Our corporate headquarters is located at 150 Northwest Point Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007, USA. The facility consists of one office building totaling 176,844 net rentable square feet of office space on 7.2 acres. We are leasing approximately 30,600 square feet for a term of 60 months that began May 22, 2012, unless terminated or extended pursuant to the lease agreement. We are paying an annual rent equal to approximately $696,000, or approximately $58,000 per month, with a nominal annual escalation beginning on the first anniversary date of the lease agreement. We believe the facility is suitable and adequate for our current business needs. Prior to the expiration of the aforementioned lease, we will explore alternatives to meet our future needs.
The annualized realized yield on invested assets (including net realized gains of $382,000) in the year ended December 31, 2014 increased to 2.2% as compared with 2.1% in the year ended December 31, 2013. This increase is attributable to interest rates and the mix of securities on hand.
Atlas’ largest reinsurance partners are Great American Insurance Company (“Great American”), a subsidiary of American Financial Group, Inc., General Reinsurance Corporation ("Gen Re"), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., Swiss Re and White Rock Insurance (SAC) Ltd. Great American has a financial strength rating of A+ from Standard & Poor’s, Gen Re has a financial strength rating of Aa1 from Moody’s, Swiss Re has a financial strength rating of Aa3 from Moody's, and White Rock is unrated. The White Rock balances are specifically related to the Gateway workers' compensation program that was exited during 2013 and are fully secured by a letter-of-credit.
On May 27, 2014, Atlas announced the closing and settlement of its underwritten public offering of 2,000,000 ordinary voting common shares of the Company at a price to the public of $12.50 per share for gross proceeds of $25.0 million. Underwriters exercised their right to purchase an additional 161,000 ordinary voting common shares, increasing gross proceeds to $27.0 million. The net proceeds from the sale of the shares, after deducting the underwriters’ discounts and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, were approximately $25.0 million.
Deferred tax assets are recognized only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable income will be available against which they can be utilized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on future tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period of enactment.
For option awards with graded vesting, expense is recognized on a straight line basis over the service period for the entire award.
Atlas' other investments are comprised of various limited partnerships that invest in income-producing real estate, equities, or catastrophe bonds. Atlas' interest is not deemed minor and the investments are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. At December 31, 2014, the carrying value was approximately $14.4 million versus approximately $1.2 million at December 31, 2013. The carrying value of these investments is Atlas' share of the net book value for each limited partnership, an amount that approximates fair value. Atlas receives dividends on a routine basis which approximate the income earned on the limited partnership that invests in income-producing real estate.
reviewing the trading range of certain securities over the preceding calendar period;
The insurance subsidiaries must each maintain a minimum statutory capital and surplus of $1.5 million and $2.4 million under the provisions of the Illinois Insurance Code and the Missouri Insurance Code, respectively. Dividends may only be paid from statutory unassigned surplus, and payments may not be made if such surplus is less than a stipulated amount. The dividend restriction is the greater of statutory net income or 10% of total statutory capital and surplus.
Upon the transaction forming Atlas on December 31, 2010, a yearly limitation as required by U.S. tax law Section 382 that applies to changes in ownership on the future utilization of Atlas’ net operating loss carryforwards was calculated. The insurance subsidiaries’ prior parent retained those tax assets previously attributed to the insurance subsidiaries which could not be utilized by Atlas as a result of this limitation. As a result, Atlas’ ability to recognize future tax benefits associated with a portion of its deferred tax assets generated during prior years have been permanently limited to the amount determined under U.S. tax law Section 382. The result is a maximum expected net deferred tax asset which Atlas has available after the merger which is believed more-likely-than-not to be utilized in the future, after consideration of valuation allowance.
Gross premiums written and ceded premiums, losses and commissions as of and for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 are as follows (all amounts in '000s):
The options granted on March 18, 2010 have an exercise price of C$3.00 per share. These options were granted to directors of Atlas' predecessor company, JJR VI.
During 2014, a small percentage of the Company’s investment portfolio was allocated to investment vehicles, primarily focused on income generating real-estate, that are considered related-party transactions. In these cases, one or more of the Company’s directors may be deemed to control unrelated entities that may invest in these vehicles and may also manage these vehicles. In total, such related-party investments were approximately 1% of the Company’s total assets.