Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-159468
This prospectus supplement relates to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, but is not complete and may be changed. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 22,
2010
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS DATED MAY 26, 2009
100,000,000 Shares
Common Stock
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We are offering 100,000,000 shares of our common stock to be sold in this offering. We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 15,000,000 additional shares of our common stock to cover overallotments.
We are externally managed and advised by Fixed Income Discount Advisory Company, which we refer to as FIDAC or our Manager, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. FIDAC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Annaly Capital Management, Inc., which we refer to as Annaly, a New York Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust. RCap Securities, Inc., an underwriter in this offering, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Annaly.
Our common stock is subject to certain restrictions on ownership designed to preserve our qualification as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. See “Description of Capital Stock” on page 6 of the accompanying prospectus.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CIM.” The last reported sales price of our common stock on June 21, 2010 was $3.87 per share.
Investing in our common stock involves risks that are described under the caption “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-8 of this prospectus supplement, in the accompanying prospectus, and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, which is incorporated by reference herein.
We are selling to the underwriters the shares of common stock at a price of $ per share, resulting in aggregate proceeds to us of $ million before expenses.
The underwriters propose to offer the shares of common stock from time to time for sale in negotiated transactions or otherwise, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The shares of common stock will not be sold on or through the facilities of a national securities exchange or to or through a market maker otherwise than on an exchange.
Delivery of the shares, in book-entry form only, will be made on or about , 2010.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the prospectus to which it relates is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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Credit Suisse |
BofA Merrill Lynch |
RCap Securities |
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 2010.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Prospectus Supplement |
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S-1 |
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S-8 |
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S-10 |
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S-11 |
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S-12 |
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S-14 |
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S-18 |
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S-18 |
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Prospectus |
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS |
1 |
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A WARNING ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS |
2 |
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ABOUT CHIMERA INVESTMENT CORPORATION |
4 |
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RISK FACTORS |
5 |
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USE OF PROCEEDS |
5 |
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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO COMBINED FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS |
5 |
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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK |
6 |
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MATERIAL FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS |
14 |
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |
36 |
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EXPERTS |
38 |
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LEGAL MATTERS |
38 |
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION |
38 |
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE |
39 |
You should rely only on the information contained in this document or to which we have referred you. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different. This document may only be used where it is legal to sell these securities. The information in this document may only be accurate on the date of this document.
S-i
A WARNING ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We make forward-looking statements in this prospectus supplement that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When we use the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may,” “would,” “will” or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, are forward-looking by their nature:
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our business and investment strategy; |
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our projected financial and operating results; |
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our ability to maintain existing financing arrangements, obtain future financing arrangements and the terms of such arrangements; |
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general volatility of the securities markets in which we invest; |
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the implementation, timing and impact of, and changes to, various government programs, including the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility and the Public-Private Investment Program; |
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our expected investments; |
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changes in the value of our investments; |
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interest rate mismatches between our investments and our borrowings used to fund such purchases; |
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changes in interest rates and mortgage prepayment rates; |
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effects of interest rate caps on our adjustable-rate investments; |
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rates of default or decreased recovery rates on our investments; |
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prepayments of the mortgage and other loans underlying our mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities; |
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the degree to which our hedging strategies may or may not protect us from interest rate volatility; |
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impact of and changes in governmental regulations, tax law and rates, accounting guidance, and similar matters; |
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availability of investment opportunities in real estate-related and other securities; |
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availability of qualified personnel; |
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estimates relating to our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future; |
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our understanding of our competition; |
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market trends in our industry, interest rates, the debt securities markets or the general economy; and |
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use of proceeds of this offering. |
The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. Some of these factors are described under the captions “Prospectus Supplement Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Business” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. Except as required by law, we are not obligated to, and do not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
S-ii
This summary highlights some of the information in this prospectus supplement. It is not complete and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read carefully the more detailed information set forth under “Risk Factors” and the other information included in this prospectus supplement, in the accompanying prospectus, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus. Except where the context suggests otherwise, the terms “Chimera,” “company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Chimera Investment Corporation together with its consolidated subsidiaries; “our Manager” and “FIDAC” refer to Fixed Income Discount Advisory Company, our external manager; “RCap” refers to RCap Securities, Inc., an underwriter in this offering; and “Annaly” refers to Annaly Capital Management, Inc., the parent company of FIDAC and RCap. Unless indicated otherwise, the information in this prospectus supplement assumes no exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option to purchase or place up to an additional 15,000,000 shares of our common stock.
The Company
We are a specialty finance company that acquires, through our subsidiaries, residential mortgage-backed securities, or RMBS, residential mortgage loans, commercial mortgage loans, real estate-related securities and various other asset classes. We elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ending on December 31, 2007. Therefore, we generally will not be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income that is distributed to our stockholders. We were incorporated in Maryland in June 2007 and commenced operations in November 2007. We listed our common stock on the NYSE in November 2007 and trade under the symbol “CIM.”
We are externally managed by Fixed Income Discount Advisory Company, which we refer to as our Manager or FIDAC. Our Manager is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Additionally, our Manager is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Annaly Capital Management, Inc., or Annaly, a NYSE-listed REIT, which has a long track record of managing investments in U.S. government agency mortgage-backed securities.
Our objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to our investors over the long-term, primarily through dividends and secondarily through capital appreciation. We intend to achieve this objective by acquiring a broad class of financial assets to construct an investment portfolio that is designed to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns and that is structured to comply with the various federal income tax requirements for REIT status and to maintain our exclusion from regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, or 1940 Act.
Our Manager
We are externally managed and advised by FIDAC, a fixed-income investment management company, pursuant to a management agreement. All of our officers are employees of our Manager or one of its affiliates. We believe our relationship with our Manager enables us to leverage our Manager’s well-respected and established portfolio management resources for each of our targeted asset classes and its sophisticated infrastructure supporting those resources, including investment professionals focusing on residential mortgage loans, U.S. government agency residential mortgage-backed securities, or Agency RMBS, which are mortgage pass-through certificates, collateralized mortgage obligations, or CMOs, and other mortgage-backed securities representing interests in or obligations backed by pools of mortgage loans issued or guaranteed by the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or Freddie Mac, and the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, non-Agency RMBS and other asset-backed securities, or ABS. Additionally, we have benefited and expect to continue to benefit from our Manager’s finance and administration functions, which address legal, compliance, investor relations and operational matters, including portfolio management, trade allocation and execution, securities valuation, risk management and information technologies in connection with the performance of its duties. Our Manager commenced active investment management operations in 1994. At March 31, 2010, our Manager was the adviser or sub-adviser for investment vehicles, including us, with approximately $6.0 billion in net assets and $14.7 billion in gross assets.
S-1
Our Manager is responsible for administering our business activities and day-to-day operations. Pursuant to the terms of the management agreement, our Manager provides us with our management team, including our officers, along with appropriate support personnel. Our Manager is at all times subject to the supervision and oversight of our board of directors and has only such functions and authority as we delegate to it.
Our Investment Strategy
Our objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to our investors over the long-term, primarily through dividends and secondarily through capital appreciation. We intend to achieve this objective by investing in a diversified investment portfolio of RMBS, residential mortgage loans, commercial mortgage loans, real estate-related securities and various other asset classes, subject to maintaining our REIT status and exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. The RMBS, asset backed securities, or ABS, commercial mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS, and collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, we purchase may include investment-grade and non-investment grade classes, including the BB-rated, B-rated, below B-rated and non-rated classes. We may also acquire non-performing mortgage loans, which are mortgage loans for which the borrower is two or more payments past due, and such loans may underlie the RMBS, CMBS and other real estate-related securities in which we may invest.
We rely on our Manager’s expertise in identifying assets within our target asset classes. Our Manager makes investment decisions based on various factors, including expected cash yield, relative value, risk-adjusted returns, current and projected credit fundamentals, current and projected macroeconomic considerations, current and projected supply and demand, credit and market risk concentration limits, liquidity, cost of financing and financing availability, as well as maintaining our REIT qualification and our exemption from registration under the 1940 Act.
Over time, we will modify our investment allocation strategy as market conditions change to seek to maximize the returns from our investment portfolio. We believe this strategy, combined with our Manager’s experience, will enable us to pay dividends and achieve capital appreciation throughout changing interest rate and credit cycles and provide attractive long-term returns to investors.
Our targeted asset classes and the principal investments we expect to make are as follows.
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Asset Class |
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Principal Investments |
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Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities, or RMBS |
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Non-Agency RMBS, including investment-grade and non-investment grade classes, including the BB-rated, B-rated, below B-rated and non-rated classes. |
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Agency RMBS. |
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Residential Mortgage Loans |
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Prime mortgage loans, which are mortgage loans that conform to the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which we refer to as Agency Guidelines; and jumbo prime mortgage loans, which are mortgage loans that conform to the Agency Guidelines except as to loan size. |
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Alt-A mortgage loans, which are mortgage loans that may have been originated using documentation standards that are less stringent than the documentation standards applied by certain other first lien mortgage loan purchase programs, such as the Agency Guidelines, but have one or more compensating factors such as a borrower with strong credit or mortgage history or significant assets. |
S-2
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Commercial Mortgage Loans |
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First or second lien loans secured by multifamily properties, which are residential rental properties consisting of five or more dwelling units; and mixed residential or other commercial properties; retail properties; office properties; or industrial properties, which may or may not conform to the Agency Guidelines. |
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Other Asset-Backed Securities, or ABS |
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CMBS. |
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Debt and equity tranches of CDOs. |
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Consumer and non-consumer ABS, including investment grade and non-investment grade classes, including the BB-rated, B-rated, below B-rated and non-rated classes. |
Since we commenced operations in November 2007, we have focused our investment activities on acquiring non-Agency RMBS and on purchasing residential mortgage loans that have been originated by select high-quality originators, including the retail lending operations of leading commercial banks. Our investment portfolio at March 31, 2010 was weighted toward non-Agency RMBS. At March 31, 2010, approximately 76% of our investment portfolio was non-Agency RMBS, 15% of our investment portfolio was Agency RMBS, and 9% of our investment portfolio was securitized residential mortgage loans. At March 31, 2010, substantially all of our non-Agency RMBS was rated below B or non-rated. After the consummation of this offering, we expect that over the near term our investment portfolio will continue to be weighted toward RMBS, subject to maintaining our REIT qualification and our 1940 Act exemption.
In addition, we have engaged in and anticipate continuing to engage in transactions with non-Agency RMBS in which we acquire non-Agency RMBS that were predominantly formerly AAA-rated but are now rated below investment grade and re-securitize those securities. We may sell the resulting AAA-rated super senior RMBS and retain some AAA-rated senior RMBS. However, we retain all of the mezzanine and subordinate RMBS, which are predominantly rated below B or are non-rated. Accordingly, we expect the percentage of RMBS rated below B or non-rated in our portfolio to increase. We also anticipate engaging in transactions with residential mortgage lending operations of leading commercial banks and other high-quality originators in which we identify and re-underwrite residential mortgage loans owned by such entities, and rather than purchasing and securitizing such residential mortgage loans ourselves, we and the originator would structure the securitization and we would purchase the resulting mezzanine and subordinate non-Agency RMBS. We may engage in similar transactions using other classes of assets, including commercial mortgage loans. Our investment decisions depend on prevailing market conditions and will change over time. As a result, we cannot predict the percentage of our assets that will be invested in each asset class or whether we will invest in other classes of investments. We may change our investment strategy and policies without a vote of our stockholders.
We have elected to be taxed as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2007 and operate our business to be exempt from registration under the 1940 Act, and therefore we are required to invest a substantial majority of our assets in loans secured by mortgages on real estate and real estate-related assets. Subject to maintaining our REIT qualification and our 1940 Act exemption, we do not have any limitations on the amounts we may invest in any of our targeted asset classes.
S-3
Our Financing Strategy
We use leverage to increase potential returns to our stockholders. We are not required to maintain any specific debt-to-equity ratio as we believe the appropriate leverage for the particular assets we are financing depends on the credit quality and risk of those assets. At March 31, 2010, our ratio of debt-to-equity was 1.6:1. For purposes of calculating this ratio, our equity is equal to the total stockholders’ equity on our consolidated statements of financial condition. Our debt consists of repurchase agreements and securitized debt. Subject to maintaining our REIT qualification, we may use a number of sources to finance our investments, including repurchase agreements, warehouse facilities, securitizations, asset-backed commercial paper, and term financing structures.
Our ability to fund our investments on a leveraged basis depends to a large extent upon our ability to secure warehouse, repurchase, credit, and/or commercial paper financing on acceptable terms. The current dislocation in the non-Agency mortgage sector has made it difficult for us to obtain short-term financing on favorable terms.
We have entered into a RMBS repurchase agreement with Annaly. This agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants contained in such agreements. At March 31, 2010, we had no borrowings outstanding under this agreement, and we currently have no borrowings outstanding under this repurchase agreement. We cannot assure you that Annaly will provide us with financing in the future.
We have entered into a RMBS repurchase agreement with RCap Securities, Inc., or RCap, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Annaly and an underwriter in this offering. This agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants contained in such agreements. As of March 31, 2010, we were borrowing $147.4 million under this repurchase agreement at an interest rate of 1.22%. We currently have no borrowings outstanding under this repurchase agreement. Our RMBS repurchase agreement with RCap has a three-month term and is secured by the RMBS pledged under the agreement. This agreement is callable by RCap each week. We cannot assure you that RCap will continue to provide us with financing in the future. If RCap does not provide us with financing if we need it, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain other financing.
Our Interest Rate Hedging and Risk Management Strategy
From time to time, we utilize derivative financial instruments to hedge all or a portion of the interest rate risk associated with our borrowings. The federal income tax rules applicable to REITs may require us to implement certain of these techniques through a taxable REIT subsidiary that is fully subject to corporate income taxation.
Compliance with REIT and Investment Company Requirements
We monitor our investment securities and the income from these securities and, to the extent we enter into hedging transactions, we monitor income from our hedging transactions as well, so as to ensure at all times that we maintain our qualification as a REIT and our exempt status under the 1940 Act, which may include qualifying for an exemption from registration under the 1940 Act pursuant to Section 3(a)(1) or Section 3(a)(6) of the 1940 Act in addition to Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the 1940 Act.
S-4
Recent Developments
Dividend
On June 10, 2010, we announced that our board of directors declared a second quarter cash distribution of $0.17 per share of our common stock. This dividend will be paid on July 29, 2010 to common stockholders of record on June 21, 2010. Common stock sold in this offering will not participate in this quarterly distribution. We have not yet completed our 2010 second quarter or our consolidated financial statements for the second quarter. Our Core Earnings per share for the second quarter could be different from our dividends per share. Core Earnings is a non-GAAP measure and is defined as GAAP net income (loss) excluding non-cash equity compensation expense, excluding any unrealized gains, losses or other items that do not affect realized net income (regardless of whether such items are included in other comprehensive income or loss, or in net income (loss)). GAAP is defined as accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Recent Offering
On March 31, 2010, we announced the sale of 85,000,000 shares of our common stock at $3.61 per share for proceeds, less the underwriter’s discount and offering expenses, of $306.7 million. In addition, on April 1, 2010, the underwriter exercised its option to purchase an additional 12,750,000 shares of our common stock to cover overallotments for proceeds, less the underwriter’s discount, of approximately $46.0 million. These sales were completed on April 7, 2010. We raised total net proceeds of approximately $352.7 million in these offerings. We have deployed all of the net proceeds of these offerings. We used most of the net proceeds to purchase unlevered non-Agency RMBS and the remainder of the net proceeds to purchase Agency RMBS using what we believe to be a modest amount of leverage.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 1211 Avenue of Americas, Suite 2902, New York, New York 10036. Our telephone number is 1-866-315-9930. Our website is http://www.chimerareit.com. The contents of our website are not a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. We have included our website address only as an inactive textual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our website.
S-5
Summary Financial Information
The following table presents summary financial data as of and for the periods indicated. We derived the summary financial data from our audited consolidated financial statements for the period from November 21, 2007 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2007 and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and 2009 and our unaudited consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009. The following summary financial information should be read in conjunction with our more detailed information contained in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2010, which are incorporated by reference into the accompanying prospectus and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2010, which are incorporated by reference into the accompanying prospectus.
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As of March 31, |
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As of December 31, |
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2010 |
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2009 |
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2009 |
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2008 |
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2007 |
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(dollars in thousands, except share and per share data) |
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Statement of Financial Condition Highlights |
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Mortgage-backed securities |
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$ |
5,582,375 |
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$ |
1,085,792 |
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$ |
4,088,894 |
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$ |
855,467 |
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$ |
1,124,290 |
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Loans held for investment |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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$ |
162,371 |
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Securitized loans |
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$ |
441,347 |
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$ |
565,895 |
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$ |
470,533 |
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$ |
583,346 |
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— |
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Total assets |
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$ |
6,156,195 |
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$ |
1,676,048 |
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$ |
4,618,328 |
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$ |
1,477,501 |
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$ |
1,565,636 |
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Repurchase agreements |
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$ |
1,686,237 |
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$ |
559,926 |
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$ |
1,975,402 |
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$ |
562,119 |
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$ |
270,584 |
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Securitized debt |
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$ |
2,001,102 |
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$ |
473,168 |
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$ |
390,350 |
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$ |
488,743 |
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Total liabilities |
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$ |
3,861,248 |
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$ |
1,243,222 |
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$ |
2,491,766 |
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$ |
1,063,046 |
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$ |
1,026,747 |
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Stockholders’ equity |
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$ |
2,294,947 |
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$ |
432,826 |
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$ |
2,126,562 |
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$ |
414,455 |
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$ |
538,889 |
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Book value per share |
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$ |
3.42 |
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$ |
2.44 |
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$ |
3.17 |
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$ |
2.34 |
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$ |
14.29 |
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Number of shares outstanding |
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670,371,002 |
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177,196,945 |
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670,371,587 |
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177,198,212 |
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37,705,563 |
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For the
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For the
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For the
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For the
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For the
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(dollars in thousands, except share and per share data) |
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Statement of Operations Highlights |
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Net interest income |
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$ |
138,641 |
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$ |
18,965 |
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$ |
263,456 |
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$ |
44,715 |
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$ |
3,077 |
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Net income (loss) |
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$ |
125,610 |
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$ |
18,869 |
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$ |
323,983 |
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($ |
119,809 |
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($ |
2,906 |
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Earnings per share (loss), or EPS (basic) |
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$ |
0.19 |
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$ |
0.11 |
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$ |
0.64 |
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($ |
1.90 |
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($ |
0.08 |
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EPS (loss)(diluted) |
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$ |
0.19 |
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$ |
0.11 |
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$ |
0.64 |
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($ |
1.90 |
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($ |
0.08 |
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Weighted average shares – basic |
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670,371,022 |
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177,196,959 |
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507,042,421 |
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|
63,155,878 |
|
|
37,401,737 |
|
|
Weighted average shares – diluted |
|
|
670,371,022 |
|
|
177,196,959 |
|
|
507,042,421 |
|
|
63,155,878 |
|
|
37,401,737 |
|
|
Dividend declared per share (1) |
|
$ |
0.17 |
|
$ |
0.06 |
|
$ |
0.43 |
|
$ |
0.62 |
|
$ |
0.025 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Data(2) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yield on average interest earning assets |
|
|
10.04 |
% |
|
6.44 |
% |
|
6.90 |
% |
|
5.96 |
% |
|
7.02 |
% |
|
Cost of funds on average interest bearing liabilities |
|
|
4.50 |
% |
|
3.48 |
% |
|
2.03 |
% |
|
4.64 |
% |
|
5.08 |
% |
|
Interest rate spread |
|
|
5.54 |
% |
|
2.96 |
% |
|
4.87 |
% |
|
1.32 |
% |
|
1.94 |
% |
|
G&A and management fee expense as percentage of average total assets |
|
|
0.73 |
% |
|
0.94 |
% |
|
0.99 |
% |
|
0.85 |
% |
|
1.55 |
% |
|
G&A and management fee expense as percentage of average equity |
|
|
1.79 |
% |
|
3.51 |
% |
|
2.25 |
% |
|
3.50 |
% |
|
3.05 |
% |
|
|
|
|
(1) |
For the applicable period. |
|
(2) |
Data for the period from November 21, 2007 through December 31, 2007 is provided on an annualized basis. |
S-6
|
|
|
|
|
The Offering |
||
|
|
||
|
Issuer |
|
Chimera Investment Corporation |
|
|
||
|
Common stock offered by us |
|
100,000,000 shares (plus up to an additional 15,000,000 shares of our common stock that we may issue and sell upon the exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option). |
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock to be outstanding after this offering |
|
868,140,721 shares, based upon 768,140,721 shares of common stock outstanding as of June 10, 2010. Does not include up to an additional 15,000,000 shares of our common stock that we may issue and sell upon the exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option. Includes 998,975 shares of our restricted common stock granted pursuant to our equity incentive plan that were unvested as of March 31, 2010. |
|
|
|
|
|
NYSE symbol |
|
“CIM” |
|
|
|
|
|
Use of proceeds |
|
We intend to acquire non-Agency RMBS, Agency RMBS, prime and Alt-A residential mortgage loans, commercial mortgage loans, CMBS, CDOs, and other consumer or non-consumer ABS. Our portfolio at March 31, 2010 was weighted toward RMBS. After the consummation of this offering, we expect that over the near term our portfolio will continue to be weighted toward RMBS, subject to maintaining our REIT qualification and our 1940 Act exemption. Until appropriate assets can be identified, our Manager may acquire interest-bearing short-term investments, including money market accounts, which are consistent with our treatment as a REIT, or may use them to reduce short-term indebtedness. These assets are expected to provide a lower net return than we hope to achieve from deploying the proceeds of this offering in our targeted assets. See “Use of Proceeds.” |
|
|
|
|
|
Risk factors |
|
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully read and consider the information set forth under “Risk Factors” and all other information in this prospectus supplement, in the accompanying prospectus, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus, before investing in our common stock. |
S-7
In evaluating an investment in our common stock, you should carefully consider the risks set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, in the accompanying prospectus, and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus.
We may allocate the net proceeds from this offering to investments with which you may not agree.
We will have significant flexibility in investing the net proceeds of this offering. You will be unable to evaluate the manner in which the net proceeds of this offering will be invested or the economic merit of our expected investments and, as a result, we may use the net proceeds from this offering to invest in investments with which you may not agree. The failure of our management to apply these proceeds effectively or find assets that meet our investment criteria in sufficient time or on acceptable terms could result in unfavorable returns, could cause a material adverse effect on you, and could cause the value of our common stock to decline.
The recent actions of the U.S. government, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury, and the Securities and Exchange Commission for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets may adversely affect our business.
The U.S. government, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury, the SEC, and other governmental and regulatory bodies have taken or are considering taking various actions to address the financial crisis. For example, on May 20, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act” which is similar to the version passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with respect to its potential impact on the securitization market in that it requires, among other things, that a securitizer generally retain not less than 5% of the credit risk for any securitized asset that is transferred, sold, or conveyed through issuance of an ABS. Also, the SEC has proposed significant changes to Regulation AB, which, if adopted in their present form, could have sweeping changes to commercial and residential mortgage loan securitization markets as well as to the market for the resecuritization of mortgage-backed securities. There can be no assurances that such actions will have a beneficial impact on the financial markets. In addition to the foregoing, the U.S. Congress and/or various states and local legislatures may enact additional legislation or regulatory action designed to address the current economic crisis or for other purposes that could have a material adverse effect on our ability to execute our business strategies. To the extent the market does not respond favorably to these initiatives or they do not function as intended, they may not have a positive impact on our business.
The increasing number of proposed U.S. federal, state and local laws may affect certain mortgage-related assets in which we intend to invest and could increase our cost of doing business.
Legislation has been proposed which, among other provisions, could hinder the ability of a servicer to foreclose promptly on defaulted mortgage loans or would permit limited assignee liability for certain violations in the mortgage loan origination process. For example, the House of Representatives and the Senate have made public a base text to use for negotiating the differences between their respective financial reform bills. This base text contains the House provision which would permit limited assignee liability for certain violations in the mortgage loan origination process which could result in us being held responsible for violations in the mortgage loan origination process. We cannot predict whether or in what form the U.S. Congress or the various state and local legislatures may enact legislation affecting our business. We will evaluate the potential impact of any initiatives which, if enacted, could affect our practices and results of operations. We are unable to predict whether U.S. federal, state or local authorities will enact laws, rules or regulations that will require changes in our practices in the future, and any such changes could adversely affect our cost of doing business and profitability.
The commercial mortgage loans that we may acquire and the mortgage loans underlying CMBS investments are subject to the ability of the property owner to generate net income from operating the property as well as the risks of delinquency and foreclosure.
The ability of a commercial mortgage borrower to repay a loan secured by an income-producing property, such as a multi-family or commercial property, typically is dependent primarily upon the successful operation of such property rather than upon the existence of independent income or assets of the borrower. If the net operating
S-8
income of the property is reduced, the borrower’s ability to repay the loan may be impaired. Net operating income of an income producing property can be affected by, among other things, tenant mix, success of tenant businesses, property management decisions, property location and condition, competition from comparable types of properties, changes in laws that increase operating expense or limit rents that may be charged, any need to address environmental contamination at the property, the occurrence of any uninsured casualty at the property, changes in national, regional or local economic conditions or specific industry segments, declines in regional or local real estate values, declines in regional or local rental or occupancy rates, increases in interest rates, real estate tax rates and other operating expenses, changes in governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies, including environmental legislation, acts of God, terrorism, social unrest and civil disturbances.
Most commercial mortgage loans underlying CMBS are effectively nonrecourse obligations of the borrower, meaning that there is no recourse against the borrower’s assets other than the underlying collateral. In the event of any default under a mortgage loan held directly by us, we will bear a risk of loss of principal to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral (or our ability to realize such value through foreclosure) and the principal and accrued interest of the mortgage loan, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flow from operations and limit amounts available for distribution to our stockholders. In the event of the bankruptcy of a mortgage loan borrower, the mortgage loan to such borrower will be deemed to be secured only to the extent of the value of the underlying collateral at the time of bankruptcy (as determined by the bankruptcy court), and the lien securing the mortgage loan will be subject to the avoidance powers of the bankruptcy trustee or debtor-in-possession to the extent the lien is unenforceable under state law. Foreclosure of a mortgage loan can be an expensive and lengthy process, which could have a substantial negative effect on our anticipated return on the foreclosed mortgage loan.
CMBS assets are subject to losses.
In general, losses on a mortgaged property securing a mortgage loan included in a securitization will be borne first by the equity holder of the property, then by a cash reserve fund or letter of credit, if any, then by the holder of a mezzanine loan or B Note, if any, then by the “first loss” subordinated security holder generally, the “B-Piece” buyer, and then by the holder of a higher-rated security. In the event of default and the exhaustion of any equity support, reserve fund, letter of credit, mezzanine loans or B Notes, and any classes of securities junior to those which we acquire, we will not be able to recover all of our capital in the securities we purchase. The pool of loans backing CMBS we may purchase may contain one or more large loans and the default of any such loan may have a material adverse effect on the performance of that CMBS. In addition, if the underlying mortgage portfolio has been overvalued by the originator, or if the values subsequently decline and, as a result, less collateral is available to satisfy interest and principal payments due on the related mortgage-backed securities. The prices of lower credit quality CMBS are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than more highly rated CMBS, but more sensitive to adverse economic downturns or individual issuer developments. The projection of an economic downturn, for example, could cause a decline in the price of lower credit quality CMBS because the ability of obligors of mortgages underlying CMBS to make principal and interest payments may be impaired. In such event, existing credit support in the securitization structure may be insufficient to protect us against loss of our principal on these securities.
We may not control the special servicing of the mortgage loans included in the CMBS in which we may invest and, in such cases, the special servicer may take actions that could adversely affect our interests.
With respect to the CMBS in which we may invest, overall control over the special servicing of the related underlying mortgage loans will be held by a “directing certificateholder” or a “controlling class representative,” which is appointed by the holders of the most subordinate class of CMBS in such series. To the extent that we focus on acquiring classes of existing series of CMBS originally rated AAA, we will not have the right to appoint the directing certificateholder. In connection with the servicing of the specially serviced mortgage loans, the related special servicer may, at the direction of the directing certificateholder, take actions with respect to the specially serviced mortgage loans that could adversely affect our interests.
S-9
We estimate that our net proceeds from this public offering of our shares of common stock, after deducting our estimated offering expenses, will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full).
We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering to finance the acquisition of non-Agency RMBS, Agency RMBS, prime and Alt-A residential mortgage loans, commercial mortgage loans, CMBS, CDOs and other consumer or non-consumer ABS. Our portfolio at March 31, 2010 was weighted toward RMBS. After the consummation of this offering, we expect that over the near term our portfolio will continue to be weighted toward RMBS, subject to maintaining our REIT qualification and our 1940 Act exemption. See “Prospectus Supplement Summary—Our Investment Strategy.”
We may also use the proceeds for other general corporate purposes such as repayment of outstanding indebtedness, working capital, and for liquidity needs. Pending any such uses, we may acquire interest-bearing short-term investments, including money market accounts that are consistent with our treatment as a REIT, or may use them to reduce short term indebtedness. These assets are expected to provide a lower net return than we hope to achieve from deploying the proceeds of this offering in our targeted assets.
S-10
To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we must distribute substantially all of our taxable income to our stockholders for each year. We have done this in the past and intend to continue to do so in the future. We also have declared and paid regular quarterly cash dividends in the past and intend to do so in the future.
The following table sets forth the cash distributions declared per common share during each fiscal quarter of our current fiscal year and our last two fiscal years.
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Cash Distributions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
Second quarter |
|
|
$.17 |
|
|
First quarter |
|
|
$.17 |
|
|
2009 |
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth quarter |
|
|
$.17 |
|
|
Third quarter |
|
|
$.12 |
|
|
Second quarter |
|
|
$.08 |
|
|
First quarter |
|
|
$.06 |
|
|
2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth quarter |
|
|
$.04 |
|
|
Third quarter |
|
|
$.16 |
|
|
Second quarter |
|
|
$.16 |
|
|
First quarter |
|
|
$.26 |
|
We have not established a minimum distribution payment level on our common stock and our ability to pay distributions on our common stock may be adversely affected as a result of the risks set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, in the accompanying prospectus, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus. All distributions will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, maintenance of our REIT status and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant from time to time.
S-11
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following discussion supplements the discussion under the heading “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the prospectus. Terms used in this section but not defined in this section have the meanings ascribed to them elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or in “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the prospectus. You should refer to the discussion in the prospectus under “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a discussion of the tax consequences of our election to be taxed as a REIT and the tax consequences to Owners of shares of our common stock. The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations relates to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock.
Taxation of Foreign Owners
The following discussion should be read in connection with your review of the discussion under the heading “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation of Foreign Owners” in the prospectus.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Under current Treasury Regulations, information reporting and backup withholding will not apply to payments on the common stock made by us or our paying agent (in its capacity as such) to you if you have provided the required certification that you are a Foreign Owner provided that neither we nor our paying agent has actual knowledge or reason to know that you are a Domestic Owner. However, we or our paying agent may be required to report to the IRS and you payments of dividends on our common stock and the amount of tax, if any, withheld with respect to those payments. Copies of the information returns reporting such payments and any withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which you reside under the provisions of a treaty or agreement. The gross proceeds from the disposition of your common stock may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding tax (currently at a maximum rate of 28%). If you sell your common stock outside the United States through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker and the sales proceeds are paid to you outside the United States, then the U.S. information reporting and backup withholding requirements generally will not apply to that payment. However, U.S. information reporting, but not backup withholding, will apply to a payment of sales proceeds, even if that payment is made outside the United States, if you sell your debt securities or common stock through a non-U.S. office of a broker that:
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• |
is a U.S. person; |
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• |
derives 50% or more of its gross income in specific periods from the conduct of a trade or business in the United States; |
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• |
is a “controlled foreign corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes; or |
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• |
is a foreign partnership, if at any time during its tax year: |
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o |
one or more of its partners are U.S. persons who in the aggregate hold more than 50% of the income or capital interests in the partnership; or |
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o |
the foreign partnership is engaged in a U.S. trade or business, |
unless the broker has documentary evidence in its files that you are a Foreign Owner and certain other conditions are met or you otherwise establish an exemption.
If you receive payment of the proceeds of a sale of your common stock to or through a U.S. office of a broker, the payment is subject to both U.S. backup withholding and information reporting unless you provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying that you are a Foreign Owner or you otherwise establish an exemption, provided that the broker does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that you are not a Foreign Owner or the conditions of any other exemption are not, in fact, satisfied.
S-12
You are encouraged to consult your own tax advisor regarding application of backup withholding in your particular circumstance and the availability of and procedure for obtaining an exemption from backup withholding under current Treasury Regulations. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to you will be allowed as a refund or credit against your U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Non-performing Mortgage Loans
If we acquire a non-performing mortgage loan, it will be with a view towards engaging through a mortgage loan servicer or special servicer in loan workout activity with the borrower in an attempt to return the mortgage loan to performing loan status. Any modification of the terms of a non-performing mortgage loan undertaken as part of the loan workout activity could give rise to a deemed debt-for-debt exchange as a result of which we could recognize a large taxable gain even though we would not likely receive any immediate cash flow commensurate with such gain. Moreover, even in the absence of a loan modification, we may be required, in accordance with applicable tax accounting rules, to accrue income with respect to a non-performing mortgage loan even though the borrower has ceased making payments on the mortgage loan pursuant to its terms. Finally, if we acquire any real property as a result of foreclosing (or accepting a deed in lieu of foreclosure) on a mortgage loan that was not performing at the time we acquired the loan, the real property so acquired may not qualify as foreclosure property for REIT qualification purposes such that any gain from the sale or disposition of such property could give rise to a prohibited transactions tax. Consequently, to the extent we invest in non-performing mortgage loans, we may have to structure such investments through a taxable REIT subsidiary or though a special purpose securitization vehicle.
Recently Enacted Legislation
On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the “HIRE Act”) into law. The HIRE Act added new chapter 4 to the Code. Effective for payments made after December 31, 2012, chapter 4 generally requires the withholding agent to deduct and withhold tax equal to 30% of any distributions in respect of our shares of capital stock and 30% of any gross proceeds of sale or disposition of our shares of capital stock, in either case, that is paid to a foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity, unless (i) in the case of a foreign financial institution, such institution enters into an agreement with the U.S. government to withhold on certain payments and to collect and provide to the U.S. tax authorities substantial information regarding U.S. account holders of such institution (which includes certain equity and debt holders of such institution, as well as certain account holders that are foreign entities with U.S. owners), and (ii) in the case of a non-financial foreign entity, such entity provides the withholding agent with a certification identifying the direct and indirect U.S. owners of the entity. Under certain circumstances, a Foreign Owner might be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes. Prospective investors are encouraged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this recently enacted legislation on an investment in our capital stock.
S-13
Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement among us and the underwriters, dated June , 2010, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and the underwriters have severally agreed to purchase from us, the number of shares of our common stock listed opposite their names below. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and RCap Securities, Inc. are acting as representatives of the underwriters.
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Underwriter |
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Number |
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|
Credit Suisse
Securities (USA) LLC |
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|
RCap Securities, Inc. |
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Total |
|
|
100,000,000 |
|
|
The underwriters will offer the shares of common stock for sale from time to time in one or more transactions (which may include block transactions), in negotiated transactions or otherwise, or a combination of those methods of sale, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The shares of common stock will not be sold on or through the facilities of a national securities exchange or to or through a market maker otherwise than on an exchange. The underwriters may do so by selling the shares of common stock to or through broker/dealers, who may receive compensation in the form of underwriting discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or the purchasers of the shares of common stock for whom they may act as agents. In connection with the sale of the shares of common stock, the underwriters may be deemed to have received compensation from us in the form of underwriting discounts, and the underwriters may also receive commissions from the purchasers of the shares of common stock for whom they may act as agents. The underwriters and any broker/dealers that participate with the underwriters in the distribution of the shares of common stock may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts or commissions received by them and any profit on the resale of the shares of common stock by them may be deemed to be underwriting discounts or commissions.
The underwriters are purchasing the shares of common stock from us at $ per share (representing $ million aggregate proceeds to us, before we deduct our out-of-pocket expenses of approximately $250,000 (or approximately $ million if the underwriters’ overallotment option described below is exercised in full)). The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the shares of common stock if any are purchased, other than those covered by the overallotment option described below. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriter may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
We have granted to the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 15,000,000 additional shares at a price of $ per share. The option may be exercised only to cover any overallotments in the sale of the shares.
Pursuant to certain “lock-up” agreements, we and our executive officers and directors have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, announce any intention to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any common shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any common shares without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for a period of 60 days in our case, and for a period of 90 days in the case of our executive officers and directors (as applicable, the “Lock-up Period”) after the date of this prospectus supplement. Specifically, we and these other individuals have agreed, with certain exceptions, not to directly or indirectly:
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• |
offer, pledge, sell or contract to sell any common stock; |
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• |
sell any option or contract to purchase any common stock; |
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• |
purchase any option or contract to sell any common stock; |
S-14
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• |
grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of any common stock; |
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• |
lend or otherwise dispose of or transfer any common stock; or |
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• |
enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic consequence of ownership of any common stock whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of shares or other securities, in cash or otherwise. |
This lock-up provision applies to common stock and to securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or repayable with common stock. It also applies to common stock owned now or acquired later by the person executing the agreement or for which the person executing the agreement later acquires the power of disposition. The Lock-up Period will be automatically extended if (1) during the last 17 days of the Lock-up Period we issue an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to us occurs or prior to the expiration of the Lock-up Period, we announce that we will release earnings results or become aware that material news or a material event will occur during the 16-day-period beginning on the last day of the Lock-up Period, in which case the restrictions described above will continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or a material event. The exceptions permit us, among other things and subject to restrictions, to: (a) issue common stock or options pursuant to our long term stock incentive plan or pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options or other awards, (b) issue common stock pursuant to our stock dividend reinvestment plan, and (c) file a registration statement relating to our common and preferred stock.
In connection with the offering the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, overallotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions, and penalty bids.
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• |
Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. |
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• |
Overallotment involves sales by the underwriters of shares in excess of the number of shares the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of shares overallotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of shares that they may purchase in the overallotment option. In a naked short position, the number of shares involved is greater than the number of shares in the overallotment option. The underwriters may close out any short position by either exercising their overallotment option and/or purchasing shares in the open market. |
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• |
Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the shares in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of the shares to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the overallotment option. If the underwriters sell more shares than could be covered by the overallotment option, a naked short position, that position can only be closed out by buying shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. |
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• |
Penalty bids permit the representatives to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the shares originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing transaction or a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. |
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of the shares or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the shares. As a result the price of the shares may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on The New York Stock Exchange or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
S-15
Selling Restrictions
European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) an offer to the public of any securities which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus may not be made in that Relevant Member State except that an offer to the public in the Relevant Member State of any securities may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:
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(a) to legal entities which are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities; |
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(b) to any legal entity which has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than EUR43,000,000 and (3) an annual net turnover of more than EUR50,000,000, as shown in its last annual or consolidated accounts; |
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(c) by the underwriters to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or |
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(d) in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive. |
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For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any securities in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase the securities, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.
This prospectus supplement has been prepared on the basis that all offers of the securities will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive, as implemented in Member States from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of securities. Accordingly any person making or intending to make any offer within the European Economic Area of securities which are the subject of the placement contemplated in this prospectus supplement should only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for us or the underwriters to produce a prospectus for the offer. Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized, nor do they authorize the making of any offer of securities through any financial intermediary, other than offers made by the underwriters which constitute the final placement of securities contemplated in this prospectus supplement.
Each person in a Relevant Member State who receives any communication in respect of, or who acquires any shares under, the offers contemplated in this prospectus supplement will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with each underwriter and us that:
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(a) it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the law in that Relevant Member State implementing Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive; and |
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(b) in the case of any shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as the term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, (i) the shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors, as that term is defined in the Prospectus Directive, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriters has been given to the offer or resale; or (ii) where shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors, the offer of those shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Directive as having been made to such person. |
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For the purposes of this representation, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.
United Kingdom
This prospectus and any other material in relation to the securities described herein is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons (i) who are outside the United Kingdom and (ii) to investment professional falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, (the “Order”) or (iii) high net worth entities and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such new shares will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Each of the underwriters represents, warrants and agrees as follows: (1) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the “FSMA”) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the securities in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply; and (2) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
Switzerland
We have not and will not register with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) as a foreign collective investment scheme pursuant to Article 119 of the Federal Act on Collective Investment Scheme of 23 June 2006, as amended (CISA), and accordingly the shares being offered pursuant to this prospectus have not and will not be approved, and may not be licenseable, with FINMA. Therefore, the shares have not been authorized for distribution by FINMA as a foreign collective investment scheme pursuant to Article 119 CISA and the shares offered hereby may not be offered to the public (as this term is defined in Article 3 CISA) in or from Switzerland. The shares may solely be offered to “qualified investors,” as this term is defined in Article 10 CISA, and in the circumstances set out in Article 3 of the Ordinance on Collective Investment Scheme of 22 November 2006, as amended (CISO), such that there is no public offer. Investors, however, do not benefit from protection under CISA or CISO or supervision by FINMA. This prospectus and any other materials relating to the shares are strictly personal and confidential to each offeree and do not constitute an offer to any other person. This prospectus may only be used by those qualified investors to whom it has been handed out in connection with the offer described herein and may neither directly or indirectly be distributed or made available to any person or entity other than its recipients. It may not be used in connection with any other offer and shall in particular not be copied and/or distributed to the public in Switzerland or from Switzerland. This prospectus does not constitute an issue prospectus as that term is understood pursuant to Article 652a and/or 1156 of the Swiss Federal Code of Obligations. We have not applied for a listing of the shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange or any other regulated securities market in Switzerland, and consequently, the information presented in this prospectus does not necessarily comply with the information standards set out in the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange and corresponding prospectus schemes annexed to the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relate to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority ("DFSA"). This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. They must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein or therein and has no responsibility for this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The shares to which this prospectus supplement relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
Other Relationships
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and their affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. In addition, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and their affiliates have been or are lenders under one or more of our secured repurchase credit facilities, and we have entered into interest rate swap agreements with Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and their affiliates are or have been counterparties to securities and other trading activities with us and our affiliates.
We have entered into a RMBS repurchase agreement with RCap, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Annaly and an underwriter in this offering. This agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants contained in such agreements. We currently have no borrowings under this repurchase agreement.
We entered into a management agreement with FIDAC on November 21, 2007, whereby FIDAC was appointed as our manager. FIDAC, our Manager, and RCap, an underwriter in this offering, are both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Annaly. Pursuant to the terms of the management agreement, FIDAC has provided us assistance with various operational and other services. FIDAC has been paid a quarterly fee in connection with such services. FIDAC has also been reimbursed for certain expenses incurred on our behalf.
S-17
Certain legal matters relating to this offering will be passed upon for us by K&L Gates LLP, Washington, D.C. In addition, the opinion of counsel described in the section of the accompanying prospectus entitled “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations” was rendered by K&L Gates LLP, Washington, D.C. and the description of material federal income tax consequences contained in the section of the accompanying prospectus entitled “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations” is based on the opinion of K&L Gates LLP, Washington, D.C. Certain legal matters relating to this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, New York, New York.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to ‘‘incorporate by reference’’ the information in documents that we file with them. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and information in documents that we file after the date of this prospectus supplement and before the termination of the offering will automatically update information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Nothing in this prospectus supplement will be deemed to incorporate information furnished by us on Form 8-K that, pursuant to and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, is not deemed “filed” for purposes of the Exchange Act.
We incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement:
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our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009; |
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our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2010; |
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the sections of our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A for our 2010 annual meeting of stockholders incorporated by reference in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009; |
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our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on March 26, 2010, March 31, 2010, April 1, 2010, April 2, 2010, and June 1, 2010; and |
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any future filings which we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, until we sell all of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. |
S-18
PROSPECTUS
Common Stock and Preferred Stock
By this prospectus, we may offer, from time to time, shares of our:
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common stock; |
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preferred stock; or |
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any combination of the foregoing. |
We will provide specific terms of each issuance of these securities in supplements to this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any supplement carefully before you decide to invest.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of these securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
The New York Stock Exchange lists our common stock under the symbol “CIM.”
To assist us in qualifying as a real estate investment trust (or REIT) for federal income tax purposes, no person may own more than 9.8% of the outstanding shares of any class of our common stock or our preferred stock, unless our Board of Directors waives this limitation.
Investing in these securities involves risks. You should carefully consider the information referred to under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4 of this prospectus.
We may sell these securities to or through underwriters, dealers or agents, or we may sell the securities directly to investors on our own behalf.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is May 26, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO COMBINED FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS |
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i
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (or SEC) using a “shelf” registration process. Under this process, we may offer and sell any combination of common stock and preferred stock in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer to sell securities, we will provide a supplement to this prospectus that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. It is important for you to consider the information contained in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or set forth in this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with additional or different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement or any other offering material is accurate as of any date other than the dates on the front of those documents.
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A WARNING ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and any other offering material, and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and/or any other offering material, and certain statements contained in our future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”), in our press releases or in our other public or shareholder communications may not be based on historical facts and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (or the Exchange Act). Forward-looking statements, which are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond our control), may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “continue,” or similar terms or variations on those terms or the negative of those terms. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
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our business and investment strategy; |
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our projected financial and operating results; |
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our ability to maintain existing financing arrangements, obtain future financing arrangements and the terms of such arrangements; |
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general volatility of the securities markets in which we invest; |
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the implementation, timing and impact of, and changes to, various government programs, including the Treasury’s plan to buy U.S. government agency residential mortgage-backed securities and its Public-Private Investment Program, and the Federal Reserve Board’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility; |
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our expected investments; |
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changes in the value of our investments; |
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interest rate mismatches between our investments and our borrowings used to fund such purchases; |
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changes in interest rates and mortgage prepayment rates; |
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effects of interest rate caps on our adjustable-rate investments; |
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rates of default or decreased recovery rates on our investments; |
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prepayments of the mortgage and other loans underlying our mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities; |
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the degree to which our hedging strategies may or may not protect us from interest rate volatility; |
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impact of and changes in governmental regulations, tax law and rates, accounting guidance, and similar matters; |
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availability of investment opportunities in real estate-related and other securities; |
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availability of qualified personnel; |
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estimates relating to our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future; |
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our understanding of our competition; |
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market trends in our industry, interest rates, the debt securities markets or the general economy; and |
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use of proceeds of our offerings. |
For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, please see the information under the caption “Risk Factors” described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 and any subsequent report incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
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ABOUT CHIMERA INVESTMENT CORPORATION
Our Company
We are a specialty finance company that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities, or RMBS, residential mortgage loans, real estate-related securities and various other asset classes. We elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ending on December 31, 2007. Therefore, we generally will not be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income that is distributed to our stockholders. We commenced operations in November 2007.
We are externally managed by Fixed Income Discount Advisory Company, which we refer to as our Manager or FIDAC. Our Manager is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Additionally, our Manager is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Annaly Capital Management, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange-listed REIT, which has a long track record of managing investments in U.S. government agency RMBS, or Agency RMBS.
Our Manager is responsible for administering our business activities and day-to-day operations. We have no employees other than our officers. Pursuant to the terms of the management agreement, our Manager provides us with our management team, including our officers, along with appropriate support personnel. Our Manager is at all times subject to the supervision and oversight of our board of directors and has only such functions and authority as we delegate to it. We do not pay any of our officers any cash compensation. Rather, we pay our Manager a management fee pursuant to the terms of the management agreement.
Our objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to our investors over the long-term, primarily through dividends and secondarily through capital appreciation. We intend to achieve this objective by investing in a diversified investment portfolio of RMBS; residential mortgage loans; including prime mortgage loans, which are mortgage loans that conform to the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which we refer to as Agency Guidelines; jumbo prime mortgage loans, which are mortgage loans that conform to the Agency Guidelines except as to loan size; and Alt-A mortgage loans, which are mortgage loans that may have been originated using documentation standards that are less stringent than the documentation standards applied by certain other first lien mortgage loan purchase programs, such as the Agency Guidelines, but have one or more compensating factors such as a borrower with a strong credit or mortgage history or significant assets; real estate-related securities; and various other asset classes, subject to maintaining our REIT status and exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The RMBS, asset-backed securities (ABS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) we purchase may include investment-grade and non-investment grade classes, including the BB-rated, B-rated and non-rated classes.
Our Corporate Information
We are a Maryland corporation formed in June 2007 and commenced operations in November 2007. Our principal executive offices are located at 1211 Avenue of Americas, Suite
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2902, New York, New York 10036. Our telephone number is 1-866-315-9930. Our website is http://www.chimerareit.com. The contents of our website are not a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address only as an inactive textual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our website.
Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (which descriptions are incorporated by reference herein), as well as the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any prospectus supplement hereto before making a decision to invest in our securities. See “Where You Can Find More Information” below.
Unless otherwise indicated in an accompanying prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered by this prospectus and the related accompanying prospectus supplement to finance the acquisition of non-Agency RMBS, Agency RMBS, prime and Alt-A mortgage loans, CMBS, CDOs and other consumer or non-consumer ABS, and for other general corporate purposes such as repayment of outstanding indebtedness, working capital, and for liquidity needs. Pending any such uses, we may invest the net proceeds from the sale of any securities in interest-bearing short-term investments, including money market accounts that are consistent with our intention to qualify as a REIT, or may use them to reduce our indebtedness.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO COMBINED
FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS
The following table sets forth our ratios of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for each of the periods indicated:
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The dollar amount of the deficiency for this period was $2,486,000. |
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The dollar amount of the deficiency for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $59,253,000. |
The ratios of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends were computed by dividing earnings as adjusted by fixed charges and preferred stock dividends (where applicable). For this purpose, earnings consist of net income from continuing operations and fixed charges. We currently have no shares of preferred stock outstanding and, therefore,
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there are no amounts for preferred dividends included in the above calculation. Fixed charges consist of interest expense.
The following summary description of our capital stock does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Maryland General Corporation Law, or MGCL, and our charter and our bylaws, copies of which will be available before the closing of this offering from us upon request. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”
The MGCL and our charter and bylaws contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a potential acquirer to acquire us by a tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise. These provisions are expected to discourage certain coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of these provisions outweigh the potential disadvantages of discouraging any such acquisition proposals because, among other things, the negotiation of such proposals may improve their terms.
General
Our charter provides that we may issue up to 550,000,000 shares of stock, consisting of up to 500,000,000 shares of common stock having a par value of $0.01 per share and up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock having a par value of $0.01 per share. As of May 22, 2009, 472,401,769 shares of common stock and no shares of preferred stock were issued and outstanding. Our board of directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire board and without any action on the part of our stockholders, may amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue. Under Maryland law, our stockholders generally are not personally liable for our debts and obligations solely as a result of their status as stockholders.
Common Stock
All shares of our common stock have equal rights as to earnings, assets, dividends and voting and, when they are issued, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. Distributions may be paid to the holders of our common stock if, as and when authorized by our board of directors and declared by us out of funds legally available therefor. Shares of our common stock have no preemptive, appraisal, preferential exchange, conversion or redemption rights and are freely transferable, except where their transfer is restricted by federal and state securities laws, by contract or by the restrictions in our charter. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, each share of our common stock would be entitled to share ratably in all of our assets that are legally available for distribution after payment of or adequate provision for all of our known debts and other liabilities and subject to any preferential rights of holders of our preferred stock, if any preferred stock is outstanding at such time. Subject to our charter restrictions on the transfer and ownership of our stock and except as may otherwise be specified in the terms of any class or series of common stock, each share of our common stock entitles the holder to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders,
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including the election of directors. Except as provided with respect to any other class or series of stock, the holders of our common stock will possess exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which means that holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock can elect all of our directors, and holders of less than a majority of such shares will be unable to elect any director.
Preferred Stock
The following description sets forth general terms and provisions of the preferred stock to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The statements below describing the preferred stock are in all respects subject to and qualified in their entirety by reference to our charter, as amended, by-laws, as amended, and any articles supplementary to our charter, as amended, designating terms of a series of preferred stock. The preferred stock, when issued, will be validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable. Because our board of directors has the power to establish the preferences, powers and rights of each series of preferred stock, our board of directors may afford the holders of any series of preferred stock preferences, powers and rights, voting or otherwise, senior to the rights of common stockholders.
The rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of each series of preferred stock will be fixed by the articles supplementary relating to the series. A prospectus supplement, relating to each series, will specify the terms of the preferred stock, as follows:
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the title and stated value of the preferred stock; |
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the voting rights of the preferred stock, if applicable; |
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the preemptive rights of the preferred stock, if applicable; |
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the restrictions on alienability of the preferred stock, if applicable; |
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the number of shares offered, the liquidation preference per share and the offering price of the shares; |
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liability to further calls or assessment of the preferred stock, if applicable; |
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the dividend rate(s), period(s) and payment date(s) or method(s) of calculation applicable to the preferred stock; |
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the date from which dividends on the preferred stock will accumulate, if applicable; |
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the procedures for any auction and remarketing for the preferred stock; |
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the provision for a sinking fund, if any, for the preferred stock; |
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the provision for and any restriction on redemption, if applicable, of the preferred stock; |
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the provision for and any restriction on repurchase, if applicable, of the preferred stock; |
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any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange; |
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the terms and provisions, if any, upon which the preferred stock will be convertible into common stock, including the conversion price (or manner of calculation) and conversion period; |
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the terms under which the rights of the preferred stock may be modified, if applicable; |
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any other specific terms, preferences, rights, limitations or restrictions of the preferred stock; |
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a discussion of certain material federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock; |
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the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs; |
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any limitation on issuance of any series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs; and |
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any limitations on direct or beneficial ownership and restrictions on transfer of the preferred stock, in each case as may be appropriate to preserve our qualification as a REIT. |
Power to Reclassify Shares of Our Stock
Our charter authorizes our board of directors to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of stock into other classes or series of stock, including preferred stock. Before issuance of shares of each class or series, the board of directors is required by Maryland law and by our charter to set, subject to our charter restrictions on the transfer and ownership of our stock, the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each class or series. Thus, the board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of common stock or preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interests. No shares of our preferred stock are presently outstanding and we have no present plans to issue any preferred stock.
Power to Issue Additional Shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock
We believe that the power of our board of directors to amend the charter without stockholder approval to increase the total number of authorized shares of our stock or any class or series of our stock, to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and thereafter to cause us to issue such classified or reclassified shares of stock will
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provide us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs which might arise. The additional classes or series, as well as our common stock, will be available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless stockholder action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded. Although our board of directors has no intention at the present time of doing so, it could authorize us to issue a class or series that could, depending upon the terms of such class or series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control of us that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interests.
Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer
To qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code for each taxable year beginning after December 31, 2007, our shares of capital stock must be beneficially owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year. Also, beginning after December 31, 2007, no more than 50% of the value of our outstanding shares of capital stock may be owned, directly or constructively, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code to include certain entities) during the second half of any calendar year.
Our charter, subject to certain exceptions, contains restrictions on the number of shares of our capital stock that a person may own. Our charter provides that (subject to certain exceptions described below) no person may own, or be deemed to own by the attribution provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of any class or series of our capital stock.
Our charter also prohibits any person from (i) beneficially or constructively owning shares of our capital stock that would result in our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Internal Revenue Code or otherwise cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT and (ii) transferring shares of our capital stock if such transfer would result in our capital stock being owned by fewer than 100 persons. Any person who acquires or attempts or intends to acquire beneficial or constructive ownership of shares of our capital stock that will or may violate any of the foregoing restrictions on transferability and ownership, or who is the intended transferee of shares of our stock which are transferred to the trust (as described below), will be required to give notice immediately to us and provide us with such other information as we may request to determine the effect of such transfer on our status as a REIT. The foregoing restrictions on transferability and ownership will not apply if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to attempt to qualify, or to continue to qualify, as a REIT.
Our board of directors, in its sole discretion, may exempt a person from the foregoing restrictions. The person seeking an exemption must provide to our board of directors such representations, covenants and undertakings as our board of directors may deem appropriate to conclude that granting the exemption will not cause us to lose our status as a REIT. Our board of directors may also require a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service or an opinion of counsel to determine or ensure our status as a REIT.
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Any attempted transfer of our securities which, if effective, would result in a violation of the foregoing restrictions will cause the number of securities causing the violation (rounded to the nearest whole share) to be automatically transferred to a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable beneficiaries, and the proposed transferee will not acquire any rights in such securities. The automatic transfer will be deemed to be effective as of the close of business on the business day (as defined in our charter) before the date of the transfer. If, for any reason, the transfer to the trust is ineffective, our charter provides that the purported transfer in violation of the restrictions will be void ab initio. Shares of our stock held in the trust will be issued and outstanding shares. The proposed transferee will not benefit economically from ownership of any securities held in the trust, will have no rights to dividends and no rights to vote or other rights attributable to the shares of stock held in the trust. The trustee of the trust will have all voting rights and rights to dividends or other distributions with respect to shares held in the trust. These rights will be exercised for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary. Any dividend or other distribution paid before our discovery that shares of stock have been transferred to the trust will be paid by the recipient to the trustee upon demand. Any dividend or other distribution authorized but unpaid will be paid when due to the trustee. Any dividend or distribution paid to the trustee will be held in trust for the charitable beneficiary. Subject to Maryland law, the trustee will have the authority (i) to rescind as void any vote cast by the proposed transferee before our discovery that the shares have been transferred to the trust and (ii) to recast the vote in accordance with the desires of the trustee acting for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary. However, if we have already taken irreversible corporate action, then the trustee will not have the authority to rescind and recast the vote.
Within 20 days of receiving notice from us that the securities have been transferred to the trust, the trustee will sell the securities to a person designated by the trustee, whose ownership of the securities will not violate the above ownership limitations. Upon such sale, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the securities sold will terminate and the trustee will distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the proposed transferee and to the charitable beneficiary as follows. The proposed transferee will receive the lesser of (i) the price paid by the proposed transferee for the securities or, if the proposed transferee did not give value for the securities in connection with the event causing the securities to be held in the trust (e.g., a gift, devise or other similar transaction), the market price (as defined in our charter) of the securities on the day of the event causing the securities to be held in the trust and (ii) the price received by the trustee from the sale or other disposition of the securities. The trustee may reduce the amount payable to the proposed transferee by the amount of dividends and distributions paid to the proposed transferee and owed by the proposed transferee to the trustee. Any net sale proceeds in excess of the amount payable to the proposed transferee will be paid immediately to the charitable beneficiary. If, before our discovery that the securities have been transferred to the trust, the securities are sold by the proposed transferee, then (i) the securities shall be deemed to have been sold on behalf of the trust and (ii) to the extent that the proposed transferee received an amount for the securities that exceeds the amount the proposed transferee was entitled to receive, the excess shall be paid to the trustee upon demand.
In addition, the securities held in the trust will be deemed to have been offered for sale to us, or our designee, at a price per share equal to the lesser of (i) the price per share in the transaction that resulted in the transfer to the trust (or, in the case of a devise or gift, the market price at the time of the devise or gift) and (ii) the market price on the date we, or our designee,
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accept the offer. We may reduce the amount payable to the proposed transferee, however, by the amount of any dividends or distributions paid to the proposed transferee on the securities and owed by the proposed transferee to the trustee. We will have the right to accept the offer until the trustee has sold the securities. Upon a sale to us, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the securities sold will terminate and the trustee will distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the proposed transferee.
All certificates representing the securities will bear a legend referring to the restrictions described above or will state that we will furnish a full statement about certain transfer restrictions to a stockholder upon request and without charge.
Every owner of more than 5% (or such lower percentage as required by the Internal Revenue Code or the regulations promulgated thereunder) in value of all classes or series of our stock, including shares of common stock, within 30 days after the end of each taxable year, will be required to give written notice to us stating the name and address of such owner, the number of shares of each class and series of shares of our stock which the owner beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which the shares are held. Each owner shall provide to us such additional information as we may request to determine the effect, if any, of the beneficial ownership on our status as a REIT and to ensure compliance with the ownership limitations. In addition, each such owner shall upon demand be required to provide to us such information as we may request, in good faith, to determine our status as a REIT and to comply with the requirements of any taxing authority or governmental authority or to determine such compliance.
These ownership limitations could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for the common stock or might otherwise be in your best interests.
Classification of Board of Directors, Vacancies and Removal of Directors
Our charter and by-laws, as amended, provide for a staggered Board of Directors consisting of up to fifteen directors. Our charter provides that our directors shall be divided into three classes, with terms of three years each. The number of directors in each class and the expiration of each class term is as follows:
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Class I |
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2 Directors |
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1 Directors |
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At each annual meeting of our stockholders, successors of the class of directors whose term expires at that meeting will be elected for a three-year term and the directors in the other two classes will continue in office. A classified Board of Directors may delay, defer or prevent a change in control or other transaction that might involve a premium over the then prevailing market price for our common stock or other attributes that our stockholders may consider desirable. In addition, a classified Board of Directors could prevent stockholders who do not agree with the policies of our Board of Directors from replacing a majority of the Board of Directors for two years, except in the event of removal for cause.
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Our by-laws, as amended, provide that any vacancy on our Board of Directors may be filled by a majority of the remaining directors. Any individual so elected director will hold office for the unexpired term of the director he or she is replacing. Our by-laws, as amended, provide that a director may be removed at any time only for cause upon the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast in the election of directors, but only by a vote taken at a stockholder meeting. These provisions preclude stockholders from removing incumbent directors, except for cause and upon a substantial affirmative vote, and filling the vacancies created by such removal with their own nominees.
Indemnification
Our amended and restated charter obligates us to indemnify our directors and officers and to pay or reimburse expenses for them before the final disposition of a proceeding to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. The Corporations and Associations Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland (or the Maryland General Corporation Law) permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities, unless it is established that (1) the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and (a) was committed in bad faith, or (b) was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, or (2) the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services, or (3) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.
Limitation of Liability
The Maryland General Corporation Law permits the charter of a Maryland corporation to include a provision limiting the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages, except to the extent that (1) it is proved that the person actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services, or (2) a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the person is entered in a proceeding based on a finding that the person’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. Our amended and restated charter provides for elimination of the liability of our directors and officers to us or our stockholders for money damages to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law from time to time.
Maryland Business Combination Act
The Maryland General Corporation Law establishes special requirements for “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and “interested stockholders” unless exemptions are applicable. An interested stockholder is any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our then outstanding voting stock. Among other things, the law prohibits for a period of five years a merger and other similar transactions between us and an interested stockholder unless the Board of Directors approved the transaction prior to the party becoming an interested stockholder. The five-year period runs from the most recent date on which the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder. The law also requires a supermajority
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stockholder vote for such transactions after the end of the five-year period. This means that the transaction must be approved by at least:
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two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding voting shares other than shares held by the interested stockholder or an affiliate of the interested stockholder with whom the business combination is to be effected. |
As permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law, we have elected not to be governed by the Maryland business combination statute. We made this election by opting out of this statute in our charter, as amended. If, however, we amend our charter to opt back in to the statute, the business combination statute could have the effect of discouraging offers to acquire us and of increasing the difficulty of consummating any such offers, even if our acquisition would be in our stockholders’ best interests.
Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act
Maryland law provides that “control shares” of a Maryland corporation acquired in a “control share acquisition” have no voting rights except to the extent approved by a vote of the other stockholders. Two-thirds of the shares eligible to vote must vote in favor of granting the “control shares” voting rights. “Control shares” are shares of stock that, taken together with all other shares of stock the acquirer previously acquired, would entitle the acquirer to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power:
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one-tenth or more but less than one-third of all voting power; |
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one-third or more but less than a majority of all voting power; or |
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a majority or more of all voting power. |
Control shares do not include shares of stock the acquiring person is entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A “control share acquisition” means the acquisition of control shares, subject to certain exceptions.
If a person who has made (or proposes to make) a control share acquisition satisfies certain conditions (including agreeing to pay expenses), he may compel our Board of Directors to call a special meeting of stockholders to consider the voting rights of the shares. If such a person makes no request for a meeting, we have the option to present the question at any stockholders’ meeting.
If voting rights are not approved at a meeting of stockholders then, subject to certain conditions and limitations, we may redeem any or all of the control shares (except those for which voting rights have previously been approved) for fair value. We will determine the fair value of the shares, without regard to the absence of voting rights, as of the date of either:
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the last control share acquisition; or |
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the meeting where stockholders considered and did not approve voting rights of the control shares. |
If voting rights for control shares are approved at a stockholders’ meeting and the acquirer becomes entitled to vote a majority of the shares of stock entitled to vote, all other stockholders may obtain rights as objecting stockholders and, thereunder, exercise appraisal rights. This means that you would be able to force us to redeem your stock for fair value. Under Maryland law, the fair value may not be less than the highest price per share paid in the control share acquisition. Furthermore, certain limitations otherwise applicable to the exercise of dissenters’ rights would not apply in the context of a control share acquisition. The control share acquisition statute would not apply to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if we were a party to the transaction. The control share acquisition statute could have the effect of discouraging offers to acquire us and of increasing the difficulty of consummating any such offers, even if our acquisition would be in our stockholders’ best interests.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Mellon Investor Services LLC, 480 Washington Blvd., Jersey City, New Jersey 07310, is the transfer agent and registrar for our stock. Its telephone number is (800) 522-6645.
MATERIAL FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
This section summarizes the material federal income tax considerations that you, as an Owner (as defined in the immediately succeeding paragraph) of shares of capital stock, may consider relevant. K&L Gates LLP has acted as our tax counsel, has reviewed this section and is of the opinion that the discussion contained herein fairly summarizes the federal income tax consequences that are likely to be material to an Owner of our shares of capital stock. Because this section is a summary, it does not address all aspects of taxation that may be relevant to particular Owners of our capital stock in light of their personal investment or tax circumstances, or to certain types of Owners that are subject to special treatment under the federal income tax laws, such as insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations (except to the extent discussed in “—Taxation of Owners,—Taxation of Tax-Exempt Owners” below), regulated investment companies, partnerships and other pass-through entities (including entities classified as partnerships for federal income tax purposes), financial institutions or broker-dealers, and non-U.S. individuals and foreign corporations (except to the extent discussed in “—Taxation of Owners,—Taxation of Foreign Owners” below) and other persons subject to special tax rules.
You should be aware that in this section, when we use the term:
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“Code,” we mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; |
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“Disqualified organization,” we mean any organization described in section 860E(e)(5) of the Code, including: |
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any state or political subdivision of the United States; |
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any foreign government; |
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any international organization; |
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any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing; |
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any charitable remainder trust or other tax-exempt organization, other than a farmer’s cooperative described in section 521 of the Code, that is exempt both from income taxation and from taxation under the unrelated business taxable income provisions of the Code; and |
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any rural electrical or telephone cooperative; |
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“Domestic Owner,” we mean an Owner that is a U.S. Person; |
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“Foreign Owner,” we mean an Owner that is not a U.S. Person; |
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“IRS,” we mean the Internal Revenue Service; |
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“Owner,” we mean any person having a beneficial ownership interest in shares of our capital stock; |
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“TMP,” we mean a taxable mortgage pool as that term is defined in section 7701(i)(2) of the Code; |
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“TRS,” we mean a taxable REIT subsidiary described under “—Requirements for Qualification—Taxable REIT Subsidiaries” below; |
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“U.S. Person,” we mean (i) a citizen or resident of the United States; (ii) a corporation (or entity treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes) created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof, including, for this purpose, the District of Columbia; (iii) a partnership (or entity treated as a partnership for tax purposes) organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof, including, for this purpose, the District of Columbia (unless provided otherwise by future Treasury regulations); (iv) an estate whose income is includible in gross income for federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or (v) a trust, if a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. Persons have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust. Notwithstanding the preceding clause, to the extent provided in Treasury regulations, certain trusts that were in existence on August 20, 1996, that were treated as U.S. Persons prior to such date, and that elect to continue to be treated as U.S. Persons, also are U.S. Persons. |
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The statements in this section and the opinion of K&L Gates LLP are based on the current federal income tax laws. We cannot assure you that new laws, interpretations of law or court decisions, any of which may take effect retroactively, will not cause any statement in this section to be inaccurate. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax consequences described below. We have not sought and will not seek an advance ruling from the IRS regarding any matter in this prospectus.
This summary provides general information only and is not tax advice. We urge you to consult your tax advisor regarding the specific tax consequences to you of the purchase,
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ownership and sale of our capital stock and of our election to be taxed as a REIT. Specifically, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the federal, state, local, foreign, and other tax consequences of such purchase, ownership, sale and election, and regarding potential changes in applicable tax laws.
Taxation of Our Company
We have elected to be taxed as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Code commencing with our short taxable year ending on December 31, 2007. We believe that we were organized and have operated and will continue to operate in such a manner as to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the federal income tax laws, but no assurances can be given that we will operate in a manner so as to qualify or remain qualified as a REIT. This section discusses the laws governing the federal income tax treatment of a REIT and the owners of REIT stock. These laws are highly technical and complex.
In the opinion of K&L Gates LLP, our counsel, we have qualified to be taxed as a REIT beginning with our taxable year ended on December 31, 2007, and our organization and current and proposed method of operation will enable us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. Investors should be aware that K&L Gates LLP’s opinion is based upon customary assumptions, is conditioned upon certain representations made by us as to factual matters, including representations regarding the nature of our assets and the conduct of our business, and is not binding upon the IRS or any court.
In addition, K&L Gates LLP’s opinion is based on existing federal income tax law governing qualification as a REIT, which is subject to change either prospectively or retroactively. Moreover, our qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon our ability to meet on a continuing basis, through actual annual operating results, certain qualification tests set forth in the federal income tax laws. Those qualification tests involve the percentage of income that we earn from specified sources, the percentage of our assets that falls within specified categories, the diversity of our stock ownership, and the percentage of our earnings that we distribute. K&L Gates LLP will not review our compliance with those tests on a continuing basis. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that our actual results of operations for any particular taxable year will satisfy such requirements. For a discussion of the tax consequences of our failure to qualify as a REIT, see “—Failure to Qualify.”
If we qualify as a REIT, we generally will not be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income that we currently distribute to our stockholders, but taxable income generated by our domestic TRSs, if any, will be subject to regular federal (and applicable state and local) corporate income tax. However, we will be subject to federal tax in the following circumstances:
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We will pay federal income tax on our taxable income, including net capital gain, that we do not distribute to stockholders during, or within a specified time period after, the calendar year in which the income is earned. |
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We may be subject to the “alternative minimum tax.” |
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We will pay federal income tax at the highest corporate rate on: |
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We will pay a 100% tax on net income earned from sales or other dispositions of property, other than foreclosure property, that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. |
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If we fail to satisfy the 75% gross income test or the 95% gross income test, as described below under “—Gross Income Tests,” but nonetheless continue to qualify as a REIT because we meet other requirements, we will be subject to a 100% tax on: |
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a fraction intended to reflect our profitability. |
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If we fail to satisfy the asset tests by more than a de minimis amount, as described below under “—Asset Tests,” as long as the failure was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect, we dispose of the assets or otherwise comply with such asset tests within six months after the last day of the quarter in which we identify such failure and we file a schedule with the IRS describing the assets that caused such failure, we will pay a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or 35% of the net income from the non-qualifying assets during the period in which we failed to satisfy such asset tests. |
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If we fail to satisfy one or more requirements for REIT qualification, other than the gross income tests and the asset tests, and such failure was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect, we will be required to pay a penalty of $50,000 for each such failure. |
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We may be required to pay monetary penalties to the IRS in certain circumstances, including if we fail to meet recordkeeping requirements intended to monitor our compliance with rules relating to the composition of a REIT’s stockholders, as described below in “—Requirements for Qualification.” |
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If we fail to distribute during a calendar year at least the sum of: (i) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for the year, (ii) 95% of our REIT capital gain net income for the year and (iii) any undistributed taxable income from earlier periods, we will pay a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the excess of the required distribution over the sum of the amount we actually distributed and any retained amounts on which income tax has been paid at the corporate level. |
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We may elect to retain and pay federal income tax on our net long-term capital gain. In that case, a Domestic Owner would be taxed on its proportionate share of our undistributed long-term capital gain (to the extent that we make a timely designation of such gain to the stockholder) and would receive a credit or refund for its proportionate share of the tax we paid. |
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We will be subject to a 100% excise tax on transactions between us and any of our TRSs that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. |
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If (a) we recognize excess inclusion income for a taxable year as a result of our ownership of a 100% equity interest in a TMP or our ownership of a REMIC residual interest and (b) one or more Disqualified Organizations is the record owner of shares of our capital stock during that year, then we will be subject to tax at the highest corporate federal income tax rate on the portion of the excess inclusion income that is allocable to the Disqualified Organizations. We do not anticipate owning REMIC residual interests; we may, however, own 100% of the equity interests in one or more CDO offerings or one or more trusts formed in connection with our securitization transactions, but intend to structure each CDO offering and each securitization transaction so that the issuing entity would not be classified as a TMP. See “—Taxable Mortgage Pools.” |
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If we acquire any asset from a C corporation, or a corporation that generally is subject to full corporate-level tax, in a merger or other transaction in which we acquire a basis in the asset that is determined by reference either to the C corporation’s basis in the asset or to another asset, we will pay tax at the highest corporate federal income tax rate if we recognize gain on the sale or disposition of the asset during the 10-year period after we acquire the asset. The amount of gain on which we will pay tax is the lesser of: |
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the amount of gain that we recognize at the time of the sale or disposition, and |
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the amount of gain that we would have recognized if we had sold the asset at the time we acquired it, assuming that the C corporation will not elect in lieu of this treatment to an immediate tax when the asset is acquired. |
In addition, notwithstanding our qualification as a REIT, we may also have to pay certain state and local income taxes because not all states and localities treat REITs in the same manner that they are treated for federal income tax purposes. Moreover, as further described below, any domestic TRS in which we own an interest will be subject to federal, state and local corporate income tax on its taxable income. We could also be subject to tax in situations and on transactions not presently contemplated.
Requirements for Qualification
A REIT is a corporation, trust, or association that meets each of the following requirements:
1. It is managed by one or more trustees or directors.
2. Its beneficial ownership is evidenced by transferable shares or by transferable certificates of beneficial interest.
3. It would be taxable as a domestic corporation, but for the REIT provisions of the federal income tax laws.
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4. It is neither a financial institution nor an insurance company subject to special provisions of the federal income tax laws.
5. At least 100 persons are beneficial owners of its shares or ownership certificates.
6. Not more than 50% in value of its outstanding shares or ownership certificates is owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals, which the federal income tax laws define to include certain entities, during the last half of any taxable year. For purposes of this requirement, indirect ownership will be determined by applying attribution rules set out in section 544 of the Code, as modified by section 856(h) of the Code.
7. It elects to be taxed as a REIT, or has made such election for a previous taxable year, and satisfies all relevant filing and other administrative requirements that must be met to elect and maintain REIT qualification.
8. It meets certain other qualification tests, described below, regarding the nature of its income and assets.
We must meet requirements 1 through 4 during our entire taxable year and must meet requirement 5 during at least 335 days of a taxable year of twelve months, or during a proportionate part of a taxable year of less than twelve months. Requirements 5 and 6 applied to us beginning with our 2008 taxable year. If we comply with all the requirements for ascertaining the ownership of our outstanding stock in a taxable year and have no reason to know that we violated requirement 6, we will be deemed to have satisfied requirement 6 for that taxable year. For purposes of determining share ownership under requirement 6, an “individual” generally includes a supplemental unemployment compensation benefits plan, a private foundation, or a portion of a trust permanently set aside or used exclusively for charitable purposes. An “individual” generally does not include a trust that is a qualified employee pension or profit sharing trust under the federal income tax laws, however, and beneficiaries of such a trust will be treated as owning our stock in proportion to their actuarial interests in the trust for purposes of requirement 6.
We believe that our shares are held with sufficient diversity of ownership to satisfy requirements 5 and 6. In addition, our charter restricts the ownership and transfer of our stock so that we should continue to satisfy these requirements. The provisions of our charter restricting the ownership and transfer of our capital stock are described in “Description of Capital Stock—Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer.”
To monitor compliance with the share ownership requirements, we generally are required to maintain records regarding the actual ownership of our shares. To do so, we must demand written statements each year from the record holders of significant percentages of our stock pursuant to which the record holders must disclose the actual owners of the shares (i.e., the persons required to include our dividends in their gross income). We must maintain a list of those persons failing or refusing to comply with this demand as part of our records. We could be subject to monetary penalties if we fail to comply with these record keeping requirements. If you fail or refuse to comply with the demands, you will be required by Treasury Regulations to submit a statement with your tax return disclosing your actual ownership of our shares and other
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information. In addition, we must satisfy all relevant filing and other administrative requirements that must be met to elect and maintain REIT qualification and use a calendar year for federal income tax purposes. We intend to continue to comply with these requirements.
Qualified REIT Subsidiaries
A corporation that is a “qualified REIT subsidiary” is not treated as a corporation separate from its parent REIT. All assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction and credit of a qualified REIT subsidiary are treated as assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction and credit of the REIT. A qualified REIT subsidiary is a corporation, other than a TRS, all of the capital stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by the REIT. Thus, in applying the requirements described herein, any qualified REIT subsidiary that we own will be ignored, and all assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction and credit of such subsidiary will be treated as our assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction and credit. If we own 100% of the equity interests in a CDO issuer or other securitization vehicle that is treated as a corporation for tax purposes, that CDO issuer or other securitization vehicle would be a qualified REIT subsidiary, unless we and the CDO issuer or other securitization vehicle jointly elect to treat the CDO issuer or other securitization vehicle as a TRS. It is anticipated that CDO financings we enter into will be treated as qualified REIT subsidiaries.
Other Disregarded Entities and Partnerships
An unincorporated domestic entity, such as a partnership, limited liability company, or trust that has a single owner generally is not treated as an entity separate from its parent for federal income tax purposes. An unincorporated domestic entity with two or more owners generally is treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. In the case of a REIT that is a partner in a partnership that has other partners, the REIT is treated as owning its proportionate share of the assets of the partnership and as earning its allocable share of the gross income of the partnership for purposes of the applicable REIT qualification tests. For purposes of the 10% value test (see “—Asset Tests”), our proportionate share is based on our proportionate interest in the equity interests and certain debt securities issued by the partnership. For all of the other asset and income tests, our proportionate share is based on our proportionate interest in the capital interests in the partnership. Our proportionate share of the assets, liabilities, and items of income of any partnership, joint venture or limited liability company that is treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes in which we acquire an interest, directly or indirectly, will be treated as our assets and gross income for purposes of applying the various REIT qualification requirements.
If a disregarded subsidiary of ours ceases to be wholly-owned—for example, if any equity interest in the subsidiary is acquired by a person other than us or another disregarded subsidiary of ours—the subsidiary’s separate existence would no longer be disregarded for federal income tax purposes. Instead, the subsidiary would have multiple owners and would be treated as either a partnership or a taxable corporation. Such an event could, depending on the circumstances, adversely affect our ability to satisfy the various asset and gross income requirements applicable to REITs, including the requirement that REITs generally may not own, directly or indirectly, more than 10% of the securities of another corporation. See “—Asset Tests” and “—Gross Income Tests.”
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Taxable REIT Subsidiaries
A REIT is permitted to own up to 100% of the stock of one or more TRSs. A TRS is a fully taxable corporation that may earn income that would not be qualifying income if earned directly by the parent REIT. The subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. A corporation with respect to which a TRS directly or indirectly owns more than 35% of the voting power or value of the stock will automatically be treated as a TRS. We generally may not own more than 10%, as measured by voting power or value, of the securities of a corporation that is not a qualified REIT subsidiary unless we and such corporation elect to treat such corporation as a TRS. Overall, no more than 25% of the value of a REIT’s assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs.
The separate existence of a TRS or other taxable corporation, unlike a qualified REIT subsidiary or other disregarded subsidiary as discussed above, is not ignored for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, a domestic TRS would generally be subject to federal (and applicable state and local income tax) corporate income tax on its earnings, which may reduce the cash flow generated by us and our subsidiaries in the aggregate and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
A REIT is not treated as holding the assets of a TRS or other taxable subsidiary corporation or as receiving any income that the subsidiary earns. Rather, the stock issued by the subsidiary is an asset in the hands of the REIT, and the REIT generally recognizes as income the dividends, if any, that it receives from the subsidiary. This treatment can affect the gross income and asset test calculations that apply to the REIT, as described below. Because a parent REIT does not include the assets and income of such subsidiary corporations in determining the parent’s compliance with the REIT requirements, such entities may be used by the parent REIT to undertake indirectly activities that the REIT rules might otherwise preclude it from doing directly or through pass-through subsidiaries or render commercially unfeasible (for example, activities that give rise to certain categories of income such as non-qualifying hedging income or inventory sales).
Certain restrictions imposed on TRSs are intended to ensure that such entities will be subject to appropriate levels of U.S. federal income taxation. If a TRS that has for any taxable year both (i) a debt-to-equity ratio in excess of 1.5 to 1, and (ii) accrued interest expense in excess of accrued interest income, then the TRS may be denied an interest expense deduction for a portion of the interest expense accrued on indebtedness owed to the parent REIT (although the TRS can carry forward the amount disallowed to subsequent taxable years). In addition, if amounts are paid to a REIT or deducted by a TRS due to transactions between the REIT and a TRS that exceed the amount that would be paid to or deducted by a party in an arm’s-length transaction, the REIT generally will be subject to an excise tax equal to 100% of such excess. We intend to scrutinize all of our transactions with any of our subsidiaries that are treated as a TRS in an effort to ensure that we do not become subject to this excise tax; however, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in avoiding this excise tax.
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Gross Income Tests
We must satisfy two gross income tests annually to maintain qualification as a REIT. First, at least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year must consist of defined types of income that we derive from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property, or from qualified temporary investments. Qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test generally includes:
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rents from real property; |
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interest on debt secured by a mortgage on real property or on interests in real property; |
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dividends or other distributions on, and gain from the sale of, shares in other REITs; |
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gain from the sale of real estate assets; |
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any amount includible in gross income with respect to a regular or residual interest in a REMIC, unless less than 95% of the REMIC’s assets are real estate assets, in which case only a proportionate amount of such income will qualify; and |
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income derived from certain temporary investments. |
Second, in general, at least 95% of our gross income for each taxable year must consist of income that is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, other types of interest and dividends, gain from the sale or disposition of stock or securities (provided that such stock or securities are not inventory property, i.e., property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business) or any combination of these.
Gross income from the sale of inventory property is excluded from both the numerator and the denominator in both income tests. Income and gain from hedging transactions that we enter into to hedge indebtedness incurred or to be incurred to acquire or carry real estate assets will generally be excluded from both the numerator and the denominator for purposes of the 95% gross income test and the 75% gross income test. We intend to monitor the amount of our non-qualifying income and manage our investment portfolio to comply at all times with the gross income tests but we cannot assure you that we will be successful in this effort.
Interest
The term “interest,” as defined for purposes of both gross income tests, generally excludes any amount that is based in whole or in part on the income or profits of any person. However, interest generally includes the following: (i) an amount that is based on a fixed percentage or percentages of gross receipts or sales and (ii) an amount that is based on the income or profits of a borrower, where the borrower derives substantially all of its income from the real property securing the debt by leasing substantially all of its interest in the property, but only to the extent that the amounts received by the borrower would be qualifying “rents from real property” if received directly by a REIT.
If a loan contains a provision that entitles a REIT to a percentage of the borrower’s gain upon the sale of the real property securing the loan or a percentage of the appreciation in the
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property’s value as of a specific date, income attributable to that loan provision will be treated as gain from the sale of the property securing the loan, which generally is qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests.
Interest, including original issue discount or market discount, that we accrue on our real estate-related investments generally will be qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests. However, many of our investments will not be secured by mortgages on real property or interests in real property. Our interest income from those investments will be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test but not the 75% gross income test. In addition, as discussed below, if the fair market value of the real estate securing any of our investments is less than the principal amount of the underlying loan, a portion of the income from that investment will be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test but not the 75% gross income test.
Where a mortgage covers both real property and other property, an apportionment of interest income must be made for purposes of the 75% gross income test. If a mortgage covers both real property and other property and the fair market value of the real property securing the mortgage loan at the time we commit to originate or acquire the mortgage loan equals or exceeds the highest principal amount of the loan during the year, then all of the interest we accrue on the mortgage loan will qualify for purposes of the 75% gross income test. If, however, the value of the real property were less than the highest principal amount, then only a portion of the interest income we accrue on the mortgage loan would qualify for purposes of the 75% gross income test; such portion based on the percentage equivalent of a fraction, the numerator of which is the fair market value of the real property and the denominator of which is the principal amount of the mortgage loan.
Fee Income
We may receive various fees in connection with our operations. The fees will be qualifying income for purposes of both the 75% gross income and 95% gross income tests if they are received in consideration for entering into an agreement to make a loan secured by a mortgage on real property or an interest in real property and the fees are not determined by income or profits of any person. Other fees are not qualifying income for purposes of either gross income test. Any fees earned by our TRS will not be included for purposes of the gross income tests.
Dividends
Our share of any dividends received from any corporation (including any TRS that we own, but excluding any REIT or any qualified REIT subsidiary) in which we own an equity interest will qualify for purposes of the 95% gross income test but not for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Our share of any dividends received from any other REIT in which we own an equity interest will be qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests.
Rents from Real Property
We currently do not intend to acquire real property with the proceeds of offerings of these securities.
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Hedging Transactions
We may, from time to time, enter into hedging transactions with respect to the interest rate risk associated with our borrowings. To the extent that we enter into a contract to hedge interest rate risk on indebtedness incurred to acquire or carry real estate assets, any income and gain from such hedging transaction will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 95% gross income test and the 75% gross income test. To the extent that we hedge for certain other purposes, the resultant income or gain will be treated as income that does not qualify under the 95% gross income test or the 75% gross income test. We intend to structure any hedging transaction in a manner that does not jeopardize our status as a REIT but we cannot assure you that we will be successful in this regard. We may conduct some or all of our hedging activities through a TRS, the income from which may be subject to federal income tax, rather than participating in the arrangements directly or through a partnership, qualified REIT subsidiary or other disregarded subsidiary. No assurance can be given, however, that our hedging activities will not give rise to income that does not qualify for purposes of either or both of the REIT gross income tests, and will not adversely affect our ability to satisfy the REIT qualification requirements.
Failure to Satisfy Gross Income Tests
We intend to monitor the amount of our non-qualifying income and manage our assets to comply with the gross income tests for each taxable year for which we seek to maintain our status as a REIT. We cannot assure you, however, that we will be able to satisfy the gross income tests. If we fail to satisfy one or both of the gross income tests for any taxable year, we may nevertheless qualify as a REIT for such year if we qualify for relief under certain provisions of the Code. These relief provisions will be generally available if (i) our failure to meet such tests was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect, and (ii) we file with the IRS a schedule describing the sources of our gross income in accordance with Treasury Regulations. We cannot predict, however, whether in all circumstances, we would qualify for the benefit of these relief provisions. In addition, as discussed above under “—Taxation of Our Company,” even if the relief provisions apply, a tax would be imposed upon the amount by which we fail to satisfy the particular gross income test.
Asset Tests
To qualify as a REIT, we also must satisfy the following asset tests at the end of each quarter of each taxable year. First, at least 75% of the value of our total assets must consist of some combination of “real estate assets,” cash, cash items, government securities, and, under some circumstances, stock or debt instruments purchased with new capital. For this purpose, the term “real estate assets” includes interests in real property (including leaseholds and options to acquire real property and leaseholds), stock of other corporations that qualify as REITs and interests in mortgage loans secured by real property (including certain types of mortgage-backed securities). Assets that do not qualify for purposes of the 75% test are subject to the additional asset tests described below.
Second, the value of our interest in any one issuer’s securities (other than debt and equity securities issued by any of our TRSs, qualified REIT subsidiaries, any other entity that is
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disregarded as an entity separate from us, and any equity interest we may hold in a partnership) may not exceed 5% of the value of our total assets. Third, we may not own more than 10% of the voting power or 10% of the value of any one issuer’s outstanding securities (other than debt and equity securities issued by any of our TRSs, qualified REIT subsidiaries, any other entity that is disregarded as an entity separate from us, and any equity interest we may hold in a partnership). Fourth, no more than 25% of the value of our total assets may consist of the securities of one or more TRSs. For purposes of the 10% value test, the term “securities” does not include certain “straight debt” securities.
Notwithstanding the general rule that, for purposes of the gross income and asset tests, a REIT is treated as owning its proportionate share of the underlying assets of a partnership in which it holds a partnership interest, if a REIT holds indebtedness issued by a partnership, the indebtedness will be subject to, and may cause a violation of the asset tests, unless it is a qualifying mortgage asset or otherwise satisfies the rules for “straight debt.” Similarly, although stock of another REIT qualifies as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests, non-mortgage debt issued by another REIT may not so qualify.
Any regular or residual interest that we own in a REMIC will generally qualify as real estate assets. However, if less than 95% of the assets of a REMIC consist of assets that qualify as real estate assets, then we will be treated as holding directly our proportionate share of the assets of such REMIC for purposes of the asset tests.
We believe that most of the assets that we hold and those we expect to hold will be qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test. However, our investment in other asset-backed securities, bank loans and other instruments that are not secured by mortgages on real property will not be qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test.
We have monitored and will continue to monitor the status of our assets for purposes of the various asset tests and will seek to manage our portfolio to comply at all times with such tests. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be successful in this effort. In this regard, to determine our compliance with these requirements, we will need to estimate the value of our assets to ensure compliance with the asset tests. We will not obtain independent appraisals to support our conclusions concerning the values of our assets, and we will generally rely on representations and warranties of sellers from whom we acquire mortgage loans concerning the loan-to-value ratios for such mortgage loans. Moreover, some of the assets that we may own may not be susceptible to precise valuation. Although we will seek to be prudent in making these estimates, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not disagree with these determinations and assert that a different value is applicable, in which case we might not satisfy the 75% asset test and the other asset tests and would fail to qualify as a REIT.
Failure to Satisfy Asset Tests
If we fail to satisfy the asset tests as the end of a quarter, we will not lose our REIT qualification if:
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the discrepancy between the value of our assets and the asset test requirements arose from changes in the market values of our assets and was not wholly or partly caused by the acquisition of one or more non-qualifying assets. |
If we did not satisfy the condition described in the second bullet above, we still could avoid disqualification by eliminating any discrepancy within 30 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which it arose.
If we violate the 5% value test, 10% voting test or 10% value test described above at the end of any calendar quarter, we will not lose our REIT qualification if (i) the failure is de minimis (up to the lesser of 1% of our total assets or $10 million) and (ii) we dispose of these assets or otherwise comply with the asset tests within six months after the last day of the quarter. In the event of a more than de minimis failure of any of the asset tests, as long as the failure was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect, we will not lose our REIT qualification if we (i) file with the IRS a schedule describing the assets that caused the failure, (ii) dispose of these assets or otherwise comply with the asset tests within six months after the last day of the quarter and (iii) pay a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 per failure or an amount equal to the product of the highest corporate income tax rate (currently 35%) and the net income from the non-qualifying assets during the period in which we failed to satisfy the asset tests.
Annual Distribution Requirements
To qualify as a REIT, we are required to distribute dividends (other than capital gain dividends) to our stockholders in an amount at least equal to:
(A) the sum of
(i) 90% of our “REIT taxable income” (computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and our net capital gains), and
(ii) 90% of the net income (after tax), if any, from foreclosure property (as described below), minus
(B) the sum of certain items of non-cash income.
In addition, if we were to recognize “built-in-gain” (as defined below) on disposition of any assets acquired from a “C” corporation in a transaction in which our basis in the assets was determined by reference to the “C” corporation’s basis (for instance, if the assets were acquired in a tax-free reorganization), we would be required to distribute at least 90% of the built-in-gain recognized net of the tax we would pay on such gain. “Built-in-gain” is the excess of (a) the fair market value of an asset (measured at the time of acquisition) over (b) the basis of the asset (measured at the time of acquisition).
Such distributions must be paid in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if either (i) we declare the distribution before we file a timely federal income tax return for the year and pay the distribution with or before the first regular dividend payment after such declaration or (ii) we declare the distribution in October, November or December of the taxable year, payable to stockholders of record on a specified day in any such
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month, and we actually pay the dividends before the end of January of the following year. The distributions under clause (i) are taxable to the Owners of our capital stock in the year in which paid, and the distributions in clause (ii) are treated as paid on December 31 of the prior taxable year. In both instances, these distributions relate to our prior taxable year for purposes of the 90% distribution requirement.
We will pay federal income tax at corporate tax rates on our taxable income, including net capital gain, that we do not distribute to stockholders. Furthermore, if we fail to distribute during each calendar year, or by the end of January following the calendar year in the case of distributions with declaration and record dates falling in the last three months of the calendar year, at least the sum of (i) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for such year, (ii) 95% of our REIT capital gain income for such year and (iii) any undistributed taxable income from prior periods, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the excess of such required distribution over the amounts actually distributed. We generally intend to make timely distributions sufficient to satisfy the annual distribution requirements and to avoid corporate federal income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax.
We may elect to retain, rather than distribute, our net capital gain and pay tax on such gains. In this case, we could elect to have our stockholders include their proportionate share of such undistributed capital gains in income and to receive a corresponding credit or refund, as the case may be, for their share of the tax paid by us. Stockholders would then increase the adjusted basis of their stock by the difference between the designated amounts of capital gains from us that they include in their taxable income, and the tax paid on their behalf by us with respect to that income.
To the extent that a REIT has available net operating losses carried forward from prior tax years, such losses may reduce the amount of distributions that it must make to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. Such losses, however, will generally not affect the character, in the hands of stockholders, of any distributions that are actually made by the REIT, which are generally taxable to stockholders to the extent that the REIT has current or accumulated earnings and profits. See “—Taxation of Stockholders, —Taxation of Taxable Domestic Stockholders.”
We may find it difficult or impossible to meet distribution requirements in certain circumstances. Due to the nature of the assets in which we will invest, we may be required to recognize taxable income from those assets in advance of our receipt of cash flow on or proceeds from disposition of such assets. For instance, we may be required to accrue interest and discount income on mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, and other types of debt securities or interests in debt securities before we receive any payments of interest or principal on such assets. Moreover, in certain instances we may be required to accrue taxable income that we may not actually recognize as economic income. For example, if we own a residual equity position in a mortgage loan securitization, we may recognize taxable income that we will never actually receive due to losses sustained on the underlying mortgage loans. Although those losses would be deductible for tax purposes, they would likely occur in a year subsequent to the year in which we recognized the taxable income. Thus, for any taxable year, we may be required to fund distributions in excess of cash flow received from our investments. If such circumstances arise, then to fund our distribution requirement and maintain our status as a REIT we may have to sell
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assets at unfavorable prices, borrow at unfavorable terms, make taxable stock dividends, or pursue other strategies. We cannot be assured, however, any such strategy would be successful if our cash flow were to become insufficient to make the required distributions.
Under certain circumstances, we may be able to rectify a failure to meet the distribution requirement for a year by paying “deficiency dividends” to stockholders in a later year, which may be included in our deduction for dividends paid for the earlier year. Thus, we may be able to avoid being taxed on amounts distributed as deficiency dividends; however, we will be required to pay interest and a penalty to the IRS based on the amount of any deduction taken for deficiency dividends.
Failure to Qualify
If we fail to satisfy one or more requirements for REIT qualification, other than the gross income tests and the asset tests, we could avoid disqualification if our failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect and we pay a penalty of $50,000 for each such failure. In addition, there are relief provisions for a failure of the gross income tests and asset tests, as described in “—Gross Income Tests” and “—Asset Tests.”
If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year, and the relief provisions do not apply, we will be subject to tax (including any applicable alternative minimum tax) on our taxable income at regular federal corporate income tax rates. Distributions to stockholders in any year in which we fail to qualify will not be deductible by us nor will they be required to be made. In such event, to the extent of current and accumulated earnings and profits, all distributions to stockholders will be taxable as ordinary income, and, subject to certain limitations of the Code, corporate stockholders may be eligible for the dividends received deduction, and individual stockholders and other non-corporate stockholders may be eligible to be taxed at the reduced 15% rate currently applicable to qualified dividend income (through 2010). Unless entitled to relief under specific statutory provisions, we will also be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification was lost. We cannot predict whether in all circumstances we would be entitled to such statutory relief.
Prohibited Transactions
Net income derived by a REIT from a prohibited transaction is subject to a 100% excise tax. The term “prohibited transaction” generally includes a sale or other disposition of property (other than foreclosure property) that is held “primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business.” Although we do not expect that our assets will be held primarily for sale to customers or that a sale of any of our assets will be in the ordinary course of our business, these terms are dependent upon the particular facts and circumstances, and we cannot assure you that we will never be subject to this excise tax. The 100% tax does not apply to gains from the sale of property that is held through a TRS or other taxable corporation, although such income will be subject to tax in the hands of the corporation at regular federal corporate income tax rates.
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Foreclosure Property
A REIT is subject to tax at the maximum corporate rate (currently 35%) on any income from foreclosure property, including gain from the disposition of such foreclosure property, other than income that otherwise would be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Foreclosure property is real property and any personal property incident to such real property (i) that is acquired by a REIT as result of the REIT having bid on such property at foreclosure, or having otherwise reduced the property to ownership or possession by agreement or process of law, after there was a default (or default was imminent) on a lease of such property or a mortgage loan held by the REIT and secured by the property, (ii) for which the related loan or lease was acquired by the REIT at a time when default was not imminent or anticipated and (iii) for which such REIT makes a proper election to treat the property as foreclosure property. Any gain from the sale of property for which a foreclosure election has been made will not be subject to the 100% excise tax on gains from prohibited transactions described above, even if the property would otherwise constitute inventory or dealer property in the hands of the selling REIT. We do not expect to receive income from foreclosure property that is not qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. However, if we do receive any such income, we intend to make an election to treat the related property as foreclosure property.
Taxable Mortgage Pools
An entity, or a portion of an entity, may be classified as a TMP under the Code if (i) substantially all of its assets consist of debt obligations or interests in debt obligations, (ii) more than 50% of those debt obligations are real estate mortgage loans, interests in real estate mortgage loans or interests in certain mortgage-backed securities as of specified testing dates, (iii) the entity has issued debt obligations that have two or more maturities and (iv) the payments required to be made by the entity on its debt obligations “bear a relationship” to the payments to be received by the entity on the debt obligations that it holds as assets. Under Treasury Regulations, if less than 80% of the assets of an entity (or a portion of an entity) consist of debt obligations, these debt obligations are considered not to comprise “substantially all” of its assets, and therefore the entity would not be treated as a TMP.
We do not intend to structure or enter into securitization or financing transactions that will cause us to be viewed as owning interests in one or more TMPs. Generally, if an entity or a portion of an entity is classified as a TMP, then the entity or portion thereof is treated as a taxable corporation and it cannot file a consolidated federal income tax return with any other corporation. If, however, a REIT owns 100% of the equity interests in a TMP, then the TMP is a qualified REIT subsidiary and, as such, ignored as an entity separate from the REIT.
If, notwithstanding our intent to avoid having the issuing entity in any of our securitization or financing transactions classified as a TMP, one or more of such transactions was so classified, then as long as we owned 100% of the equity interests in the issuing entity, all or a portion of the income that we recognize with respect to our investment in the issuing entity will be treated as excess inclusion income. Section 860E(c) of the Code defines the term “excess inclusion” with respect to a residual interest in a REMIC. The IRS, however, has yet to issue guidance on the computation of excess inclusion income on equity interests in a TMP held by a REIT. Generally, however, excess inclusion income with respect to our investment in any TMP
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and any taxable year will equal the excess of (i) the amount of income we accrue on our investment in the TMP over (ii) the amount of income we would have accrued if our investment were a debt instrument having an issue price equal to the fair market value of our investment on the day we acquired it and a yield to maturity equal to 120% of the long-term applicable federal rate in effect on the date we acquired our interest. The term “applicable federal rate” refers to rates that are based on weighted average yields for treasury securities and are published monthly by the IRS for use in various tax calculations. If we undertake securitization transactions that are TMPs, the amount of excess inclusion income we recognize in any taxable year could represent a significant portion of our total taxable for that year.
Although we intend to structure our securitization and financing transactions so that we will not recognize any excess inclusion income, we cannot assure you that we will always be successful in this regard. If, notwithstanding our intent, we recognized excess inclusion income, then under guidance issued by the IRS we would be required to allocate the excess inclusion income proportionately among the dividends we pay to our stockholders and we must notify our stockholders of the portion of our dividends that represents excess inclusion income. The portion of any dividend you receive that is treated as excess inclusion income is subject to special rules. First, your taxable income can never be less than the sum of your excess inclusion income for the year; excess inclusion income cannot be offset with net operating losses or other allowable deductions. Second, if you are a tax-exempt organization and your excess inclusion income is subject to the unrelated business income tax, then the excess inclusion portion of any dividend you receive will be treated as unrelated business taxable income. Third, dividends paid to Foreign Owners who hold stock for investment and not in connection with a trade or business conducted in the United Sates will be subject to United States federal withholding tax without regard to any reduction in rate otherwise allowed by any applicable income tax treaty.
If we recognize excess inclusion income, and one or more Disqualified Organizations are record holders of shares of capital stock, we will be taxable at the highest federal corporate income tax rate on the portion of any excess inclusion income equal to the percentage of our stock that is held by Disqualified Organizations. In such circumstances, we may reduce the amount of our distributions to a Disqualified Organization whose stock ownership gave rise to the tax. To the extent that our capital stock owned by Disqualified Organizations is held by a broker/dealer or other nominee, the broker/dealer or other nominee would be liable for a tax at the highest corporate tax rate on the portion of our excess inclusion income allocable to our capital stock held by the broker/dealer or other nominee on behalf of the Disqualified Organizations.
If we own less than 100% of the equity interests in a TMP, the foregoing rules would not apply. Rather, the entity would be treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes and would potentially be subject to federal corporate income tax. This could adversely affect our compliance with the REIT gross income and asset tests described above. We currently do not have, and currently do not intend to enter into any securitization or financing transaction that is a TMP in which we own some, but less than all, of the equity interests, and we intend to monitor the structure of any TMPs in which we have an interest to ensure that they will not adversely affect our status as a REIT. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in this regard.
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Taxation of Owners
Taxation of Taxable Domestic Owners
Distributions. As long as we qualify as a REIT, distributions we make to our taxable Domestic Owners out of current or accumulated earnings and profits (and not designated as capital gain dividends) will be taken into account by them as ordinary income. Dividends we pay to a corporation will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction. In addition, distributions we make to individuals and other Owners that are not corporations generally will not be eligible for the 15% reduced rate of tax currently (through 2010) in effect for “qualified dividend income.” However, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met, an individual or other non-corporate Owner will be eligible for the 15% reduced rate with respect to (i) distributions attributable to dividends we receive from certain “C” corporations, such as our TRSs, and (ii) distributions attributable to income upon which we have paid corporate income tax.
Distributions that we designate as capital gain dividends will be taxed as long-term capital gains (to the extent that they do not exceed our actual net capital gain for the taxable year) without regard to the period for which you have owned our capital stock. However, corporate Owners may be required to treat up to 20% of certain capital gain dividends as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains are generally taxable at maximum federal rates of 15% (through 2010) in the case of individuals, trusts and estates, and 35% in the case of corporations.
Rather than distribute our net capital gains, we may elect to retain and pay the federal income tax on them, in which case you will (i) include your proportionate share of the undistributed net capital gains in income, (ii) receive a credit for your share of the federal income tax we pay and (iii) increase the basis in your capital stock by the difference between your share of the capital gain and your share of the credit.
Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will not be taxable to you to the extent that they do not exceed your adjusted tax basis in our capital stock you own, but rather, will reduce your adjusted tax basis in your capital stock. Assuming that the capital stock you own is a capital asset, to the extent that such distributions exceed your adjusted tax basis in the capital stock you own, you must include them in income as long-term capital gain (or short-term capital gain if the capital stock has been held for one year or less).
If we declare a dividend in October, November or December of any year that is payable to stockholders of record on a specified date in any such month, but actually distribute the amount declared in January of the following year, then you must treat the January distribution as though you received it on December 31 of the year in which we declared the dividend. In addition, we may elect to treat other distributions after the close of the taxable year as having been paid during the taxable year, but you will be treated as having received these distributions in the taxable year in which they are actually made.
To the extent that we have available net operating losses and capital losses carried forward from prior tax years, such losses may reduce the amount of distributions that we must make to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. See “—Annual Distribution
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Requirements.” Such losses, however, are not passed through to you and do not offset your income from other sources, nor would they affect the character of any distributions that you receive from us; you will be subject to tax on those distributions to the extent that we have current or accumulated earnings and profits.
Although we do not expect to recognize any excess inclusion income, if we did recognize excess inclusion income, we would identify a portion of the distributions that we make to you as excess inclusion income. Your taxable income can never be less than the sum of your excess inclusion income for the year; excess inclusion income cannot be offset with net operating losses or other allowable deductions. See “—Taxable Mortgage Pools.”
Dispositions of Our Stock. Any gain or loss you recognize upon the sale or other disposition of our capital stock will generally be capital gain or loss for federal income tax purposes, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if you held the capital stock for more than one year. In addition, any loss you recognize upon a sale or exchange of our capital stock that you have owned for six months or less (after applying certain holding period rules) will generally be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of distributions received from us that you are required to treat as long-term capital gain.
If you recognize a loss upon a disposition of our capital stock in an amount that exceeds a prescribed threshold, it is possible that the provisions of recently adopted Treasury Regulations involving “reportable transactions” could apply, with a resulting requirement to separately disclose the loss-generating transaction to the IRS. While these regulations are directed towards “tax shelters,” they are written quite broadly, and apply to transactions that would not typically be considered tax shelters. In addition, recently enacted legislation imposes significant penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. You should consult your tax advisor concerning any possible disclosure obligation with respect to the receipt or disposition of our capital stock, or transactions that might be undertaken directly or indirectly by us. Moreover, you should be aware that we and other participants in the transactions involving us (including our advisors) may be subject to disclosure or other requirements pursuant to these regulations.
Amounts that you are required to include in taxable income with respect to our capital stock you own, including taxable distributions and the income you recognize with respect to undistributed net capital gain, and any gain recognized upon your disposition of our capital stock, will not be treated as passive activity income. You may not offset any passive activity losses you may have, such as losses from limited partnerships in which you have invested, with income you recognize with respect to our shares of capital stock. Generally, income you recognize with respect to our capital stock will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest limitations.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. We will report to our stockholders and to the IRS the amount of distributions we pay during each calendar year and the amount of tax we withhold, if any. Under the backup withholding rules, you may be subject to backup withholding at a current rate of 28% with respect to distributions unless you:
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are a corporation or come within certain other exempt categories and, when required, demonstrate this fact; or |
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provide a taxpayer identification number, certify as to no loss of exemption from backup withholding, and otherwise comply with the applicable requirements of the backup withholding rules. |
Any amount paid as backup withholding will be creditable against your federal income tax liability. For a discussion of the backup withholding rules as applied to foreign owners, see “—Taxation of Foreign Owners.”
Taxation of Tax-Exempt Owners
Tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts, are generally exempt from federal income taxation. However, they are subject to taxation on their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). Provided that a tax-exempt Owner (i) has not held our capital stock as “debt financed property” within the meaning of the Code and (ii) has not used our capital stock in an unrelated trade or business, amounts that we distribute to tax-exempt Owners generally should not constitute UBTI. However, a tax-exempt Owner’s allocable share of any excess inclusion income that we recognize will be subject to tax as UBTI. See “—Taxable Mortgage Pools.” We intend to structure our securitization and financing transactions so that we will avoid recognizing any excess inclusion income.
Tax-exempt Owners that are social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts and qualified group legal services plans, exempt from taxation under special provisions of the federal income tax laws, are subject to different UBTI rules, which generally will require them to characterize distributions that they receive from us as UBTI.
In certain circumstances, a qualified employee pension trust or profit sharing trust that owns more than 10% of our stock could be required to treat a percentage of the dividends that it receives from us as UBTI if we are a “pension-held REIT.” We will not be a pension-held REIT unless either (a) one pension trust owns more than 25% of the value of our stock or (b) a group of pension trusts individually holding more than 10% of our stock collectively owns more than 50% of the value of our stock. However, the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock, as described under “Description of Capital Stock—Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer” are designed among other things to prevent a tax-exempt entity from owning more than 10% of the value of our stock, thus making it unlikely that we will become a pension-held REIT.
Taxation of Foreign Owners
The following is a summary of certain U.S. federal income and estate tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our capital stock applicable to a Foreign Owner.
If a partnership, including for this purpose any entity that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, holds our capital stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. An investor that is a partnership having Foreign Owners as partners should consult its tax advisors about the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our capital stock.
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The discussion is based on current law and is for general information only. The discussion addresses only certain and not all aspects of U.S. federal income and estate taxation.
Ordinary Dividend Distributions. The portion of dividends received by a Foreign Owner payable out of our current and accumulated earnings and profits that are not attributable to our capital gains and that are not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the Foreign Owner will be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (unless reduced by an applicable income tax treaty). In general, a Foreign Owner will not be considered engaged in a U.S. trade or business solely as a result of its ownership of our capital stock. In cases where the dividend income from a Foreign Owner’s investment in our capital stock is (or is treated as) effectively connected with the Foreign Owner’s conduct of a U.S. trade or business, the Foreign Owner generally will be subject to U.S. tax at graduated rates, in the same manner as Domestic Owners are taxed with respect to such dividends (and may also be subject to the 30% branch profits tax in the case of a foreign owner that is a foreign corporation). If a Foreign Owner is the record holder of shares of our capital stock, we plan to withhold U.S. income tax at the rate of 30% on the gross amount of any distribution paid to a Foreign Owner unless:
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a lower income treaty rate applies and the Foreign Owner provides us with an IRS Form W-8BEN evidencing eligibility for that reduced rate; or |
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the Foreign Owner provides us with an IRS Form W-8ECI certifying that the distribution is effectively connected income. |
Under some income tax treaties, lower withholding tax rates do not apply to ordinary dividends from REITs. Furthermore, reduced treaty rates are not available to the extent that distributions are treated as excess inclusion income. See “—Taxable Mortgage Pools.” We intend to structure our securitization and financing transactions so that we will avoid recognizing any excess inclusion income.
Non-Dividend Distributions. Distributions we make to a Foreign Owner that are not considered to be distributions out of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax unless the distribution exceeds the Foreign Owner’s adjusted tax basis in our capital stock at the time of the distribution and, as described below, the Foreign Owner would otherwise be taxable on any gain from a disposition of our capital stock. If it cannot be determined at the time a distribution is made whether or not such distribution will be in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, the entire distribution will be subject to withholding at the rate applicable to dividends. A Foreign Owner may, however, seek a refund of such amounts from the IRS if it is subsequently determined that the distribution was, in fact, in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, provided the proper forms are timely filed with the IRS by the Foreign Owner.
Capital Gain Dividends. Distributions that we make to Foreign Owners that are attributable to our disposition of U.S. real property interests (“USRPI,” which term does not include interests in mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities) are subject to U.S. federal income and withholding taxes pursuant to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Act of 1980, or FIRPTA, and may also be subject to branch profits tax if the Foreign Owner is a corporation that is not entitled to treaty relief or exemption. Although we do not anticipate recognizing any gain attributable to the disposition of USRPI, as defined by FIRPTA, Treasury Regulations
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interpreting the FIRPTA provisions of the Code could be read to impose a withholding tax at a rate of 35% on all of our capital gain dividends (or amounts we could have designated as capital gain dividends) paid to Foreign Owners, even if no portion of the capital gains we recognize during the year are attributable to our disposition of USRPI. However, in any event, the FIRPTA rules will not apply to distributions to a Foreign Owner with respect to any class of our capital stock so long as (i) such class of stock is regularly traded (as defined by applicable Treasury Regulations) on an established securities market, and (ii) the Foreign Owner owns (actually or constructively) no more than 5% of such class of stock at any time during the one-year period ending with the date of the distribution.
Dispositions of Our Stock. Unless our capital stock constitutes a USRPI, a sale of our capital stock by a Foreign Owner generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax under FIRPTA. We do not expect that our capital stock will constitute a USRPI. Our capital stock will not constitute a USRPI if less than 50% of our assets throughout a prescribed testing period consist of interests in real property located within the United States, excluding, for this purpose, interest in real property solely in the capacity as a creditor. Even if the foregoing test is not met, our capital stock will not constitute a USRPI if we are a domestically controlled REIT. A “domestically controlled REIT” is a REIT in which, at all times during a specified testing period, less than 50% in value of its shares is held directly or indirectly by foreign owners. We do not intend to maintain records to determine whether we are a domestically controlled REIT for this purpose.
Even if we do not constitute a domestically controlled REIT, a Foreign Owner’s sale of a class of our capital stock generally will still not be subject to tax under FIRPTA as a sale of a USRPI provided that (i) such class of stock is “regularly traded” (as defined by applicable Treasury Regulations) on an established securities market and (ii) the selling Foreign Owner has owned (actually or constructively) 5% or less of such class of stock at all times during a specified testing period.
If gain on the sale of our capital stock were subject to taxation under FIRPTA, the Foreign Owner would generally be subject to the same treatment as a Domestic Owner with respect to such gain (subject to applicable alternative minimum tax and a special alternative minimum tax in the case of nonresident alien individuals) and the purchaser of the capital stock could be required to withhold 10% of the purchase price and remit such amount to the IRS.
Capital gains not subject to FIRPTA will nonetheless be taxable in the United States to a Foreign Owner in two cases. First, if the Foreign Owner’s investment in our capital stock is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business conducted by such Foreign Owner, the Foreign Owner will generally be subject to the same treatment as a Domestic Owner with respect to such gain. Second, if the Foreign Owner is a nonresident alien individual who was present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year and has a “tax home” in the United States, the nonresident alien individual will be subject to a 30% tax on the individual’s capital gain.
Estate Tax. Our capital stock owned or treated as owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident of the United States (as specially defined for U.S. federal estate tax purposes) at the time of death will be includible in the individual’s gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax
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purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise. Such individual’s estate may be subject to U.S. federal estate tax on the property includible in the estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes.
Other Tax Consequences
Possible Legislative or Other Actions Affecting Tax Consequences. Prospective investors should recognize that the present federal income tax treatment of an investment in our capital stock may be modified by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time, and that any such action may affect investments and commitments previously made. The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and Treasury Department, resulting in revisions of regulations and revised interpretations of established concepts as well as statutory changes. Revisions in federal tax laws and interpretations thereof could adversely affect the tax consequences of an investment in our capital stock.
State and Local Taxes. We and our stockholders may be subject to state or local taxation in various state or local jurisdictions, including those in which we or they transact business or reside. The state and local tax treatment may not conform to the federal income tax consequences discussed above. Consequently, prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effect of state and local tax laws on an investment in our capital stock.
We may sell the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements to or through one or more underwriters or dealers or we may sell the securities to investors directly or through agents. Each prospectus supplement, to the extent applicable, will describe the number and terms of the securities to which such prospectus supplement relates, the name or names of any underwriters or agents with whom we have entered into arrangements with respect to the sale of such securities, the public offering or purchase price of such securities and the net proceeds we will receive from such sale. Any underwriter or agent involved in the offer and sale of the securities will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. We may sell securities directly to investors on our own behalf in those jurisdictions where we are authorized to do so.
Underwriters may offer and sell the securities at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We also may, from time to time, authorize dealers or agents to offer and sell these securities upon such terms and conditions as may be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. In connection with the sale of any of these securities, underwriters may receive compensation from us in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions and may also receive commissions from purchasers of the securities for whom they may act as agent. Underwriters may sell the securities to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters or commissions from the purchasers for which they may act as agents.
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Shares may also be sold in one or more of the following transactions: (a) block transactions (which may involve crosses) in which a broker-dealer may sell all or a portion of the shares as agent but may position and resell all or a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; (b) purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its own account pursuant to a prospectus supplement; (c) a special offering, an exchange distribution or a secondary distribution in accordance with applicable New York Stock Exchange or other stock exchange rules; (d) ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker-dealer solicits purchasers; (e) sales “at the market” to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise, for shares; and (f) sales in other ways not involving market makers or established trading markets, including direct sales to purchasers. Broker-dealers may also receive compensation from purchasers of the shares which is not expected to exceed that customary in the types of transactions involved.
Any underwriting compensation paid by us to underwriters or agents in connection with the offering of these securities, and any discounts or concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers, will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. The maximum underwriting compensation to be received by any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member or independent broker-dealer will not exceed 8% for any offering of these securities.
Underwriters, dealers and agents may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us, to indemnification against and contribution toward certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933. Unless otherwise set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement, the obligations of any underwriters to purchase any of these securities will be subject to certain conditions precedent.
In connection with the offering of the securities hereby, certain underwriters, and selling group members and their respective affiliates, may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the applicable securities. These transactions may include stabilization transactions effected in accordance with Rule 104 of Regulation M promulgated by the SEC pursuant to which these persons may bid for or purchase securities for the purpose of stabilizing their market price.
The underwriters in an offering of securities may also create a “short position” for their account by selling more securities in connection with the offering than they are committed to purchase from us. In that case, the underwriters could cover all or a portion of the short position by either purchasing securities in the open market following completion of the offering of these securities or by exercising any over-allotment option granted to them by us. In addition, the managing underwriter may impose “penalty bids” under contractual arrangements with other underwriters, which means that they can reclaim from an underwriter (or any selling group member participating in the offering) for the account of the other underwriters, the selling concession for the securities that are distributed in the offering but subsequently purchased for the account of the underwriters in the open market. Any of the transactions described in this paragraph or comparable transactions that are described in any accompanying prospectus
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supplement may result in the maintenance of the price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. None of the transactions described in this paragraph or in an accompanying prospectus supplement are required to be taken by any underwriters and, if they are undertaken, may be discontinued at any time.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CIM.” Any series of our preferred stock will be new issues of securities with no established trading market and may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange. Any underwriters or agents to or through which securities are sold by us may make a market in the securities, but these underwriters or agents will not be obligated to do so and any of them may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of or trading market for any securities sold by us.
Underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business. Underwriters have from time to time in the past provided, and may from time to time in the future provide, investment banking services to us for which they have in the past received, and may in the future receive, customary fees.
The consolidated financial statements incorporated in this prospectus by reference from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the effectiveness of Chimera Investment Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
The validity of the securities offered hereby is being passed upon for us by K&L Gates LLP. The opinion of counsel described under the heading “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations” is being rendered by K&L Gates LLP. This opinion is subject to various assumptions and is based on current tax law.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any reports or other information that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington D.C. 20549. You may also receive copies of these documents upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing to the SEC’s Public Reference Room. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room in Washington D.C. and other locations. Our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our registration statement, are also available to you, free of charge, on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. Finally, we also maintain an Internet site where you can find additional information. The address of our Internet site is http://www.chimerareit.com. All internet
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addresses provided in this prospectus or in any accompanying prospectus supplement are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be hyperlinks. In addition, the information on our internet site is not a part of, and is not incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in, this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials. Accordingly, no information in our or any of these other internet addresses is included herein or incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein.
We have filed a registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, covering the securities offered hereby. As allowed by SEC rules, this prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits, financial statements and schedules thereto. We refer you to the registration statement, the exhibits, financial statements and schedules thereto for further information. This prospectus is qualified in its entirety by such other information.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, except for any information superseded by information in this prospectus. We have filed the documents listed below with the SEC (File No. 1-33796) under the Exchange Act, and these documents are incorporated herein by reference:
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Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 as filed on March 3, 2009; |
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Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 17, 2009; |
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Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 filed on May 7, 2009; and |
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Description of our common stock included in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed on November 11, 2007. |
All documents we file pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the securities to which this prospectus relates (other than information in such documents that is not deemed to be filed) shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and to be part hereof from the date of filing of those documents. All documents we file pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of the initial registration statement that contains this prospectus and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and to be part hereof from the date of filing those documents.
Any statement contained in this prospectus or in a document incorporated by reference shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for all purposes to the extent that a statement
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contained in this prospectus or in any other document which is also incorporated by reference modifies or supersedes that statement.
We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus but not delivered with this prospectus (other than the exhibits to such documents which are not specifically incorporated by reference herein); we will provide this information at no cost to the requester upon written or oral request to Investor Relations, Chimera Investment Corporation, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 2902, New York, New York 10036, telephone number (866) 315-9930.
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