill its demolition, removal, investigation, remediation or monitoring obligations, or indemnity obligations and the related insurance, which are subject to limits and conditions, fail to cover our costs, we could incur losses. Redevelopment of the property in those areas undergoing investigation and remediation pursuant to the Ohio EPA order must await state environmental agency confirmation that no further investigation or remediation is required before redevelopment activities can occur in such area of the property. Therefore, any delay in the former owner’s completion of the environmental work or receipt of related approvals or consents from Ohio EPA or US EPA could delay our redevelopment activities.
In addition, a portion of Hannibal is proposed for redevelopment as a combined cycle gas-fired electric generating facility. Although environmental investigations in that portion of the property have not identified material impacts to soils or groundwater that reasonably would be expectedadequate to prevent or delay redevelopment, impacted materials could be encountered during construction that require special handling and/or result in delays to the project. In addition, the constructionall types of an electric generating plant will require environmental permits and approvals from federal, state and local environmental agencies. Once received, permits and approvals may be subject to litigation, and projects may be delayed or approvals reversed or modified in litigation. If there is a delay in obtaining any required regulatory approval, it could delay projects and cause us to incur costs.cyberattacks.
Moreover, new, stricter environmental laws, regulations or enforcement policies, including those imposed in response to climate change, could be implemented that significantly increase our compliance costs, or require us to adopt more costly methods of operation. If we are not able to transform Repauno or Hannibal into hubs for industrial and energy development in a timely manner, their future prospects could be materially and adversely affected, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
If we are deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We conduct our operations so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are U.S. government securities and securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exception from the definition of investment company for certain privately-offered investment vehicles set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.
We are a holding company that is not an investment company because we are engaged in the business of holding securities of our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, which are engaged in transportation and related businesses which lease assets pursuant to operating leases and finance leases. The Investment Company Act may limit our and our subsidiaries’ ability to enter into financing leases and engage in other types of financial activity because less than 40% of the value of our and our subsidiaries’ total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis can consist of “investment securities.”
If we or any of our subsidiaries were required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, the registered entity would become subject to substantial regulation that would significantly change our operations, and we would not be able to conduct our business as described in this report. We have not obtained a formal determination from the SEC as to our status under the Investment Company Act and, consequently, any violation of the Investment Company Act would subject us to material adverse consequences.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (as amended from time to time, the ‘‘Articles’’), the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the ‘‘Cayman Companies Act’’) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
The Financial Action Task Force has increased monitoring of the Cayman Islands.
In February 2021, the Cayman Islands was added to the Financial Action Task Force (‘‘FATF’’) list of jurisdictions whose anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist and proliferation financing practices are under increased monitoring, commonly referred to as the ‘‘FATF grey list.’’ The FATF was established in July 1989 by a Group of Seven (G-7) Summit and is a task force composed of member governments who agree to fund the FATF on temporary basis with specific goals and projects– it is an international policy-making body that sets international anti-money laundering standards and counter-terrorist financing measures. The FATF monitors countries to ensure they implement the FATF Standards fully and effectively, and holds countries to account that do not comply. When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring during that timeframe. In its October 2021 plenary, the FATF positively recognized the ongoing efforts of the Cayman Islands to improve its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime. Despite the progress the Cayman Islands is making on satisfying the final outstanding recommendations (being considered as compliant or largely compliant with all of the FATF’s 40 recommendations and having completed 60 out of 63 FATF recommendation actions), it is still unclear how long this designation will remain in place and what ramifications, if any, the designation will have for the Company.
EU AML High-Risk Third Countries List
On March 13, 2022, the European Commission (‘‘EC’’) updated its list of ’high-risk third countries’ (‘‘EU AML List’’) identified as having strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing regimes to add nine countries, including the Cayman Islands. The EC has noted it is committed to there being a greater alignment between the EU AML List and the FATF listing process. The addition of the Cayman Islands to the EU AML List is a direct result of the inclusion of the Cayman Islands on the FATF grey list in February 2021. It is unclear how long this designation will remain in place and what ramifications, if any, the designation will have for the Company.
Our assets are exposed to unplanned interruptions caused by events outside of our control which may disrupt our business and cause damage or losses that may not be adequately covered by insurance.
Aviation projects are exposed to unplanned interruptions caused by breakdown or failure of equipment, aging infrastructure, employee error or contractor or subcontractor failure, problems that delay or increase the cost of returning facilities to service after outages, limitations that may be imposed by equipment conditions or environmental, safety or other regulatory requirements, fuel supply or fuel transportation reductions or interruptions, labor disputes, difficulties with the implementation or operation of information systems, derailments, power outages, pipeline or electricity line ruptures, catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, floods, explosions, fires, or other disasters. Any equipment or system outage or constraint can, among other things, reduce sales, increase costs and affect the ability to meet regulatory service metrics, customer expectations and regulatory reliability and security requirements. We have in the past experienced power outages at plants which disrupted their operations and negatively impacted our revenues. We cannot assure you that similar events may not occur in the future. Operational disruption, as well as supply disruption, and increased government oversight could adversely impact the cash flows available from these assets. In addition, the cost of repairing or replacing damaged assets could be considerable. Repeated or prolonged interruption may result in temporary or permanent loss of customers, substantial litigation or penalties for regulatory or contractual non-compliance, and any loss from such events may not be recoverable under relevant insurance policies. Although we believe that we are adequately insured against these types of events, either indirectly through our lessees through our own insurance policies, no assurance can be given that the occurrence of any such event will not materially adversely affect us. In addition, if a lessee is not obligated to maintain sufficient insurance, we may incur the costs of additional insurance coverage during the related lease. We can give no assurance that such insurance will be available at commercially reasonable rates, if at all.
Risks Related to Our Manager
We are dependent on our Manager and other key personnel at Fortress and may not find suitable replacements if our Manager terminates the Management Agreement or if other key personnel depart.
Our officers and other individuals who perform services for us (other than Jefferson and CMQR employees) are employees of our Manager or other Fortress entities. We are completely reliant on our Manager, which has significant discretion as to the implementation of our operating policies and strategies to conduct our business.business as a holding and operating company in the transportation sector. We are subject to the risk that our Manager will terminate the Management Agreement and that we will not be able to find a suitable replacement for our Manager in a timely manner, at a reasonable cost, or at all. Furthermore, we are dependent on the services of certain key employees of our Manager and certain key employees of Fortress entities whose compensation is partially or entirely dependent upon the amount of management fees earned by our Manager or the incentive allocationspayments distributed to the General PartnerMaster GP and whose continued service is not guaranteed, and the loss of such personnel or services could materially adversely affect our operations. We do not have key man insurance for any of the personnel of the Manager or other Fortress entities that are key to us. An inability to find a suitable replacement for any departing employee of our Manager or Fortress entities on a timely basis could materially adversely affect our ability to operate and grow our business.
In addition, our Manager may assign our Management Agreement to an entity whose business and operations are managed or supervised by Mr. Wesley R. Edens, who is a principal, Co-Chief Executive Officer and a Co-Chairmanmember of the board of directors of Fortress, an affiliate of our Manager, and a member of the management committee of Fortress since co-founding Fortress in May 1998. In the event of any such assignment to a non-affiliate of Fortress, the functions currently performed by our Manager’s current personnel may be performed by others. We can give you no assurance that such personnel would manage our operations in the same manner as our Manager currently does, and the failure by the personnel of any such entity to acquire assets generating attractive risk-adjusted returns could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
On February 14, 2017, Fortress announced that it had entered into
In connection with the Merger Agreement with SoftBank Parent and an affiliate of SoftBank, and SoftBank Merger, Sub, pursuant to whichFortress operates within SoftBank Merger Sub will merge with and into Fortress, with Fortress surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Parent. While Fortress’s senior investment professionals are expected to remainan independent business headquartered in place, including those individuals who perform services for us, there can be no assurance that the SoftBank merger will not have an impact on us or our relationship with the Manager.New York.
There are conflicts of interest in our relationship with our Manager.
Our Management Agreement, the PartnershipServices and Profit Sharing Agreement and our operating agreementArticles were negotiated prior to our IPO and among affiliated parties, and their terms, including fees and other amounts payable, may not be as favorable to us as if they had been negotiated after our IPO with an unaffiliated third-party.
There are conflicts of interest inherent in our relationship with our Manager insofar as our Manager and its affiliates - including investment funds, private investment funds, or businesses managed by our Manager, including Seacastle Ships Holdings Inc., Trac Intermodal and Florida East Coast Railway, L.L.C. - invest in transportation and transportation-related infrastructureaviation assets and whose investment objectives overlap with our asset acquisition objectives. Certain opportunities appropriate for us may also be appropriate for one or more of these other investment vehicles. Certain members of our board of directors and employees of our Manager who are our officers also serve as officers and/or directors of these other entities. For example, we have some of the sameour directors and officers as Seacastle Ships Holdings Inc. and Trac Intermodal.are also directors or officers of FTAI Infrastructure. Although we have the same Manager, we may compete with entities affiliated with our Manager or Fortress including Seacastle Ships Holdings Inc. and Trac Intermodal, for certain target assets. From time to time, affiliates ofentities affiliated with or managed by our Manager or Fortress may focus on investments in assets with a similar profile as our target assets that we may seek to acquire. These affiliates may have meaningful purchasing capacity, which may change over time depending upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, available equity capital and debt financing, market conditions and cash on hand. Fortress has multiple existing and planned funds focused on investing in one or more of our target sectors, each with significant current or expected capital commitments. We have previously purchased and may in the future purchase assets from these funds, and have previously co-invested and may in the future co-invest with these funds in transportation and transportation-related infrastructureaviation assets. Fortress funds generally have a fee structure similar to ours, but the fees actually paid will vary depending on the size, terms and performance of each fund.
Our Management Agreement generally does not limit or restrict our Manager or its affiliates from engaging in any business or managing other operating companies similar to us or pooled investment vehicles that invest in assets that meet our asset acquisition objectives. Our Manager intends to engagehas also engaged in additional transportation and infrastructure related management with FTAI Infrastructure in our recent spin-off of our infrastructure assets, and transportation, infrastructure andmay be involved in other investment opportunities in the future, any of which may compete with us for investments or result in a change in our current investment strategy. In addition, our operating agreement providesArticles provide that if Fortress or an affiliate or any of their officers, directors or employees acquire knowledge of a potential transaction that could be a corporate opportunity, they have no duty, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to offer such corporate opportunity to us, our shareholders or our affiliates. In the event that any of our directors and officers who is also a director, officer or employee of Fortress or its affiliates acquires knowledge of a corporate opportunity or is offered a corporate opportunity, provided that this knowledge was not acquired solely in such person’s capacity as a director or officer of FTAIthe Company and such person acts in good faith, then to the fullest extent permitted by law such person is deemed to have fully satisfied such person’s fiduciary duties owed to us and is not liable to us if Fortress or its affiliates pursues or acquires the corporate opportunity or if such person did not present the corporate opportunity to us.
The ability of our Manager and its officers and employees to engage in other business activities, subject to the terms of our Management Agreement, may reduce the amount of time our Manager, its officers or other employees spend managing us. In addition, we may engage (subject to our strategy) in material transactions with our Manager or another entity managed by our Manager or one of its affiliates, including Seacastle Ships Holdings Inc., Trac Intermodal and Florida East Coast Railway, L.L.C., which may include, but are not limited to, certain acquisitions, financing arrangements, purchases of debt, co-investments, consumer loans, servicing advances and other assets that present an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest. Our board of directors adopted a policy regarding the approval of any “related person transactions” pursuant to which certain of the material transactions described above may require disclosure to, and approval by, the independent members of our board of directors. Actual, potential or perceived conflicts have given, and may in the future give, rise to investor dissatisfaction, litigation or regulatory inquiries or enforcement actions. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation could be damaged if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with one or more potential, actual or perceived conflicts of interest. Regulatory scrutiny of, or litigation in connection with, conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which could materially adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including causing an inability to raise additional funds, a reluctance of counterparties to do business with us, a decrease in the prices of our equity securities and a resulting increased risk of litigation and regulatory enforcement actions.
The structure of our Manager’s and the General Partner’sMaster GP’s compensation arrangements may have unintended consequences for us. We have agreed to pay our Manager a management fee and the General PartnerMaster GP is entitled to receive incentive allocationspayments from Holdcothe Company or its subsidiaries that are each based on different measures of performance. Consequently, there may be conflicts in the incentives of our Manager to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for us. In addition, because the General PartnerMaster GP and our Manager are both affiliates of Fortress, the Income Incentive AllocationPayment paid to the General PartnerMaster GP may cause our Manager to place undue emphasis on the maximization of earnings, including through the use of leverage, at the expense of other objectives, such as preservation of capital, to achieve higher incentive allocations.payments. Investments with higher yield potential are generally riskier or more speculative than investments with lower yield potential. This could result in increased risk to the value of our portfolio of assets and our commonordinary shares.
Our directors have approved a broad asset acquisition strategy for our Manager and dowill not approve each acquisition we make at the direction of our Manager. In addition, we may change our strategy without a shareholder vote, which may result in our acquiring assets that are different, riskier or less profitable than our current assets.
Our Manager is authorized to follow a broad asset acquisition strategy. We may pursue other types of acquisitions as market conditions evolve. Our Manager makes decisions about our investments in accordance with broad investment guidelines adopted by our board of directors. Accordingly, we may, without a shareholder vote, change our target sectors and acquire a variety of assets that differ from, and are possibly riskier than, our current asset portfolio. Consequently, our Manager has great latitude in determining the types and categories of assets it may decide are proper investments for us, including the latitude to invest in types and categories of assets that may differ from those in our existing portfolio. Our directors will periodically review our strategy and our portfolio of assets. However, our board doeswill not review or pre-approve each proposed acquisition or our related financing arrangements. In addition, in conducting periodic reviews, the directors will rely primarily on information provided to them by our Manager. Furthermore, transactions entered into by our Manager may be difficult or impossible to reverse by the time they are reviewed by the directors even if the transactions contravene the terms of the Management Agreement. In addition, we may change our asset acquisition strategy, including our target asset classes, without a shareholder vote.
Our asset acquisition strategy may evolve in light of existing market conditions and investment opportunities, and this evolution may involve additional risks depending upon the nature of the assets we target and our ability to finance such assets on a short or long-term basis. Opportunities that present unattractive risk-return profiles relative to other available opportunities under particular market conditions may become relatively attractive under changed market conditions and changes in market conditions may therefore result in changes in the assets we target. Decisions to make acquisitions in new asset categories present risks that may be difficult for us to adequately assess and could therefore reduce or eliminate our ability to pay dividends on our commonordinary shares or have adverse effects on our liquidity or financial condition. A change in our asset acquisition strategy may also increase our exposure to interest rate, foreign currency or credit market fluctuations. In addition, a change in our asset acquisition strategy may increase our use of non-match-funded financing, increase the guarantee obligations we agree to incur or increase the number of transactions we enter into with affiliates. Our failure to accurately assess the risks inherent in new asset categories or the financing risks associated with such assets could adversely affect our results of operations and our financial condition.
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Our Manager will not be liable to us for any acts or omissions performed in accordance with the Management Agreement, including with respect to the performance of our assets.
Pursuant to our Management Agreement, our Manager will not assume any responsibility other than to render the services called for thereunder in good faith and will not be responsible for any action of our board of directors in following or declining to follow its advice or recommendations. Our Manager, its members, managers, officers, employees, sub-advisers and any other person controlling or Manager, will not be liable to us or any of our subsidiaries, to our board of directors, or our or any subsidiary’s shareholders or partners for any acts or omissions by our Manager, its members, managers, officers, employees, sub-advisers and any other person controlling or Manager, except liability to the Company,us, our shareholders, directors, officers and employees and persons controlling us, by reason of acts constituting bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement. We will, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold our Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees, sub-advisers and each other person, if any, controlling our Manager harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of an indemnified party made in good faith in the performance of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement and not constituting such indemnified party’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement.
Our Manager’s due diligence of potential asset acquisitions or other transactions may not identify all pertinent risks, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our Manager intends to conduct due diligence with respect to each asset acquisition opportunity or other transaction it pursues. It is possible, however, that our Manager’s due diligence processes will not uncover all relevant facts, particularly with respect to any assets we acquire from third parties. In these cases, our Manager may be given limited access to information about the asset and will rely on information provided by the seller of the asset. In addition, if asset acquisition opportunities are scarce, the process for selecting bidders is competitive, or the timeframe in which we are required to complete diligence is short, our ability to conduct a due diligence investigation may be limited, and we would be required to make decisions based upon a less thorough diligence process than would otherwise be the case. Accordingly, transactions that initially appear to be viable may prove not to be over time, due to the limitations of the due diligence process or other factors.
Risks Related to Taxation
Shareholders
We expect the Company to be a passive foreign investment company (‘‘PFIC’’) and it could be a controlled foreign corporation (‘‘CFC’’) for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which may result in adverse tax considerations for U.S. shareholders.
We expect the Company to be treated as a PFIC and it could be treated as a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If you are a U.S. person and do not make a valid qualified electing fund (‘‘QEF’’) election with respect to us and each of our PFIC subsidiaries, then, unless we are a CFC and you own 10% or more of our shares (by vote or value), you would generally be subject to special deferred tax with respect to certain distributions on our shares, any gain realized on a disposition of our shares, and certain other events. The effect of this deferred tax could be materially adverse to you. Alternatively, if you are such a shareholder and make a valid QEF election for us and each of our PFIC subsidiaries, or if we are a CFC and you own 10% or more of our shares (by vote or value), you will generally not be subject to those taxes, but could recognize taxable income in a taxable year with respect to our shares in excess of any distributions that we make to you in that year, thus giving rise to so-called ‘‘phantom income’’ and to a potential out-of-pocket tax liability. No assurances can be given that any given shareholder will be able to make a valid QEF election with respect to us or our PFIC subsidiaries. See ‘‘U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Considerations for U.S. Holders—PFIC Status and Related Tax Considerations.’’
Assuming we are a PFIC, distributions made by us to a U.S. person will generally not be eligible for taxation at reduced tax rates generally applicable to ‘‘qualified dividends’’ paid by certain U.S. corporations and ‘‘qualified foreign corporations’’ to individuals. The more favorable rates applicable to other corporate dividends could cause individuals to perceive investment in our shares to be relatively less attractive than investment in the shares of other corporations, which could adversely affect the value of our shares.
Investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential impact of these rules on their investment in us.
To the extent we recognize income treated as effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States, we would be subject to U.S. federal income taxation on a net income basis, which could adversely affect our business and result in decreased cash available for distribution to our shareholders.
If we are treated as engaged in a trade or business in the United States, the portion of our net income, if any, that is ‘‘effectively connected’’ with such trade or business would be subject to U.S. federal income taxation at maximum corporate rates, currently 21%. In addition, we may be subject to an additional U.S. federal branch profits tax on their shareour effectively connected earnings and profits at a rate of 30%. The imposition of such taxes could adversely affect our business and would result in decreased cash available for distribution to our shareholders. Although we (or one or more of our non-U.S. corporate subsidiaries) are expected to be treated as engaged in a U.S. trade or business, it is currently expected that only a small portion of our taxable income regardlesswill be treated as effectively connected with such U.S. trade or business. However, no assurance can be given that the amount of whether they receive any cash dividends from us.
So long as we wouldeffectively connected income will not be requiredgreater than currently expected, whether due to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940a change in our operations or otherwise.
If there is not sufficient trading in our shares, or if we were a U.S. Corporation and 90%50% of our grossshares are held by certain 5% shareholders, we could lose our eligibility for an exemption from U.S. federal income taxation on rental income from our aircraft or ships used in ‘‘international traffic’’ and could be subject to U.S. federal income taxation which would adversely affect our business and result in decreased cash available for each taxable year constitutes “qualifying income” within the meaningdistribution to our shareholders.
We expect that we will be eligible for an exemption under Section 883 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”‘‘Code’’), on a continuing basis, FTAI will be treated, forwhich provides an exemption from U.S. federal income tax purposes,taxation with respect to rental income derived from aircraft used in international traffic by certain foreign corporations. No assurances can be given that we will continue to be eligible for this exemption as changes in our ownership or the amount of our shares that are traded could cause us to cease to be eligible for such exemption. To qualify for this exemption in respect of rental income, the lessor of the aircraft must be organized in a partnershipcountry that grants a comparable exemption to U.S. lessors. The Cayman Islands and the Marshall Islands grant such exemptions. Additionally, certain other requirements must be satisfied. We can satisfy these requirements in any year if, for more than half the days of such year, our shares are primarily and regularly traded on a recognized exchange and certain shareholders, each of whom owns 5% or more of our shares (applying certain attribution rules), do not as an association or publiclycollectively own more than 50% of our shares. Our shares will be considered to be primarily and regularly traded partnershipon a recognized exchange in any year if: (i) the number of trades in our shares effected on such recognized stock exchanges exceed the number of our shares (or direct interests in our shares) that are traded during the year on all securities markets; (ii) trades in our shares are effected on such stock exchanges in more than de minimis quantities on at least 60 days during every calendar quarter in the year; and (iii) the aggregate number of our shares traded on such stock exchanges during the taxable as a corporation. Shareholders mayyear is at least 10% of the average number of our shares outstanding in that class during that year. If we were not eligible for the exemption under Section 883 of the Code, we expect that our U.S. source rental income would generally be subject to U.S. federal state, local and possibly, in some cases, non-U.S. income taxation, on their allocable share of our items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit (including our allocable share of those items of Holdco or any other entity in which we invest that is treated as a partnership or is otherwise subject to tax on a flow through basis) for each of our taxable years ending with or within their taxable year, regardless of whether they receive cash dividends from us. Shareholders may not receive cash dividends equal to their allocable share of our net taxable income or even the tax liability that results from that income.
In addition, certain of our holdings, including holdings, if any, in a Controlled Foreign Corporation (“CFC”) or a Passive Foreign Investment Company (“PFIC”), may produce taxable income prior to our receipt of cash relating to such income, and shareholders subject to U.S. federal income tax will be required to take such income into account in determining their taxable income.
Under our operating agreement, in the event of an inadvertent partnership termination in which the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has granted us limited relief, each shareholder also is obligated to make such adjustments as are required by the IRS to maintain our status as a partnership. Such adjustments may require shareholders to recognize additional amounts in income during the years in which they have held common shares. We may also be required to make payments to the IRS.
Tax gain or loss on a sale or other disposition of our common shares could be more or less than expected.
If a sale of our common shares by a shareholder is taxable in the United States, the shareholder will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized by such shareholder on such sale and such shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in those shares. Prior distributions to such shareholder in excess of the total net taxable income allocated to such shareholder, which will have decreased such shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares, will effectively increase any gain recognized by such shareholder if the shares are sold at a price greater than such shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in those shares, even if the price is less than their original cost to such shareholder. A portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, may be treated as ordinary income to such shareholder.
Our ability to make distributions depends on our receiving sufficient cash distributions from our subsidiaries, and we cannot assure our shareholders that we will be able to make cash distributions to them in amounts that are sufficient to fund their tax liabilities.
Our subsidiaries may be subject to local taxes in each of the relevant territories and jurisdictions in which they operate, including taxes on income, profits or gains and withholding taxes. As a result, our funds available for distribution is indirectly reduced by such taxes, and the post-tax return to our shareholders is similarly reduced by such taxes.
In general, a shareholder that is subject to U.S. federal income tax must include in income its allocable share of FTAI’s items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit (including, so long as FTAI is treated as a partnership for tax purposes, FTAI’s allocable share of those items of Holdco and any pass-through subsidiaries of Holdco) for each of our taxable years ending with or within such shareholder’s taxable year. However, the cash distributed to a shareholder may not be sufficient to pay the full amount of such shareholder’s tax liability in respect of its investment in us, because each shareholder’s tax liability depends on such shareholder’s particular tax situation and the tax treatment of our underlying activities or assets.
If we are treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the value of the shares could be adversely affected.
We have not requested, and do not plan to request, a ruling from the IRS on our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or on any other matter affecting us. As of the date of the consummation of our initial public offering, under then current law and assuming full compliance with the terms of our operating agreement (and other relevant documents) and based upon factual statements and representations made by us, our outside counsel opined that we will be treated as a partnership, and not as an association or a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, opinions of counsel are not binding upon the IRS or any court, and the IRS may challenge this conclusion and a court may sustain such a challenge. The factual representations made by us upon which our outside counsel relied relate to our organization, operation, assets, activities, income, and present and future conduct of our operations. In general, if an entity that would otherwise be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes is a “publicly traded partnership” (as defined in the Code) it will be nonetheless treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, unless the exception described below, and upon which we intend to rely, applies. A publicly traded partnership will, however, be treated as a partnership, and not as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, so long as 90% or more of its gross income for each taxable year constitutes “qualifying income” within the meaning of the Code and it is not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. We refer to this exception as the “Qualifying Income Exception.”
Qualifying income generally includes dividends, interest, capital gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks and securities and certain other forms of investment income. We currently expect that a substantial portion of our income will constitute either “Subpart F” income (defined below) derived from CFCs or QEF Inclusions (as defined below). While we believe that such income constitutes qualifying income, no assurance can be given that the IRS will agree with such position. We also believe that our return from investments will include interest, dividends, capital gains and other types of qualifying income, but no assurance can be given as to the types of income that will be earned in any given year.
If we fail to satisfy the Qualifying Income Exception, we would be required to pay U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates on our worldwide income. In addition, we would likely be liable for state and local income and/or franchise taxes on such income. Dividends to shareholders would constitute ordinary dividend income taxable to such shareholders to the extent of our earnings and profits, and the payment of these dividends would not be deductible by us. Taxation of us as a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation could result in a material adverse effect on our cash flow and the after-tax returns for shareholders and thus could result in a substantial reduction in the value of our common shares.
Non-U.S. Holders (defined below) should anticipate being required to file U.S. tax returns and may be required to pay U.S. tax solely on account of owning and disposing of our common shares.
In light of our intended investment activities, we may be, or may become, engaged in a U.S. trade or business for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in which case some portion of our income would be treated as effectively connected income with respect to Non-U.S. Holders. Moreover, we anticipate that, in the future, we will sell interests in U.S. real holding property corporations (each a “USRPHC”) and therefore be deemed to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business for that reason at such time. If we were to realize gain from the sale or other disposition of a U.S. real property interest (including a USRPHC) or were otherwise engaged in a U.S. trade or business, Non-U.S. Holders generally would be required to file U.S. federal income tax returns and would be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax on their allocable share of the effectively connected income on gain at the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to ordinary income. Non-U.S. holders that are corporations may also be subject to a branch profits tax on their allocable share of such income. In addition, if we were treated as being engaged in a U.S. trade or business, a portion of any gain recognized by a Non-U.S. Holder on the sale or exchange of its common shares could be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as effectively connected income, and hence such Non-U.S. Holder could be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the sale or exchange. Accordingly, Non-U.S. Holders should anticipate being required to file U.S. tax returns and may be required to pay U.S. tax solely on account of owning our common shares.
Non-U.S. Holders that hold (or are deemed to hold) more than 5% of our common shares (or held, or were deemed to hold, more than 5% of our common shares) may be subject to U.S. federal income tax upon the disposition of some or all their common shares.
If a Non-U.S. Holder held more than 5% of our common shares at any time during the 5 year period preceding such Non-U.S. Holder’s disposition of our common shares, and we were considered a USRPHC (determined as if we were a U.S. corporation) at any time during such 5 year period because of our current or previous ownership of U.S. real property interests above a certain threshold, such Non-U.S. Holder may be subject to U.S. tax on such disposition of our common shares (and may have a U.S. tax return filing obligation).
Tax-exempt shareholders may face certain adverse U.S. tax consequences from owning our common shares.
We are not required to manage our operations in a manner that would minimize the likelihood of generating income that would constitute “unrelated business taxable income” (“UBTI”) to the extent allocated to a tax-exempt shareholder. Although we expect to invest through subsidiaries that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes and such corporate investments would generally not result in an allocation of UBTI to a shareholder on account of the activities of those subsidiaries, we may not invest through corporate subsidiaries in all cases. Moreover, UBTI includes income attributable to debt-financed property and we are not prohibited from debt financing our investments, including investments in subsidiaries. Furthermore, we are not prohibited from being (or causing a subsidiary to be) a guarantor of loans made to a subsidiary. If we (or certain of our subsidiaries) were treated as the borrower for U.S. tax purposes on account of those guarantees, some or all of our investments could be considered debt-financed property. The potential for income to be characterized as UBTI could make our common shares an unsuitable investment for a tax-exempt entity. Tax-exempt shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in common shares.
We may hold or acquire certain investments through an entity classified as a PFIC or CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Certain of our investments may be in non-U.S. corporations or may be acquired through a non-U.S. subsidiary that would be classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such an entity may be a PFIC or a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. U.S. Holders indirectly owning an interest in a PFIC or a CFC may experience adverse U.S. tax consequences.
If substantially all of the U.S. source rental income derived from aircraft or ships used to transport passengers or cargo in international traffic (“U.S. source international transport rental income”) of any of our non-U.S. corporate subsidiaries is attributable to activities of personnel based in the United States, such subsidiary could be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at regular tax rates, rather than at a rate of 4% on gross income, which would adversely affect our business and result in decreased funds available for distribution to our shareholders.
We expect that the U.S. source international transport rental income of our non-U.S. subsidiaries generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax, on a gross income basis, at a rate of not in excess of 4% as provided in Section 887 of the Code. If, contrary to expectations, anywe or certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries that is treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes did not comply with certain administrative guidelines of the IRS,U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the ‘‘IRS’’), such that 90% or more of such subsidiary’sthe U.S. source international transport rental income of the Company or any of such subsidiaries were attributable to the activities of personnel based in the United States, (in the case of bareboat leases) or from “regularly‘‘regularly scheduled transportation”transportation’’ as defined isin such administrative guidelines (in the case of time-chartertime charter leases), our, or such subsidiary’s, U.S. source rental income would be treated as income effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States. In such case, such subsidiary’s U.S. source international transport rental income would be subject to U.S. federal income taxtaxation at athe maximum corporate rate of 35%.as well as state and local taxation. In addition, the Company or such subsidiary would be subject to the U.S. federal branch profits tax on its effectively connected earnings and profits at a rate of 30%. The imposition of such taxes wouldcould adversely affect our business and would result in decreased fundscash available for distribution to our shareholders.
Our
We or our subsidiaries may become subject to unanticipated tax liabilities that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our
Some of our subsidiaries may beare subject to income, withholding or other taxes in certain non-U.S. jurisdictions by reason of their jurisdiction of incorporation, activities and operations, where their assets are used or where the lessees of their assets (or others in possession of their assets) are located, and it is also possible that taxing authorities in any such jurisdictions could assert that we or our subsidiaries are subject to greater taxation than we currently anticipate. For example,Further, the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development (the ‘‘OECD’’) is conducting a project focused on base erosion and profit shifting in international structures, which seeks to establish certain international standards for taxing the worldwide income of multinational companies. In addition, the OECD is working on a ‘‘BEPS 2.0’’ initiative, which is aimed at (i) shifting taxing rights to the jurisdiction of the consumer and (ii) ensuring all companies pay a global minimum tax. On October 8, 2021, the OECD announced an agreement among over 140 countries delineating an implementation plan, and on December 20, 2021, the OECD released model rules for the domestic implementation of a 15% global minimum tax. As a result of these developments, the tax laws of certain countries in which we and our affiliates do business could change on a prospective or retroactive basis, and any such changes could increase our liabilities for taxes, interest and penalties, and therefore could harm our business, cash flows, results of operations and financial position. In addition, a portion of certain of our or our non-U.S. corporate subsidiaries’ income is treated as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business and is accordingly subject to U.S. federal income tax or may be subject to gross-basis U.S. withholding tax. It is possible that the IRS could assert that a greater portion of our or any such non-U.S. subsidiaries’ income is effectively connected income that should be subject to U.S. federal income tax.
Our structure involves complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax law for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. Our structure also is subject to potential legislative, judicial or administrative change and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.withholding tax.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of our shareholders depends in some instances on determinations of fact and interpretations of complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax law for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. Prospective investors should be aware that the U.S. federal income tax rules are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS, and the U.S. Treasury Department, frequently resulting in revised interpretations of established concepts, statutory changes, revisions to regulations and other modifications and interpretations. The IRS pays close attention to the proper application of tax laws to partnerships. The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of an investment in our common shares may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time, possibly on a retroactive basis, and any such action may affect our investments and commitments that were previously made, and could adversely affect the value of our shares or cause us to change the way we conduct our business.
Our organizational documents and agreements permit the board of directors to modify our operating agreement from time to time, without the consent of shareholders, in order to address certain changes in Treasury regulations, legislation or interpretation. In some circumstances, such revisions could have a material adverse impact on some or all shareholders. Moreover, we will apply certain assumptions and conventions in an attempt to comply with applicable rules and to report income, gain, deduction, loss and credit to shareholders in a manner that reflects such shareholders’ beneficial ownership of partnership items, taking into account variation in ownership interests during each taxable year because of trading activity. However, these assumptions and conventions may not be in compliance with all aspects of applicable tax requirements. It is possible that the IRS will assert successfully that the conventions and assumptions used by us do not satisfy the technical requirements of the Code and/or Treasury regulations and could require that items of income, gain, deduction, loss or credit, including interest deductions, be adjusted, reallocated, or disallowed, in a manner that adversely affects shareholders.
We could incur a significant tax liability if the IRS successfully asserts that the “anti-stapling” rules apply to our investments in our non-U.S. and U.S. subsidiaries, which would adversely affect our business and result in decreased funds available for distribution to our shareholders.
If we were subject to the “anti-stapling” rules of Section 269B of the Code, we would incur a significant tax liability as a result of owning more than 50% of the value of both U.S. and non-U.S. corporate subsidiaries, whose equity interests constitute “stapled interests” that may only be transferred together. If the “anti-stapling” rules applied, our non-U.S. corporate subsidiaries that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes would be treated as U.S. corporations, which would cause those entities to be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on their worldwide income. Because we intend to separately manage and operate our non-U.S. and U.S. corporate subsidiaries and structure their business activities in a manner that would allow us to dispose of such subsidiaries separately, we do not expect that the “anti-stapling” rules will apply. However, there can be no assurance that the IRS would not successfully assert a contrary position, which would adversely affect our business and result in decreased funds available for distribution to our shareholders.
We cannot match transferors and transferees of our shares, and we have therefore adopted certain income tax accounting positions that may not conform with all aspects of applicable tax requirements. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of our shares.
Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of our shares, we have adopted depreciation, amortization and other tax accounting positions that may not conform with all aspects of existing Treasury regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to our shareholders. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain on the sale of our common shares and could have a negative impact on the value of our common shares or result in audits of and adjustments to our shareholders’ tax returns.
We may allocate items of income, gain, loss, and deduction using a monthly or other convention, whereby any such items we recognize in a given month are allocated to our shareholders as of a specified date of such month. As a result, if a shareholder transfers its common shares, it might be allocated income, gain, loss, and deduction realized by us after the date of the transfer. Similarly, if a shareholder acquires additional common shares, it might be allocated income, gain, loss, and deduction realized by us prior to its ownership of such common shares. Consequently, our shareholders may recognize income in excess of cash distributions received from us, and any income so included by a shareholder would increase the basis such shareholder has in it common shares and would offset any gain (or increase the amount of loss) realized by such shareholder on a subsequent disposition of its common shares.
The sale or exchange of 50% or more of our common shares within a 12-month period will result in our termination for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
We will be considered to have terminated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes if there is a sale or exchange of 50% or more of our common shares within a 12-month period. Our termination would, among other things, result in the closing of our taxable year for all shareholders and could result in a deferral of depreciation and amortization deductions allowable in computing our taxable income.
Recently enacted legislation regarding U.S. federal income tax liability arising from IRS audits could adversely affect our shareholders.
For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, we will be liable for U.S. federal income tax liability arising from an IRS audit, unless certain alternative methods are available and we elect to use them. Under the new rules, it is possible that certain shareholders or we may be liable for taxes attributable to adjustments to our taxable income with respect to tax years that closed before such shareholders owned our shares. Accordingly, this new legislation may adversely affect certain shareholders in certain cases. This differs from the existing rules, which generally provide that tax adjustments only affect the persons who were shareholders in the tax year in which the item was reported on our tax return. The changes created by the new legislation are uncertain and in many respects depend on the promulgation of future regulations or other guidance by the U.S. Treasury Department or the IRS.
Risks Related to Our Common Shares
The market price and trading volume of our commonordinary shares may be volatile, which could result in rapid and substantial losses for our shareholders.
The market price of our commonordinary shares may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our commonordinary shares may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our commonordinary shares declines significantly, you may be unable to resell your shares at or above your purchase price, if at all. The market price of our commonordinary shares may fluctuate or decline significantly in the future. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common shares include:
a shift in our investor base;
our quarterly or annual earnings, or those of other comparable companies;
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
announcements by us or our competitors of significant investments, acquisitions or dispositions;
the failure of securities analysts to cover our commonordinary shares;
changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or our ability to meet those estimates;
the operating and share price performance of other comparable companies;
issuances of preferred shares;
overall market fluctuations;
general economic conditions; and
developments in the markets and market sectors in which we participate.
Stock markets in the United States have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. Market fluctuations, as well as general political and economic conditions, such as acts of terrorism, prolonged economic uncertainty, a recession or interest rate or currency rate fluctuations, could adversely affect the market price of our commonordinary shares.
We are
An increase in market interest rates may have an emerging growth company withinadverse effect on the meaningmarket price of our shares.
One of the JOBS Act,factors that investors may consider in deciding whether to buy or sell our shares is our distribution rate as a percentage of our share price relative to market interest rates. If the market price of our shares is based primarily on the earnings and duereturn that we derive from our investments and income with respect to our taking advantage of certain exemptionsinvestments and our related distributions to shareholders, and not from various reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, our common shares could be less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. As such, we have taken advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (a) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenues exceed $1.07 billion, (b) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering, (c) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business dayinvestments themselves, then interest rate fluctuations and capital market conditions will likely affect the market price of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or (d)shares. For instance, if market interest rates rise without an increase in our distribution rate, the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period. Because we have taken advantagemarket price of each of these exemptions,our shares could decrease, as potential investors may findrequire a higher distribution yield on our common shares less attractive as a result. Theor seek other securities paying higher distributions or interest. In addition, rising interest rates would result may be a less active trading market forin increased interest expense on our common sharesoutstanding and future (variable and fixed) rate debt, thereby adversely affecting cash flows and our share price may be more volatile.ability to service our indebtedness and pay distributions.
We are required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls, and the outcome of that effort may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
As a public company, we are required to comply with Section 404 (“Section 404”) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the timing of when to comply with the auditor attestation requirements will be determined based on whether we take advantage of certain JOBS Act provisions applicable to emerging growth companies).Act. Section 404 requires that we evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at the end of each fiscal year and to enableinclude a management to report onassessing the effectiveness of those controls. We have undertaken a review of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for that fiscal year. Section 404 also requires an independent registered public accounting firm to attest to, and procedures.report on, management’s assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting. The outcome of our review and the report of our independent registered public accounting firm may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. During the course of our review, we may identify control deficiencies of varying degrees of severity, and we may incur significant costs to remediate those deficiencies or otherwise improve our internal controls. As a public company, we are required to report control deficiencies that constitute a “material weakness” in our internal control over financial reporting. Furthermore, ifIf we discover a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, our share price could decline and our ability to raise capital could be impaired.
Your percentage ownership in us may be diluted in the future.
Your percentage ownership in FTAIus may be diluted in the future because of equity awards thatgranted and may be granted to our Manager pursuant to the Management Agreement and the Nonqualified Shares Option and Incentive Award Plan (“Incentive Plan”). Since 2015, we granted our Management Agreement. UponManager an option to acquire 3,903,010 ordinary shares in connection with equity offerings. In the future, upon the successful completion of an offeringadditional offerings of our commonordinary shares or other equity securities (including securities issued as consideration in an acquisition), we will grant to our Manager options to purchase commonordinary shares in an amount equal to 10% of the number of commonordinary shares being sold in such offeringofferings (or if the issuance relates to equity securities other than our commonordinary shares, options to purchase a number of commonordinary shares equal to 10% of the gross capital raised in the equity issuance divided by the fair market value of a commonan ordinary share as of the date of the issuance), with an exercise price equal to the offering price per share paid by the public or other ultimate purchaser or attributed to such securities in connection with an acquisition (or the fair market value of a commonan ordinary share as of the date of the equity issuance if it relates to equity securities other than our commonordinary shares), and any such offering or the exercise of the option in connection with such offering would cause dilution.
Our board of directors has adopted the Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan, (the “Incentive Plan”) which provides for the grant of equity-based awards, including restricted stock,shares, stock options, stock appreciation rights, performance awards, restricted stockshare units, tandem awards and other equity-based and non-equity based awards, in each case to our Manager, to the directors, officers, employees, service providers, consultants and advisors of our Manager who perform services for us, and to our directors, officers, employees, service providers, consultants and advisors. We have initially reserved 30,000,000 commonordinary shares for issuance under the Incentive Plan;Plan. As of September 30, 2022, rights relating to 3,737,742 of our ordinary shares were outstanding under the Incentive Plan. In the future on the date of any equity issuance by us during the Company duringremaining portion of the ten-year term of the Incentive Plan (including in respect of securities issued as consideration in an acquisition), the maximum number of shares available for issuance under the Incentive Plan will be increased to include an additional number of commonordinary shares equal to ten percent (10%) of either (i) the total number of commonordinary shares newly issued by the Companyus in such equity issuance or (ii) if such equity issuance relates to equity securities other than our commonordinary shares, a number of our commonordinary shares equal to 10% of (i)(A) the gross capital raised in an equity issuance of equity securities other than commonordinary shares during the remaining portion of the ten-year term of the Incentive Plan, divided by (ii)(B) the fair market value of a commonan ordinary share as of the date of such equity issuance.
Sales or issuances of shares of our commonordinary shares could adversely affect the market price of our commonordinary shares.
Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our commonordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that such sales might occur, could adversely affect the market price of our commonordinary shares. The issuance of our commonordinary shares in connection with property, portfolio or business acquisitions or the exercise of outstanding options or otherwise could also have an adverse effect on the market price of our commonordinary shares.
The incurrence or issuance of debt, which ranks senior to our commonordinary shares upon our liquidation, and future issuances of equity or equity-related securities, which would dilute the holdings of our existing commonordinary shareholders and may be senior to our commonordinary shares for the purposes of making distributions, periodically or upon liquidation, may negatively affect the market price of our commonordinary shares.
We have incurred and may in the future incur or issue debt or issue equity or equity-related securities to finance our operations.operations, acquisitions or investments. Upon our liquidation, lenders and holders of our debt and holders of our preferred shares (if any) would receive a distribution of our available assets before commonordinary shareholders. Any future incurrence or issuance of debt would increase our interest cost and could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. We are not required to offer any additional equity securities to existing commonordinary shareholders on a preemptive basis. Therefore, additional issuances of commonordinary shares, directly or through convertible or exchangeable securities (including limited partnership interests in our operating partnership), warrants or options, will dilute the holdings of our existing commonordinary shareholders and such issuances, or the perception of such issuances, may reduce the market price of our commonordinary shares. Any preferred shares issued by us would likely have a preference on distribution payments, periodically or upon liquidation, which could eliminate or otherwise limit our ability to make distributions to commonordinary shareholders. Because our decision to incur or issue debt or issue equity or equity-related securities in the future will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, nature or success of our future capital raising efforts. Thus, commonordinary shareholders bear the risk that our future incurrence or issuance of debt or issuance of equity or equity-related securities will adversely affect the market price of our commonordinary shares.
Our determination of how much leverage to use to finance our acquisitions may adversely affect our return on our assets and may reduce funds available for distribution.
We utilize leverage to finance many of our asset acquisitions, which entitles certain lenders to cash flows prior to retaining a return on our assets. While our Manager targets using only what we believe to be reasonable leverage, our strategy does not limit the amount of leverage we may incur with respect to any specific asset. The return we are able to earn on our assets and funds available for distribution to our shareholders may be significantly reduced due to changes in market conditions, which may cause the cost of our financing to increase relative to the income that can be derived from our assets.
While we currently intend to pay regular quarterly dividends to our shareholders, we may change our dividend policy at any time.
Although we currently intend to pay regular quarterly dividends to holders of our commonordinary shares, we may change our dividend policy at any time. Our net cash provided by operating activities has been less than the amount of distributions to our shareholders. The declaration and payment of dividends to holders of our commonordinary shares will beare at the discretion of our board of directors in accordance with applicable law after taking into account various factors, including actual results of operations, liquidity and financial condition, net cash provided by operating activities, restrictions imposed by applicable law, our taxable income, our operating expenses and other factors our board of directors deem relevant. Our long term goal is to maintain a payout ratio of between 50-60% of funds available for distribution, with remaining amounts used primarily to fund our future acquisitions and opportunities. There can be no assurance that we will continue to pay dividends in amounts or on a basis consistent with prior distributions to our investors, if at all. Because we are a holding company and have no direct operations, we will only be able to pay dividends from our available cash on hand and any funds we receive from our subsidiaries and our ability to receive distributions from our subsidiaries may be limited by the financing agreements to which they are subject. In addition, our existing indebtedness does, and our future indebtedness may, limit our ability to pay dividends on our ordinary. Moreover, pursuant to the PartnershipServices and Profit Sharing Agreement, the General Partner will beMaster GP is entitled to receive incentive allocationspayments before any amounts are distributed by the Companyus based both on our consolidated net income and capital gains income in each fiscal quarter and for each fiscal year, respectively.
Anti-takeover provisions in our operating agreement and Delaware lawArticles could delay or prevent a change in control.
Provisions in our operating agreementArticles may make it more difficult and expensive for a third party to acquire control of us even if a change of control would be beneficial to the interests of our shareholders. For example, our operating agreementArticles provides for a staggered board, requires advance notice for proposals by shareholders and nominations, places limitations on convening shareholder meetings, and authorizes the issuance of preferred shares that could be issued by our board of directors to thwart a takeover attempt. In addition, certain provisions of Delaware law may delay or prevent a transaction that could cause a change in our control. The market price of our shares could be adversely affected to the extent that provisions of our operating agreement discourage potential takeover attempts that our shareholders may favor.
There are certain provisions in our operating agreement regarding exculpation and indemnification of our officers and directors that differ from the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) in a manner that may be less protective of the interests of our shareholders.
Our operating agreement provides that to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law our directors or officers will not be liable to us. Under the DGCL, a director or officer would be liable to us for (i) breach of duty of loyalty to us or our shareholders, (ii) intentional misconduct or knowing violations of the law that are not done in good faith, (iii) improper redemption of shares or declaration of dividend, or (iv) a transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. In addition, our operating agreement provides that we indemnify our directors and officers for acts or omissions to the fullest extent provided by law. Under the DGCL, a corporation can only indemnify directors and officers for acts or omissions if the director or officer acted in good faith, in a manner he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation, and, in criminal action, if the officer or director had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. Accordingly, our operating agreement may be less protective of the interests of our shareholders, when compared to the DGCL, insofar as it relates to the exculpation and indemnification of our officers and directors.
As a public company, we will incur additional costs and face increased demands on our management.
As a relatively new public company with shares listed on the NYSE, we need to comply with an extensive body of regulations that did not apply to us previously, including certain provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, regulations of the SEC and requirements of the NYSE. We expect these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities to our board of directors more time-consuming and costly. For example, as a result of becoming a public company, we have independent directors and board committees. In addition, we may incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements and maintaining directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules, which may impose additional costs on us and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they downgrade their recommendations regarding our commonordinary shares, our share price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our commonordinary shares are influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If any of the analysts who cover us downgrades our commonordinary units or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our commonordinary share price may decline. If analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our commonordinary share price or trading volume to decline and our commonordinary shares to be less liquid.
