In connection with the commencement of a “continuous equity offering” under which Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (the “Company”) may sell up to an aggregate of $150 million of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Shares”) from time to time in “at the market” offerings (the “Offering”), on May 10, 2024, the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company may sell the Shares in amounts and at times to be determined by the Company from time to time but has no obligation to sell any of the Shares in the Offering. Actual sales will depend on a variety of factors to be determined by the Company from time to time, including (among others) market conditions, the trading price of the Company’s common stock, capital needs and determinations by the Company of the appropriate sources of funding for the Company. The Company plans to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Shares pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying prospectus, after deducting commissions and offering expenses payable by the Company, to enhance its loan portfolio and financings in a manner consistent with its investment and financing strategies described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (filed with the SEC on February 20, 2024) and for general corporate purposes.
The Offering will occur pursuant to a certain sales agreement (the “Agreement”) entered into by the Company, Claros REIT Management LP, and BTIG, LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as agents, for the offer and sale of the Shares (each individually, a “Sales Agent”, and together, the “Sales Agents”). The Offering will terminate upon the earlier of (1) the sale of an aggregate of $150 million of Shares pursuant to the Offering or (2) the termination of the Agreement. The Agreement may be terminated by the Company at any time upon prior written notice, and by the Sales Agents at any time in certain circumstances upon prior written notice, including the occurrence of a material adverse effect on the Company, changes in national or international political, financial or economic conditions that may materially impair the ability of a Sales Agent to sell the Shares, or the suspension of trading of the Company’s securities on any exchange or in any over-the-counter market. The Agreement provides that the Company may offer and sell from time to time up to an aggregate of $150 million of the Shares pursuant to the Agreement through the Sales Agents. The Agreement provides that each of the Sales Agents will be entitled to compensation up to 2% of the gross proceeds from the sale of any of the Shares sold under the Agreement.
Sales of the Shares, if any, under the Agreement may be made in transactions that are deemed to be “at the market offerings” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including, without limitation, sales made directly on the New York Stock Exchange, on any other existing trading market for our common stock, in block trades or to or through a market maker or through an electronic communications network. The Company or any of the Sales Agents may at any time suspend the offering or terminate the Agreement pursuant to the terms of the Agreement.
The Company may also sell some or all of the Shares to a Sales Agent as principal for its own account at a price agreed upon at the time of sale.
The Shares will be issued pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement and the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-269190) filed on January 12, 2023, as amended by post-effective amendment no. 1 thereto, dated May 10, 2024, with the SEC. This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
The Agreement is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report. The description of the Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Agreement filed as exhibits to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
