Company: MITN
Filing Date: 2025-03-04
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001514281-25-000026
Chunk: 88

Company: AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-04
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 88
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 the receipt by our board of certain representations and undertakings. The share ownership limit is based upon direct or indirect ownership by "persons," which is defined to include entities and certain groups of stockholders. Our share ownership limits might delay or prevent a transaction or a change in our control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

The constructive ownership rules contained in our charter are complex and may cause the outstanding shares owned by a group of related individuals or entities to be deemed to be constructively owned by one individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of less than these percentages of the outstanding shares by an individual or entity could cause that individual or entity to own constructively in excess of these percentages of the outstanding shares and thus violate the share ownership limits. Any attempt to own or transfer our common stock or preferred shares in excess of the share ownership limits without the consent of our Board of Directors or in a manner that would cause us to be "closely held" under Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the shares are held during the last half of a taxable year) will result in the shares being deemed to be transferred to a director for a charitable trust or, if the transfer to the charitable trust is not automatically effective to prevent a violation of the share ownership limits or the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our shares, any such transfer of our shares will be void  ab initio. Further, any transfer of our shares that would result in our shares being held by fewer than 100 persons will be void ab initio.

We could face adverse tax consequences if WMC failed to qualify as a REIT prior to the Merger.

In connection with the closing of the Merger, we received an opinion of counsel to the effect that WMC qualified as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes through the time of the Merger. However, we did not request a ruling from the IRS that WMC qualified as a REIT. Notwithstanding the opinion of counsel, if the IRS successfully challenged WMC's REIT status prior to the Merger, we could face adverse tax consequences, including:

•succeeding to WMC's liability for U.S. federal income taxes at regular corporate rates for the periods in which WMC failed to qualify as a REIT (without regard to the deduction for dividends paid for such periods);

•succeeding to any built-in gain on WMC's assets, for which we could be