Agreements with Vector Group. On December 29, 2021, Vector Group completed its distribution of the Company, including the real estate services and PropTech investment business owned by its subsidiary, New Valley Ventures LLC.
The Company and Vector Group entered into a Distribution Agreement and Transition Services Agreement with respect to transition services and a number of ongoing commercial relationships. Under the Transition Services Agreement, the Company paid Vector Group $4,200,000 in 2023 and $1,050,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Subject to applicable Federal Aviation Administration rules, subsidiaries of the Company have entered into dry lease agreements with Vector Group and certain of its subsidiaries, pursuant to which the Company has the right to lease on a flight-by-flight basis certain aircraft owned by subsidiaries of Vector Group. The Company is required to pay Vector Group an hourly rental rate for each flight and fixed costs are allocated on an equitable basis. The Company has used the aircraft since January 2022 and paid Vector Group approximately $2,237,926 under the agreements in 2023 and $594,869 for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
A subsidiary of the Company has been engaged by the developers as the sole broker or the co-broker for several of the real estate projects that Vector Group owns an interest in through its real estate ventures. The subsidiary of the Company had gross commissions from these projects of $1,766,477 for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Vector Group has agreed to indemnify the Company for certain tax matters under the Tax Disaffiliation Agreement. There were no payments in 2023 related to such tax indemnifications.
Following the distribution, there is an overlap between certain officers of the Company and Vector Group. Howard M. Lorber serves as the President and CEO of the Company and of Vector Group. Richard J. Lampen serves as the Executive Vice President and COO of the Company and of Vector Group, J. Bryant Kirkland III serves as the CFO of the Company and of Vector Group, Marc N. Bell serves as the General Counsel and Secretary of the Company and of Vector Group, and J. David Ballard serves as Senior Vice President, Enterprise Efficiency and Chief Technology Officer of the Company and of Vector Group. Furthermore, three of the members of the Board, Messrs. Lorber, Lampen and White, also serve as directors of Vector Group.
Other related party transactions. Daniel A. Sachar, the son-in-law of Mr. Lampen, serves as Vice President, Enterprise Innovation and Managing Director of New Valley Ventures LLC, and received total compensation, which included salary, bonus and 401(k) matching awards of approximately $369,206 in 2023.
Mr. Lampen’s brother serves as a Vice President of Energy Initiatives and Architect at Douglas Elliman Property Management, an indirect subsidiary of the Company, and received total compensation, which included salary, bonus and 401(k) matching awards of approximately $134,500 in 2023.
Mr. Lorber’s son is a real estate agent whose license is held at a subsidiary of the Company and received commissions and other payments of $1,570,277 in accordance with brokerage activities in 2023.
Mr. Durkin’s spouse is a real estate agent whose license is held at a subsidiary of the Company and received commissions and other payments of $328,517 in accordance with brokerage activities in 2023.
ITEM 14. | PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES |
Audit and Non-Audit Fees
The audit committee reviews and approves audit and permissible non-audit services performed by Deloitte, as well as the fees charged by Deloitte for such services. In accordance with Section 10A(i) of the Securities Exchange Act, before Deloitte is engaged to render audit or non-audit services, the audit committee approves the engagement. The following information reports the fees for audit and other services provided by Deloitte for fiscal years 2023 and 2022 in respect of the Company.
Audit Fees. The aggregate fees billed by Deloitte for professional services for the audit of the annual financial statements of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, consents and review of documents filed with the SEC were $1,320,826 for 2023 and $1,331,568 for 2022.
Audit-Related Fees. There were $114,717 and $0 of aggregate fees billed by Deloitte for professional services for audit-related fees in 2023 and 2022, respectively. The fees in 2023 related to a review of the design of the Company’s finance department organization.
Tax Fees. There were no aggregate fees billed by Deloitte for professional services for tax in 2023 or 2022.
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