EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1494582
Filing Year: 2021
Filename: 1494582_10-K_2021_0001437749-21-007457.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1.
Business.
Our Company
Boston Omaha Corporation, which we refer to as “the Company,” “our Company,” “we,” “us” or “our,” commenced its current business operations in June 2015 and currently operates three separate lines of business: outdoor billboard advertising, surety insurance and related brokerage activities and broadband services. In addition, we hold minority investments in commercial real estate management and brokerage services, a bank focused on servicing the automotive loan market, and a homebuilding company with operations located primarily in the Southeast United States.
Outdoor Billboards
In June 2015, we commenced our billboard business operations through acquisitions by our wholly-owned subsidiary Link Media Holdings, LLC, which we refer to as "Link," of smaller billboard companies located in the Southeast United States and Wisconsin. During July and August 2018, we acquired the membership interest or assets of three larger billboard companies which increased our overall billboard count to approximately 2,900 billboards. In addition, we have made additional billboard acquisitions on a smaller scale since that date. We believe that we are a leading outdoor billboard advertising company in the markets we serve in the Midwest. As of March 26, 2021, we operate approximately 3,200 billboards with approximately 6,000 advertising faces. One of our principal business objectives is to continue to acquire additional billboard assets through acquisitions of existing billboard businesses in the United States when they can be made at what we believe to be attractive prices relative to other opportunities generally available to us.
We are attracted to the outdoor display market due to a number of factors, including high regulatory barriers to building new billboards in some states, growing demand, low maintenance capital expenditures for static billboards, low cost per impression for customers, and the potential opportunity to employ more capital in existing assets at reasonable returns in the form of perpetual easements and digital conversions. In addition, unlike other advertising industries, the internet has not had a material adverse impact on outdoor advertising revenues. Revenues for out-of-home advertising have continued to rise over the past several years, in contrast to print and other non-internet based advertising. The billboard industry’s three largest companies are estimated to account for more than 50% of the industry’s total revenues, and several industry sources and our experience suggest that there are a large number of other companies serving the remainder of the market, providing a potentially significant source of billboards which may be acquired in the future.
Surety Insurance
In September 2015, we established an insurance subsidiary, General Indemnity Group, LLC, which we refer to as “GIG,” designed to own and operate insurance businesses generally handling high volume, lower policy limit commercial lines of property and casualty insurance. In April 2016, our surety insurance business commenced with the acquisition of a surety insurance brokerage business with a national internet-based presence. In December 2016, we completed the acquisition of United Casualty and Surety Insurance Company, which we refer to as “UCS,” a surety insurance company, which at that time was licensed to issue surety bonds in only nine states. Since that time, we have expanded the licensing of the UCS business to all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, over the last four years, we have also acquired additional surety insurance brokerage businesses located in various regions of the United States. We may in the future expand the reach of our insurance activities to other forms of insurance which may have similar characteristics to surety, such as high volume and low average policy premium insurance businesses which historically have similar economics.
Broadband Services
On March 10, 2020, our subsidiary FIF AireBeam LLC, which we refer to as “AireBeam,” acquired substantially all the business assets of FibAire Communications, LLC, which we refer to as "FibAire," a rural broadband internet provider. AireBeam provides over 7,000 subscribers in communities in southern Arizona with a high-speed fixed wireless internet service and is building an all fiber-to-the-home network in select Arizona markets. AireBeam operates in underserved communities in Arizona that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. On December 29, 2020, our subsidiary FIF Utah LLC, which we refer to as “FIF Utah,” and which conducts business as "Utah Broadband," acquired substantially all of the business assets of Utah Broadband, LLC, which we refer to as “UBB,” a rural internet provider in Utah. UBB provides high-speed internet services to over 10,000 subscribers through Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Provo and surrounding communities.
Minority Investments
Since 2015, we have made minority investments in several different industries.
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Since September 2015, we have made a series of investments in commercial real estate, a commercial real estate management, brokerage and related services business as well as an asset management business. We currently own 30% of Logic Real Estate Companies LLC, which we refer to as "Logic," and approximately 49.9% of 24th Street Holding Company, LLC, which we refer to as "24th Street Holding Co.", both directly and indirectly through our ownership in Logic. In addition, we have invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an aggregate of $6 million in 24th Street Fund I, LLC and 24th Street Fund II, LLC. These funds are managed by 24th Street Asset Management, LLC, a subsidiary of 24th Street Holding Co. and will focus on opportunities within secured lending and direct investments in commercial real estate.
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In December 2017, we invested $10 million in common units of Dream Finders Holdings LLC, which we refer to as "DFH," the parent company of Dream Finders Homes, LLC, a national home builder with operations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and northern Virginia. In addition to its homebuilding operations, DFH's subsidiaries provide mortgage loan origination and title insurance services to homebuyers. In May 2019, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an additional $12 million in DFH through the purchase of preferred units with a mandatory preferred return of 14%. These preferred units were subsequently redeemed by DFH in 2020. On January 25, 2021, Dream Finders Homes, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DFH, completed its initial public offering and implemented an internal reorganization (the “DFH Merger”) pursuant to which Dream Finders Homes, Inc. became a holding company and sole manager of DFH. Upon completion of the DFH Merger, our outstanding common units in DFH were converted into 4,681,099 shares of Class A Common Stock of Dream Finders Homes, Inc., and one of our subsidiaries purchased an additional 120,000 shares of Class A common stock in DFH's initial public offering. The DFH shares purchased in 2017 are restricted securities and are subject to a lock-up for a period through July 19, 2021, and subject to limitations on the number of DFH shares we may sell under Rule 144. Prior to its initial public offering, we loaned DFH $20,000,000 to assist it in financing an acquisition which was consummated prior to its initial public offering. This loan was repaid in full with interest in early 2021.
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In May 2018, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, approximately $19 million through the purchase of common stock of CB&T Holding Corporation, which we refer to as "CB&T," the privately-held parent company of Crescent Bank & Trust, Inc., which we refer to as “Crescent.” Crescent is located in New Orleans and generates the majority of its revenues from indirect subprime automobile lending across the United States.
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In October 2020, our subsidiary BOC Yellowstone LLC, which we refer to as “BOC Yellowstone,” served as sponsor for the underwritten initial public offering of a special purpose acquisition company named Yellowstone Acquisition Company, which we refer to as “Yellowstone.” Yellowstone sold in its public offering 13,598,898 units at a price of $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock and a redeemable warrant to purchase one-half of a share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Between August and November 2020, we invested, through BOC Yellowstone, approximately $7.8 million through the purchase of 3,399,724 shares of Class B common stock and 7,719,779 non-redeemable private placement warrants, each warrant entitling us to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. BOC Yellowstone, as the sponsor of Yellowstone and under the terms of the public offering, owns approximately 20% of Yellowstone's issued and outstanding common stock. The purpose of the offering is to pursue a business combination in an industry other than the three industries in which we currently own and operate businesses: outdoor advertising, surety insurance and broadband services businesses. Yellowstone allows us to pursue a minority interest in larger companies in other industries without diluting the equity interests of our Boston Omaha shareholders. Yellowstone is currently focusing on acquisition candidates in the homebuilding, home materials, financial services and commercial real estate management industries but is also able to pursue acquisition opportunities in other industries.
Additional Opportunities for Growth
In addition to our activities in outdoor billboards, surety insurance, broadband services and the various industries in which we have made minority investments, we will also consider other industries which offer the potential for predictable and attractive returns on invested capital. We expect to continue to be opportunistic in exploring other opportunities which meet our investment criteria.
Our objective is to grow intrinsic value per share at an attractive rate by retaining capital to reinvest in the productive capabilities of our current subsidiaries, make opportunistic investments, and/or invest in new, anticipated durable earnings streams. Each of these options for capital will be compared to one another on a regular basis, and capital will be deployed according to our management’s judgment as to where it believes allocated capital has the potential to achieve the best long-term return.
Our History
Boston Omaha Corporation was originally incorporated as REO Plus, Inc., which we refer to as “REO,” on August 10, 2009 under the laws of the State of Texas. On March 16, 2015, we reincorporated as a Delaware corporation, adopted new bylaws and changed our name to Boston Omaha Corporation. Our principal business address is 1601 Dodge Street, Suite 3300, Omaha, Nebraska 68102, and our telephone number is 857-256-0079. We registered as a reporting company under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the “Exchange Act,” on November 9, 2016. In 2016, we were listed for trading on the OTCQX under the trading symbol “BOMN,” and in June 2017, in connection with our 2017 public offering, we transferred and uplisted to the NASDAQ Capital Market under the trading symbol “BOMN.”
On February 13, 2015, Magnolia Capital Fund, L.P., which we refer to as “MCF,” and Boulderado Partners, LLC, which we refer to as “BP,” acquired shares of the Company’s common stock representing approximately 95% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares at the time. MCF is managed by The Magnolia Group, LLC, which we refer to as “Magnolia,” and BP is managed by Boulderado Capital, LLC and Boulderado Group, LLC, which we collectively refer to as “Boulderado.” Magnolia is managed by Adam K. Peterson, one of our Co-Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers. Boulderado is managed by Alex B. Rozek, one of our Co-Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers.
On June 18, 2015, we amended and restated our certificate of incorporation. As part of this amendment and restatement, we effected a 7:1 reverse stock split of our Class A common stock. We also created an additional series of our stock now named Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the renaming of our classes of stock was accomplished through a charter amendment on May 25, 2017). Each share of Class B common stock is identical to the Class A common stock in liquidation, dividend and similar rights. The only differences between our Class B common stock and our Class A common stock is that each share of Class B common stock has 10 votes for each share held, while the Class A common stock has a single vote per share, and certain actions cannot be taken without the approval of the holders of the Class B common stock. There are currently 1,055,560 shares of our Class B common stock outstanding, which shares are owned in equal amounts by each of MCF and BP.
Between February 2015 and May 2017, we raised $66,872,500 in equity financing, of which $43,305,577 and $11,305,595 were invested by MCF and BP, respectively. We raised these funds primarily in three separate rounds of financing, each of which coincided with pending or anticipated acquisitions.
In June 2017, pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-216040) declared effective on June 15, 2017, we commenced a public offering for 6,538,462 shares of our Class A common stock at $13.00 per share, which we refer to as the “2017 public offering,” that raised gross proceeds of $97,049,446. Cowen and Company, LLC, which we refer to as “Cowen,” acted as the sole underwriter. In the 2017 public offering, MCF and BP invested $44,999,994 and $2,500,004, respectively. We received aggregate net proceeds from the offering of approximately $91,432,110 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.
On February 22, 2018, we entered into a Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement, which we refer to as the “2018 private placement,” pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue and sell to Magnolia BOC I, LP, which we refer to as “MBOC I,” Magnolia BOC II, LP, which we refer to as “MBOC II,” and Boulderado BOC, LP, which we refer to as “BBOC,” $150,000,000 in unregistered shares of Class A common stock at a price of $23.30, a slight premium to the closing price of shares of Class A common stock of $23.29 on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as reported by NASDAQ on the date of the Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement. MBOC I and MBOC II are entities managed by Magnolia, and BBOC, which has distributed all of its shares of Class A common stock, was an entity managed by Boulderado Group, LLC. The Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement was approved by an independent special committee of our Board of Directors with the advice of independent legal counsel and an independent investment banking firm which provided a fairness opinion to the special committee. The closing of the first tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on March 6, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,300,000 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of $76,890,000. The closing of the second tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on May 15, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,137,768 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $73,110,000.
In February 2018, we filed a shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) that was declared effective on February 9, 2018, relating to the offering of Class A common stock, preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, which we refer to as “preferred stock,” debt securities and warrants of the Company for up to $200,000,000. On March 2, 2018, we entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen, pursuant to which the Company sold from time to time in an “at the market” offering, a total of $49,999,625 of shares of Class A common stock through Cowen as sales agent. Sales under the “at the market” offering were made pursuant to a prospectus supplement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we refer to as the “SEC” or the “Commission,” on March 2, 2018, to our shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3. Cowen received a commission equal to 3.0% of the gross sales proceeds of the shares sold through Cowen under the Sales Agreement, and we provided Cowen with customary indemnification and contribution rights.
On August 13, 2019, we entered into a second Sales Agreement with Cowen, relating to the sale of additional shares of our Class A common stock to be offered. In accordance with the terms of the second Sales Agreement, we could offer and sell from time to time up to $75,000,000 of shares of our Class A common stock through Cowen acting as our agent. The compensation to Cowen for sales of Class A common stock sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement was an amount equal to 3% of the gross proceeds of any shares of Class A common stock sold under the Sales Agreement. From August 21, 2019 through December 31, 2019, we sold through Cowen 448,880 shares of our Class A common stock under the second “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $9,450,789 and net proceeds of $9,122,227, after offering costs of $328,562. During fiscal year 2020, we sold through Cowen 40,455 shares of our Class A common stock under the second “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $669,751 and net proceeds of $649,659, after offering costs of $20,092. Following a public offering of our Class A common stock in May 2020, we subsequently suspended future sales under the Sales Agreement and the S-3 registration statement filed in February 2018, which then expired in February 2021. We anticipate filing a new shelf registration statement on Form S-3 shortly following the date of this Annual Report to allow us to raise additional capital through the sale of securities to help fund potential future acquisitions and investments in other business ventures.
On March 18, 2020, our Board of Directors authorized and approved a share repurchase program for us to repurchase up to $20,000,000 worth of shares of our Class A common stock, which we refer to as the “Repurchase Program.” Under the Repurchase Program, we may repurchase shares, from time to time, in solicited or unsolicited transactions in the open market, privately-negotiated transactions, or transactions pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan. The Repurchase Program does not obligate us to purchase any particular number of shares and will run through the earlier of June 30, 2021, or our decision that the Repurchase Program is no longer consistent with our short-term and long-term objectives. Due to improving market conditions following our establishment of the Repurchase Program, we did not repurchase any shares during fiscal year 2020.
On May 28, 2020, we entered into an underwriting agreement, which we refer to as the “underwriting agreement,” with Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Cowen, as joint lead book-running managers for a public offering of 3,200,000 shares, which we refer to as the “firm shares,” of our Class A common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share. Under the terms of the underwriting agreement, we granted the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days, to purchase up to an additional 480,000 shares of Class A common stock at the public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions, which we refer to as the “option shares.” Adam Peterson and Alex Rozek, our Co-Chairmen, together with another member of our board of directors and another employee, purchased, directly or through their affiliates, an aggregate of 39,375 shares of Class A common stock in the offering at the public offering price. On June 2, 2020, we announced the completion of the public offering in which we sold a total of 3,680,000 Class A shares, including both the firm shares and all of the option shares issued as a result of the underwriters’ exercise in full of their over-allotment option, resulting in total gross proceeds to us of $58,880,000. We raised this capital to fund the planned expansion of our recently acquired fiber-to-the-home broadband, telecommunication business, to seek to grow our Link billboard business through the acquisitions of additional billboard businesses, and for general corporate purposes. Although we do not have any binding material commitments at this time, we continue to pursue acquisitions in these markets. The shares were sold in the offering pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3, as supplemented by a prospectus supplement dated May 28, 2020.
Our Relationship with Magnolia and Boulderado
In their roles as general partners of MCF, MBOC I, MBOC II, and BP, Magnolia and Boulderado, through their ownership of Class A common stock and all of our Class B common stock, control a majority vote on all matters and will for the foreseeable future continue to be able to control the election of our directors, determine our corporate and management policies and determine, without the consent of our other stockholders, the outcome of any corporate transaction or other matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including potential mergers or acquisitions, asset sales and other significant corporate transactions. Adam K. Peterson, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and one of our directors, is a principal in Magnolia and Alex B. Rozek, our other Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company, is a principal in Boulderado.
The interests of these funds managed by Magnolia and Boulderado may not coincide with the interests of other holders of our Class A common stock. Mr. Peterson and Mr. Rozek also receive compensation from Magnolia and Boulderado for their roles as managers of Magnolia and Boulderado, respectively. Additionally, these funds are in the business of making investments in companies and may, from time to time, acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us.
MCF is a private investment partnership in Omaha, Nebraska, which commenced operations in August 2014. MBOC I and MBOC II are private investment partnerships in Omaha, Nebraska, which commenced operations in February 2018. Adam K. Peterson is the sole manager of Magnolia, an investment adviser registered with the SEC. Magnolia is the general partner and the manager of MCF, MBOC I and MBOC II. BP is a private investment partnership in Boston, Massachusetts, formed in June 2007. BBOC is a private investment partnership in Boston, Massachusetts, which commenced operations in February 2018. Alex B. Rozek is the Managing Member of Boulderado Group, LLC, the management company of Boulderado Partners, LLC and BBOC. On February 6, 2019, Alex B. Rozek and entities managed by Boulderado filed a Schedule 13D/A stating that BP has returned all outside capital and is continuing operations to manage family investments only. As a result of these distributions, BBOC distributed all of its shares of Class A common stock and was subsequently dissolved.
Our Acquisitions and Equity Investments
Since June 2015, we have expended over $280 million in the acquisition of businesses in outdoor billboard advertising, surety insurance and brokerage operations, broadband services, and in the purchase of minority equity interests in various businesses. We anticipate seeking further acquisitions in these business areas and possibly expanding into other businesses that we believe have the potential for durable profitability in a very competitive world.
Link Media Holdings. Since June 2015, through 18 acquisitions, several asset purchases, and one exchange, we have acquired numerous billboard structures, many with multiple faces, related easements, and rights in some instances to construct additional billboards. These billboards are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. We paid a combined purchase price of over $190 million for these billboards and related assets. As of March 26, 2021, we operated approximately 3,200 billboard structures containing approximately 6,000 advertising faces, of which over 60 are digital displays.
General Indemnity. Since September 2015, through five acquisitions, we have acquired one insurance company, UCS, and four insurance brokerage firms. We paid a combined purchase price of approximately $19.4 million. Additionally, we have contributed approximately $16.3 million in statutory capital to UCS. UCS is authorized to issue surety insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, is approved by the United States Department of Treasury, and rated "A-" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company.
Broadband. On March 10, 2020, AireBeam acquired substantially all the business assets of FibAire, a rural broadband internet provider. AireBeam provides over 7,000 subscribers in communities in southern Arizona with a high speed fixed wireless internet service and is building an all fiber-to-the-home network in select Arizona markets. AireBeam currently operates in certain underserved Arizona communities that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. We acquired AireBeam for $12.3 million in cash and issued to FibAire’s co-founder and chief executive, 10% of the equity in the newly formed entity. On December 29, 2020, FIF Utah acquired substantially all of the business assets of UBB, a rural broadband internet provider. UBB provides high-speed internet to over 10,000 subscribers in Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Provo and surrounding communities. We acquired UBB for $21.3 million in cash and issued to Alpine Networks, Inc., UBB’s member, 20% of the equity in the newly formed entity. Mr. McGhie, the president of Alpine Networks, Inc. will serve as president of FIF Utah.
Minority Investments. Since 2015, we have made minority investments in several different industries.
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Since September 2015, we have made a series of investments in commercial real estate, a commercial real estate management, brokerage and related services business as well as an asset management business. We currently own 30% of Logic and approximately 49.9% of 24th Street Holding Co., both directly and indirectly through our ownership in Logic. In addition, we have invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an aggregate of $6 million in 24th Street Fund I, LLC and 24th Street Fund II, LLC. These funds are managed by 24th Street Asset Management, LLC, a subsidiary of 24th Street Holding Co. and will focus on opportunities within secured lending and direct investments in commercial real estate.
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In late December 2017, we invested $10 million in common units of DFH, the parent company of Dream Finders Homes, LLC, a national home builder with operations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and northern Virginia. In addition to its homebuilding operations, DFH's subsidiaries provide mortgage loan origination and title insurance services to homebuyers. In May 2019, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an additional $12 million in DFH through the purchase of preferred units with a mandatory preferred return of 14%. These preferred units were subsequently redeemed by DFH in 2020. On January 25, 2021, Dream Finders Homes, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DFH, completed its initial public offering and implemented the DFH Merger pursuant to which Dream Finders Homes, Inc. became a holding company and sole manager of DFH. Upon completion of the DFH Merger, our outstanding common units in DFH were converted into 4,681,099 shares of Class A Common Stock of Dream Finders Homes, Inc., and one of our subsidiaries purchased an additional 120,000 shares of Class A common stock in the initial public offering. The DFH shares purchased in 2017 are restricted securities and are subject to a lock-up for a period through July 19, 2021 and currently subject to resale trading limitations under Rule 144 as we currently own more than 10% of DFH's Class A common stock. Prior to its initial public offering, we loaned DFH $20,000,000 to assist it in financing an acquisition which was consummated prior to its initial public offering. This loan was repaid in full with interest in early 2021.
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In May 2018, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, approximately $19 million through the purchase of common stock of CB&T Holding Corporation, the privately-held parent company of Crescent Bank & Trust, Inc. Crescent is located in New Orleans and generates the majority of its revenues from indirect subprime automobile lending across the United States.
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Between August and November 2020, we invested, through BOC Yellowstone, approximately $7.8 million through the purchase of 3,399,724 shares of Class B common stock and private placement warrants to purchase 7,719,779 shares of Class A common stock of Yellowstone. BOC Yellowstone is the sponsor of Yellowstone and under the terms of Yellowstone’s initial public offering completed in October 2020, which we refer to as the “Yellowstone IPO”, owns approximately 20% of Yellowstone’s issued and outstanding common stock. Following the Yellowstone IPO, BOC Yellowstone transferred 206,250 shares of Class B common stock to BOC Yellowstone II LLC, which we refer to as “BOC Yellowstone II”, and subsequently sold a membership interest in BOC Yellowstone II to an unaffiliated private investor in the initial public offering. This membership interest provides the investor the right to receive 206,250 of the Class B common shares held in BOC Yellowstone II upon release of the Class B common shares following a business combination. The investor paid $309,375 for its membership interest in BOC Yellowstone II. In the event that Yellowstone does not consummate a qualifying business combination on or before January 25, 2022, all Class A common stock sold in the initial public offering will be redeemed at $10.20 per share.
The key terms of the Yellowstone IPO as it relates to the Class B common stock and the private placement warrants acquired by BOC Yellowstone are as follows:
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Yellowstone's initial business combination must occur on or before January 25, 2022 with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account for the benefit of the holders of Yellowstone’s Class A common stock (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination.
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Any party may co-invest with Yellowstone in the target business at the time of any initial business combination, or Yellowstone could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance”. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. Yellowstone is not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so.
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Any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that BOC Yellowstone and BOC Yellowstone II’s initial stockholders would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of the Yellowstone IPO plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then outstanding shares of Yellowstone’s Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof.
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The Yellowstone Class B common stock is identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in the Yellowstone IPO, except that:
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the shares of Yellowstone Class B common stock automatically convert into shares of Yellowstone Class A common stock at the time of any initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights;
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the shares of Yellowstone Class B common stock are subject to certain transfer restrictions until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of an initial business combination or (B) subsequent to an initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of Yellowstone Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial business combination, or (y) the date on which Yellowstone completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Yellowstone stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property; and
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BOC Yellowstone and BOC Yellowstone II and their officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with Yellowstone, pursuant to which they have agreed (i) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Yellowstone Class B common stock and any Yellowstone public shares held by them in connection with the completion of an initial business combination and (ii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any Yellowstone Class B common stock held by them if Yellowstone fails to complete an initial business combination by January 25, 2022;
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the Class A common stock into which the Class B common stock converts following a business combination has registration rights allowing the registration of the shares following a business combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that Yellowstone will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions as described above.
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The 7,719,779 private placement warrants held by BOC Yellowstone were purchased at a price of $1.00 per whole warrant in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the initial closing of the Yellowstone initial public offering. Each whole private placement warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Yellowstone Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. We have agreed that no officer or director of Boston Omaha Corporation will be eligible to receive any such warrants. These warrants will not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of any business combination. The private placement warrants may also be exercised by BOC Yellowstone or its permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in Yellowstone’s IPO, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period, and may be redeemed by Yellowstone for shares of Class A common stock.
Industry Background
We currently operate outdoor billboard advertising services, provide broadband services, and sell surety insurance products and have made minority investments in several commercial real estate management and brokerage companies, a homebuilding company and a bank holding company focused on servicing the automotive loan market.
Outdoor Billboard Advertising. We currently own and operate approximately 3,200 billboard structures in the Southeast and Midwest United States containing approximately 6,000 advertising faces, of which over 60 are digital displays. In addition, we hold options to build additional billboards in a few of these states. Over 95% of our billboards reside on leased parcels of property. The site lease terms generally range from one to 20 years and often come with renewal options. Many of our leases contain options to extend the lease so as to allow continuous operation for many years or exist in areas where we believe that regulations make it probable a new lease will be signed prior to expiration on similar economic terms to existing leases. Bulletins are large, advertising structures consisting of panels on which advertising copy is displayed. On traditional billboards, the customer’s advertising copy is printed with computer-generated graphics on a single sheet of vinyl and wrapped around the billboard structure. Bulletins are usually located on major highways and target vehicular traffic. Advertising contracts are typically short-term to medium-term (e.g., one month to three years). We generally lease individually-selected bulletin space to advertisers for the duration of the contract. In addition to the traditional displays described above, we also have digital ad displays which generally come with shorter term ad contracts (one to twelve months). Outdoor billboards were estimated as a $4.7 billion market in the U.S. in 2020 based on industry trade journals. Other outdoor advertising solutions, including street furniture (for example, bus shelters and benches), transit and other new alternative advertising signs at sports stadiums, malls, airports and other locations account for approximately an additional estimated $1.4 billion in revenues in 2020 according to industry sources. There is no concentration of industries to which we lease billboard space.
Insurance Services. Suretyship insurance occurs when one party guarantees payment or performance by another party for an obligation or undertaking. Many obligations are guaranteed through surety bonds. Common types of surety bonds include commercial surety bonds and contract surety bonds. Suretyship is an integral part of the functioning of government and commerce. In many complex endeavors involving risk, a need exists to have a third party assure the performance or obligations of one party to another party. Surety companies are the “third parties” that provide such financial assurances in return for premium payments. Surety bonds are provided in government bidding and contracting processes as well as for individuals obtaining various government licenses and for individuals and businesses entering into apartment and office lease rentals. Various types of bonds are designed to insure that when a contractor bids on a project, and is awarded the project, that the project is completed for the amount of the bid, and that the contractors pay their subcontractors and suppliers.
Surety bonds are regulated by state insurance departments. Surety insurance companies operate on a different business model than traditional casualty insurance. Surety is designed to prevent a loss. Though some losses do occur, surety premiums do not contain large provisions for loss payment. The surety takes only those risks which its underwriting experience indicates are reasonable to assume based on its underlying experience. This service is for qualified individuals or businesses whose affairs require a guarantor. The surety views its underwriting as a form of credit, much like a lending arrangement, and places its emphasis on the qualifications of the prime contractor or subcontractor to fulfill its obligations successfully, examining the contractor’s credit history, financial strength, experience, work in progress and management capability. After the surety assesses such factors, it makes a determination as to the appropriateness and the amount, if any, of surety credit.
Surety insurers are highly regulated and scrutinized, through legal requirements for regular financial, market conduct and operational audits, and other means, in order to conduct business in the estimated $6.9 billion surety market, based on 2019 industry reports. Most surety companies, in turn, distribute surety bonds through licensed surety bond producers, licensed business professionals who have specialized knowledge of surety products, the surety market, and the business strategies and underwriting differences among sureties. A bond producer can serve as an objective, external resource for evaluating a construction firm’s capabilities and, where necessary, can suggest improvements to help the construction firm meet a surety company’s underwriting requirements. Bond producers compete based on their experience, reputation, and ability to issue bonds on behalf of sureties. In addition to acquiring UCS, we have acquired four surety brokerage firms, The Warnock Agency, Inc., which we refer to as “Warnock,” Surety Support Services, Inc., which we refer to as “SSS,” Freestate Bonds, Inc., which we refer to as “Freestate,” and South Coast Surety Insurance Services, LLC, which we refer to as “SCS.” UCS and these brokerage firms provide us with both premium and commission revenue streams.
Broadband Services. Our AireBeam and Utah Broadband businesses provide fiber connectivity to homes, business and community organizations in certain markets in Arizona and Utah. Driven by the rising demand for higher bandwidth and faster speed connections for a variety of industrial and residential purposes, fiber optic transmission is becoming more and more common in modern society. Fiber optic cables have a much greater bandwidth than metal cables. The significantly higher amount of information that can be transmitted per unit time of fiber over other transmission media is its most significant advantage. Also, an optical fiber offers low power loss, which allows for longer transmission distances. Fiber optic is generally less susceptible to electromagnetic interference, has greater capacity and weighs less than traditional metal wire connections. Also, fiber optic is made of glass, which can provide certain cost advantages over traditional copper wire. Optical fiber is more difficult and expensive to install than copper wire and special equipment is required to test optical fiber. Fiber optic is also highly susceptible to becoming cut or damaged during installation or construction activities. We believe that the demand for broadband services has increased significantly since the COVID pandemic began and that this demand will continue to grow as more businesses and consumers rely on remote connectivity for work, learning, telehealth and other connectivity needs and as new technologies expand the ability to digitally share information and services.
Business Overview and Strategy
Since present management took over in February 2015, we have engaged in (i) acquisitions and minority investments in outdoor billboard advertising, surety insurance, broadband service providers, commercial real estate services, homebuilding and a bank holding company, (ii) purchases of publicly traded equity securities and (iii) in October 2020 served as the sponsor for an initial public offering for Yellowstone. Our strategy focuses on investing in companies and lines of business that have consistently demonstrated earnings power over time, with attractive pre-tax historical returns on tangible equity capital, and that we believe are available at a reasonable price.
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Since present management took over in 2015 and as of December 31, 2020, our acquisitions and operations have been funded by equity investments, including our 2017 public offering, our two “at the market” offerings and our 2020 public offering pursuant to our shelf registration statement, private placements, and debt conversions totaling $423,648,471.
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In addition, in August 2019, our Link subsidiary entered into a bank term loan and revolving credit agreement under which Link and its subsidiaries borrowed $18,060,000 secured by the assets of Link and its subsidiaries and may borrow additional sums under the agreement. In August 2020, additional sums in the amount of $5,500,000 were committed under the loan agreement.
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We have used a portion of these proceeds from these financings to acquire outdoor billboard assets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. We expect to continue to seek additional acquisitions in out-of-home advertising when they can be made at what we believe to be attractive prices relative to other opportunities generally available to us. We believe the billboard business offers the potential to provide a durable and growing cash flow stream over time. In addition, we believe multiple opportunities could exist in time for the industry at large including but not limited to: supply limitations, demand growth, opportunity to convert static billboard faces to digital applications when the economics are favorable, opportunity to purchase perpetual easements or land beneath our structures, and the low relative cost per impression of the advertising medium.
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We have also used the proceeds of these financings to organize GIG and to complete the acquisitions of Warnock, SSS, Freestate, and SCS, all surety insurance brokerage firms, and to complete the acquisition of UCS, a surety insurance company.
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In March 2020, we acquired substantially all of the assets of FibAire, a broadband service provider located in Arizona, and in December 2020 we acquired substantially all of the assets of UBB, a broadband service provider located in Utah.
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To date, we have invested $19 million in the parent company of Crescent, a bank providing retail and business banking services in the subprime automobile lending market.
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We have previously invested $22 million in equity financing in DFH, of which $12 million was in preferred stock which was redeemed in 2020. DFH is a national homebuilder that also provides related services and completed an IPO in January 2021.
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We have also made an investment in a commercial real estate management services company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, a related real estate asset management company, and shorter-term investments in a Nevada company that invests in commercial retail centers and two residential real estate development projects in Colorado.
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In 2020, we sponsored and invested approximately $7.8 million in Yellowstone, a special purpose acquisition company, or "SPAC" dedicated to pursuing a business combination in an industry other than the three industries in which we currently own and operate businesses: outdoor advertising, surety insurance and broadband services businesses.
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In addition, from time to time, we invest a portion of our available cash in public equity securities and shorter term debt securities. In addition to our existing business lines, we are actively reviewing opportunities to acquire businesses in new fields which have the potential to provide durable revenues, broad customer bases and where ideally the target's business benefits from some business, legal or financial barriers to entry from future competitors.
We source acquisitions both internally via phone calls, research or mailings, business relationships developed over time and also by receipt of target acquisition opportunities from a number of brokers and other professionals. We seek acquisitions consistent with our growth strategy, but there can be no assurance that we will consummate acquisitions pursuant to outstanding letters of intent or acquire any additional billboard assets, surety brokerage firms, broadband service providers, or minority investments in any other businesses. Furthermore, our acquisitions are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including as to when, whether and to what extent the anticipated benefits and cost savings of a particular acquisition will be realized. We are also seeking opportunities to acquire other businesses or a significant interest in existing businesses. We look to acquire businesses in their entirety that have consistently demonstrated earnings power over time, with attractive pretax historical returns on tangible equity capital, and that are available at a reasonable price. However, we may consider minority positions and stock issuances when the economics are favorable. In certain circumstances, we may enter lines of business directly when the opportunities and economics of doing so are favorable in comparison to acquisitions.
Outdoor Billboard Advertising. We seek to capitalize on our growing network and diversified geographical and product mix to grow revenues. We currently own approximately 3,200 billboard structures containing approximately 6,000 advertising faces in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Each of our billboard structures may have one to four faces. We believe the outdoor advertising business offers attractive industry fundamentals which we hope to utilize and leverage as we plan to continue to grow our presence in the United States. We hope that our growing presence will be an attractive tool in identifying and attracting both local and national advertisers. We work with our customers to enable them to better understand how our billboards can successfully reach their target audiences and promote their advertising campaigns. Our long-term strategy for our outdoor advertising businesses includes pursuing digital display opportunities where appropriate, while simultaneously utilizing traditional methods of displaying outdoor advertisements, and with a goal of consolidating fragmented markets where applicable.
Digital displays offer the opportunity to link electronic displays through centralized computer systems to instantaneously and simultaneously change advertising copy on a large number of displays. The ability to change copy by time of day and quickly change messaging based on advertisers’ needs creates additional flexibility for our customers. However, digital displays require more capital to construct and maintain compared to traditional bulletins and increase the supply of advertising faces in a market. We currently deploy over 60 digital billboards.
Our local production staffs provide many of our customers a range of services required to create and install advertising copy. Production work includes creating the advertising copy design and layout, coordinating its printing with outside printing firms and installing the copy on the billboard face. We provide creative services to smaller advertisers and to advertisers not represented by advertising agencies. National advertisers often use preprinted designs that require only installation. Our creative and production personnel typically develop new designs or adapt copy from other media for use on our inventory. Our creative staff also can assist in the development of marketing presentations, demonstrations, and strategies to attract new clients.
We typically own the physical structures on which our clients’ advertising copy is displayed. We acquire new structures from third parties on sites we either lease or own or for which we have acquired permanent easements. We generally have limited or no responsibilities to maintain the land on which the billboard is sited. The site lease terms generally range from one to 20 years and often come with renewal options or exist in areas where we believe that regulations make it probable a new lease will be signed prior to expiration on similar economic terms to existing leases. In addition to the site lease, we must obtain a permit to build and operate the sign. Permits are typically issued in perpetuity by the state or local government and typically are transferable or renewable for a minimal or no fee. Traditional bulletin and poster advertising copy is printed with computer generated graphics to form a single sheet of vinyl. These advertisements are then transported to the site and wrapped around the face of the structure. Our billboard lease costs in 2020 and 2019 were $6,119,523 and $ 6,238,827, respectively.
Insurance Operations. UCS has specialized in providing surety bonds since 1989. UCS is an authorized insurance carrier rated A- (“Excellent”) by A.M. Best and is approved by the United States Department of the Treasury (570 Circular). UCS is currently licensed to conduct business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to issuing traditional construction bonds for contractors and subcontractors, UCS offers a wide array of miscellaneous, license and permit bonds that protect consumers from the business activities of our customers or provide assurance to counterparties that our insureds will fulfill licensure requirements or faithfully remit monies owed. We also operate SCS and Warnock, brokers with clients nationwide, and SSS, another surety insurance brokerage with clients concentrated in several Midwestern states.
We seek to reduce our risk by limiting policy amounts, following extensive underwriting processes, reviewing dashboards of critical metrics, and purchasing reinsurance coverage. Our underwriting process considers a number of factors, including the financial health of the customer, the customer’s operating history, the type of obligation, the geographic territory where the contract is being issued, the language of the bond and the subject contract, and, if appropriate, a customer’s pledge of collateral to reduce the risk in the event of a default. Historically, claims on surety bonds are limited by the extensive underwriting analysis undertaken before a risk is agreed to, forms of security provided upon the bond’s issuance, and by the legal ability to pursue the customer obtaining the surety bond for recovery of amounts paid due to a claim. A significant portion of our business in 2019 and 2020 was selling bonds securing rental payments due to landlords, primarily in the greater New York city area. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we suspended issuing these surety bonds and increased our loss reserves for potential claims. A surety’s right of indemnification contrasts with property and casualty, or life insurance coverages, where no such recovery right exists. Unlike other insurance, surety insurance losses are commonly limited by the indemnity obligations of the insured, collateral provided by the insured at the time of issuance, or the insurance company’s contractual right to uncollected funds from construction projects on which it has issued a bond and steps in for the insured.
Broadband Services. We seek to capitalize on the growing demand for rural internet access and increased bandwidth capacity as the economy shifts towards increased consumer demand and telecommuting work arrangements. AireBeam and Utah Broadband operate in several underserved communities in Arizona and Utah that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. Our strategy is to grow our presence in the rural broadband business as we expect many more communities to demand increasingly more bandwidth to their homes and businesses than their current service offering can reliably provide. Within certain markets, we believe that fiber-to-the-home has the potential to be a long-lived asset that fits into our objective to invest in what we believe are durable businesses that have the potential to achieve favorable after-tax returns on invested capital. Recent studies suggest that a large proportion of homes in the United States have not connected to high speed broadband services as their communities lack all-fiber connectivity. We believe that the combination of the rural broadband business models of FibAire and Utah Broadband we acquired together with our stronger balance sheet provides a competitive platform to bring fiber-to-the-home to additional communities in Arizona and Utah and other similarly situated communities in other states. We have already entered into a contract with one home builder to bring fiber-to-the-home in a large residential development under construction and expect to expand this to other developments in the future. We believe that the fiber-to-the-home market shares similar qualities with our billboard and surety insurance markets in providing a diversified customer base in markets which impose some obstacles to competitors. We also believe that many broadband systems are owned by a significant number of small operators which may be interested in being acquired, providing us the potential for continued future growth in the broadband internet provider market.
Competition
Outdoor Billboard Advertising. The outdoor advertising industry in the United States consists of several large companies, and three companies, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., Outfront Media, Inc. and Lamar Advertising Company, own a majority of all outdoor billboards. These companies are estimated to generate more than 50% of the industry’s total revenues and several industry sources estimate that there are many other smaller companies serving the remainder of the market, providing a potentially significant source of billboards which may be acquired in the future. Part of our strategy is to acquire certain of the smaller and medium sized competitors in markets we deem desirable to advertisers. We also compete with other advertising media in our respective markets, including broadcast and cable television, radio, print media, direct mail, online and other forms of advertisement. Outdoor advertising companies compete primarily based on their ability to reach consumers, which is driven by location of the display.
Insurance Operations. Our insurance business operates in an environment that is highly competitive and very fragmented. We compete with other global insurance and reinsurance providers, including but not limited to Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Zurich Insurance Group, Lloyds, and CNA Insurance Group, as well as numerous specialist, regional and local firms in almost every area of our business. These companies may market and service their insurance products through intermediaries, or directly without the assistance of brokers or agents. We also compete with other businesses that do not fall into the categories above that provide risk-related services and products.
Broadband Services. Our broadband services businesses provide high-speed internet connectivity and are aimed at rural and other underserved communities that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. In the future, leading cable operators, such as Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice USA, and other competitors may seek to enter the markets we serve. In addition, we may face competition from 5G in the home and other services incorporating new technologies. Technological changes are further intensifying and may challenge existing business models. Our internet services are expected to compete with wireless phone companies, satellite and other broadband providers as well as wireline phone companies and other providers of wireline internet service and others seeking to build fiber-based network infrastructure.
Employees
As of March 1, 2021, we had 217 employees, of which 87 were in billboard operations, 86 were in broadband operations, 39 were in insurance services and five were in administrative or corporate related activities. Of the 217 employees, three employees in broadband operations and one employee in administrative or corporate related activities were part time. The rest of our employees were full time. None of our employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good.
Information Systems
We rely on our information systems to manage our daily business activities, interact with customers and vendors, manage our digital billboard displays, and market our services. We have outsourced certain technology and business process functions to third parties and may increasingly do so in the future. We have also hired individuals responsible for maintaining and improving our information systems and for developing systems to protect both our information and that of our customers. In order to reduce the risk of unintended disclosure of customer information, our separate business groups operate different information systems for their customer interactions. Our outsourcing of certain technology and business process functions to third parties and our reliance on our use of our information systems may expose us to increased risk related to data security, service disruptions or the effectiveness of our control system. We also maintain certain levels of insurance designed to provide some coverage in the event of any damages arising from a breach of our computer security systems.
Regulation of Our Advertising Business
The outdoor advertising industry in the United States is subject to governmental regulation at the federal, state and local levels. These regulations may include, among others, restrictions on the construction, repair, maintenance, lighting, upgrading, height, size, spacing and location and permitting of and, in some instances, content of advertising copy being displayed on outdoor advertising structures. We generally do not incur material costs related to compliance with environmental laws in our advertising business.
From time to time, legislation has been introduced attempting to impose taxes on revenue from outdoor advertising or for the right to use outdoor advertising assets. Several jurisdictions have imposed such taxes as a percentage of our outdoor advertising revenue generated in that jurisdiction. In addition, some jurisdictions have taxed our personal property and leasehold interests in advertising locations using various valuation methodologies. In certain circumstances, such as our current Tampa operations, when we lease space from a governmental authority, we may enter into revenue sharing agreements with the authority, and in other circumstances we will manage third party billboards in connection with revenue sharing agreements. We expect jurisdictions to continue to try to impose such taxes and other fees as a way of increasing revenue. In recent years, outdoor advertising also has become the subject of targeted taxes and fees. These laws may affect prevailing competitive conditions in our markets in a variety of ways. Such laws may reduce our expansion opportunities or may increase or reduce competitive pressure from other members of the outdoor advertising industry. No assurance can be given that existing or future laws or regulations, and the enforcement thereof, will not materially and adversely affect the outdoor advertising industry.
In the United States, federal law, principally the Highway Beautification Act, which we refer to as the “HBA,” regulates outdoor advertising on Federal-Aid Primary, Interstate and National Highway Systems roads within the United States, which we refer to as “controlled roads.” The HBA regulates the size and placement of billboards, requires the development of state standards, mandates a state’s compliance program, promotes the expeditious removal of illegal signs and requires just compensation for takings.
To satisfy the HBA’s requirements, all states have passed billboard control statutes and regulations that regulate, among other things, construction, repair, maintenance, lighting, height, size, spacing and the placement and permitting of outdoor advertising structures. We are not aware of any state that has passed control statutes and regulations less restrictive than the prevailing federal requirements on the federal highway system, including the requirement that an owner remove any non-grandfathered, non-compliant signs along the controlled roads, at the owner’s expense and without compensation. Local governments generally also include billboard control as part of their zoning laws and building codes regulating those items described above and include similar provisions regarding the removal of non-grandfathered structures that do not comply with certain of the local requirements.
As part of their billboard control laws, state and local governments regulate the construction of new signs. Some jurisdictions prohibit new construction, some jurisdictions allow new construction only to replace or relocate existing structures and some jurisdictions allow new construction subject to the various restrictions discussed above. In certain jurisdictions, restrictive regulations also limit our ability to relocate, rebuild, repair, maintain, upgrade, modify or replace existing legal non-conforming billboards.
U.S. federal law neither requires nor prohibits the removal of existing lawful billboards, but it does mandate the payment of compensation if a state or political subdivision compels the removal of a lawful billboard along the controlled roads. In the past, state governments have purchased and removed existing lawful billboards for beautification purposes using federal funding for transportation enhancement programs, and these jurisdictions may continue to do so in the future. From time to time, state and local government authorities use the power of eminent domain and amortization to remove billboards. Amortization is the required removal of legal non-conforming billboards (billboards which conformed with applicable laws and regulations when built, but which do not conform to current laws and regulations) or the commercial advertising placed on such billboards after a period of years. Pursuant to this concept, the governmental body asserts that just compensation is earned by continued operation of the billboard over that period of time. Although amortization is prohibited along all controlled roads, amortization has been upheld along non-controlled roads in limited instances where permitted by state and local law.
We may expand the deployment of digital billboards in markets and in specific locations we deem appropriate and where the placement of these digital displays is permitted by government agencies regulating their locations. We are aware of some existing regulations in the U.S. that restrict or prohibit these types of digital displays. However, since digital technology for changing static copy has only recently been developed and introduced into the market on a large scale, and is in the process of being introduced more broadly, existing regulations that currently do not apply to digital technology by their terms could be revised to impose greater restrictions. These regulations, or actions by third parties, may impose greater restrictions on digital billboards due to alleged concerns over aesthetics or driver safety.
Regulation of Our Insurance Business
GIG and its subsidiaries transact their insurance business in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and are subject to regulation in the various states and jurisdictions in which they operate. The extent of regulation varies, but generally derives from statutes that delegate regulatory, supervisory and administrative authority to a department of insurance in each state and jurisdiction. The regulation, supervision and administration relate, among other things, to standards of solvency that must be met and maintained, the licensing of insurers and their agents, the nature of and limitations on investments, premium rates, restrictions on the size of risks that may be insured under a single policy, reserves and provisions for unearned premiums, losses and other obligations, deposits of securities for the benefit of policyholders, approval of policy forms and the regulation of market conduct, including the use of credit information in underwriting as well as other underwriting and claims practices. State insurance departments also conduct periodic examinations of the financial condition and market conduct of insurance companies and require the filing of financial and other reports on a quarterly and annual basis. Nebraska, the state of domicile for UCS, may also limit the payment of dividends from UCS to GIG and us and, as a result, to our stockholders if and when we declare a dividend from the operations of UCS and/or GIG and its other operating subsidiaries.
GIG and its subsidiaries and/or certain of our designated employees must be licensed to act as agents, brokers and intermediaries by state regulatory authorities in the locations in which we conduct business. Regulations and licensing laws vary by individual state location and are often complex. The applicable licensing laws and regulations in all states are subject to amendment or reinterpretation by regulatory authorities, and such authorities are vested in most cases with relatively broad discretion as to the granting, revocation, suspension and renewal of licenses. We endeavor to monitor the licensing of GIG, its subsidiaries and our employees, but the possibility exists that GIG and its subsidiaries and/or certain of our designated employees could be excluded or temporarily suspended from carrying on some or all of our activities in, or could otherwise be subjected to penalties by a particular jurisdiction.
Rate and Rule Approvals. GIG’s domestic insurance subsidiaries are subject to each state’s laws and regulations regarding rate, form, and rule approvals. The applicable laws and regulations generally establish standards to ensure that rates are not excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory or used to engage in unfair price competition. An insurer’s ability to adjust rates and the relative timing of the process are dependent upon each state’s requirements. Many states have enacted variations of competitive ratemaking laws, which allow insurers to set certain premium rates for certain classes of insurance without having to obtain the prior approval of the state insurance department.
Requirements for Exiting Geographic Markets and/or Canceling or Nonrenewing Policies. Several states have laws and regulations which may impact the timing and/or the ability of an insurer to either discontinue or substantially reduce its writings in that state. These laws and regulations typically require prior notice, and in some instances insurance department approval, prior to discontinuing a line of business or withdrawing from that state, and they allow insurers to cancel or non-renew certain policies only for certain specified reasons.
Insurance Regulatory Information System. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which we refer to as “NAIC,” developed the Insurance Regulatory Information System, which we refer to as “IRIS,” to help state regulators identify companies that may require regulatory attention. Financial examiners review annual financial statements and the results of key financial ratios based on year-end data with the goal of identifying insurers that appear to require immediate regulatory attention. Each ratio has an established “usual range” of results. A ratio result falling outside the usual range, however, is not necessarily considered adverse; rather, unusual values are used as part of the regulatory early monitoring system. Furthermore, in some years, it may not be unusual for financially sound companies to have several ratios with results outside the usual ranges. Generally, an insurance company may become subject to regulatory scrutiny or, depending on the company’s financial condition, regulatory action if certain of its key IRIS ratios fall outside the usual ranges and the insurer’s financial condition is trending downward.
Risk-Based Capital Requirements. The NAIC has a risk-based capital, which we refer to as “RBC,” requirement for most property and casualty insurance companies, which determines minimum capital requirements and is intended to raise the level of protection for policyholder obligations. UCS is subject to these NAIC RBC requirements based on laws that have been adopted by individual states. These requirements subject insurers having policyholders’ surplus less than that required by the RBC calculation to varying degrees of regulatory action, depending on the level of capital inadequacy.
Investment Regulation. Insurance company investments must comply with applicable laws and regulations which prescribe the kind, quality and concentration of investments. In general, these laws and regulations permit investments in federal, state and municipal obligations, corporate bonds, certain preferred and common equity securities, mortgage loans, real estate and certain other investments, subject to specified limits and certain other qualifications. If certain investments fail to meet these criteria, these investments may be excluded or limited in calculating our compliance in meeting these and other testing criteria.
Regulation of Our Broadband Business
Many but not all of our services and networks are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, which we refer to as the “FCC”, and by state and local governments. Whether our networks or our services are regulated or unregulated depends on numerous factors, including but not limited to whether we offer telecommunications service, as defined in state and federal laws, or cable service. The construction and maintenance of our fiber optic networks may face local regulation that can adversely impact the timing or our deployment. Certain of our services that are provided via wireless transmission require FCC licenses and our local video and other services often require local government franchises, which we refer to as "franchises." The local franchises often impose certain obligations to build out the network and require payment of fees to the local government, which fees are often are based on a percentage of gross revenues. In private communities and mobile home parks, we may be required to obtain the consent of the homeowners association or other property owners to provide services, and we often have to pay a fee to obtain access to the property and provide our services. Finally, to deploy our networks, we frequently must obtain agreements from local power utilities to use their poles and in some cases easements from landowners.
Acquisition and Financing Strategy
Acquisition Selection. Our management will have broad discretion in identifying and selecting prospective target acquisitions. In evaluating a prospective target acquisition, our management will consider, among other factors, the following:
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Management’s understanding of the business and its competitive environment;
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Management’s view of the business durability, capital intensity, and prospective returns on the capital employed over time;
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Management’s assessment of the financial attractiveness of a particular target relative to other available targets; and
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Capital requirements and management’s assessment of the ability to finance a particular target.
Issuance of senior and additional securities. To the extent that our Board of Directors determines to obtain additional capital, it may issue debt or equity securities. Existing stockholders have no preemptive rights to common or preferred stock issued in any securities offering by us, and any such offering might cause a dilution of a stockholder’s investment in our Company.
In June 2017, pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-216040) declared effective on June 15, 2017, we commenced the 2017 public offering for 6,538,462 shares of our Class A common stock at $13.00 per share that raised gross proceeds of $97,049,446. Cowen acted as the sole underwriter and received a discount of 4.4853% per share. We also granted Cowen a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 980,769 shares of Class A common stock, pursuant to which an additional 926,880 shares were sold. We received aggregate net proceeds from the offering of approximately $91,432,110 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us. None of the underwriting discounts and commissions or offering expenses were incurred or paid to any director or officer of ours, to any of their associates, to persons owning 10% or more of our common stock or to any affiliates of ours.
On February 22, 2018, we entered into a Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which the Company sold to MBOC I, MBOC II, and BBOC $150,000,000 in unregistered shares of Class A common stock at a price of $23.30, a slight premium to the closing price of shares of Class A common stock of $23.29 on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as reported by NASDAQ on the date of the Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement. The Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement was approved by an independent special committee of our Board of Directors with the advice of independent legal counsel and an independent investment banking firm which provided a fairness opinion to the special committee. The closing of the first tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on March 6, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,300,000 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of $76,890,000. The closing of the second tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on May 15, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,137,768 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $73,110,000. Commencing in February 2021, the limited partners of these funds may begin to have their shares registered on a demand and/or piggyback basis, for resale or receive shares held in these funds as a distribution.
Additionally, in February 2018, we filed a shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) that was declared effective on February 9, 2018, relating to the offering of Class A common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants of the Company for up to $200,000,000. On March 2, 2018, the Company entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen, pursuant to which the Company sold from time to time in an “at the market” offering a total of $49,999,625 of shares of Class A common stock through Cowen as sales agent. Sales under the “at the market” offering were made pursuant to a prospectus supplement, filed with the SEC on March 2, 2018, to the Company’s shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3, declared effective by the SEC on February 9, 2018. This shelf registration statement recently expired and we expect to shortly file a new shelf registration statement to access capital on an as needed basis.
From March 2018 through August 20, 2019, we sold through Cowen an aggregate of 2,141,452 shares of our Class A common stock under this “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $49,999,625. For the period from January 1, through August 20, 2019, we sold through Cowen 942,223 shares of our Class A common stock under this at-the-market offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $22,753,943 and net proceeds of $22,059,015 after offering costs of $694,928.
On August 13, 2019, we entered into a second Sales Agreement with Cowen, which has subsequently expired, relating to the sale of additional shares of our Class A common stock to be offered. In accordance with the terms of the second Sales Agreement, we could offer and sell from time to time up to $75,000,000 of shares of our Class A common stock through Cowen acting as our agent. Cowen was not required to sell any specific amount of securities, but will act as our sales agent using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between Cowen and us. The compensation to Cowen for sales of Class A common stock sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement was an amount equal to 3% of the gross proceeds of any shares of Class A common stock sold under the Sales Agreement. From August 21, 2019 through December 31, 2019, we sold through Cowen 448,880 shares of our Class A common stock under the second “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $9,450,789 and net proceeds of $9,122,227, after offering costs of $328,562. During fiscal year 2020, we sold through Cowen 40,455 shares of our Class A common stock under the second “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $669,751 and net proceeds of $649,659, after offering costs of $20,092. We have provided Cowen with customary indemnification and contribution rights under each Sales Agreement. In connection with sales of Class A common stock on our behalf, Cowen is deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation paid to Cowen is deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts.
On May 28, 2020, we entered into the underwriting agreement with Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Cowen as joint lead book-running managers for a public offering of 3,200,000 shares of our Class A common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share. Under the terms of the underwriting agreement, we granted the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days, to purchase up to an additional 480,000 shares of Class A common stock at the public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions. Adam Peterson and Alex Rozek, our Co-Chairmen, together with another member of our board of directors and another employee, purchased, directly or through their affiliates, an aggregate of 39,375 shares of Class A common stock in the offering at the public offering price. On June 2, 2020, we announced the completion of the public offering for a total of 3,680,000 shares, resulting in total gross proceeds to us of $58,880,000. We raised this capital to fund the planned expansion of our fiber-to-the-home broadband business, to seek to grow our Link billboard business through the acquisitions of additional billboard businesses, and for general corporate purposes. The shares were sold in the offering pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) that was declared effective on February 9, 2018, as supplemented by a prospectus supplement dated May 28, 2020.
Borrowing of money. On August 12, 2019, Link Media Holdings, Inc., (“Link”), our wholly owned subsidiary, which owns and operates our billboard businesses, entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with First National Bank of Omaha (the “Lender”) under which Link could borrow up to $40,000,000 (the “Credit Facility”). The Credit Agreement provides for an initial term loan (“Term Loan 1”), an incremental term loan (“Term Loan 2”) and a revolving line of credit. These loans are secured by all assets of Link and its operating subsidiaries, including a pledge of equity interests of each of Link’s subsidiaries. In addition, each of Link’s subsidiaries has joined as a guarantor to the obligations under the Credit Agreement. These loans are not guaranteed by us or any of our non-billboard businesses.
As of December 31, 2020, Link borrowed $18,060,000 through Term Loan 1 and $5,500,000 through Term Loan 2 under the Credit Facility. Principal amounts under each of Term Loan 1 and Term Loan 2 are payable in monthly installments according to a 15-year amortization schedule. These principal payments commenced on July 1, 2020 for Term Loan 1 and on October 1, 2020 for Term Loan 2. Both term loans are payable in full on August 12, 2026. Term Loan 1 and Term Loan 2 have fixed interest rates of 4.25% and 3.375%, respectively, per annum.
The revolving line of credit loan facility has a $5,000,000 maximum availability. Interest payments are based on the 30-day LIBOR rate plus an applicable margin ranging between 2.00 and 2.50% dependent on Link’s consolidated leverage ratio. The revolving line of credit is due and payable on August 11, 2021.
Long-term debt included within our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 consists of Term Loan 1 and Term Loan 2 borrowings of $23,057,650, of which $1,282,504 is classified as current. There were no amounts outstanding related to the revolving line of credit as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.
During the term of the Credit Facility, Link is required to comply with the following financial covenants: A consolidated leverage ratio for any test period ending on the last day of any fiscal quarter of Link (a) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2019 of not greater than 3.50 to 1.00, (b) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2020 of not greater than 3.25 to 1.00, and (c) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2021 and thereafter, of not greater than 3.00 to 1.0; minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.15 to 1.00 measured quarterly, based on rolling four quarters, with testing to commence as of December 31, 2019 based on the December 31, 2019 audited financial statements. The Company was in compliance with these covenants as of December 31, 2020.
The Credit Agreement includes representations and warranties, reporting covenants, affirmative covenants, negative covenants, financial covenants and events of default customary for financings of this type. Upon the occurrence of an event of default the Lender may accelerate the loans. Upon the occurrence of certain insolvency and bankruptcy events of default the loans will automatically accelerate.
As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $44 million in unrestricted cash and $38 million short-term treasury securities. We also expect to continue to sell additional shares of our Class A common stock in the “at the market” offering if we deem the pricing attractive relative to our potential uses of capital. We currently expect that our current cash will be sufficient to fund existing operations for at least the next 12 months. Depending on the amount of significant acquisitions and investments we make, we may need to raise additional financing to make additional acquisitions and/or investments and expect to file a new shelf registration statement.
We may in the future use a number of different sources to finance our acquisitions and operations, including cash flows from operations, seller financing, private financings (such as bank credit facilities, which may or may not be secured by our assets), additional common or preferred equity issuances or any combination of these sources, to the extent available to us, or other sources that may become available from time to time, which could include asset sales and issuance of debt securities. Any debt that we incur may be recourse or non-recourse and may be secured or unsecured. We also may take advantage of joint venture or other partnering opportunities as such opportunities arise in order to acquire properties that would otherwise be unavailable to us.
We may use the proceeds of any future borrowings to acquire assets or for general corporate purposes. We expect to use leverage on terms we find attractive, assessing the appropriateness of new equity or debt capital based on market conditions, including assumptions regarding future cash flow, the creditworthiness of customers and future rental rates. Our certificate of incorporation, which, as amended from time to time, we refer to as our “certificate of incorporation” and bylaws, which, as amended from time to time, we refer to as our “bylaws,” do not limit the amount of debt that we may incur. Our Board of Directors has not adopted a policy limiting the total amount of debt that we may incur. Our Board of Directors will consider a number of factors in evaluating the amount of debt that we may incur. If we adopt a debt policy, our Board of Directors may from time to time modify such policy in light of then-current economic conditions, relative costs of debt and equity capital, market values of our properties, general conditions in the market for debt and equity securities, fluctuations in the market price of our common stock if then trading on any exchange, growth and acquisition opportunities and other factors. Our decision to use leverage in the future to finance our assets will be at our discretion and will not be subject to the approval of our stockholders, and we are not restricted by our governing documents or otherwise in the amount of leverage that we may use.
Purchase and sale (or turnover) of acquired businesses. We do not currently intend to dispose of any of our properties in the near future as our strategy is to acquire assets which have the potential to generate significant cash flow over an extended period of time. However, we reserve the right to do so if, based upon management’s periodic review of our portfolio, our Board of Directors determines that such action would be in our best interest.
Offering of securities in exchange for property. We may in the future issue shares of common stock in connection with acquisitions of other businesses. For issuances of shares in connection with acquisitions, our Board of Directors will determine the timing and size of the issuances. Our Board of Directors intends to use its reasonable business judgment to fulfill its fiduciary obligations to our then existing stockholders in connection with any such issuance, including its determination of whether the issuance is accretive to intrinsic value. Nonetheless, future issuances of additional shares could cause immediate and substantial dilution to the net tangible book value of shares of our Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately before such transaction. In addition, we may have sellers rollover a portion of their equity holdings into an equity holding in the newly acquired business. In those situations, we may provide the seller with an option to put its holding to us and similarly, we may have an option to purchase the rollover equity stake. Any future decrease in the net tangible book value of such issued and outstanding shares could materially and adversely affect the market value of shares of our Class A common stock
Available Information
You can find more information about us at our Internet website located at www.bostonomaha.com. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to, the SEC. The contents of our website are not deemed to be part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any of our other filings with the SEC.
We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and other information with the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website that contains these reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is https://www.sec.gov.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
An investment in shares of our common stock is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider all of the risks discussed below, as well as the other information contained in this Annual Report. If any of the following risks or uncertainties actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and prospects could be materially adversely affected. Additional risks or uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we deem immaterial, may also have a material adverse effect on our business financial condition, results of operations or prospects. We cannot assure you that any of the events discussed in the risk factors below will not occur. In that case, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline and you may lose all or a part of your investment.
Risks Related to the Company and Our Business
We have incurred losses from operations since inception and we anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future.
We have incurred losses from operations in each year since our formation in 2009. Our net loss from operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $4.0 million and $12.4 million, respectively. We have funded our operations to date principally from the sale of securities. In addition, as we acquire other businesses, we incur ongoing depreciation and amortization charges, which are typically spread over a number of years, as well as the costs of completing such acquisitions, which are expensed as incurred. In the three fiscal years ending December 31, 2020, we spent over $190 million on acquisitions which will generate significant depreciation and amortization charges. For these reasons, we may continue to incur significant losses. These losses, among other things, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital and we cannot assure you that we will be able to be successful in implementing our business strategy.
Our failure to successfully identify and complete future acquisitions of assets or businesses could reduce future potential earnings, reduce available cash and slow our anticipated growth.
The acquisition of assets or businesses that we believe to be valuable to our business is an important component to our business strategy. Our experience in acquiring companies has been relatively limited to date. We believe that a wide variety of acquisition opportunities may arise from time to time, and that any such acquisition could be significant. At any given time, discussions with one or more potential sellers may be at different stages, including negotiations following the execution of nonbinding letters of intent. However, any such discussions, including the execution of nonbinding letters of intent, may not result in the consummation of an acquisition transaction, and we may not be able to identify or complete any acquisitions. The costs and benefits of future acquisitions are uncertain. In addition, the market and industry reception to our acquisitions, or lack thereof, may not be positive, and is out of our control. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that any announcement or consummation of an acquisition would have on the trading price of our Class A common stock. If we identify appropriate acquisition targets, we may be unable to acquire businesses on terms that we consider acceptable due to a variety of factors, including competition from other strategic buyers or financial buyers, some of which may have more experience or more access to capital than we do.
Our business is capital intensive and any such transactions could involve the payment by us of a substantial amount of cash. We may need to raise additional capital through public or private debt or equity financings to execute our growth strategy and to fund acquisitions. Adequate sources of capital may not be available when needed on acceptable terms, or at all. If we raise additional capital by issuing additional equity securities, existing stockholders may be diluted. Acquisitions could also result in us incurring additional debt and contingent liabilities and fluctuations in quarterly results and expenses. If our capital resources are insufficient at any time in the future, we may be unable to fund acquisitions, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could harm our business.
Any future acquisitions could present a number of risks, including but not limited to the risk of using management time and resources to pursue acquisitions that are not successfully completed, the risk of incorrect assumptions regarding future results of acquired operations, and the risk of diversion of management’s attention from existing operations or other priorities. Future acquisitions can also be expected to generate additional depreciation and amortization charges which may contribute to losses. Acquisitions may never meet our expectations.
If we are unsuccessful in identifying and completing acquisitions of other operations or assets, our financial condition could be adversely affected and we may be unable to implement an important component of our business strategy successfully.
We may have difficulty integrating the operations of companies or businesses that we may acquire and may incur substantial costs in connection therewith.
A significant component of our growth strategy is the acquisition of other operations. The process of integrating the operations of an acquired company may create unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. The key areas where we may face risks and uncertainties include:
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disruption of ongoing business, diversion of resources and of management time and focus from operating our business to acquisitions and integration challenges;
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our ability to achieve anticipated benefits of acquisitions by successfully marketing the service offerings of acquired businesses to our existing partners and customers, or by successfully marketing our existing service offerings to customers and partners of acquired businesses;
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the negative impact of acquisitions on our results of operations as a result of large one-time charges, substantial debt or liabilities acquired or incurred, litigation, amortization or write down of amounts related to deferred compensation, goodwill and other intangible assets, or adverse tax consequences, substantial depreciation or deferred compensation charges;
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the inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset acquisition costs;
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the need to ensure that we comply with all regulatory requirements in connection with and following the completion of acquisitions;
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the possibility of acquiring unknown or unanticipated contingencies or liabilities;
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retaining employees and clients and otherwise preserving the value of the assets of the businesses we acquire;
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the need to integrate each acquired business’s accounting, information technology, human resource and other administrative systems to permit effective management; and
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the need to implement or remediate appropriate controls, procedures and policies at companies that, prior to the acquisition, lacked these controls, procedures and policies.
In order to achieve the growth we seek, we may acquire numerous smaller market participants, which could require significant attention from management and increase risks, costs and uncertainties associated with integration. The businesses and other assets we acquire in the future may not achieve sufficient revenue or profitability to justify our investment, and any difficulties we may encounter in the integration process could interfere with our operations and reduce operating margins. We may need to make substantial capital and operating expenditures which may negatively impact our results in the near term, and the acquisitions may never meet our expectations.
Our investment in Yellowstone could be lost if we are unable to consummate a business acquisition by January 25, 2022 or if any business combination proves unsuccessful.
In 2020, we acted as the sponsor for the initial public offering of Yellowstone, a SPAC. We purchased Yellowstone Class B common stock and private placement warrants at a cost of approximately $7.8 million. Under the terms of the Yellowstone IPO, we are required to consummate a business combination by January 25, 2022. If we are unsuccessful in consummating a business combination by that date, we would likely lose our entire investment. If we do consummate a business combination by January 25, 2022, our Class B common stock remains subject to a lockup of at least 150 days following the completion of the business combination and there can be no assurance that any completed business combination will be successful.
Some members of our senior management team have limited experience in the day-to-day operations of the industries in which our businesses operate.
Some members of our senior management team have been involved in the day-to-day operation of companies in the outdoor billboard and insurance industries for only five to six years and in the fiber to the home business for only one year. In addition, we may have limited or no operational experience in other industries and markets which we may choose to enter. Our management team relies on the knowledge and talent of the employees in our operating subsidiaries to successfully operate these businesses on a day-to-day basis. We may not be able to retain, hire or train personnel as quickly or efficiently as we need or on terms that are acceptable to us. An inability to efficiently operate our businesses would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Increased operating expenses associated with the expansion of our business may negatively impact our operating income.
Increased operating expenses associated with any expansion of our business may negatively impact our income as we, among other things:
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seek to acquire related businesses or expand the products being offered;
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expand geographically;
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make significant capital expenditures to support our ability to provide services in our existing businesses;
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incur significant depreciation and amortization charges in connection with acquired businesses; and
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incur increased general and administrative expenses as we grow.
As a result of these factors, we may not achieve, sustain or increase our profitability on an ongoing basis.
We could suffer losses due to asset impairment charges for goodwill and other intangible assets.
We annually test goodwill for impairment, and did so as of October 1, 2020. Based on our review at October 1, 2020, no impairment charge was required. We continue to assess whether factors or indicators become apparent that would require an interim impairment test between our annual impairment test dates. For example, if our market capitalization is below our equity book value for a period of time without recovery, we believe there is a strong presumption that would indicate a triggering event has occurred and it is more likely than not that the fair value of one or more of our reporting units are below their carrying amount. This would require us to test the reporting units for impairment of goodwill. If this presumption cannot be overcome a reporting unit could be impaired under ASC 350, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets and a non-cash charge would be required. Any such charge could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.
We may raise additional equity capital through additional public or private placements, any of which could substantially dilute your investment.
We may need significant additional capital in the future to continue our planned acquisitions. No assurance can be given that we will be able to obtain such funds upon favorable terms and conditions, if at all. Failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience substantial dilution. We may sell Class A common stock, convertible securities or other equity or convertible securities in one or more transactions that may include voting rights (including the right to vote as a series on particular matters), preferences as to dividends and liquidation, antidilution, and conversion and redemption rights, subject to applicable law, and at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time.
Such issuances and the exercise of any convertible securities will dilute the percentage ownership of our stockholders, and may affect the value of our capital stock and could adversely affect the rights of the holders of such stock, thereby reducing the value of such stock. Moreover, any exercise of convertible securities may adversely affect the terms upon which we will be able to obtain additional equity capital, since the holders of such convertible securities can be expected to exercise them at a time when we would, in all likelihood, not be able to obtain any needed capital on terms more favorable to us than those provided in such convertible securities.
We may also raise additional capital pursuant to future shelf registration statements or additional public or private placements based on our capital needs. If we sell shares or other equity securities in one or more other transactions, or issue stock or stock options pursuant to any future employee equity incentive plan, investors may be materially diluted by such subsequent issuances.
Our investments in publicly traded securities involve a substantial degree of risk.
In addition to our investments in privately-held companies, we may purchase publicly traded common stock and other equity securities, including warrants and corporate bonds. Although equity securities have historically generated higher average total returns than fixed-income securities over the long term, equity securities have also generally experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. The publicly traded securities we acquire may fail to appreciate and may decline in value or become worthless. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including the risk of further dilution as a result of additional issuances, inability to access additional capital and failure to pay current distributions. Investments in preferred securities and corporate bonds involve special risks, such as the risk of deferred distributions, credit risk, illiquidity, changes in value based upon interest rates changes and other macroeconomic factors and limited voting rights. At December 31, 2020, we held approximately $64 million in investments in publicly traded securities. On January 25, 2021, DFH completed its initial public offering and our $10 million investment in DFH common units was converted into 4,681,099 shares of Class A common stock of DFH and one of our subsidiaries purchased an additional 120,000 shares of DFH Class A common stock at $13.00 per share in the initial public offering. The shares acquired from our 2017 investment in DFH are subject to a lockup which expires on July 19, 2021 and, due to our ownership of more than 10% of the Class A common stock of DFH, we are subject to volume trading limitations imposed by Rule 144 under the Securities Act, which can limit the number of shares of DFH Class A common stock we can sell in any 90-day period, which limitation will remain in place until such time as we are no longer deemed to own 10% or more of the Class A common stock of DFH. At March 26, 2021, our total investment in DFH, based on its closing price on such date, was valued at over $111 million. Any decrease in the value of DFH common stock before we can liquidate our holdings in DFH could materially adversely impact our operating results and our stockholders’ equity.
We run the risk of inadvertently being deemed to be an investment company that is required to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
We run the risk of inadvertently being deemed to be an investment company that is required to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”) because a significant portion of our assets consists of investments in companies in which we own less than a majority interest. The risk varies depending on events beyond our control, such as significant appreciation or depreciation in the market value of certain of our publicly traded holdings, adverse developments with respect to our ownership of certain of our subsidiaries, and transactions involving the sale of certain assets. If we are deemed to be an inadvertent investment company, we may seek to rely on a safe-harbor under the Investment Company Act that would provide us a one-year grace period to take steps to avoid being deemed to be an investment company. In order to ensure we avoid being deemed an investment company, we have taken, and may need to continue to take, steps to reduce the percentage of our assets that constitute investment assets under the Investment Company Act. These steps have included, among others, selling marketable securities that we might otherwise hold for the long-term and deploying our cash in non-investment assets. We have recently sold marketable securities, including at times at a loss, and we may be forced to sell our investment assets at unattractive prices or to sell assets that we otherwise believe benefit our business in the future to remain below the requisite threshold. We may also seek to acquire additional non-investment assets to maintain compliance with the Investment Company Act, and we may need to incur debt, issue additional equity or enter into other financing arrangements that are not otherwise attractive to our business. Any of these actions could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, we can make no assurance that we would successfully be able to take the necessary steps to avoid being deemed to be an investment company in accordance with the safe-harbor. If we were unsuccessful, then we would have to register as an investment company, and we would be unable to operate our business in its current form. We would be subject to extensive, restrictive, and potentially adverse statutory provisions and regulations relating to, among other things, operating methods, management, capital structure, indebtedness, dividends, and transactions with affiliates. If we were deemed to be an investment company and did not register as an investment company when required to do so, there would be a risk, among other material adverse consequences, that we could become subject to monetary penalties or injunctive relief, or both, that we would be unable to enforce contracts with third parties, and/or that third parties could seek to obtain rescission of transactions with us undertaken during the period in which we were an unregistered investment company.
The existing and future indebtedness incurred by our billboard business may adversely affect our ability to obtain additional funds and may increase our vulnerability to economic or business downturns. Failure to comply with the terms of this indebtedness could result in a default by our billboard business that could have material adverse consequences for us.
Link, which operates our billboard businesses, entered into a credit agreement in August 2019 with a commercial bank which provides Link and its subsidiaries the opportunity to borrow up to $40 million in principal through a combination of long-term debt and a line of credit. Link's current borrowings under the bank credit facility as of December 31, 2020 totaled $23,057,650, all of which represents a term loan. In addition, Link may incur additional indebtedness in the future. Accordingly, Link is subject to the risks associated with significant indebtedness, including:
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Link must dedicate a portion of its cash flows from operations to pay principal and interest and, as a result, it may have less funds available for operations and other purposes;
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Link may find it more difficult and expensive to obtain additional funds through financings, if available at all;
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Link is more vulnerable to economic downturns, less able to withstand competitive pressures and less flexible in reacting to changes in the billboard industry and general economic conditions;
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if Link defaults under the credit facility, including failing to pay the outstanding principal when due, and if the lender demands payment of a portion or all of the indebtedness, it may not have sufficient funds to make such payments;
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if Link is unable to refinance indebtedness on its properties at maturity due to business and market factors, including: disruptions in the capital and credit markets; the estimated cash flows of Link's properties and other assets; the value of Link's properties and other assets; and financial, competitive, business and other factors, including factors beyond Link's control;
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if refinanced, the terms of a refinancing may not be as favorable as the original terms of the related indebtedness; and
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if Link borrows any sums under the line of credit, the interest rate it pays on such debt will be subject to changes in interest rates.
The occurrence of any of these events could materially adversely affect Link, which would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and adversely affect our stock price.
Furthermore, a failure to comply with the obligations contained in the loan agreements governing Link's indebtedness could result in an event of default under such agreements which could result in an acceleration of debt under other instruments evidencing indebtedness that contains cross-acceleration or cross-default provisions. If Link's indebtedness were to be accelerated, there can be no assurance that its future cash flow or assets would be sufficient to repay in full such indebtedness.
We may in the future rely in part on Link to provide us with the funds necessary to make distributions to us to meet our financial obligations. The leverage on Link's assets may affect the funds available to us if the terms of the debt impose restrictions on the ability of Link to make distributions to us. In addition, Link will generally have to service its debt obligations before making distributions to us or any of our other subsidiaries and any such distributions may require the consent of the lender. Leverage may also result in a requirement for liquidity, which may force the sale of assets at times of low demand and/or prices for such assets.
We may also incur indebtedness under future credit facilities.
If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness on acceptable terms, or at all, we may need to dispose of one or more of our properties or other assets under disadvantageous terms. In addition, prevailing interest rates or other factors at the time of refinancing could increase our interest expense, and if we grant a security interest in any of our properties, or the properties of our subsidiaries to secure payment of indebtedness and are unable to make loan payments, the lender could foreclose upon such property.
Restrictive covenants in Link's indebtedness may limit management’s discretion with respect to certain business matters.
Instruments governing Link's indebtedness contain restrictive covenants limiting Link's discretion with respect to certain business matters. These covenants could place significant restrictions on, among other things, Link's ability to create liens or other encumbrances, to make distributions to us or make certain other payments, investments, loans and guarantees and to sell or otherwise dispose of assets and merge or consolidate with another entity. Covenants also require Link to meet certain financial ratios and financial condition tests. A failure to comply with any such covenants could result in a default which, if not cured or waived, could permit acceleration of the relevant indebtedness.
If we are unable to manage our interest rate risk effectively, our cash flows and operating results may suffer.
Advances under Link's $5 million revolving line of credit bear interest at a variable rate. Although we have not currently borrowed any sums under this line of credit, and this line of credit is currently set to expire in August 2021, we may incur indebtedness under this line of credit in the future. Also, we may be required to refinance our debt at higher rates. Accordingly, increases in interest rates above that which we anticipate based upon historical trends would adversely affect our cash flows and we may not be able to hedge such exposure effectively, if at all.
We may raise additional capital pursuant to debt financing, and such debt financing arrangements may contain covenants, which, if not complied with, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Other than the bank borrowings to Link, to date we have not had a significant debt financing. However, as our operations grow and we achieve certain levels of revenue and cash flows, we may consider utilizing debt to finance additional acquisitions and our operations. Subject to market conditions and availability, we, or our subsidiaries, may incur significant debt through credit facilities (including term loans and/or revolving facilities), structured financing arrangements, public and private debt issuances or otherwise. Future debt financing arrangements may contain various covenants, including restrictive covenants, which, if not complied with, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to meet our debt obligations and our overall financial condition. Additionally, debt financing arrangements may be at the subsidiary level, but could include a guaranty by us, and could require a pledge of all or substantially all of our, and/or our subsidiaries’, assets.
The amount of leverage we use will vary depending on our available acquisition investment opportunities, our available capital, our ability to obtain and access financing arrangements with lenders, and the lenders’ and our estimates of the stability of our operating cash flows. Our governing documents contain no limit on the amount of debt we may incur, and we may significantly increase the amount of leverage we utilize at any time without approval of our shareholders. The amount of leverage on individual assets may vary, with leverage on some assets substantially higher than others, including at the subsidiary level. Leverage can enhance our potential returns but can also exacerbate our losses.
Incurring additional substantial debt could subject us to many risks that, if realized, would materially and adversely affect us, including the risk that:
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our cash flow from operations may be insufficient to make required payments of principal and interest on the debt or we may fail to comply with covenants contained in our debt instruments, which would likely result in (a) acceleration of such debt (and any other debt arrangements containing a cross default or cross acceleration provision) that we may be unable to repay from internal funds, unable to refinance on favorable terms, or unable to repay at all, (b) our inability to borrow additional amounts under other facilities, even if we are current in payments on borrowings under those arrangements and/or (c) the loss of some or all of our assets to foreclosures or forced sales;
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our debt may increase our vulnerability to adverse economic, market and industry conditions;
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we may be required to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our debt, thereby reducing funds available for operations, future business opportunities, distributions to our shareholders or other purposes; and
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we may not be able to refinance maturing debts.
We cannot be sure that our leverage strategies will be successful.
We may be unable to access capital.
Our access to capital depends on a number of factors, some of which we have little or no control over, including:
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general economic, market or industry conditions;
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the market’s view of the quality of our assets;
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the market’s perception of our growth potential;
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our current and potential future earnings and distributions to our shareholders; and
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the value of our securities.
We may have to rely on additional equity issuances, which may be dilutive to our shareholders, or on costly debt financings that require a large portion of our cash flow from operations, thereby reducing funds available for our operations, future business opportunities, distributions to our shareholders or other purposes. We cannot be sure that we will have access to such equity or debt capital on favorable terms at the desired times, or at all, which could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We face intense competition, including competition from companies with significantly greater resources than us, and if we are unable to compete effectively with these companies, our market share may decline and our business could be harmed.
Outdoor Billboard Advertising. The outdoor billboard industry is highly competitive. There is a concentration in the ownership of billboards in the geographic markets in which we compete and significantly larger companies, such as Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., Outfront Media, Inc. and Lamar Advertising Company, own the majority of the out-of-home advertising billboards. Such competition may make it difficult to maintain or increase our current advertising revenues. In addition to competing for advertising revenue with other outdoor advertising businesses, the outdoor advertising market faces competition from other media, including radio, internet based services, print media, television, direct mail, satellite services and other mobile devices. Our competitors may develop technology, services or advertising media that are equal or superior to those we provide or that achieve greater market acceptance and brand recognition than we achieve. Also, new competitors may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share in any of our business segments. Also, increased competition for advertising dollars may lead to lower advertising rates if we are to retain customers or may cause us to lose customers to our competitors who offer lower rates that we are unable or unwilling to match.
Insurance Operations. Our insurance business operates in an environment that is highly competitive and very fragmented. We will likely compete with other global insurance and reinsurance providers, including but not limited to Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Zurich Insurance Group, Lloyds and CNA Insurance Group, as well as numerous specialist, regional and local firms in almost every area of our surety business. Further, new competitors may regularly enter the market. In 2019 and 2020, we derived a substantial portion of our surety insurance revenues from the sale of apartment and commercial lease rental guarantee bonds. We have generally stopped issuing these bonds due to the current rental environment and other companies may seek to enter that market. In addition to UCS, we also operate several surety insurance brokerage firms, and the surety insurance brokerage industry has relatively low barriers to entry. We may experience significant competition and our competitors may have greater financial, marketing and human resources than us.
Broadband Services. Our broadband services compete with other technologies, including traditional cable services as well as satellite services. These markets are highly competitive, and many traditional providers of cable and wireless services have greater financial, marketing and human resources than us and may be able to offer additional products and services to our customers. In addition, new technologies may be developed which would provide an alternative to our fiber to the home services we currently provide. As we seek to expand our broadband services, we may face incumbent service providers which would be able to retain a significant customer base in the communities in which we may seek to enter, making it difficult to achieve a share of the market needed to provide our services profitably.
Any additional industries or markets that we may enter through future acquisitions will also likely be occupied by established competitors. Many of our current competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, product development and human resources than we do. Accordingly, even if there is a large market for our products and services in the industries in which we compete, there can be no assurance that our products and services will be purchased by consumers at a rate sufficient for us to achieve our growth objectives.
Our management recognizes that we will, therefore, be forced to compete primarily on the basis of price, location, performance, service, and other factors. Our management believes that our ability to achieve sustained profitability will depend primarily on our ability to consummate acquisitions of assets and businesses in competitive markets, skillfully allocate capital, and establish competitive advantages in each of our businesses. This approach requires that our management perform at a high level and is fraught with risks, many of which are beyond our control or ability to foresee.
Adverse economic conditions could negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Our results of operations are sensitive to changes in overall economic conditions that impact consumer and commercial spending, including discretionary spending and the financial impact to consumers and businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Future economic conditions such as employment levels, business conditions, interest rates and tax rates could reduce our revenues. A general reduction in the level of business activity could adversely affect our financial condition and/or results of operations. For example, in particular, adverse economic conditions, either regionally or nationally, may result in reduced advertising expenditures that could adversely affect our billboard segment of operations. Adverse economic conditions may result in fewer surety transactions and adversely affect our insurance segment of operations. Adverse economic conditions may also affect our investments in homebuilding, auto lending, and commercial real estate management and services.
The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has impacted and may materially adversely impact and cause disruption to, and any future outbreak of any other highly infectious or contagious diseases may materially adversely impact and cause disruption to, our business, financial performance and condition, operating results and cash flows. Further, the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has caused severe disruptions in the U.S. and global economy and financial markets and could potentially create widespread business continuity issues of an as yet unknown magnitude and duration.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 has since spread globally, including to every state in the United States. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and on March 13, 2020, the United States declared a national emergency with respect to COVID-19.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has severely impacted global economic activity and caused significant volatility and negative pressure in financial markets. The global impact of the outbreak has been rapidly evolving and many countries, including the United States, have reacted by instituting a wide variety of control measures, including states of emergency, mandatory quarantines, required business and school closures, implementing "shelter in place" orders and restricting travel. Many experts predict that the outbreak will trigger a period of material global economic slowdown or a global recession.
COVID-19 disrupted certain portions of our business in 2020 and may have had a material adverse effect on certain of our investments in other businesses, and may continue to materially adversely impact and cause disruption to our business, financial performance and condition, operating results and cash flows. Factors that would negatively impact our ability to successfully operate during COVID-19 or another pandemic include:
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Revenues from our three business lines may be materially impacted due to lessened demand for billboards, surety insurance and internet delivery to homes and businesses;
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We have suspended issuance of certain surety bonds, particularly bonds guaranteeing rental payments by both consumers and private businesses, which is expected to significantly reduce our revenues at UCS in the near term as revenues from our rental guarantee bond program accounted for $5,536,165 of UCS revenues in fiscal 2020. We anticipate that claims by landlords due to defaults by tenants will materially increase and we have increased our loss reserves in our UCS business from $1,203,493 at December 31, 2019 to $2,492,334 at December 31, 2020;
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The market value of our investments in publicly held securities of approximately $64 million at December 31, 2020 and the value of our equity stake in DFH, which consummated its initial public offering in January 2021, could drop significantly;
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Revenues and operating income of our minority ownership investments in commercial real estate services, homebuilding and consumer auto loan businesses may drop due to the impact of the pandemic on these businesses, resulting in a decrease in the value of our investments in these companies;
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Certain accounts receivable in our business may be more difficult to collect during the pandemic and following the commencement of business operations when our customers are allowed to reopen if businesses and consumers are unable to pay sums due to us;
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The continued service and availability of personnel, including our executive officers and other leaders that are part of our management team and our ability to recruit, attract and retain skilled personnel to the extent our management or personnel may be impacted in significant numbers or in other significant ways by the outbreak of pandemic or epidemic disease and may not be available or allowed to conduct work;
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Our ability to ensure business continuity may be adversely affected in the event our continuity of operations plan is not effective or improperly implemented or deployed during a disruption; and
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We may experience difficulty accessing debt and equity capital on attractive terms, or at all, and a severe disruption and instability in the global financial markets or deteriorations in credit and financing conditions may affect our access to capital necessary to fund business operations, delay or prevent future acquisitions or adversely affect our ability to address maturing liabilities.
The outbreak of COVID-19 may have materially negatively impacted, and may continue to materially negatively impact our business, financial performance and condition, operating results and cash flows. However, the significance, extent and duration of such impact remain largely uncertain and dependent on future developments that cannot be accurately predicted at this time, such as the continued severity, duration, transmission rate and geographic spread of COVID-19 in the United States and other regions in which we operate, the extent and effectiveness of the containment measures taken, and the response of the overall economy, the financial markets and the population, particularly in areas in which we operate, once the current containment measures are lifted.
The rapid development and fluidity of this situation precludes any prediction as to the ultimate adverse impact of COVID-19. As a result, we cannot provide an estimate of the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. Nevertheless, COVID-19 presents material uncertainty and risk with respect to our business, financial performance and condition, operating results and cash flows.
Climate change, severe weather, natural disasters, and other external events could significantly impact our business.
Severe weather events cannot be predicted and may be exacerbated by global climate change, natural disasters, including hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes, acts of terrorism and other adverse external events. There is continuing uncertainty over what impact these events could have on our surety insurance bond business if claims are made against these bonds due to our customers inability to meet their contractual obligations due to delays caused by any serious health or other natural disaster. Significant storm damage may impact our transmission capabilities for our broadband services and significant damage could result in a loss of service for an extended period of time. Severe weather and natural disasters could affect travel and transportation which could impact the manner of advertising consumption, and severe weather and natural disasters could impact the structural integrity of our billboards. The occurrence of any such event could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The insurance we maintain against disasters may not be adequate to cover our losses in any particular case, which could require us to expend significant resources to replace any destroyed assets and materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and business prospects.
We may be unable to employ a sufficient number of key employees and other experienced or qualified workers.
The delivery of our services and products requires sales professionals and other personnel with substantial work experience in our lines of business. Workers may choose to pursue employment with our competitors or in fields that offer a more desirable work environment. Our ability to be productive and profitable will depend upon our ability to employ and retain workers with certain backgrounds and experience, such as experienced sales professionals and workers with substantial experience with insurance underwriting and risk and financial analysis. In addition, our ability to further expand our operations according to geographic demand for our services depends in part on our ability to relocate or increase the size of our qualified and experienced labor force. The demand for experienced workers in our areas of operations can be high, the supply may be limited and we may be unable to relocate our employees from areas of lower utilization to areas of higher demand. A significant increase in the wages paid by competing employers could result in a reduction of our workers with required experience, increases in the wage rates that we must pay, or both. Further, a significant decrease in the wages paid by us or our competitors as a result of reduced industry demand could result in a reduction of the available pool of qualified and experienced individuals, and there is no assurance that the availability of such qualified and experienced labor will improve following a subsequent increase in demand for our services or an increase in wage rates. If any of these events were to occur, our capacity and profitability could be diminished and our growth potential could be impaired.
We are heavily reliant upon our executive management team.
We depend heavily on the efforts and services of our executive officers and other members of our management team to manage our operations, including our Co-Chief Executive Officers and our Chief Financial Officer. The unexpected loss or unavailability of key members of management may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects. Although our Co-Chief Executive Officers devote most of their business time to us and are highly active in our management, they expend part of their time on other business ventures. Among other commitments, our Co-Chief Executive Officers are each managing members of separate investment management entities and are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our affairs. These two key employees may not be able to dedicate adequate time to our businesses and operations, and we could experience an adverse effect on our operations due to the demands placed on our management team by their other professional obligations. In addition, these key employees’ other responsibilities could cause conflicts of interest with us.
Our executive officers and directors may experience a conflict of interest between their duties to us and to affiliated parties.
Our Co-Chief Executive Officers, Adam K. Peterson and Alex B. Rozek, are each managing members of separate investment management entities that collectively own 42.1% of our Class A common stock and all of our Class B common stock. While we have deemed that the outside business endeavors of our management team do not currently constitute a conflict of interest, it is possible that a conflict of interest could arise between the performance of our executive management team and their roles as managing members of entities which together own a majority of our outstanding capital stock. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor. Such conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. Further, the appearance of conflicts of interest created by related party transactions could impair the confidence of our investors. We have the authority to engage various contracting parties, which may be affiliates of ours or of our directors. As such, our directors may have a conflict of interest between their fiduciary duties to manage the business for our benefit and our stockholders and their direct and indirect affiliates’ interests in establishing and maintaining relationships with us and in obtaining compensation for services rendered to us. With respect to such affiliates, there may be an absence of arms’ length negotiations with respect to the terms, conditions and consideration with respect to goods and services provided to or by us. As of December 31, 2020, we had minority investments totaling $655,784 in Logic, $53,494 in 24th Street Holding Co., $2,978,429 in 24th Street Fund I, $3,000,000 in 24th Street Fund II, and $4,401,801 in Yellowstone, a SPAC sponsored by our subsidiary BOC Yellowstone. Brendan J. Keating, who is one of our directors, is the Manager of both Logic and 24th Street Holding Co. Alex B. Rozek and Adam K. Peterson, both of whom are our directors, are also directors of Yellowstone.
Disruptions to our information technology systems could disrupt our business operations which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations, financial condition and/or cash flows.
The operation of our business depends on our information technology systems. We rely on our information technology systems to effectively manage, among other things, our business data, communications, supply chain, inventory management, customer order entry and order fulfillment, processing transactions, summarizing and reporting results of operations, human resources benefits and payroll management, compliance with regulatory, legal and tax requirements and other processes and data necessary to manage our business. Disruptions to our information technology systems, including any disruptions to our current systems and/or as a result of transitioning to additional or replacement information technology systems, as the case may be, could disrupt our business and could result in, among other things, transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, loss of data and the loss of sales and customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations, financial condition and/or cash flows. In addition, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including, without limitation, fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems disruptions, system conversions, security breaches, cyberattacks, phishing attacks, viruses and/or human error. In any such event, we could be required to make a significant investment to fix or replace our information technology systems, and we could experience interruptions in our ability to service our customers. These risks have been and may continue to be exacerbated as a result of remote working in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Any such damage or interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations, financial condition and/or cash flows.
In addition, as part of our normal business activities, we collect and store certain confidential information, including personal information with respect to customers, consumers and employees, and the success of our operations depends on the secure transmission of confidential and personal data over public networks, including the use of cashless payments. We may share some of this information with vendors who assist us with certain aspects of our business. Moreover, the success of our operations depends upon the secure transmission of confidential and personal data over public networks, including the use of cashless payments. Any failure on our part or our vendors to maintain the security of this confidential data and personal information, including via the penetration of our network security (or those if our vendors) and the misappropriation of confidential and personal information, could result in business disruption, damage to our reputation, financial obligations to third parties, fines, penalties, regulatory proceedings and private litigation, any or all of which could result in our incurring potentially substantial costs. Such events could also result in the deterioration of confidence in us by employees, consumers and customers and cause other competitive disadvantages. In addition, a security or data privacy breach could require us to expend significant additional resources to enhance our information security systems and could result in a disruption to our operations. Furthermore, third parties, such as our suppliers and retail consumers, may also rely on information technology and be subject to such cybersecurity breaches. These breaches may negatively impact their businesses, which could in turn disrupt our supply chain and/or our business operations. Due to the potential significant costs, business disruption and reputational damage that typically accompany a cyberattack or cybersecurity breach, any such event could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations, financial condition and/or cash flows.
Our information technology systems, or those of our third-party service providers, may be accessed by unauthorized users such as cyber criminals as a result of a disruption, cyberattack or other security breach. Cyberattacks and other cybersecurity incidents are occurring more frequently, are constantly evolving in nature, are becoming more sophisticated and are being made by groups and individuals with a wide range of expertise and motives. Such cyberattacks and cyber incidents can take many forms, including cyber extortion, social engineering, password theft or introduction of viruses or malware, such as ransomware through phishing emails. As techniques used by cyber criminals change frequently, a disruption, cyberattack or other security breach of our information technology systems or infrastructure, or those of our third-party service providers, may go undetected for an extended period and could result in the theft, transfer, unauthorized access to, disclosure, modification, misuse, loss or destruction of our, employee, representative, customer, vendor, consumer and/or other third-party data, including sensitive or confidential data and personal information. We cannot guarantee that our security efforts will prevent breaches or breakdowns of our or our third-party service providers’ information technology systems.
Changes in laws and regulations governing data privacy and data protection could have a material adverse impact on our business.
We are subject to data privacy laws and regulations that apply to the collection, transmission, storage and use of personally identifiable information, as well as numerous other countries’, federal and state privacy and breach notification laws. While we continue to assess and address the implications of existing and new regulations relating to data privacy, the evolving regulatory landscape presents a number of legal and operational challenges, and our efforts to comply may be unsuccessful. We may also face audits or investigations by one or more government agencies relating to our compliance with these regulations that could result in the imposition of penalties or fines, significant expenses in facilitating and responding to the investigations, and overall reputational harm or negative publicity. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, such laws, regulations and policies that are applicable to us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Governmental regulations could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and we may not be successful in maintaining authority to issue surety insurance through UCS.
Outdoor Billboard Advertising. Our billboard businesses are regulated by governmental authorities in the jurisdictions in which we operate. These regulations could limit our growth by putting constraints on the number, location and timing of billboards we wish to erect. New regulations and changes to existing regulations may also curtail our ability to expand our billboard business and adversely affect us by reducing our revenues or increasing our operating expenses. For example, settlements between major tobacco companies and all U.S. states and certain U.S. territories include a ban on the outdoor advertising of tobacco products. Alcohol products and other products may be future targets of advertising bans, and legislation, litigation or out-of-court settlements may result in the implementation of additional advertising restrictions that impact our business. Any significant reduction in alcohol-related advertising or the advertising of other products due to content-related restrictions could negatively impact our revenues generated from such businesses and cause an increase in the existing inventory of available outdoor billboard space throughout the industry.
Insurance Operations. We are subject to maintaining compliance within the highly regulated insurance industry as we continue our pursuit of opportunities in that market, including the maintenance of certain levels of operating capital and reserves. Generally, the extensive regulations are designed to benefit or protect policyholders, rather than our investors, or to reduce systemic financial risk. Failure to comply with these regulations could lead to disciplinary action, the imposition of penalties and the revocation of our authorization to operate in the insurance industry. Changes to the regulatory environment in the insurance industry may cause us to adjust our views or practices regarding regulatory risk management, and necessitate changes to our operations that may limit our growth or have an adverse impact on our business.
Broadband Services. The building and delivery of our broadband services is subject to regulation by both the FCC and county and local governments. Failure to comply with these regulations could lead to the imposition of fines and ultimately the revocation of our authorization to provide these services. As technology changes continue in this market, new regulations may impose additional regulatory burdens and costs that could have an adverse impact on our business.
In addition, certain of the other new markets and industries that we may choose to enter may be regulated by a variety of federal, state and local agencies. Similarly, our investments in other companies, including the home building and consumer auto lending markets, are highly regulated by federal and other governmental agencies.
We are subject to extensive insurance regulation, which may adversely affect our ability to achieve our business objectives. In addition, if we fail to comply with these regulations, we may be subject to penalties, including fines and suspensions, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our insurance subsidiary, UCS, is subject to extensive regulation in Nebraska, its state of domicile, and to a lesser degree, the other states in which it operates. Most insurance regulations are designed to protect the interests of insurance policyholders, as opposed to the interests of investors or stockholders. These regulations generally are administered by a department of insurance in each state and relate to, among other things, authorizations to write excess and surplus lines of business, capital and surplus requirements, investment and underwriting limitations, affiliate transactions, dividend limitations, changes in control, solvency and a variety of other financial and non-financial aspects of our business. Significant changes in these laws and regulations could further limit our discretion or make it more expensive to conduct our business. State insurance regulators also conduct periodic examinations of the affairs of insurance companies and require the filing of annual and other reports relating to financial condition, holding company issues and other matters. These regulatory requirements may impose timing and expense constraints that could adversely affect our ability to achieve some or all of our business objectives.
In addition, state insurance regulators have broad discretion to deny or revoke licenses for various reasons, including the violation of regulations. In some instances, where there is uncertainty as to applicability, we follow practices based on our interpretations of regulations or practices that we believe generally to be followed by the industry. These practices may turn out to be different from the interpretations of regulatory authorities. If we do not have the requisite licenses and approvals or do not comply with applicable regulatory requirements, state insurance regulators could preclude or temporarily suspend us from carrying on some or all of our activities or could otherwise penalize us. This could adversely affect our ability to operate our business. Further, changes in the level of regulation of the insurance industry or changes in laws or regulations themselves or interpretations by regulatory authorities could interfere with our operations and require us to bear additional costs of compliance, which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business.
The NAIC has adopted a system to test the adequacy of capital of insurance companies, known as “risk-based capital.” The risk-based capital formula establishes the minimum amount of capital necessary for a company to support its overall business operations. It identifies property and casualty insurers that may be inadequately capitalized by looking at three major areas: 1) Asset Risk; 2) Underwriting Risk; and 3) Other Risk. Insurers falling below a calculated threshold may be subject to varying degrees of regulatory action, including supervision, rehabilitation or liquidation. Failure to maintain our risk-based capital at the required levels could adversely affect the ability of our insurance subsidiary to maintain regulatory authority to conduct our business. Also, failure to maintain our U.S. Treasury Department listing or our A.M. Best A- (“Excellent”) rating would significantly impact our ability to operate effectively in the surety markets.
Because we are a holding company and a significant portion of our operations are conducted by our UCS insurance subsidiary, our ability to pay dividends may depend on our ability to obtain cash dividends or other permitted payments from our insurance subsidiary.
Because we are a holding company with no business operations of our own, our ability to pay dividends to stockholders will likely depend in significant part on dividends and other distributions from our subsidiaries, including our insurance subsidiary, UCS. State insurance laws, including the laws of Nebraska, restrict the ability of UCS to declare stockholder dividends. State insurance regulators require insurance companies to maintain specified levels of statutory capital and surplus. Consequently, dividend distribution is limited by Nebraska law. State insurance regulators have broad powers to prevent the reduction of statutory surplus to inadequate levels, and there is no assurance that dividends up to the maximum amounts calculated under any applicable formula would be permitted. Moreover, state insurance regulators that have jurisdiction over the payment of dividends by our insurance subsidiary may in the future adopt statutory provisions more restrictive than those currently in effect. UCS may only declare and pay dividends to us after all of UCS’s obligations and regulatory requirements with the Nebraska Department of Insurance have been satisfied.
The declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our Class A common stock will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on many factors.
We may be unable to obtain reinsurance coverage at reasonable prices or on terms that adequately protect us.
We use reinsurance to help manage our exposure to insurance risks. Reinsurance is a practice whereby one insurer, called the reinsurer, agrees to indemnify another insurer, called the ceding insurer, for all or part of the potential liability arising from one or more insurance policies issued by the ceding insurer. The availability and cost of reinsurance are subject to prevailing market conditions, both in terms of price and available capacity, which can affect our business volume and profitability. In addition, reinsurance programs are generally subject to renewal on an annual basis. We may not be able to obtain reinsurance in acceptable amounts and/or on acceptable terms from entities with satisfactory creditworthiness. If we are unable to obtain new reinsurance facilities or to renew expiring facilities, our net exposures would increase. In such event, if we are unwilling to bear an increase in our net exposure, we would have to reduce the level of our underwriting commitments, which would reduce our revenues.
Many reinsurance companies have begun to exclude certain coverages from, or alter terms in, the reinsurance contracts. For example, many reinsurance policies now exclude coverage of terrorism. As a result, we, like other direct insurance companies, write insurance policies which to some extent do not have the benefit of reinsurance protection. These gaps in reinsurance protection expose us to greater risk and greater potential losses.
The expansion of our UCS insurance business to a nationwide insurance company may create both short-term and long-term constraints on our UCS operations.
We have expanded our insurance operations nationwide and hope to continue to expand these operations, which may create additional burdens on our UCS personnel as we manage potentially significantly larger operations. As a result, we anticipate we will likely need to hire additional personnel to assist the current management team in our expanded surety insurance operations, and we may not be successful in identifying and hiring qualified personnel on a timely basis, if at all.
Our insurance employees could take excessive risks, which could negatively affect our financial condition and business.
As a business which anticipates it will derive a significant portion of its business from the sale of surety and other insurance products, we are in the business of binding certain risks. The employees who conduct our business, including executive officers and other members of management, underwriters, product managers and other employees, do so in part by making decisions and choices that involve exposing us to risk. These include decisions such as setting underwriting guidelines and standards, product design and pricing, determining which business opportunities to pursue and other decisions. We endeavor, in the design and implementation of our compensation programs and practices, to avoid giving our employees incentives to take excessive risks. However, employees may take such risks regardless of the structure of our compensation programs and practices. Similarly, although we employ controls and procedures designed to monitor employees’ business decisions and prevent them from taking excessive risks, these controls and procedures may not be effective. If our employees take excessive risks, the impact of those risks could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and business operations.
If actual insurance claims exceed our claims and claim adjustment expense reserves, or if changes in the estimated level of claims and claim adjustment expense reserves are necessary, our financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
As we grow our insurance operations, we will continue to establish loss and loss adjustment expense reserves. These reserves will not represent an exact calculation of liability, but instead will represent management estimates of what the ultimate settlement and administration of claims will cost, generally utilizing actuarial expertise and projection techniques, at a given accounting date. In particular, prior to 2017, UCS was writing business primarily in Massachusetts and has only been writing business outside of Massachusetts for a limited period of time. We do not currently have a long history of national underwriting experience and, as a result, rely on generally available industry data in establishing loss and loss adjustment expense reserves, and our estimates may be materially different from actual losses and adjustments incurred.
The process of estimating claims and claim adjustment expense reserves involves a high degree of judgment and is subject to a number of variables. These variables can be affected by both internal and external events, such as:
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changes in claims handling procedures
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adverse changes in loss cost trends
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economic conditions including general inflation
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legal trends and legislative changes
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limited claims experience in newer insurance products, and
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varying judgments and viewpoints of the individuals involved in the estimation process, among others.
The impact of many of these items on ultimate costs for claims and claim adjustment expenses will be difficult to estimate. We also expect that claims and claim adjustment expense reserve estimation difficulties will also differ significantly by product line due to differences in claim complexity, the volume of claims, the potential severity of individual claims, the determination of occurrence date for a claim and reporting lags (the time between the occurrence of the policyholder event and when it is actually reported to the insurer). In addition, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we suspended issuing surety bonds insuring landlords against rent payment defaults and established additional loss reserves to cover anticipated claims. The COVID-19 pandemic and other unforeseen events could result in insurance claims exceeding our loss and loss adjustment expense reserves.
The estimation of claims and claim adjustment expense reserves may also be more difficult during times of adverse or uncertain economic conditions due to unexpected changes in behavior of claimants and policyholders, including an increase in fraudulent reporting of exposures and/or losses, reduced maintenance of insured properties, increased frequency of small claims or delays in the reporting of claims.
We will attempt to consider all significant facts and circumstances known at the time claims and claim adjustment expense reserves are established or reviewed. Due to the inherent uncertainty underlying claims and claim adjustment expense reserve estimates, the final resolution of the estimated liability for claims and claim adjustment expenses will likely be higher or lower than the related claims and claim adjustment expense reserves at the reporting date. Therefore, actual paid losses in the future may yield a materially different amount than will be currently reserved.
Because of the uncertainties set forth above, additional liabilities resulting from an accumulation of insured events, may exceed the current related reserves. In addition, our estimate of claims and claim adjustment expenses may change. These additional liabilities or increases in estimates, or a range of either, cannot now be reasonably estimated and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and/or our financial position.
Our efforts to develop new insurance products or expand in targeted markets may not be successful and may create enhanced risks.
A number of our planned business initiatives in the insurance markets we intend to serve will involve developing new products or expanding existing products in targeted markets. This includes the following efforts, from time to time, to protect or grow market share:
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We may develop products that insure risks we have not previously insured, contain new coverage or coverage terms or contain different commission terms.
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We may refine our underwriting processes.
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We may seek to expand distribution channels.
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We may focus on geographic markets within or outside of the United States where we have had relatively little or no market share.
We may not be successful in introducing new products or expanding in targeted markets and, even if we are successful, these efforts may create enhanced risks. Among other risks:
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Demand for new products or in new markets may not meet our expectations.
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To the extent we are able to market new products or expand in new markets, our risk exposures may change, and the data and models we use to manage such exposures may not be as sophisticated or effective as those we use in existing markets or with existing products. This, in turn, could lead to losses in excess of our expectations.
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Models underlying underwriting and pricing decisions may not be effective.
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Efforts to develop new products or markets have the potential to create or increase distribution channel conflict.
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To develop new products or markets, we may need to make substantial capital and operating expenditures, which may also negatively impact results in the near term.
If our efforts to develop new products or expand in targeted markets are not successful, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Adverse economic factors, including recession, inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, periods of high unemployment or lower economic activity could result in the sale of fewer surety policies than expected or an increase in frequency or severity of claims and premium defaults or both, which, in turn, could affect the growth and profitability of our surety insurance business.
Factors, such as business revenue, economic conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic and other natural disasters, the volatility and strength of the capital markets and inflation can affect the business and economic environment. These same factors affect our ability to generate revenue and profits. In an economic downturn that is characterized by higher unemployment, declining spending and reduced corporate revenues, the demand for insurance products is generally adversely affected, which directly affects our premium levels and profitability. Negative economic factors may also affect our ability to receive the appropriate rate for the risk we insure with our policyholders and may adversely affect the number of policies we can write, including with respect to our opportunities to underwrite profitable business. In an economic downturn, our customers may have less need for insurance coverage. A decline in our financial strength rating may adversely affect the amount of business we write.
Participants in the insurance industry use ratings from independent ratings agencies, such as A.M. Best, as an important means of assessing the financial strength and quality of insurers. In setting its ratings, A.M. Best uses a quantitative and qualitative analysis of a company’s balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile. This analysis includes comparisons to peers and industry standards as well as assessments of operating plans, philosophy and management. A.M. Best financial strength ratings range from “A++” (Superior) to “F” for insurance companies that have been publicly placed in liquidation. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) to our operating subsidiary, UCS. A.M. Best assigns ratings that are intended to provide an independent opinion of an insurance company’s ability to meet its obligations to policyholders and such ratings are not evaluations directed to investors and are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold our common stock or any other securities we may issue. A.M. Best periodically reviews our financial strength rating and may revise it downward or revoke it at its sole discretion based primarily on its analysis of our balance sheet strength (including capital adequacy and loss adjustment expense reserve adequacy), operating performance and business profile. Factors that could affect such analysis include but are not limited to:
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if we change our business practices from our organizational business plan in a manner that no longer supports A.M. Best’s rating;
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if unfavorable financial, regulatory or market trends affect us, including excess market capacity;
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if our losses exceed our loss reserves;
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if we have unresolved issues with government regulators;
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if we are unable to retain our senior management or other key personnel;
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if our investment portfolio incurs significant losses; or
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if A.M. Best alters its capital adequacy assessment methodology in a manner that would adversely affect our rating.
These and other factors could result in a downgrade of our financial strength rating. A downgrade or withdrawal of our rating could result in any of the following consequences, among others:
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causing our current and future brokers and insureds to choose other, more highly-rated competitors;
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increasing the cost or reducing the availability of reinsurance to us;
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severely limiting or preventing us from writing new insurance contracts; or
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giving any future potential lenders the right to accelerate or call on any future debt we may incur.
In addition, in view of the earnings and capital pressures recently experienced by many financial institutions, including insurance companies, it is possible that rating organizations will heighten the level of scrutiny that they apply to such institutions, will increase the frequency and scope of their credit reviews, will request additional information from the companies that they rate or will increase the capital and other requirements employed in the rating organizations’ models for maintenance of certain ratings levels. We can offer no assurance that our rating will remain at its current level. It is possible that such reviews of us may result in adverse ratings consequences, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We may lack operational control over certain companies in which we invest.
We have made, and may continue to make, certain strategic investments in various businesses without acquiring all or a majority ownership stake in those businesses. To the extent that such investments represent a minority or passive stake in any business, we may have little to no participation, input or control over the management, policies, and operations of such business. Further, we may lack sufficient ownership of voting securities to impact, without the vote of additional equity holders, any matters submitted to stockholders or members of such business for a vote.
There is inherent risk in making minority equity investments in companies over which we have little to no control. Without control of the management and decision-making of these businesses, we cannot control their direction, strategy, policies and business plans, and we may be powerless to improve any declines in their performance, operating results and financial condition. If any company in which we are a minority investor suffers adverse effects, it may not be able to continue as a going business concern, and we may lose our entire investment.
We are subject to extensive financial reporting and related requirements for which our accounting and other management systems and resources may not be adequately prepared.
We are subject to reporting and other obligations under the Exchange Act, including the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Section 404 requires us to conduct an annual management assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, and Section 404(b) requires our independent registered accounting firm to attest to and report on our management’s assessment of our internal controls. These reporting and other obligations place significant demands on our management, administrative, operational and accounting resources. In order to comply with these requirements, we may need to (i) upgrade our systems, (ii) implement additional financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures, (iii) implement an internal audit function, and (iv) hire additional accounting, internal audit and finance staff. If we are unable to accomplish these objectives in a timely and effective manner, our ability to comply with our financial reporting requirements and other rules that apply to reporting companies could be impaired. Any failure to maintain effective internal controls could have a negative impact on our ability to manage our business and on our stock price. As a result of recent changes in federal securities laws, we are currently not required to have our independent auditor report on and attest to our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)).
We may fail to maintain effective internal controls over external financial reporting or such controls may fail or be circumvented.
Federal securities laws require us to report on our internal controls over financial reporting, and our business and financial results could be adversely affected if we, or our independent registered public accounting firm, determine that these controls are not effective. If we do not maintain adequate financial and management personnel, processes, and controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial performance on a timely basis, we may be otherwise unable to comply with the periodic reporting requirements of the SEC and the listing of our Class A common stock on NASDAQ could be suspended or terminated, each of which could have a material adverse effect on the confidence in our financial reporting, our credibility in the marketplace, and the trading price of our Class A common stock. The impact of these events could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our committees and as executive officers.
Risks Related to Ownership of our Common Stock
Investors should not rely on the accuracy of forward-looking statements made by us.
To the extent that we or any of our officers were to provide any forward-looking statements, investors must recognize that any such forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions and estimates. We cannot make any representations as to the accuracy and reasonableness of such assumptions or the forward-looking statements based thereon. The validity and accuracy of those forward-looking statements will depend in large part on future events that we cannot foresee, and may or may not prove to be correct. Consequently, there can be no assurance that our actual operating results will correspond to any of the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, an investment in our common stock should not be made in reliance on forward-looking statements prepared or provided by us.
The price of our Class A common stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile and may fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our Class A common stock.
Our Class A common stock price has been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile. The stock market in general has experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, you may not be able to sell your Class A common stock at or above your original purchase price. The market price for our Class A common stock may be influenced by many factors, many of which are out of our control, including those discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Annual Report and the following:
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our operating and financial performance and prospects;
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success of our competitors' products or services;
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regulatory or legal developments in the United States, especially changes in laws or regulations applicable to our products and services;
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additions or departures of key management personnel;
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market and industry perception of our success, or lack thereof, in pursuing our growth strategy;
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introductions or announcements of new products and services offered by us or significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors and the timing of such introductions or announcements;
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our ability to effectively manage our growth;
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our quarterly or annual earnings or those of other companies in the industries in which we participate;
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actual or anticipated changes in estimates to or projections of financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts;
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publication of research reports about us or our industry or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;
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the public’s potential adverse reaction to our intention not to publish any guidance with respect to future earnings;
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the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements or our competitors’ businesses;
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market conditions in the billboard, insurance, broadband, real estate and other sectors in which we may operate as well as general economic conditions;
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our ability or inability to raise additional capital through the issuance of equity or debt or other arrangements and the terms on which we raise it;
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trading volume of our Class A common stock;
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the resale of Class A Common Stock held by our affiliates, including any exercise of registration rights by MBOC I, MBOC II and their limited partners of the 6,437,768 shares of our Class A common stock they currently own;
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changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance or principles;
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significant lawsuits, including stockholder litigation;
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general economic, industry and market conditions, including those resulting from natural disasters, severe weather events, terrorist attacks, epidemics and pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) and responses to such events; and
● accounting charges associated with reductions in the values of our publicly traded securities and losses in our investments in private companies/in our investments
If our quarterly operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our Class A common stock could decline substantially. Furthermore, any quarterly fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate substantially. We believe that quarterly comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of our future performance.
The stock market in general, and market prices for the securities of companies like ours in particular, have from time to time experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of the underlying companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock, regardless of our operating performance.
In several recent situations when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our stockholders were to bring a lawsuit against us, the defense and disposition of the lawsuit could be costly and divert the time and attention of our management and harm our operating results.
We are a smaller reporting company, and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies will make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.
We are currently a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. “Smaller reporting companies” are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosures in their filings and have certain other decreased disclosure obligations in their SEC filings, including, among other things, only being required to provide two years of audited financial statements in annual reports and in certain registration statements filed with the SEC and no requirement, as long as our revenues are below $100 million and the value of our Class A common stock as measured on certain dates, is less than $700 million, to have our independent auditor report on and attest to our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)). Decreased disclosures in our SEC filings due to our status as a “smaller reporting company” may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.
An active trading market for our Class A common stock may not be maintained.
Our Class A common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on June 16, 2017. There is a risk that an active trading market for our shares may not be maintained. If an active market for our Class A common stock is not maintained, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares without depressing the market price for the shares or at all. The lack of an active market may also impair your ability to sell your shares at a time you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider reasonable and it may reduce the market value of your shares. An inactive trading market may also impair our ability to raise capital, to continue to fund operations by selling shares, and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.
We will continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company in the United States.
As a public company in the United States, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting, insurance and other expenses, including costs associated with U.S. public company reporting requirements. We will also incur costs associated with NASDAQ listing requirements, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related rules implemented by the SEC. The expenses incurred by U.S. public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect these rules and regulations would increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. In estimating these costs, we took into account expenses related to insurance, legal, accounting, and compliance activities, as well as other expenses not currently incurred. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors, our Board committees or as our executive officers. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our Class A common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.
If a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock become available for sale and are sold in a short period of time, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline.
If our current stockholders sell substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public market in a short period of time, the market price of our Class A common stock could decrease. The perception in the public market that our current stockholders might sell shares of Class A common stock could also create a perceived overhang and depress our market price. As of March 26, 2021, we have 26,175,555 shares of Class A common stock outstanding of which 10,638,750 shares are held by funds managed by Magnolia and Boulderado.
Additionally, entities controlled by Magnolia and Boulderado have partners and members that may seek to have their interests redeemed and/or entities controlled by Boulderado and Magnolia may make a distribution to their partners and members or may dissolve such entities. In any such event, entities controlled by Boulderado or Magnolia would report a transfer of shares on a Form 4 filed with the SEC, which may affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Sales of our Class A common Stock under Rule 144 could reduce the price of our Class A common stock and certain of our stockholders have the right to require the registration of up to 6,437,768 shares of our Class A common stock.
As of March 26, 2021, 11,334,431 shares of our Class A common stock are “restricted securities” or "controlled securities" within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. As restricted securities, these shares may be resold only pursuant to an effective registration statement or under the requirements of Rule 144 or other applicable exemptions from registration under the Securities Act and as required under applicable state securities laws. A sale under Rule 144 or under any exemption from the Securities Act, if available, or pursuant to subsequent registration of shares of common stock of present stockholders, may have a depressive effect upon the price of our Class A common stock. Magnolia BOC I and Magnolia BOC II are parties to a registration rights agreement with the Company pursuant to which the Company is obligated to register up to 6,437,768 shares of Class A common stock held by Magnolia BOC I and Magnolia BOC II upon the demand of these entities or their limited partners and also grants them the right to participate in future registrations of securities by us, subject to certain conditions. These registration rights continue until the earlier of March 31, 2033 or the date when an investor may resell the shares of our Class A common stock under Rule 144 as of the date when all registrable securities held by and issued to such investor may be sold under Rule 144 under the Securities Act during any 90 day period, provided such investor owns less than 1% of our outstanding Class A common stock.
If equity research analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they issue unfavorable commentary or downgrade our Class A common stock, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline.
The trading market for our Class A common stock likely will be influenced by the research and reports that equity and debt research analysts publish about the industry, us and our business. The market price of our Class A common stock could decline if one or more securities analysts downgrade our shares or if those analysts issue a sell recommendation or other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who elect to cover us downgrade our shares, the market price of our Class A common stock would likely decline.
Entities managed by Magnolia and Boulderado currently control all voting matters brought before our stockholders.
Currently, MCF and BP collectively own all of our Class B common stock and entities managed by Magnolia and Boulderado own a majority of our Class A common stock. As a result, Mr. Peterson and entities managed by Magnolia together control 42.4% of the aggregate voting power, and Mr. Rozek and entities managed by Boulderado together control 17.5% of the aggregate voting power. Moreover, it is possible that entities managed by Boulderado and Magnolia may increase their ownership in us if we sell additional shares of stock to them in connection with any future capital raise we may conduct. Also, each share of Class B common stock is entitled to cast 10 votes for all matters on which our stockholders vote, while each share of Class A common stock is entitled to cast only one vote. For the foreseeable future, entities managed by Magnolia and Boulderado will likely continue to control virtually all matters submitted to stockholders for a vote; may elect all of our directors; and, as a result, may control our management, policies, and operations. Our other stockholders will not have voting control over our actions, including the determination of other industries and markets that we may enter.
The interests of the entities managed by Magnolia and Boulderado may not coincide with the interests of other holders of our Class A common stock. The entities managed by Magnolia and Boulderado are in the business of making investments in companies and may, from time to time, acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. The entities managed by Magnolia and Boulderado may also pursue, for their own managers’ or members’ accounts, acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. So long as each of MCF and BP continue to own our Class B common stock or entities managed by Magnolia and Boulderado own a majority of our outstanding Class A common stock, they will continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control our decisions, including potential mergers or acquisitions, asset sales and other significant corporate transactions.
Certain actions cannot be taken without the approval of MCF and BP due to their ownership of Class B common stock.
MCF and BP, the holders of record of the shares of Class B common stock, exclusively and as a separate class, are entitled to elect two directors to our Board of Directors, which we refer to as the “Class B Directors,” which number of Class B Directors may be reduced pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Amended and Restated Voting and First Refusal Agreement between MCF and BP entered into on June 19, 2015, which we refer to as the "Amended and Restated Voting and First Refusal Agreement." Any Class B Director may be removed without cause by, and only by, the affirmative vote of the holders of eighty percent (80%) of the shares of Class B common stock exclusively and as a separate class, given either at a special meeting of such stockholders duly called for that purpose or pursuant to a written consent of such stockholders.
At any time when shares of Class B common stock are outstanding, we may not, without the affirmative vote of both of the Class B Directors:
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Amend, alter or otherwise change the rights, preferences or privileges of the Class B common stock, or amend, alter or repeal any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws in a manner that adversely affects the powers, preferences or rights of the Class B common stock.
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Liquidate, dissolve or wind-up our business, effect any merger or consolidation or any other deemed liquidation event or consent to any of the foregoing.
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Create, or authorize the creation of, or issue or issue additional shares of Class B common stock, or increase the authorized number of shares of any additional class or series of capital stock.
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Increase or decrease the authorized number of directors constituting the Board of Directors.
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Hire, terminate, change the compensation of, or amend the employment agreements of, our executive officers.
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Purchase or redeem (or permit any subsidiary to purchase or redeem) or pay or declare any dividend or make any distribution on, any shares of our capital stock.
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Create, or authorize the creation of, or issue, or authorize the issuance of any debt security, if our aggregate indebtedness for borrowed money following such action would exceed $10,000, or guarantee, any indebtedness except for our own trade accounts arising in the ordinary course of business.
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Make, or permit any subsidiary to make, any loan or advance outside of the ordinary course of business to any employee or director.
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Create, or hold capital stock in, any subsidiary that is not wholly owned (either directly or through one or more other subsidiaries) by us or permit any direct or indirect subsidiary to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the assets of any subsidiary.
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Change our principal business, enter new lines of business, or exit the current line of business.
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Enter into any agreement involving the payment, contribution, or assignment by us or to us of money or assets greater than $10,000.
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Enter into or be a party to any transaction outside of the ordinary course of business with any our directors, officers, or employees or any “associate” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of any such person or entity.
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Acquire, by merger, stock purchase, asset purchase or otherwise, any material assets or securities of any other corporation, partnership or other entity.
Provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management, even if beneficial to our stockholders.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that some stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares of our common stock. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, possibly depressing the market price of our common stock.
In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace members of our Board of Directors. Because our Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace members of our management team.
Our Board of Directors is authorized to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to institute a “poison pill” that would work to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer, effectively preventing acquisitions that have not been approved by our Board of Directors. Our certificate of incorporation authorizes our Board of Directors to issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock. The preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined by our Board of Directors at the time of issuance or fixed by resolution without further action by the stockholders. These terms may include voting rights, preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion rights, redemption rights and sinking fund provisions. The issuance of preferred stock could diminish the rights of holders of our common stock, and, therefore, could reduce the value of our common stock. In addition, specific rights granted to holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell assets to, a third party. The ability of our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock could delay, discourage, prevent or make it more difficult or costly to acquire or effect a change in control, thereby preserving the current stockholders’ control.
Delaware law and certain provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may prevent efforts by our stockholders to change the direction or management of the Company.
We are a Delaware corporation, and the anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law impose various impediments to the ability of a third party to acquire control of us, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of the Company more difficult, including, but not limited to, the following:
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setting forth specific procedures regarding how our stockholders may nominate directors for election at stockholder meetings;
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permitting our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval; and
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limiting the rights of stockholders to amend our bylaws.
These provisions could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and cause us to take other corporate actions. In addition, because our Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team.
Because we do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future, and our stockholders will not be guaranteed, or have contractual or other rights, to receive dividends. Our Board of Directors may, in its discretion, modify or repeal our dividend policy or discontinue entirely the payment of dividends. The declaration and payment of dividends depends on various factors, including: our net income, financial condition, cash requirements, future prospects and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors. In addition, state insurance regulators will limit the amount of dividends, if any, we can draw from our UCS insurance operations and Link’s credit agreement prohibits it from issuing dividends to us if as a result of any such dividend Link would be in violation of the financial covenants set forth in the credit agreement.
In addition, under the Delaware General Corporation Law, which we refer to as the “DGCL,” our Board of Directors may not authorize payment of a dividend unless it is either paid out of our surplus, as calculated in accordance with the DGCL, or if we do not have a surplus, it is paid out of our net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year.
If we are, or were, a U.S. real property holding corporation, non-U.S. holders of our Class A common stock could be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the gain from its sale, exchange or other disposition.
If we are or ever have been a U.S. real property holding corporation, which we refer to as “USRPHC,” under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 and applicable United States Treasury regulations, which we refer to collectively as the “FIRPTA Rules,” unless an exception applies, certain non-U.S. investors in our Class A common stock would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the gain from the sale, exchange or other disposition of shares of our Class A common stock, and such non-U.S. investor would be required to file a United States federal income tax return. In addition, the purchaser of such Class A common stock would be required to withhold a portion of the purchase price and remit such amount to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
In general, under the FIRPTA Rules, a company is a USRPHC if its interests in U.S. real property comprise at least 50% of the fair market value of its assets. If we are or were a USRPHC, so long as our Class A common stock is “regularly traded on an established securities market” (as defined under the FIRPTA Rules), a non-U.S. holder who, actually or constructively, holds or held no more than 5% of our Class A common stock is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on the gain from the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock under FIRPTA Rules. In addition, other interests in equity of a USRPHC may qualify for this exception if, on the date such interest was acquired, such interests had a fair market value no greater than the fair market value on that date of 5% of our Class A common stock. Any of our Class A common stockholders that are non-U.S. persons should consult their tax advisors to determine the consequences of investing in our Class A common stock.
You may be diluted by the future issuance of additional Class A common stock in connection with acquisitions, sales of our securities or otherwise.
As of March 26, 2021, we had 12,663,329 shares of Class A common stock authorized but unissued under our certificate of incorporation. We will be authorized to issue these shares of Class A common stock and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to Class A common stock for consideration and on terms and conditions established by our Board of Directors in its sole discretion, subject to applicable laws and NASDAQ rules, whether in connection with acquisitions, financings or otherwise. Any Class A common stock that we issue would dilute the percentage ownership held by current investors.
In the future, we may issue our securities, including shares of our common stock, in connection with financings, investments or acquisitions. We regularly evaluate potential acquisition opportunities, including ones that would be significant to us. We cannot predict the timing of any contemplated transactions, and none are currently probable, but any pending transaction could be entered into shortly after the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The amount of shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with a financing, investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of Class A common stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with financings, investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to you.
Our authorized preferred stock exposes holders of our common stock to certain risks.
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock. The authorized but unissued preferred stock constitutes what is commonly referred to as “blank check” preferred stock. This type of preferred stock may be issued by the Board of Directors from time to time on any number of occasions, without stockholder approval, as one or more separate series of shares comprised of any number of the authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock, designated by resolution of the Board of Directors stating the name and number of shares of each series and setting forth separately for such series the relative rights, privileges and preferences thereof, including, if any, the: (i) rate of dividends payable thereon; (ii) price, terms and conditions of redemption; (iii) voluntary and involuntary liquidation preferences; (iv) provisions of a sinking fund for redemption or repurchase; (v) terms of conversion to common stock, including conversion price and antidilution protection, and (vi) voting rights. Such preferred stock may provide our Board of Directors the ability to hinder or discourage any attempt to gain control of us by a merger, tender offer at a control premium price, proxy contest or otherwise. Consequently, the preferred stock could entrench our management. The market price of our Class A common stock could be depressed to some extent by the existence of the preferred stock. As of March 26, 2021, no shares of preferred stock have been issued.
Our certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws or (v) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of, and consented to, the provisions of our certificate of incorporation described in the preceding sentence. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and such persons. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our certificate of incorporation inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our directors have limited liability under Delaware law.
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, and Delaware law, our directors are not liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty, except for: liability in connection with a breach of the duty of loyalty; acts or omissions not in good faith; acts or omissions that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; dividend payments or stock repurchases that are illegal under Delaware law; or any transaction in which a director has derived an improper personal benefit. Accordingly, except in those circumstances, our directors will not be liable to us or our stockholders for breach of their duty.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards may be subject to limitation and may result in increased future tax liability.
Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code contain rules that limit the ability of a company that undergoes an “ownership change” to utilize its net operating loss and tax credit carry forwards and certain built-in losses recognized in years after the ownership change. An “ownership change” is generally defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code as any change in ownership of more than 50% of a corporation’s stock over a rolling three-year period by stockholders that own (directly or indirectly) 5% or more of the stock of a corporation, or arising from a new issuance of stock by a corporation. If an ownership change occurs, Section 382 generally imposes an annual limitation on the use of pre-ownership change net operating losses, which we refer to as “NOLs,” credits and certain other tax attributes to offset taxable income earned after the ownership change. The annual limitation is equal to the product of the applicable long-term tax exempt rate and the value of the company’s stock immediately before the ownership change. This annual limitation may be adjusted to reflect any unused annual limitation for prior years and certain recognized built-in gains and losses for the year. In addition, Section 383 generally limits the amount of tax liability in any post-ownership change year that can be reduced by pre-ownership change tax credit carryforwards. This could result in increased U.S. federal income tax liability for us if we generate taxable income in a future period. Limitations on the use of NOLs and other tax attributes could also increase our state tax liability. The use of our tax attributes will also be limited to the extent that we do not generate positive taxable income in future tax periods. As a result of these limitations, we may be unable to offset future taxable income (if any) with losses, or our tax liability with credits, before such losses and credits expire. Accordingly, these limitations may increase our federal income tax liability. NOLs generated during 2018 and thereafter do not expire.
As of December 31, 2020, we had NOLs of approximately $25.0 million. We continue to assess the impact of the 2018 private placement, our “at the market” offerings, our 2020 public offering and other transactions to determine whether an “ownership change,” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, has occurred and, if so, the limitations on our ability to utilize NOLs. Additionally, it is possible that future transactions may cause us to undergo one or more ownership changes. Certain of these NOLs may be also at risk of limitation in the event of a future ownership change.
We have U.S. federal and state NOLs. In general, NOLs in one state cannot be used to offset income in any other state. Accordingly, we may be subject to tax in certain jurisdictions even if we have unused NOLs in other jurisdictions. Also, each jurisdiction in which we operate may have its own limitations on our ability to utilize NOLs or tax credit carryovers generated in that jurisdiction. These limitations may increase our federal, state, and/or foreign income tax liability.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties.
Our corporate headquarters is located in Omaha, Nebraska. As of December 31, 2020, we maintained offices in various locations in the United States with leases expiring between 2021 and 2033. In connection with the acquisition of various billboard sites, we own a small percentage of these sites and in most instances lease the sites from third parties. Land leases related to the structures are typically paid in advance for periods ranging from one to twelve months. The lease contracts include those with fixed payments and those with escalating payments. Some of the lease contracts contain a base rent payment plus an additional amount up to a particular percentage of revenue. In the opinion of our management, our properties are adequate and suitable for our business as presently conducted and are adequately maintained. We also own several parcels in Arizona used by our broadband business for storage of equipment.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
Due to the nature of our business, we are, from time to time and in the ordinary course of business, involved in routine litigation or subject to disputes or claims related to our business activities, including, without limitation, workers’ compensation claims and employment-related disputes. In the opinion of our management, none of the pending litigation, disputes or claims against us, if decided adversely, will have a material adverse effect individually or in the aggregate on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Certain Information Regarding the Trading of Our Common Stock
Since June 16, 2017, our Class A common stock publicly trades under the symbol “BOMN” on the NASDAQ Capital Market. Prior to this time, our Class A common stock was traded on the OTCQX with limited trading volume. Currently, there is no public trading market for our Class B common stock.
As of March 26, 2021, the closing price per share of our common stock was $35.42, as reported by NASDAQ.
Holders of Our Common Stock
As of March 26, 2021, there were approximately 79 holders of record of shares of our Class A common stock. This number does not include stockholders for whom shares are held in “nominee” or “street” name. As of March 26, 2021, there were 26,175,555 shares of Class A common stock outstanding. As of March 26, 2021, we also had 1,055,560 shares of Class B common stock held entirely by MCF and BP, as well as warrants held by MCF to purchase up to an additional 52,778 shares of our Class B common stock, warrants held by BP to purchase up to 51,994 shares of our Class B common stock, and warrants held by an unaffiliated investor to purchase up to 784 shares of our Class A common stock, each at exercise prices ranging from $8.00 to $10.00 per share.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. We do not intend to pay any cash dividends to the holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. We are not required to pay dividends, and our stockholders will not be guaranteed, or have contractual or other rights to receive, dividends. The declaration and payment of any future dividends will be at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon, among other things, our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions with respect to the payment of dividends, opportunity set for retained capital, and other considerations that our Board of Directors deems relevant. In addition, state insurance regulators will limit the amount of dividends, if any, we can draw from our UCS insurance operations. In addition, Link's loan credit facility limits its ability to issue cash dividends to us during any period in which it is in default of any loan covenant. Our Board of Directors may decide, in its discretion, at any time, to modify or repeal the dividend policy or discontinue entirely the payment of dividends.
The ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend is also subject to limits imposed by Delaware corporate law. Under Delaware law, our Board of Directors and the boards of directors of our corporate subsidiaries incorporated in Delaware may declare dividends only to the extent of our “surplus,” which is defined as total assets at fair market value minus total liabilities, minus statutory capital, or if there is no surplus, out of net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
On March 18, 2020, we announced the authorization of a share repurchase program which allows us to repurchase up to $20 million of our Class A common stock. We have not yet repurchased any shares under this program and we cannot predict when or if we will repurchase any shares of Class A common stock as the determination whether to effect any share repurchases will depend on a number of factors, including constraints specified in any Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, price, general business and market conditions, and alternative investment opportunities.
Equity Compensation Plans
We currently do not have any equity compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Not applicable.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6.
Selected Financial Data.
Not applicable as we are a “smaller reporting company.”

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those discussed below and as set forth under Summary Risk Factors and “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Please also refer to the section under the heading “Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We are currently engaged in outdoor billboard advertising, surety insurance and related brokerage businesses, and broadband services businesses. In addition, we hold minority investments in commercial real estate management and brokerage services, a bank focused on servicing the automotive loan market, a homebuilding company with operations located primarily in the Southeast United States, and serve as sponsor of Yellowstone Acquisition Company ("Yellowstone"), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC").
Billboards. In June 2015, we commenced our billboard business operations through acquisitions by Link, our wholly-owned subsidiary, of smaller billboard companies located in the Southeast United States and Wisconsin. During July and August 2018, we acquired the membership interest or assets of three larger billboard companies which increased our overall billboard count to approximately 2,900 billboards. In addition, we have made additional billboard acquisitions on a smaller scale since that date. We believe that we are a leading outdoor billboard advertising company in the markets we serve in the Midwest. As of March 26, 2021, we operate approximately 3,200 billboards with approximately 6,000 advertising faces. One of our principal business objectives is to continue to acquire additional billboard assets through acquisitions of existing billboard businesses in the United States when they can be made at what we believe to be attractive prices relative to other opportunities generally available to us.
Surety Insurance. In April 2016, our surety insurance business commenced with the acquisition of a surety insurance brokerage business with a national internet-based presence. In December 2016, we completed the acquisition of UCS, a surety insurance company, which at that time was licensed to issue surety bonds in only nine states. UCS now has licenses to operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, over the last four years, we have also acquired additional surety insurance brokerage businesses located in various regions of the United States.
Broadband Services. In March 2020, we commenced our broadband services business with the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of FibAire and provide these services to over 7,000 customers located in Arizona. On December 29, 2020, we acquired substantially all of the business assets of UBB and provide broadband services to over 10,000 subscribers throughout Utah. We hope to continue to expand in Arizona, Utah and other locales.
Investments:
●
Since September 2015, we have made a series of investments in commercial real estate, a commercial real estate management, brokerage and related services business as well as an asset management business. We currently own 30% of Logic and approximately 49.9% of 24th Street Holding Co., both directly and indirectly through our ownership in Logic. In addition, we have invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an aggregate of $6 million in 24th Street Fund I, LLC and 24th Street Fund II, LLC. These funds are managed by 24th Street Asset Management, LLC, a subsidiary of 24th Street Holding Co. and will focus on opportunities within secured lending and direct investments in commercial real estate.
●
In December 2017, we invested $10 million in common units of DFH, the parent company of Dream Finders Homes, LLC, a national home builder with operations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and northern Virginia. In addition to its homebuilding operations, DFH's subsidiaries provide mortgage loan origination and title insurance services to homebuyers. In May 2019, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an additional $12 million in DFH through the purchase of preferred units with a mandatory preferred return of 14%. These preferred units were subsequently redeemed by DFH in 2020. On January 25, 2021, Dream Finders Homes, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DFH, completed its initial public offering and implemented an internal reorganization (the “Merger”) pursuant to which Dream Finders Homes, Inc. became a holding company and sole manager of DFH. Upon completion of the Merger, our outstanding common units in DFH were converted into 4,681,099 shares of Class A Common Stock of Dream Finders Homes, Inc., and one of our subsidiaries purchased an additional 120,000 shares of Class A common stock in the initial public offering. The DFH shares purchased in 2017 are restricted securities and are subject to a lock-up for a period through July 19, 2021 and subject to trading limitations under Rule 144 as we are currently deemed an affiliate of DFH as we own more than 10% of its Class A common stock. Prior to its initial public offering, we loaned DFH $20,000,000 to assist it in financing an acquisition which was consummated prior to its initial public offering. This loan was repaid in full with interest in early 2021.
●
In May 2018, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, approximately $19 million through the purchase of common stock of CB&T Holding Corporation, the privately-held parent company of Crescent Bank & Trust, Inc. Crescent is located in New Orleans and generates the majority of its revenues from indirect subprime automobile lending across the United States.
●
In October 2020, our subsidiary BOC Yellowstone served as sponsor for the underwritten initial public offering of a special purpose acquisition company named Yellowstone. Yellowstone sold in its public offering 13,598,898 units at a price of $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of one share of Class A common stock and a redeemable warrant to purchase one-half of a share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Between August and November 2020, we invested, through BOC Yellowstone, approximately $7.8 million through the purchase of 3,399,724 shares of Class B common stock and 7,719,779 non-redeemable private placement warrants, each warrant entitling us to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. BOC Yellowstone as the sponsor of Yellowstone and under the terms of the public offering, owns approximately 20% of the issued and outstanding common stock. The purpose of the offering is to pursue a business combination in an industry other than the three industries in which we currently own and operate businesses: outdoor advertising, surety insurance and broadband services businesses. Yellowstone allows us to pursue a minority interest in larger companies in other industries without diluting the equity interests of our Boston Omaha shareholders. Yellowstone is currently focusing on acquisition candidates in the homebuilding, home materials, financial services and commercial real estate management industries but is also able to pursue acquisition opportunities in other industries.
In each of our businesses, we hope to expand our geographic reach and market share and seek to develop a competitive advantage and/or brand name for our services, which we hope will be a differentiating factor for customers. Our insurance market primarily services small contractors, small and medium-sized businesses and individuals required to provide surety bonds (i) in connection with their work for government agencies and others, (ii) in connection with contractual obligations, or (iii) to meet regulatory requirements and other needs. We have expanded the licensing of the UCS business to all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In outdoor advertising, our plan is to continue to grow this business through acquisitions of billboard assets. We also expect to expand our broadband services in Arizona, Utah and in the future in other locations. We also expect to continue to make additional investments in real estate management service businesses, as well as in other businesses. In the future, we expect to expand the range of services we provide in the insurance sector, seek to continue to expand our billboard operations and broadband services and to possibly consider acquisitions of other businesses, as well as investments, in other sectors. Our decision to expand outside of these current business sectors we serve or in which we have made investments will be based on the opportunity to acquire businesses which we believe provide the potential for sustainable earnings at an attractive level relative to capital employed and, with regard to investment, we believe have the potential to provide attractive returns.
We seek to enter markets where we believe demand for our services will grow in the coming years due to certain barriers to entry and/or to anticipated long-term demand for these services. In the outdoor billboard business, government restrictions often limit the number of additional billboards that may be constructed. At the same time, advances in billboard technology provide the opportunity to improve revenues through the use of digital display technologies and other new technologies. In the surety insurance business, new insurance companies must be licensed by state agencies that impose capital, management and other strict requirements on these insurers. These hurdles are at the individual state level, with statutes often providing wide latitude to regulators to impose judgmental requirements upon new entrants. In addition, new distribution channels in certain areas of surety may provide a new opportunity. In the real estate management services market, we believe the continued growth of commercial real estate in many sections of the United States will provide opportunities for management services for the foreseeable future. We also believe our investment in both CB&T and DFH provides the opportunity for each company to significantly grow its business. We invest our available capital and the surplus capital from UCS in a wide range of securities, including equity securities of large cap public companies, various corporate and government bonds and U.S. treasuries. In broadband services, we believe that our Fiber to the Home, which we refer to as "FTTH", services can compete with traditional cable operators as broadband provides higher rates of transmission and improved speed to consumers and that, once built, other competitors may be less willing to compete in communities which we serve.
How We Generate Our Revenues and Evaluate Our Business
We currently generate revenues primarily through billboard advertising and related services, from the sale of surety insurance and related brokerage activities and by providing high-speed broadband services. Revenue for outdoor advertising space rental is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract and advertising revenue is reported net of agency commissions. Payments received in advance of being earned are recorded as deferred revenue. In our surety insurance business, premiums written are recognized as revenues based on a pro rata daily calculation over the respective terms of the policies in-force. Unearned premiums represent the portion of premiums written applicable to the unexpired term of the policies in-force. In connection with our surety agency business, insurance commissions are recognized at a point in time, on a bond-by-bond basis as of the policy effective date and are generally nonrefundable. In our broadband business, revenue is derived principally from internet services and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract in the period the services are rendered. Revenue received or receivable in advance of the delivery of services is included in deferred revenue.
Segment gross profit is a key metric that we use to evaluate segment operating performance and to determine resource allocation between segments. We define segment gross profit as segment revenues less segment direct cost of services. In our billboard business, direct cost of services includes land leases, utilities, repairs and maintenance of equipment, sales commissions, contract services, and other billboard level expenses. In our surety business, direct cost of services includes commissions, premium taxes, fees and assessments, and losses and loss adjustment expenses. In our broadband business, direct costs of services includes network operations and data costs, programming costs, cell site rent and utilities, and other broadband level expenses.
Results of Operations
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019
The following is a comparison of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020, which we refer to as “fiscal 2020,” compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 which we refer to as “fiscal 2019.” Our results for fiscal 2020 include the operating results of our broadband services business which began during the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Therefore, comparisons of our results for fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2019 may not be meaningful.
Revenues. For fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, our revenues in dollars and as a percentage of total revenues were as follows:
For the Years Ended December 31,
2020 vs 2019
Amount
As a % of Total Revenues
Amount
As a % of Total Revenues
$ Variance
Revenues:
Billboard rentals, net
$ 28,260,964
61.8 %
$ 28,429,167
68.7 %
$ (168,203 )
Broadband services
3,836,537
8.4 %
-
-
3,836,537
Premiums earned
11,723,886
25.6 %
10,944,313
26.4 %
779,573
Insurance commissions
1,494,379
3.3 %
1,567,331
3.8 %
(72,952 )
Investment and other income
427,697
0.9 %
448,327
1.1 %
(20,630 )
Total Revenues
$ 45,743,463
100.0 %
$ 41,389,138
100.0 %
$ 4,354,325
We realized total revenues of $45,743,463 during fiscal 2020, an increase of 10.5% over revenues of $41,389,138 during fiscal 2019. The increase in total revenues was largely driven by our acquisition of FibAire in March 2020 as well as premiums earned at UCS, reflecting our ability to issue surety bonds in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and prior year growth within our rental guarantee bond program. However, due to the current disruption in this market, we have suspended issuing new rental guarantee bonds, which could significantly reduce future revenues at UCS. We recognize revenues for written premium over the life of the surety bond and, as a result, increased sales activities are not fully reflected in the quarter in which the surety bond is issued.
●
Net billboard rentals decreased 0.6% in fiscal 2020, when compared to fiscal 2019, reflecting a reduction in rental and occupancy rates across a number of our markets due to COVID-19. The decline due to COVID-19 was partially offset by the acquisition of billboards from Image in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, which accounted for approximately 4% of our billboard revenues in fiscal 2020.
●
Revenue from broadband services was $3,836,537 in fiscal 2020, mainly reflecting the FibAire acquisition completed in March 2020.
●
Premiums earned from our UCS insurance subsidiary increased 7.1% in fiscal 2020, when compared to fiscal 2019. The increase in premiums earned was primarily due to an increase in gross written premium now that UCS is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and prior year growth within our rental guarantee bond program. However, due to the current disruption in this market, we have suspended issuing new rental guarantee bonds, which is expected to reduce future revenues at UCS. Revenues from our rental guarantee bond program accounted for $5,536,165 of UCS revenues in fiscal 2020. We recognize revenues for written premium over the life of the surety bond and, as a result, increased sales activities are not fully reflected in the quarter in which the surety bond is issued.
●
Revenue from insurance commissions generated by our surety brokerage operations decreased 4.7% in fiscal 2020, when compared to fiscal 2019. The decrease in commission revenue is primarily due to our agents placing more surety bond business through UCS but also due to a reduction in demand as some of the markets we serve (contractors, small businesses, residential and commercial lease) were impacted by COVID-19.
●
Investment and other income at UCS decreased 4.6% in fiscal 2020 from $448,327 in fiscal 2019 due to the decline in interest rates over the past year.
Expenses. For fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, our expenses in dollars and as a percentage of total revenues were as follows:
For the Years Ended December 31,
2020 vs 2019
Amount
As a % of Total Revenues
Amount
As a % of Total Revenues
$ Variance
Costs and Expenses:
Cost of billboard revenues
$ 11,272,349
24.7 %
$ 11,321,149
27.4 %
$ (48,800 )
Cost of broadband revenues
546,106
1.2 %
-
-
546,106
Cost of insurance revenues
6,690,203
14.6 %
6,290,218
15.2 %
399,985
Employee costs
13,041,388
28.5 %
11,945,895
28.9 %
1,095,493
Professional fees
3,530,278
7.7 %
3,664,370
8.9 %
(134,092 )
General and administrative
6,283,582
13.8 %
6,346,698
15.3 %
(63,116 )
Amortization
3,987,003
8.7 %
10,471,973
25.3 %
(6,484,970 )
Depreciation
3,704,700
8.1 %
3,102,168
7.5 %
602,532
Loss on disposition of assets
199,555
0.4 %
223,890
0.5 %
(24,335 )
Bad debt expense
373,649
0.8 %
299,881
0.7 %
73,768
Accretion
140,704
0.3 %
134,992
0.3 %
5,712
Total Costs and Expenses
$ 49,769,517
108.8 %
$ 53,801,234
130.0 %
$ (4,031,717 )
During fiscal 2020, we had total costs and expenses of $49,769,517, as compared to total costs and expenses of $53,801,234 in fiscal 2019. Total costs and expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased to 108.8% in fiscal 2020 from 130.0% in fiscal 2019. This improvement reflects our increase in total revenues, a reduction in amortization expense due to extending the amortization period from three years to ten years for customer relationships within our billboard segment during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 and our continued focus on reducing general and administrative expenses as well as professional fees. In fiscal 2020, cost of billboard revenues, cost of insurance revenues, employee costs, professional fees, general and administrative expenses and amortization expense decreased as a percentage of total revenues when compared to fiscal 2019. Loss on disposition of assets, bad debt expense and accretion, primarily associated with our billboard business, remained relatively constant as a percentage of revenues.
●
During fiscal 2020, cost of billboard revenues decreased $48,800, or 0.4%, when compared to fiscal 2019. The decrease was mainly related to lower ground rent expense and commissions paid and was partially offset by costs associated with the acquisition of billboards from Image in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.
●
During fiscal 2020, cost of insurance revenues increased by $399,985, or 6.4%, when compared to fiscal 2019. The increase was mainly driven by increased loss reserves at UCS related to its rental guarantee bond program due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 which has led to higher losses and loss adjustment expense.
●
Employee costs in fiscal 2020 increased $1,095,493 from fiscal 2019. The increase was mainly driven by the addition of our broadband services business in March 2020 and was partially offset by lower employee costs within our billboard and insurance businesses.
●
Professional fees in fiscal 2020 were $3,530,278, or 7.7% of total revenues, as compared to $3,664,370, or 8.9% of total revenues, in fiscal 2019. Professional fees mainly include costs associated with third-party accounting, audit, legal, and acquisition related expenses.
●
General and administrative expenses in fiscal 2020 decreased $63,116 from fiscal 2019. The decrease was mainly driven by lower general and administrative expenses within our billboard and insurance businesses and was partially offset by the addition of our broadband services business in March 2020.
●
Non-cash expenses in fiscal 2020 included $3,987,003 in amortization expense, $3,704,700 in depreciation expense, and $140,704 in accretion expense related to asset retirement obligations for certain billboard and broadband assets. Amortization expense decreased by 61.9% from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020 as we extended the amortization period from three years to ten years to better reflect the estimated economic lives of our customer relationships within our billboard segment.
Net Loss from Operations. Net loss from operations in fiscal 2020 was $4,026,054, or 8.8% of total revenues, as compared to a net loss from operations of $12,412,096, or 30.0% of total revenues, in fiscal 2019. The decrease in net loss from operations in dollars was primarily due to increased revenue within our insurance operations, the addition of our broadband services operations, as well as a decrease in amortization expense after extending the amortization period from three years to ten years for customer relationships within our billboard segment. Our net loss from operations included $7,832,407 from non-cash amortization, depreciation and accretion expenses in fiscal 2020, as compared to $13,709,133 in fiscal 2019.
Other Income (Expense). In fiscal 2020, we had net other income of $4,522,518. Net other income included $5,701,909 in realized gains from the sale of large publicly traded equity securities mainly held at Boston Omaha, $5,187,159 in equity in income of unconsolidated affiliates, interest income of $1,661,680 primarily derived from our DFH preferred units, interest on our short term loan to DFH, as well as from our investments in short-term treasury securities, and $1,074,539 in dividend income from public equity securities held by Boston Omaha. These items were partially offset by $8,260,941 from unrealized losses mainly on large publicly traded equity securities held by Boston Omaha as well as UCS and interest expense of $841,828 mainly incurred under Link's term loan which commenced in August 2019. During fiscal 2019, we had net other income of $10,930,831, which included $6,273,337 in unrealized gains on securities, $3,198,527 of interest income, $710,169 in dividend income, $572,181 in realized gains on disposition of investments, $479,366 in equity in income of unconsolidated affiliates, and $302,749 in interest expense.
As a result of a change in GAAP effective in 2018, we are required to include the unrealized changes in market prices of investments in public equity securities in our reported earnings. As stated above, we experienced unrealized losses of $8,260,941 in the value of our securities during fiscal 2020. This contrasts with unrealized gains in the value of our securities of $6,273,337 during fiscal 2019. While we intend to hold our current securities for the longer term, we may in the future choose to sell them for a variety of reasons resulting in realized losses or gains.
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Common Stockholders. We had net income attributable to common stockholders in the amount of $455,783 in fiscal 2020, or income per share of $0.02, based on 25,738,225 weighted average shares outstanding. This is compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $1,486,923 in fiscal 2019, or a loss per share of $0.07, based on 22,778,405 weighted average shares outstanding.
The following tables report results for the three segments in which we operate, billboards, insurance and broadband, for fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019:
Results of Billboard Operations
For the Years Ended December 31,
Amount
As a % of Segment Operating Revenues
Amount
As a % of Segment Operating Revenues
Operating Revenues
Billboard rentals, net
$ 28,260,964
100.0 %
$ 28,429,167
100.0 %
Cost of Revenues
Ground rents
6,119,523
21.7 %
6,238,827
22.0 %
Utilities
1,220,543
4.3 %
1,166,644
4.1 %
Commissions paid
2,715,850
9.6 %
2,708,485
9.5 %
Other costs of revenues
1,216,433
4.3 %
1,207,193
4.2 %
Total cost of revenues
11,272,349
39.9 %
11,321,149
39.8 %
Gross margin
16,988,615
60.1 %
17,108,018
60.2 %
Other Operating Expenses
Employee costs
5,775,915
20.4 %
6,027,205
21.2 %
Professional fees
648,889
2.3 %
700,626
2.5 %
General and administrative
2,675,330
9.5 %
3,094,573
10.9 %
Amortization
3,291,245
11.7 %
9,313,916
32.8 %
Depreciation
3,344,960
11.8 %
3,080,775
10.8 %
Accretion
138,982
0.5 %
134,992
0.5 %
Loss on disposition of assets
133,914
0.5 %
223,890
0.8 %
Bad debt expense
371,838
1.3 %
297,146
1.0 %
Total expenses
16,381,073
58.0 %
22,873,123
80.5 %
Segment Income (Loss) from Operations
607,542
2.1 %
(5,765,105 )
(20.3 %)
Interest expense, net
(833,980 )
(2.9 %)
(251,657 )
(0.9 %)
Net Loss Attributable to Common Stockholders
$ (226,438 )
(0.8 %)
$ (6,016,762 )
(21.2 %)
Comparison of Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2019. In fiscal 2020, net billboard revenues decreased by 0.6% from fiscal 2019, reflecting a reduction in rental and occupancy rates across a number of our markets due to COVID-19. The decline due to COVID-19 was partially offset by the acquisition of billboards from Image in the third quarter of fiscal 2019, which accounted for approximately 4% of our billboard revenues in fiscal 2020. Segment income from billboard operations improved mainly due to the reduction in amortization expense. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, we updated our analysis of economic lives of customer relationships and extended the amortization period from 3 years to 10 years to better reflect the estimated economic lives of our billboard customers. The key factors affecting our billboard operations results during fiscal 2020 were as follows:
﻿
●
Ground rent expense as a percentage of total segment operating revenues decreased from 22.0% in fiscal 2019 to 21.7% in fiscal 2020.
●
Commissions paid as a percentage of total segment operating revenues increased from 9.5% in fiscal 2019 to 9.6% in fiscal 2020.
●
Employee costs in fiscal 2020 decreased 4.2% when compared to the fiscal 2019.
●
Amortization expense in fiscal 2020 decreased by $6,022,671 from fiscal 2019. The decrease is primarily due to extending the amortization period from three years to ten years for customer relationships.
●
General and administrative expenses in fiscal 2020 decreased 13.5% when compared to fiscal 2019. The decrease was primarily driven by a reduction in travel related expenses as well as other cost savings initiatives due to COVID-19.
●
Net interest expense of $833,980 in fiscal 2020 compared to net interest expense of $251,657 in fiscal 2019. The increase in interest expense was related to Link's $18 million and $5.5 million term loans, which commenced in August 2019 and August 2020, respectively.
Results of Insurance Operations
﻿
For the Years Ended December 31,
Amount
As a % of Segment Operating Revenues
Amount
As a % of Segment Operating Revenues
Operating Revenues
Premiums earned
$ 11,723,886
85.9 %
$ 10,944,313
84.4 %
Insurance commissions
1,494,379
11.0 %
1,567,331
12.1 %
Investment and other income
427,697
3.1 %
448,327
3.5 %
Total operating revenues
13,645,962
100.0 %
12,959,971
100.0 %
Cost of Revenues
Commissions paid
3,468,747
25.4 %
4,114,251
31.7 %
Premium taxes, fees, and assessments
305,069
2.2 %
386,617
3.0 %
Losses and loss adjustment expense
2,916,387
21.4 %
1,789,350
13.8 %
Total cost of revenues
6,690,203
49.0 %
6,290,218
48.5 %
Gross margin
6,955,759
51.0 %
6,669,753
51.5 %
Other Operating Expenses
Employee costs
4,322,677
31.7 %
5,094,581
39.3 %
Professional fees
459,096
3.3 %
250,992
1.9 %
General and administrative
1,885,057
13.8 %
2,358,416
18.2 %
Amortization
461,383
3.4 %
1,158,057
9.0 %
Depreciation
23,112
0.2 %
21,393
0.2 %
Bad debt expense
1,811
0.0 %
2,735
0.0 %
Total expenses
7,153,136
52.4 %
8,886,174
68.6 %
Segment Loss from Operations
(197,377 )
(1.4 %)
(2,216,421 )
(17.1 %)
Interest income (expense)
(359 )
(0.0 %)
0.0 %
Unrealized gain (loss) on securities
(90,886 )
(0.7 %)
1,193,042
9.2 %
Gain on sale of investments
269,701
2.00 %
557,279
4.3 %
Noncontrolling interest in subsidiary income
-
-
(5,658 )
(0.0 %)
Net Loss Attributable to Common Stockholders
$ (18,921 )
(0.1 %)
$ (471,607 )
(3.6 %)
Comparison of Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2019. In fiscal 2020, total operating revenues increased by 5.3% when compared to fiscal 2019, primarily due to a 7.1% increase in premiums earned at UCS. Segment loss from insurance operations improved mainly due to lower operating expenses when compared to fiscal 2019. The key factors affecting our insurance operations results during fiscal 2020 were as follows:
﻿
●
Premiums earned from our UCS insurance subsidiary increased 7.1% in fiscal 2020, when compared to fiscal 2019, reflecting an increase in gross written premium now that UCS is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and prior year growth within our rental guarantee bond program. However, due to the current disruption in this market, we have suspended issuing new rental guarantee bonds, which is expected to reduce future revenues at UCS as revenues from this product line accounted for $5,536,165 of UCS revenues in fiscal 2020.
●
Our brokerage operations realized a 4.7% decrease in insurance commissions from other insurance carriers in fiscal 2020,when compared to fiscal 2019. The decrease is mainly due to our agents being able to place more surety bond business through UCS but also due to a reduction in overall demand during fiscal 2020 as some of the markets we serve (contractors, small businesses, residential and commercial lease) were impacted by COVID-19.
●
Commissions paid in fiscal 2020 decreased by $645,504 from fiscal 2019 primarily due to the suspension of UCS's rental guarantee bond program, which generally provided a higher commission structure.
●
Our losses and loss adjustment expense as a percentage of insurance revenues increased from 13.8% in fiscal 2019 to 21.4% in fiscal 2020. During fiscal 2020, UCS increased its loss reserves related to its rental guarantee bond program due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
●
Employee costs and general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased to 31.7% and 13.8%, respectively, during fiscal 2020. This is compared to 39.3% and 18.2%, respectively, during fiscal 2019.
●
During fiscal 2020, our segment loss from insurance operations of $197,377 was offset by gain on sale of investments of $269,701 from our investments in publicly traded securities. We expect to continue to invest a portion of our excess capital in accordance with insurance regulatory limitations in both large-cap publicly traded equity securities and bonds. These investments are subject to the risk of loss in value depending upon market conditions and factors outside of our control.
Results of Broadband Operations
For the Years Ended December 31,
Amount
As a % of Segment Operating Revenues
Amount
As a % of Segment Operating Revenues
Operating Revenues
Broadband revenues
$ 3,836,537
100.0 %
$ -
-
Cost of Revenues
Network operations and data costs
243,980
6.3 %
-
-
Programming costs
71,500
1.9 %
-
-
Cell site rent and utilities
65,181
1.7 %
-
-
Other costs of revenues
165,445
4.3 %
-
-
Total cost of revenues
546,106
14.2 %
-
-
Gross margin
3,290,431
85.8 %
-
-
Other Operating Expenses
Employee costs
1,649,478
43.0 %
-
-
Professional fees
113,029
2.9 %
-
-
Depreciation
336,628
8.8 %
-
-
Amortization
234,375
6.1 %
-
-
General and administrative
500,598
13.1 %
-
-
Accretion
1,722
0.0 %
-
-
Loss on disposition of assets
65,641
1.7 %
-
-
Total expenses
2,901,471
75.6 %
-
-
Segment Income from Operations
388,960
10.2 %
-
-
Interest expense, net
(3,495 )
(0.1 %)
-
-
Noncontrolling interest in subsidiary income
(40,681 )
(1.1 %)
-
-
Net Income Attributable to Common Stockholders
$ 344,784
9.0 %
$ -
-
Comparison of Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2019. In March 2020, we commenced our broadband services business with the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of FibAire. In December 2020, we acquired substantially all of the business assets of UBB. Therefore, comparisons of our broadband results for fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2019 may not be meaningful.
Cash Flows
Cash Flows for Fiscal 2020 compared to Fiscal 2019. The table below summarizes our cash flows in dollars for fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019:
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 5,573,281
$ 9,613,549
Net cash used in investing activities
(38,133,518 )
(60,626,598 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
60,012,252
49,241,242
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
$ 27,452,015
$ (1,771,807 )
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities. Net cash provided by operating activities was $5,573,281 for fiscal 2020 compared to a net cash inflow of $9,613,549 for fiscal 2019. The net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2020 was primarily attributable to improved operating results within our billboard and insurance businesses, the addition of our broadband services business, and interest income and dividend income earned at Boston Omaha, which was offset primarily by a decrease in unearned premiums at UCS and an increase in interest expense incurred under Link's term loan which commenced in August 2019.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities was $38,133,518 for fiscal 2020 as compared with net cash used in investing activities of $60,626,598 for fiscal 2019. The net cash used in investing activities for fiscal 2020 is primarily attributable to our investments in U.S. Treasury trading securities, the purchase of certain billboard assets and easements in Nevada for $1,995,832, commencing our broadband services business with the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of FibAire for a cash purchase price of $12,341,242, the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of UBB for a cash purchase price of $21,282,960, investing $6,000,000 in 24th Street Fund I, LLC and 24th Street Fund II, LLC, the $7,719,779 purchase of non-redeemable private placement warrants from Yellowstone and the $20,000,000 loan to DFH to assist in financing an acquisition. These investments were partially offset by DFH's $12,000,000 redemption of a portion of the preferred units as well as $25,499,884 in net inflows from sales and purchases of publicly traded equity securities mainly held at Boston Omaha.
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities. Net cash provided by financing activities was $60,012,252 during fiscal 2020 as compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $49,241,242 during fiscal 2019. During fiscal 2020, net cash provided by financing activities mainly consisted of $58,880,000 in gross proceeds raised through our public offering of Class A common stock on June 2, 2020, $5,500,000 borrowed under Link's credit facility on August 31, 2020, and gross proceeds of $669,751 raised through our “at the market" offering during April 2020, offset by offering costs of $3,428,355 and the purchase of the remaining thirty percent interest in SCS for $1,406,409.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Currently, we own billboards in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, surety insurance brokerage firms we acquired in 2016 and 2017, a surety insurance company we acquired in December 2016, broadband services providers whose assets we acquired in March 2020 and December 2020 and minority investments in several real estate management entities, a builder of residential homes, and a bank holding entity whose primary source of revenue is in subprime automobile lending. At December 31, 2020, we had approximately $44 million in unrestricted cash and approximately $38 million in U.S. Treasury trading securities. Our strategy is to continue to acquire other billboard locations and insurance businesses as well as acquire other businesses which we believe have the potential to generate positive cash flows and when made at what we believe to be attractive prices relative to other opportunities generally available to us. We currently expect to finance any future acquisitions and investments with cash, debt and seller or third-party financing. In the future, we may satisfy all or a portion of the purchase price for an acquisition with our equity securities. In addition, we have made investments in several companies and expect to continue to make investments in the securities of both publicly traded and privately held companies.
There can be no assurance that we will consummate any subsequent acquisitions. Furthermore, our acquisitions are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including as to when, whether and to what extent the anticipated benefits and cost savings of a particular acquisition will be realized. Our failure to successfully identify and complete future acquisitions of assets or businesses could reduce future potential earnings, available cash and slow our anticipated growth. Although we have and continually enter into non-binding letters of intent to acquire businesses on a regular basis, we do not have current agreements, commitments or understandings for any specific material acquisitions which are probable to be consummated at this time.
In February 2018, we announced the entry into a stock purchase agreement relating to the issuance and sale of up to $150,000,000 of our unregistered Class A common stock, which we refer to as the “2018 private placement.” 3,300,000 shares were issued in the initial closing, which occurred on March 6, 2018, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $76,890,000. The remaining 3,137,768 shares were issued during the third quarter of fiscal 2018 in a subsequent closing on May 15, 2018, resulting in gross proceeds to us of approximately $73,110,000. Under the 2018 private placement, all shares were sold at $23.30, a slight premium to the $23.29 closing price of the Class A common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as reported by NASDAQ on the date of the Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement.
Since March 2018, we utilized our “at the market” offering that is part of our shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we refer to as the “SEC,” and declared effective in February 2018. This shelf Registration Statement, which authorized us to sell up to $200,000,000 through the sales of securities to the public, expired in February 2021. We sold a total of 2,630,787 shares of Class A common stock and raised gross proceeds of $60,120,165 under this shelf Registration Statement. We expect to file shortly a new shelf registration statement and, as a result, expect to raise additional capital through the sale of our securities, which would dilute the percentage ownership held by current investors.
On August 12, 2019, Link entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with First National Bank of Omaha (the “Lender”) under which Link may borrow up to $40,000,000 (the “Credit Facility”). The Credit Agreement provides for an initial term loan (“Term Loan 1”), an incremental term loan (“Term Loan 2”) and a revolving line of credit. These loans are secured by all assets of Link and its operating subsidiaries, including a pledge of equity interests of each of Link’s subsidiaries. In addition, each of Link’s subsidiaries has joined as a guarantor to the obligations under the Credit Agreement. These loans are not guaranteed by BOC or any of BOC’s non-billboard businesses. As of December 31 ,2020 Link had borrowed $18,060,000 through Term Loan 1 and $5,500,000 through Term Loan 2 under the Credit Facility. We may not borrow additional funds under the Credit Facility. Principal amounts under each of Term Loan 1 and Term Loan 2 are payable in monthly installments according to a 15-year amortization schedule. These principal payments commenced on July 1, 2020 for Term Loan 1 and on October 1, 2020 for Term Loan 2. Both term loans are payable in full on August 12, 2026. During the first three years of the term loans, Link may prepay up to 10% of the loan principal in each year without paying any prepayment penalty. Otherwise, there is a prepayment penalty ranging between 2.0% and 0.5%. After three years, there is no prepayment penalty. Term Loan 1 and Term Loan 2 have fixed interest rates of 4.25% and 3.375%, respectively, per annum. The revolving line of credit loan facility has a $5,000,000 maximum availability. Interest payments are based on the 30-day LIBOR rate plus an applicable margin ranging between 2.00 and 2.50% dependent on Link’s consolidated leverage ratio. The revolving line of credit is due and payable on August 11, 2021. Long-term debt included within our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 consists of Term Loan 1 and Term Loan 2 borrowings of $23,057,650, of which $1,282,504 is classified as current. There were no amounts outstanding related to the revolving line of credit as of December 31, 2020.
During the term of the Credit Facility, Link is required to comply with the following financial covenants: A consolidated leverage ratio for any test period ending on the last day of any fiscal quarter of Link (a) beginning with the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2019 of not greater than 3.50 to 1.00, (b) beginning with the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2020 of not greater than 3.25 to 1.00, and (c) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2021 and thereafter, of not greater than 3.00 to 1.0; minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.15 to 1.00 measured quarterly, based on rolling four quarters. The Company was in compliance with these covenants as of December 31, 2020.
The Credit Agreement includes representations and warranties, reporting covenants, affirmative covenants, negative covenants, financial covenants and events of default customary for financings of this type. Upon the occurrence of an event of default the Lender may accelerate the loans. Upon the occurrence of certain insolvency and bankruptcy events of default the loans will automatically accelerate. The foregoing summary of the Credit Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be a complete description and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the terms and conditions of the Credit Agreement and Security Agreement, copies of which are incorporated by reference in this report and are attached as Exhibit 10.1 and Exhibit 10.2, respectively to our Form 8-K as filed with the SEC on August 13, 2019, a First Amendment to Credit Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 10.1 to our Form 8-K as filed with the SEC on October 29, 2019, and a Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 10.1 to our Form 8-K as filed with the SEC on June 30, 2020.
On March 18, 2020, we announced the authorization of a share repurchase program which allows us to repurchase our Class A common stock. We have not yet repurchased any shares under this program and we cannot predict when or if we will repurchase any shares of Class A common stock as any such share repurchases will depend on a number of factors, including constraints specified in any Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, price, general business and market conditions, and alternative investment opportunities.
On May 28, 2020, we entered into an underwriting agreement, which we refer to as the “underwriting agreement,” with Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Cowen and Company, LLC, as joint lead book-running managers for a public offering of 3,200,000 shares, which we refer to as the “firm shares,” of our Class A common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share. Under the terms of the underwriting agreement, we granted the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days, to purchase up to an additional 480,000 shares of Class A common stock at the public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions, which we refer to as the “option shares.” Adam Peterson and Alex Rozek, our Co-Chairmen, together with another member of our board of directors and another employee, purchased, directly or through their affiliates, an aggregate of 39,375 shares of Class A common stock in the offering at the public offering price. On June 2, 2020, we announced the completion of the public offering for a total of 3,680,000 shares, including both the firm shares and all of the option shares issued as a result of the underwriters’ exercise in full of their over-allotment option, resulting in total gross proceeds to us of $58,880,000. We raised this capital to fund the planned expansion of our fiber-to-the-home broadband business, to seek to grow our Link billboard business through the acquisitions of additional billboard businesses, and for general corporate purposes. The shares were sold in the offering pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) that was declared effective on February 9, 2018, as supplemented by a prospectus supplement dated May 28, 2020.
On October 2, 2020, we provided a term loan of $20,000,000 to Dream Finders Holdings, LLC to be used in expanding DFH's footprint in the Southeast United States. The effective interest rate on this term loan is approximately 14% and matures on May 1, 2021. This loan was repaid with interest in early 2021.
Between August and November 2020, we invested, through BOC Yellowstone, approximately $7.8 million through the purchase of 3,399,724 shares of Class B common stock and private placement warrants to purchase 7,719,779 shares of Class A common stock of Yellowstone. BOC Yellowstone is the sponsor of Yellowstone and under the terms of Yellowstone’s initial public offering completed in October 2020, which we refer to as the “Yellowstone IPO”, owns approximately 20% of Yellowstone’s issued and outstanding common stock.
We believe that our existing cash and short-term investments, funds available through the Credit Agreement Link entered into on August 12, 2019, and any funds that we may receive from cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet working capital requirements and anticipated capital expenditures for the next 12 months. We have also taken steps to suspend the future issuance of certain rental surety bonds issued by UCS and have taken other steps to reduce certain costs of our operations. At December 31, 2020, we had approximately $44 million in unrestricted cash, $38 million in U.S. treasury securities and $64 million in marketable equity securities.
If future additional significant acquisition opportunities become available in excess of our currently available cash and U.S. Treasury securities, we may need to seek additional capital through long term debt borrowings, the sale of our securities, and/or other financing options and we may not be able to obtain such debt or equity financing on terms favorable to us or at all.
In the future, we may use a number of different sources to finance our acquisitions and operations, including current cash on hand, potential future cash flows from operations, seller financing, debt financings including but not limited to long-term debt and line of credit facilities, including additional credit facilities which may or may not be secured by our assets or those of our operating subsidiaries, additional common or preferred equity issuances or any combination of these sources, to the extent available to us, or other sources that may become available from time to time, which could include asset sales and issuance of debt securities. In addition to our current credit facility, any other future debt that we incur may be recourse or non-recourse and may be secured or unsecured. Link's existing credit facility imposes restrictions on Link that could increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions by limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our billboard and insurance industries. Specifically, these restrictions place limits on Link and its subsidiaries' ability to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness, make additional acquisitions and investments, pay dividends, repurchase stock, create liens, enter into transactions with affiliates, merge or consolidate or transfer or sell our billboard assets. Our credit facility requires us to meet a fixed charge coverage ratio and other financial covenants. Our ability to comply with these loan covenants may be affected by factors beyond our control and a breach of any loan covenants would likely result in an event of default under the credit facility, which would permit the lender to declare all amounts incurred thereunder to be immediately due and payable and to terminate their commitment to make future extensions of credit. We also may take advantage of joint venture or other partnering opportunities as such opportunities arise in order to acquire properties that would otherwise be unavailable to us. Any future credit facilities which we or any of our subsidiaries may enter into would likely impose similar restrictions and risks. We may use the proceeds of any future borrowings to acquire assets or for general corporate purposes. In determining when to use leverage, we will assess the appropriateness of new equity or debt capital based on market conditions, including assumptions regarding future cash flow, the creditworthiness of customers and future rental rates.
We conduct and plan to continue to conduct our activities in such a manner as not to be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Therefore, no more than 40% of our total assets can be invested in investment securities, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act. In addition, we do not invest or intend to invest in securities as our primary business. We run the risk of inadvertently being deemed to be an investment company that is required to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”) because a significant portion of our assets consists of investments in companies in which we own less than a majority interest. The risk varies depending on events beyond our control, such as significant appreciation or depreciation in the market value of certain of our publicly traded holdings, adverse developments with respect to our ownership of certain of our subsidiaries, and transactions involving the sale of certain assets. If we are deemed to be an inadvertent investment company, we may seek to rely on a safe-harbor under the Investment Company Act that would provide us a one-year grace period to take steps to avoid being deemed to be an investment company. In order to ensure we avoid being deemed an investment company, we have taken, and may need to continue to take, steps to reduce the percentage of our assets that constitute investments assets under the Investment Company Act. These steps have included, among others, selling marketable securities that we might otherwise hold for the long-term and deploying our cash in non-investment assets. We have recently sold marketable securities, including at times at a loss, and we may be forced to sell our investment assets at unattractive prices or to sell assets that we otherwise believe benefit our business in the future to remain below the requisite threshold. We may also seek to acquire additional non-investment assets to maintain compliance with the Investment Company Act, and we may need to incur debt, issue additional equity or enter into other financing arrangements that are not otherwise attractive to our business. Any of these actions could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, we can make no assurance that we would successfully be able to take the necessary steps to avoid being deemed to be an investment company in accordance with the safe-harbor. If we were unsuccessful, then we would have to register as an investment company, and we would be unable to operate our business in its current form. We would be subject to extensive, restrictive, and potentially adverse statutory provisions and regulations relating to, among other things, operating methods, management, capital structure, indebtedness, dividends, and transactions with affiliates. If we were deemed to be an investment company and did not register as an investment company when required to do so, there would be a risk, among other material adverse consequences, that we could become subject to monetary penalties or injunctive relief, or both, that we would be unable to enforce contracts with third parties, and/or that third parties could seek to obtain rescission of transactions with us undertaken during the period in which we were an unregistered investment company.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws do not limit the amount of debt that we may incur. Our Board of Directors has not adopted a policy limiting the total amount of debt that we may incur. Our Board of Directors will consider a number of factors in evaluating the amount of debt that we may incur. If we adopt a debt policy, our Board of Directors may from time to time modify such policy in light of then-current economic conditions, relative costs of debt and equity capital, market values of our properties, general conditions in the markets for debt and equity securities, fluctuations in the market price of our Class A common stock if then trading on any exchange, growth and acquisition opportunities and other factors. Our decision to use leverage in the future to finance our assets will be at our discretion and will not be subject to the approval of our stockholders, and we are not restricted by our governing documents or otherwise in the amount of leverage that we may use.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Except for our normal operating leases, we do not have any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, transactions or special purpose entities.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements and related notes to the consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base these estimates on historical results and various other assumptions believed to be reasonable, all of which form the basis for making estimates concerning the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily available from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
In the notes accompanying the consolidated financial statements, we describe the significant accounting policies used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. We believe that the following represent the most significant estimates and management judgments used in preparing the consolidated financial statements.
Purchased Intangibles and Other Long-Lived Assets
We amortize intangible assets with finite lives over their estimated useful lives, which range between two years and 50 years as follows:
Years
Customer relationships
3 to 10
Permits, licenses, and lease acquisition costs
10 to 50
Noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements
2 to 5
Technology, trade names, and trademarks
2 to 20
Site location
Purchased intangible assets, including long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Factors considered in reviewing the asset values include consideration of the use of the asset, the expected life of the asset, and regulatory or contractual provisions related to such assets. Market participation assumptions are compared to our experience and the results of the comparison are evaluated. For finite-lived intangible assets, the period over which the assets are expected to contribute directly to future cash flows is evaluated against our historical experience. Impairment losses are recognized only if the carrying amount exceeds its fair value.
We have acquired goodwill related to our various business acquisitions. Goodwill represents future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized. Goodwill, by reporting unit, is reviewed annually for impairment or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be fully recoverable. For our annual review, we employ a third party valuation expert. Factors considered in the annual evaluation include deterioration in economic conditions (both macro and geographic), limitations on accessing capital, and market value of our company. Industry and market conditions such as changes in competition, the general state of the industry, regulatory and political developments, and changes in market multiples are additional components of the valuation. Changes in key personnel, strategy, and customer retention are also reviewed. If industry and economic conditions deteriorate, we may be required to assess goodwill impairment before the next annual test, which could result in impairment charges. The discounted cash flow approach that we use for valuing goodwill as part of the impairment testing approach involves estimating future cash flows expected to be generated from the related assets, discounted to their present value using a risk-adjusted discount rate. Key assumptions utilized in estimating the future cash flows expected to be generated by each reporting unit primarily relate to forecasted revenues and premiums earned.
During the fourth quarter of 2019, we updated our analysis of economic lives of customer relationships. As of October 1, 2019, we extended the amortization period to ten years to better reflect the estimated economic lives of our billboard customers. This change in accounting estimate decreased amortization expense and decreased the net loss by $2,124,125, or $0.09 per basic and diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Acquisitions
For transactions that meet the definition of a business combination, we allocate the purchase price, including any contingent consideration, to the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their estimated fair values as of the date of the acquisition with any excess of the purchase price paid over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired recorded as goodwill. For transactions that meet the definition of a business combination, the determination of the final purchase price and the acquisition-date fair value of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed may extend over more than one period and result in adjustments to the preliminary estimate recognized in the prior period financial statements. For transactions that meet the definition of asset purchases, we allocate the purchase price to the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their estimated relative fair values as of the date of the acquisition.
The fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is typically determined by using either estimates of replacement costs or discounted cash flow valuation methods. When determining the fair value of tangible assets acquired, we must estimate the cost to replace the asset with a new asset, adjusted for an estimated reduction in fair value due to age of the asset, and the economic useful life. When determining the fair value of intangible assets acquired, we must estimate the applicable discount rate, the timing and amount of future cash flows, the applicable income tax rates, and an appropriate customer attrition rate.
Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses
Unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses represent estimates for the ultimate cost of unpaid reported and unreported claims incurred and related expenses. Estimates for losses and loss adjustment expenses are based on past experience of investigating and adjusting claims and consideration of the level of premiums written during the current and prior year. Since the reserves are based on estimates, the ultimate liability may differ from the estimated reserve. The effects of changes in estimated reserves are included in the results of operations in the period in which the estimates are updated.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
At December 31, 2020, we held no significant derivative instruments that materially increased our exposure to market risks for interest rates, foreign currency rates, commodity prices or other market price risks. Our operations are currently conducted entirely within the U.S.; therefore, we had no significant exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or other standard setting bodies, which are adopted by us as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the Company’s management believes the impact of recently issued standards not yet effective will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements upon adoption. See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements for a detailed discussion of recently issued accounting pronouncements.
In December 2019, the FASB issued guidance which simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles and improves consistent application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for other areas by clarifying and amending existing guidance. This guidance is effective January 1, 2021. We do not expect adoption will have a material impact on our disclosures.
In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-01, Clarifying the Interactions between Topic 321, Investments-Equity Securities, Topic 323, Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures, and Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. This ASU clarifies that when accounting for certain equity securities, a company should consider observable transactions before applying or upon discontinuing the equity method of accounting for the purposes of applying the measurement alternative. This guidance is effective January 1, 2021, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect adoption will have a material impact on our financial statements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Not applicable as we are a “smaller reporting company.”

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes, together with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm thereon, are set forth below beginning on page and are incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
Not applicable.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officers and principal financial and accounting officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officers and principal financial and accounting officer each concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective and designed to ensure that the information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the requisite time periods.
We completed the acquisitions of AireBeam and Utah Broadband in March and December of 2020, respectively. The acquired businesses are included in our 2020 consolidated financial statements and constitute 3% and 6% of consolidated total assets, respectively, and 1% and 2% of consolidated net assets (excluding goodwill and intangibles acquired), respectively, as of December 31, 2020. AireBeam and Utah Broadband constitute 8% and less than 1% of consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020, respectively. As the acquisitions occurred in March and December of 2020, we excluded the acquisitions’ internal control over financial reporting from the scope of our assessment of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. This exclusion is in accordance with the general guidance issued by the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission that an assessment of a recently acquired business may be omitted from our scope in the year of acquisition if specified conditions are satisfied.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, using the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, which we refer to as “COSO 2013.” Based on its evaluation under the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013), management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of as of December 31, 2020.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Other than as disclosed above, there have not been any changes in our internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act, during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures
Our management, including our principal executive officers and principal financial and accounting officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal controls will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company have been detected. These inherent limitations include, but are not limited to, the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information.
None.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Management
Executive Officers and Directors. The following table lists the current members of our Board of Directors and our executive officers as of March 26, 2021. The address for our directors and officers is c/o Boston Omaha Corporation, 1601 Dodge Street, Suite 3300, Omaha, Nebraska 68102.
Name
Age
Position(s)
(1)
(2)
(3)
Alex B. Rozek
Co-Chairperson of the Board, Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Adam K. Peterson
Co-Chairperson of the Board, Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Joshua P. Weisenburger
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, and Treasurer
Bradford B. Briner
Director
X
X
Brendan J. Keating
Director
Frank H. Kenan II
Director
X
X
Jeffrey C. Royal
Director
X
X
X
Vishnu Srinivasan
Director
X
X
(1) Member of Audit and Risk Committee
(2) Member of Compensation Committee
(3) Member of Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Each executive officer is elected or appointed by, and serves at the discretion of, our Board of Directors. The elected officers of the Company will hold office until their successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal.
Alex B. Rozek, age 42, has been Co-Chairperson of our Board of Directors, Co-Chief Executive Officer and President since February 2015, when he became a member of our Board of Directors. He also serves as the Managing Member of Boulderado Partners, LLC, a private investment partnership founded in July 2007. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Rozek served as an analyst for Water Street Capital and Friedman Billings Ramsey Group. Prior to 2004, he worked for Hunton & Williams and FedEx. Since August 2020, Mr. Rozek has served as Co-Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Yellowstone Acquisition Company, a special purpose acquisition company which trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market and in which one of our subsidiaries serves as sponsor. Mr. Rozek is also one of three appointees from the town of Woodstock to ECFiber, a fiber telecommunications cooperative in east-central Vermont. Mr. Rozek graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a Minor in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Rozek’s 17 years’ experience in business operations, investments and financial analysis qualifies him to be a member of the Board of Directors in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Adam K. Peterson, age 39, has been Co-Chairperson of our Board of Directors since February 2015, when he became a member of our Board of Directors, and has been President since December 2017. Since June 2014, Mr. Peterson has served as the Manager of The Magnolia Group, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor and the general partner of Magnolia Capital Fund, LP, Magnolia BOC I, LP, and Magnolia BOC II, LP. Since August 2020, Mr. Peterson has served as Co-Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Yellowstone Acquisition Company, a special purpose acquisition company which trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market and in which one of our subsidiaries serves as sponsor. Since June 2017, Mr. Peterson has served as a Director for Nicholas Financial, Inc., a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. From May 2016 through March 2021, Mr. Peterson has served as a Director for Brampton Brick Ltd., a publicly traded Canadian company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. From November 2005 through August 2014, Mr. Peterson served as the Chief Investment Officer of Magnolia Capital Partners, LP and related entities. From May 2004 through June 2006, Mr. Peterson was a financial analyst for Kiewit Corporation. Mr. Peterson graduated with a B.S. in Finance from Creighton University. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Peterson’s 16 years’ experience in business operations, investments and financial analysis qualifies him to be a member of the Board of Directors in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Joshua P. Weisenburger, age 37, has served as our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer since June 2017. Mr. Weisenburger, who joined us in 2016, has also served as our Chief Accounting Officer and our Controller. Mr. Weisenburger also serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Yellowstone Acquisition Company, a special purpose acquisition company which trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market and in which one of our subsidiaries serves as sponsor. From July 2011 through June 2016, Mr. Weisenburger was employed by Ecolab, Inc., a global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services. At Ecolab, Mr. Weisenburger served first as a finance manager and then as a finance controller throughout various divisions within the company. Prior to his time at Ecolab, Mr. Weisenburger was employed from June 2005 through August 2009 by Kiewit Corporation, a construction, engineering and mining services company, and held several different treasury roles. Mr. Weisenburger graduated with a B.S. in Finance from Creighton University and an MBA from the University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Management.
Bradford B. Briner, age 44, has served as a member of our Board of Directors since April 2016. Mr. Briner is also currently a member of our Audit and Risk Committee and Compensation Committee. Mr. Briner joined Willett Advisors in 2012 and is the Co-Chief Investment Officer. Willett Advisors is the investment management arm of the Bloomberg Family and for Bloomberg Philanthropies. Previously, Mr. Briner was the Managing Director of Private Investments for Morgan Creek Capital, a $10 billion fund of funds that he co-founded in 2004. Mr. Briner graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar with a degree in economics with distinction. Mr. Briner also received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Briner’s 22 years’ experience in real estate, investment and management services qualifies him to be a member of the Board of Directors in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Brendan J. Keating, age 39, has served as a member of our Board of Directors since February 2016. Since August 2015, Mr. Keating has been Manager and CEO of Logic Real Estate Companies, LLC, a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada and formed in 2015 which provides commercial property brokerage and property management services. A trust controlled by members of Mr. Keating’s family owns a majority of the membership interest in Logic Real Estate Companies, LLC. From 2005 to 2015, Mr. Keating was employed at The Equity Group, a company providing services to the commercial real estate market in brokerage, investment, management, development, consulting, tax appeal and facility maintenance services. Mr. Keating served as a principal of The Equity Group from 2007 to 2015. Mr. Keating has a B.S. in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Creighton University. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Keating’s 16 years’ experience in commercial real estate brokerage, investment and management services qualifies him to be a member of the Board of Directors in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Frank H. Kenan II, age 39, has served as a member of our Board of Directors since June 2017. Mr. Kenan is also currently a member of our Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Since August 2014, Mr. Kenan has served as the Co-Founder and Principal of KD Capital Management, LLC. From September 2011 to December 2014, Mr. Kenan served as an Investment Analyst at Boulderado Group, LLC. From January 2006 to January 2008, Mr. Kenan served as a Development Associate at Edens & Avant. From May 2005 to January 2006, Mr. Kenan served as an Analyst at Vivum Group. Mr. Kenan currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Flagler Systems, Inc. a hospitality and real estate company. Mr. Kenan also serves on the board of advisors for the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Family Enterprise Center at Kenan-Flagler Business School. Mr. Kenan holds a B.S. from the College of Charleston and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Kenan-Flagler Business School. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Kenan’s 16 years’ experience in investments and financial analysis qualifies him to be a member of the Board of Directors in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Jeffrey C. Royal, age 44, has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2019. Mr. Royal is also currently a member of our Audit and Risk Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Since January 2006, Mr. Royal has been the President of Dundee Bank located in Omaha, Nebraska and also serves as the Chairman and a director of Mackey Banco, Inc. (the holding company for Dundee Bank). Prior to joining Dundee Bank, he was Second Vice President of First National Bank of Omaha. Mr. Royal has also served as a Director for Nicholas Financial, Inc., a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, since October 2017. Since June 2018, Mr. Royal has served as a Director of Bridges Investment Fund, Inc., a mutual fund which trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market. Mr. Royal has served on the Board of Directors of each of Eagle Bank and Tri-Valley Bank since 2009 and 2013, respectively. These banks merged in January 2021 and Mr. Royal serves as the non-executive Chairman of the combined entities, now operating as Riverstone Bank. Mr. Royal has also served as a Director of Brunswick State Bank since 2007. Mr. Royal received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Administration from Creighton University and completed the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Royal’s 15 years’ experience in banking qualifies him to be a member of the Board of Directors in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Vishnu Srinivasan, age 42, has served as a member of our Board of Directors since June 2017. Mr. Srinivasan is also currently a member of our Audit and Risk Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Srinivasan joined The Ohio State University as its Chief Investment Officer in May 2020. Previously, he was employed by Ganesh Investments, L.L.C., which is focused on public and private equity investments as a Vice President and then a Managing Director from 2012 through May 2020. Ganesh Investments provides investment advisory services to members of the Pritzker family and their charitable foundations. From November 2009 to October 2012, Mr. Srinivasan was an Analyst at Alyeska Investment Group, a long/short hedge fund. From August 2002 until October 2009, Mr. Srinivasan was a Principal and held various other roles at Berkshire Partners, a private equity fund. Mr. Srinivasan graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics. Mr. Srinivasan also received an MBA from Harvard Business School. Our Board has determined that Mr. Srinivasan’s 19 years’ experience in public and private equity, investment and management services qualifies him to be a member of the Board of Directors in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Significant Employees
In addition to our Executive Officers, we also employ the following significant employees:
W. Scott LaFoy, age 59, joined Link in May 2018 to manage Link's merger and acquisition activities and was named Chief Executive Officer in April 2020. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. LaFoy served as general manager for the Chattanooga division of Fairway Outdoor Advertising. From 1999 until its acquisition by Fairway Outdoor Advertising in 2015, Mr. LaFoy owned and operated LaFoy Outdoor Advertising. From 1996 until 1999, he served as Regional President for Clear Channel Outdoor/Eller Media and Regional Director for its predecessor Universal Outdoor. Mr. LaFoy has more than 35 years' experience in management of outdoor advertising businesses. Mr. LaFoy holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Minor in History from the University of Central Florida.
Dave Herman, age 36, has served as President of GIG since August 2019 and previously served as GIG's Chief Operating Officer since January 2019. Prior to joining GIG, Mr. Herman owned Anthros Consulting, Inc., a company that combined business strategy with software systems, data visualization, and analytics expertise from May 2015 through December 2018. From February 2013 through May 2015, Mr. Herman was employed by McKinsey and Company, specializing in operations, supply chain, and strategic turnarounds. Mr. Herman holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University, a certificate of Management for Scientists and Engineers from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering and Minor in Engineering Management from Cornell University.
Robert Thomas, age 57, was appointed as President of UCS in August 2019 and previously served as UCS' Chief Operating Officer from October 2017 to August 2019. From April 2011 through March 2017, Mr. Thomas served as President of Hanover Surety and previously served as President of Argo Surety from March 2008 through March 2011. Mr. Thomas has been employed in the surety insurance industry since 2001 and the reinsurance industry from 1987 through 2001. Mr. Thomas holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Management from the University of Saint Thomas.
Board of Directors
Family Relationships. None of our officers or directors has any family relationship with any other director or officer. “Family relationship” for this purpose means any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin.
Board Composition. The number of directors of the Company is established by the Board in accordance with the Company’s bylaws. Other than directors elected by our Class B common stock, the directors are elected at the annual meeting of stockholders, and shall hold office until each director’s successor is elected and qualified, unless sooner displaced.
The Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that the authorized number of directors may be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors or by the stockholders at the annual meeting, at any special meeting of stockholders, or by written consent in lieu of an annual or special meeting of the stockholders. The Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws also provide that vacancies and newly created directorships may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office and that directors may be removed, with or without cause, by the holders of capital stock representing a majority in voting power of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors, unless otherwise specified by law or the certificate of incorporation. The certificate of incorporation provides that two of the directors are elected solely by the holders of Class B common stock.
Members of the Board discussed various business matters informally on numerous occasions throughout the year and held 11 formal telephonic Board meetings and six unanimous written consents of directors in lieu of meetings. All current directors attended at least 75% of the aggregate of the meetings of our Board of Directors and the meetings held by committees of the Board on which they served. Independent directors endeavor to meet on a regular basis as often as necessary to fulfill their responsibilities.
Our Board of Directors currently has seven members, including four independent directors. Messrs. Peterson and Rozek are designated by MCF and BP, and Mr. Keating is affiliated with Logic, in which we own a 30% interest, and 24th Street Holding Company, LLC, in which we own a 49.9% interest, both directly and indirectly through our ownership in Logic, and therefore none of Messrs. Peterson, Rozek, or Keating are considered independent. Other than members elected by the holders of our Class B common stock, members of the Board of Directors are elected at our annual meeting of stockholders to serve for a term of one year or until their successors have been elected and qualified, subject to prior death, resignation, retirement or removal from office. Under the terms of our certificate of incorporation, the holders of our Class B common stock elect two members to our Board of Directors, which members currently are Mr. Rozek and Mr. Peterson.
Director Independence. The Company’s Class A common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market stock exchange. The Board considers the status of its members pursuant to the independence requirements set forth in the applicable NASDAQ rules and applicable federal securities laws. Our Board of Directors has affirmatively determined that each of Bradford B. Briner, Frank H. Kenan II, Jeffrey C. Royal and Vishnu Srinivasan is an independent director under the applicable rules of NASDAQ and as such term is defined in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Exchange Act. As of December 31, 2020, the members of the Audit and Risk Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are also “independent” for purposes of Section 10A-3 of the Exchange Act and applicable NASDAQ listing requirements.
Board Leadership Structure. Our Board of Directors does not have a formal policy on whether the roles of Co-Chief Executive Officers and Co-Chairmen of the Board of Directors should be separate. However, Messrs. Rozek and Peterson currently serve as both Co-Chief Executive Officers and Co-Chairman. Our Board of Directors has considered its leadership structure and believes at this time that the Company and its stockholders are best served by having both persons serve in both positions. Combining the roles fosters accountability, effective decision-making and alignment between interests of our Board of Directors and management. Our Board currently has no lead independent director.
Our Board of Directors expects to periodically review its leadership structure to ensure that it continues to meet the Company’s needs.
Role of Board in Risk Oversight. While the full Board of Directors has the ultimate oversight responsibility for the risk management process, its committees oversee risk in certain specified areas. In particular, our Audit and Risk Committee oversees management of enterprise risks as well as financial risks. Our Compensation Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to our executive compensation plans and arrangements and the incentives created by the compensation awards it administers. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee works together with our Audit and Risk Committee and they are responsible for overseeing the management of compliance and regulatory risks facing the Company and risks associated with business conduct and ethics. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also oversees risks associated with corporate governance. Pursuant to our Board of Directors’ instruction, management regularly reports on applicable risks to the relevant committee or the full Board of Directors, as appropriate, with additional review or reporting on risks conducted as needed or as requested by our Board of Directors and its committees.
Committees and Director Selection. Our Board of Directors has assigned certain of its responsibilities to permanent committees consisting of Board members appointed by it.
Our Audit and Risk Committee currently consists of Bradford B. Briner, Jeffrey C. Royal, and Vishnu Srinivasan, with Mr. Briner serving as chair of the committee. The Audit and Risk Committee assists the Board of Directors in its oversight responsibilities relating to the integrity of our financial statements, our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and the establishment and performance of our internal audit function and the performance of the independent auditor. The Audit and Risk Committee was formed in June 2017, and held four meetings and acted by unanimous written consent one time during fiscal 2020. The Board has determined that each of the members of the Audit and Risk Committee meets the criteria for independence under the applicable listing standards of NASDAQ, and that, due to his experience as described in the section entitled “Executive Officers and Directors,” Mr. Briner also qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” and “independent” as defined by the applicable rules adopted by the SEC and NASDAQ. Our Board of Directors has adopted a written charter under which the Audit and Risk Committee operates, and which was amended and restated on February 21, 2020. A copy of the Audit and Risk Committee charter is available on our website at https://www.bostonomaha.com/documents/81/1bc381bf3541d2da6b7c080b1ee114ec.pdf.
Our Compensation Committee currently consists of Bradford B. Briner, Frank H. Kenan II, and Jeffrey C. Royal, with Mr. Kenan serving as chair of the committee. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors is authorized to review our compensation and benefits plans to ensure they meet our corporate objectives, approve the compensation structure of our executive officers and evaluate our executive officers’ performance and advise on salary, bonus and other incentive and equity compensation. The Compensation Committee has authority under its charter to engage the services of outside advisors, experts and others to assist the Compensation Committee. In 2020, no compensation consultant was engaged for employee or executive compensation. The Compensation Committee was created in June 2017 and held one meeting and acted by unanimous written consent twice during fiscal 2020. The Board has determined that each of the members of the Compensation Committee meets the criteria for independence under the applicable NASDAQ listing standards. Our Board of Directors has adopted a written charter under which the Compensation Committee operates, and which was amended and restated on May 30, 2019. A copy of the Compensation Committee charter is available on our website at https://www.bostonomaha.com/documents/81/d636071762fda9fcadbd82bc7cca4b92.pdf.
Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee currently consists of Frank H. Kenan II, Jeffrey C. Royal and Vishnu Srinivasan, with Mr. Srinivasan serving as chair of the committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is primarily concerned with identifying individuals qualified to become members of our Board of Directors, selecting the director nominees for the next annual meeting of the stockholders, selection of the director candidates to fill any vacancies on our Board of Directors and the development of our corporate governance guidelines and principles. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee was created in June 2017 and held two meetings and acted by unanimous written consent five times in fiscal 2020. Our Board of Directors has adopted a written charter under which the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee operates, and which was amended and restated on May 30, 2019. A copy of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter is available on our website at https://www.bostonomaha.com/documents/81/0f0db6ab6083bb4fc913fcbbb592f366.pdf.
The Company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee identifies individuals qualified to become members of our Board of Directors through recommendations from members of the Committee and other Board members and executive officers of the Company and will consider candidates who are recommended by stockholders, as described below. These factors focus on skills, expertise or background and may include decision-making ability, judgment, personal integrity and reputation, experience with businesses and other organizations of comparable size, and the extent to which the candidate would be a desirable addition to the Board of Directors and any committees of the Board of Directors.
We are committed to diversity in all aspects of our business and activities and at all levels of our business, including our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors highly values diversity and supports the election and appointment of diverse candidates to the Board. The Board believes that having directors of diverse perspectives, opinions, backgrounds, skills and experiences contributes to a balanced and effective Board. The Board is committed to administering a director election process that encourages and promotes consideration of diverse candidates in the nomination and election of directors to the Board. The Board encourages our stockholders to consider diversity when nominating individuals for member director positions. In selecting nominees for independent director positions, we have in the past and will continue to consider many factors, with an emphasis on diversity of perspectives, opinions, backgrounds, skills and experiences.
On June 5, 2017, we amended and restated our bylaws, which we refer to as the “Amended and Restated Bylaws,” providing for advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals at meetings and ownership thresholds for certain control group nominations and actions. Prior to June 5, 2017, we did not have a policy that permitted stockholders to recommend candidates for election as directors or a process for stockholders to send communications to the Board of Directors.
Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Bylaws, a stockholder who, in accordance with Rule 14a-8, under the Exchange Act, wants to present a proposal for inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement and proxy card relating to either the Company’s annual stockholders’ meeting or a special stockholders’ meeting must submit the proposal to the Company and, pursuant to Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of our Amended and Restated Bylaws, the notice of the proposal must be delivered to or mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Company (i) not later than the close of business on the 90th day, nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day in advance of the anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting if such meeting is to be held on a day which is not more than 30 days in advance of the anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting or not later than 70 days after the anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting; and (ii) with respect to any other annual meeting of stockholders, no later than the close of business on the tenth day following the date of a press release reported by the Dow Jones News Services, The Associated Press or a comparable national news service or in a document filed by the Company with the SEC pursuant to Section 13, 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act containing the date of such meeting. However, if the date of our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders occurs more than 30 days before or 70 days after the anniversary of the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, a stockholder notice will be timely if it is received at our principal executive office no later than the close of business on the tenth day following the date of a press release reported by the Dow Jones News Services, The Associated Press or a comparable national news service or in a document filed by the Company with the SEC pursuant to Section 13, 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act containing the date of such meeting. The Company expects to announce shortly a date in the late summer or early fall for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
All proposals must be mailed to the Company’s principal executive office, at the address stated herein, and should be directed to the attention of the Secretary of the Company.
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will evaluate new director candidates in view of the criteria described above, as well as other factors the Committee deems to be relevant, through reviews of biographical and other information, input from others, including members of the Board of Directors and executive officers of the Company, and personal discussions with the candidate when warranted by the results of these other assessments. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will evaluate any director candidates recommended by stockholders under the same process. In determining whether to recommend to the Board of Directors the nomination of a director who is a member of the Board of Directors, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will review the Board of Directors performance of such director and solicit feedback about the director from other members of the Board of Directors.
Compensation of Directors. In July 2018, our Board of Directors adopted a policy whereby Directors that are not directly employed by us or any of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, which we refer to as “Outside Directors” shall each receive compensation at the rate of $10,000 per year, payable quarterly in advance on the first day of each calendar quarter. The Board of Directors also provided that these guidelines may be modified by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.
Additionally, in July 2018, the Board of Directors adopted a policy whereby Outside Directors are required to hold $50,000 of the Company’s Class A common stock (either directly or indirectly), which amount is converted to a fixed share amount using the average closing price of our Class A common stock during the immediately preceding three months for the period ending June 30, 2018 for any Outside Directors in July 2018 and three months from the last day of the calendar month preceding the date of appointment of any director appointed thereafter. Outside Directors are required to achieve fully their respective ownership level within three years and 50% of the requirement within 18 months from adoption or election, as applicable. The Board of Directors also provided that these guidelines may be modified by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. All of our Outside Directors are currently in compliance with all of these ownership guidelines.
Each of Messrs. Rozek and Peterson receive compensation as officers of our Company, and we reimburse all of our directors for reasonable travel and other expenses incurred in attending Board and committee meetings.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including those officers responsible for financial reporting. The code of business conduct and ethics is available on our website at www.bostonomaha.com. We will furnish to any person without charge, upon written request, a copy of our code of business conduct and ethics and requests may be directed to Co-Chief Executive Officer of Boston Omaha Corporation, 1601 Dodge Street, Suite 3300, Omaha, Nebraska 68102. We expect that any amendments to the code, or any waivers of its requirements, will be disclosed on our website as referenced above.
Corporate Governance Guidelines
We have adopted corporate governance guidelines in accordance with the corporate governance rules of NASDAQ, as applicable, that serve as a flexible framework within which our Board of Directors and its committees will operate. These guidelines cover a number of areas, including the size and composition of the Board, Board membership criteria and director qualifications, director responsibilities, Board agendas, roles of the Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officers, executive sessions, standing Board committees, Board member access to management and independent advisors, director communications with third parties, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, evaluation of senior management and management succession planning. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines is available on our website at www.bostonomaha.com.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company’s executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than ten percent of any publicly traded class of the Company’s equity securities, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership of equity securities of the Company with the SEC. Officers, directors, and greater-than-ten percent stockholders are required by the SEC’s regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms that they file.
Based upon a review of Forms 3 and Forms 4 and amendments thereto furnished to the Company during the most recent fiscal year and Forms 5 and amendments thereto furnished to the Company with respect to its most recent fiscal year, we believe that our executive officers and directors, and ten percent stockholders complied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
The following table sets forth information with respect to the compensation of our principal executive officers and the other most highly compensated executive officer other than our principal executive officers for the Company’s last two completed fiscal years:
Name and principal position
Year
Salary ($)
Bonus ($)
All other compensation ($) (1)
Total ($)
Alex B. Rozek
$ 286,000
-
-
$ 286,000
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President (Principal Executive Officer)
$ 275,000
-
-
$ 275,000
Adam K. Peterson
$ 286,000
-
$ 6,197
$ 292,197
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President (Principal Executive Officer)
$ 23,660
-
-
$ 23,660
Joshua P. Weisenburger
$ 250,000
$ 135,000
$ 10,741
$ 395,741
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Secretary, and Treasurer
$ 220,000
$ 125,000
$ 8,763
$ 353,763
(1)
Employer contribution to 401(k) plan.
Director and Officer Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
We had no outstanding equity awards to directors or officers at December 31, 2020. We do not currently have any equity incentive plans established and, as a result, none of our officers or directors is a party to any equity incentive plan with the Company.
Director Compensation
In July 2018, our Board of Directors adopted a policy whereby directors that are not directly employed by us or any of our wholly-owned subsidiaries shall each receive compensation at the rate of $10,000 per year, payable quarterly in advance on the first day of each calendar quarter. Directors that are directly employed by us or by any of our wholly-owned subsidiaries shall not receive such compensation. All of our directors are also reimbursed for their reasonable travel and other expenses incurred in attending Board and committee meetings. The following table sets forth information with respect to the compensation of our directors, excluding Messrs. Peterson and Rozek who are included in the officer’s table above, for the Company’s last completed fiscal year:
Name
Year
Fees earned or paid in cash ($)
All other compensation ($)
Total ($)
Bradford B. Briner
$ 10,000
-
$ 10,000
Brendan J. Keating
$ 10,000
-
$ 10,000
Frank H. Kenan II
$ 10,000
-
$ 10,000
Vishnu Srinivasan
$ 10,000
-
$ 10,000
Jeffrey C. Royal
$ 10,000
-
$ 10,000
The Board of Directors also provided that these guidelines may be modified by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.
Each of Messrs. Rozek and Peterson receive compensation as officers of our Company, and we reimburse all of our directors for reasonable travel and other expenses incurred in attending Board and committee meetings.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
Our Compensation Committee members currently are Frank H. Kenan II, Bradford B. Briner and Jeffrey C. Royal, and none of the Compensation Committee members was, during the fiscal year, an officer or employee of the Company, or was formerly an officer of the Company. Except as described below, none of our executive officers serve as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee, or other committee serving an equivalent function, of any other entity that has one or more of its executive officers serving as a member of our Board or Compensation Committee. Entities controlled by Mr. Keating serve as the Manager of Logic and 24th Street Holding Company, LLC. None of the current members of the Compensation Committee of our Board has ever been an employee of the Company.
Employment Contracts, Termination of Employment and Change in Control Arrangements
Rozek and Peterson Employment Agreements. On August 1, 2015, we entered into employment agreements with each of Alex B. Rozek and Adam K. Peterson. Mr. Rozek and Mr. Peterson each serve as a Co-Chief Executive Officer and as a Co-President. Each of the employment agreements has a one-year term, with automatic successive one-year renewal terms unless we or the executive decline to renew the agreement. Each of the employment agreements provides for a base salary at federal minimum wage per year through December 31, 2015, and an annualized base salary of $275,000 thereafter. However, each of these agreements was amended to delay an increase in the base salary from federal minimum wage until such time as approved by the Compensation Committee. On January 2, 2019, the Compensation Committee approved compensating Mr. Rozek at the base salary of $275,000 per year. On December 27, 2019, the Compensation Committee approved compensating Mr. Peterson at the base salary of $275,000 per year, effective January 1, 2020. On February 3, 2020, the Compensation Committee approved increases to the base salaries of Mr. Rozek and Mr. Peterson from $275,000 to $286,000, effective retroactively to January 1, 2020 and on March 25, 2021 increased the base salaries for each of Mr. Peterson and Mr. Rozek to $425,000 per year, effective January 1, 2021. Each of the employment agreements also provides for certain severance payments to the executives in the event their employment is terminated by us without “cause” or if the executive terminates his employment for “good reason.”
Each of Messrs. Rozek and Peterson participate in a management incentive bonus plan, which we refer to as the “MIBP,” effective as of August 1, 2015, under which participants of such plan are eligible to receive cash bonus awards based on achievement by the Company of certain net growth target objectives. Each of Alex B. Rozek and Adam K. Peterson are eligible to participate in the management incentive bonus plan pursuant to their respective employment agreements. The management incentive bonus plan provides for a bonus pool, determined on an annual basis by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, equal to up to 20% of the amount by which our stockholders’ equity for the applicable fiscal year (excluding increases in stockholders’ equity per share resulting from issuances by the Company of its securities or securities of any subsidiary for cash consideration) exceeds 106% of our stockholders’ equity for the preceding fiscal year. On February 27, 2018, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved changes to the MIBP, effected through an amendment and restatement of the MIBP, including placing certain caps on the total payments under the MIBP through December 2032 and additional annual caps thereafter, as well as establishing a high water mark under the MIBP so that any decrease in adjusted stockholders’ equity per share in any prior year must be first recouped before the 6% hurdle test is applied. Previously, there were no caps on the amounts payable under the MIBP.
In the event that either Mr. Rozek or Mr. Peterson’s employment is terminated without cause or if either elects to terminate his employment for “Good Reason,” he is entitled to receive severance payments equal to the amounts which would have been payable to him under the MIBP if he had remained with us through the remainder of the fiscal year in which his employment terminated multiplied by a fraction equal to the number of days during the fiscal year that the executive remained employed by us divided by 365. Severance payments also will include an amount equal to four months’ base salary for each full 12 month period the executive is employed by us commencing August 1, 2015, except that in no event shall severance payments exceed the then current base salary on a monthly basis multiplied by 12. For purposes of these employment agreements, "Good Reason" means any of the following: (i) a substantial diminution in the duties and responsibilities of the named executive; (ii) a substantial diminution in the named Executive's compensation or benefits; or (iii) relocation of the Company's place of business in which Executive is employed to a location outside of a thirty (30) mile radius of his then current place of employment.
None of our officers receive salary or other compensation as officers and/or directors of Yellowstone.
Herman Employment Agreement. On January 1, 2019, we hired David Herman to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of our wholly-owned subsidiary General Indemnity Group, LLC. On August 9, 2019, Mr. Herman became President of General Indemnity Group, LLC. In connection with the employment of Mr. Herman, General Indemnity Group, LLC and Mr. Herman entered into an employment letter agreement, pursuant to which Mr. Herman currently receives an annual base salary of $300,000 per year. In addition, Mr. Herman is eligible to receive an annual cash bonus, based on achievement of certain performance metrics determined within 30 days of the commencement of each fiscal year, that are tied to personal performance goals, overall company performance measured by growth of gross written premium, and a discretionary amount determined by the Company’s senior management. In the event Mr. Herman’s employment is terminated by General Indemnity Group, LLC without “Cause” or by Mr. Herman for “Good Reason,” Mr. Herman will be eligible to receive severance pay equal to twelve months’ base salary.
Thomas Employment Agreement. On August 30, 2019, we hired Robert Thomas to serve as the President of United Casualty and Surety Insurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of our wholly-owned subsidiary General Indemnity Group, LLC. In connection with the employment of Mr. Thomas, United Casualty and Surety Insurance Company and Mr. Thomas entered into an employment letter agreement, pursuant to which Mr. Thomas will receive an annual base salary of $275,000 per year, which may be increased in increments up to $320,000 as determined by the growth of annual in-force written premium. In addition, Mr. Thomas is eligible to receive an annual bonus, based on “Adjusted Pre-Tax Underwriting Income” performance, subject to a three-year vesting schedule whereby 60% of a positive bonus is payable 60 days following the end of each calendar year, 30% of the earned bonus is paid one year thereafter, and the remaining 10% is paid two years thereafter. Negative bonus amounts for a given year will be applied against any unvested positive bonus amounts from prior years that have not yet been paid. In the event that, after five years of employment, Mr. Thomas’s employment is terminated by United Casualty and Surety Insurance Company without “Cause” or by Mr. Thomas for “Good Reason,” Mr. Thomas will be entitled to be paid upon termination for any unvested portions of previously earned bonuses.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth as of March 26, 2021 certain information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock by (i) each person known by us to own beneficially more than 5% of our outstanding shares of each of our Class A common Stock and our Class B Common Stock, (ii) each of our directors, (iii) each of our named executive officers and (iv) all directors and executive officers as a group.
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and includes voting and investment power with respect to shares. Unless otherwise indicated below, to our knowledge, all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to their shares of common stock, except to the extent authority is shared under applicable law. MCF has warrants to purchase 52,778 shares of our Class B common stock and BP has warrants to purchase 51,994 shares of our Class B common stock. All Class B common stock is convertible to Class A common stock at the option of the holder. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each person named in the table is c/o Boston Omaha Corporation, 1601 Dodge Street, Suite 3300, Omaha, Nebraska 68102.
Class A common stock
Class B common stock
Name of Beneficial Owner
Shares
Percentage of Outstanding Class of Stock
Shares
Percentage of Outstanding Class of Stock
Percentage of Aggregate Voting Power of Class A common stock and Class B common stock (1)
Percentage of Aggregate Economic Interest of Class A common stock and Class B common stock (2)
5% stockholders:
Magnolia Capital Fund, L.P. (3)
-
-
580,558
50.03 %
15.37 %
2.12 %
Magnolia BOC I, LP
7,960,095
30.41 %
21.07 %
29.12 %
Magnolia BOC II, LP (4)
2,070,328
7.91 %
5.48 %
7.57 %
The Magnolia Group, LLC
93,176
*
*
*
Boulderado Partners, LLC (5)
515,151
1.97 %
579,774
49.97 %
16.71 %
4.01 %
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
2,101,876
8.03 %
5.56 %
7.69 %
Named executive officers and directors:
Adam K. Peterson (3)(6)
10,220,936
39.05 %
580,558
50.03 %
42.42 %
39.51 %
Alex B. Rozek (5)(7)
796,429
3.04 %
579,774
49.97 %
17.45 %
5.03 %
Bradford B. Briner (8)
20,000
*
*
*
Brendan J. Keating (9)
100,000
*
*
*
Frank H. Kenan II (10)
181,666
*
*
*
Vishnu Srinivasan
7,000
*
*
*
Jeffrey C. Royal
5,000
*
*
*
Joshua P. Weisenburger
3,400
*
*
*
All directors and officers as a group (8 persons)
11,334,431
43.30 %
1,160,332
100.00 %
60.72 %
45.71 %
_______________________
*
Less than 1%
(1)
The percent of Percentage of Aggregate Voting Power of Class A common stock and Class B common stock reflects that each share of Class B common stock has 10 votes for each share of Class A common stock and assumes all outstanding Class B common stock warrants are exercised.
(2)
The percent of aggregate economic interest is based on both our Class A common stock and Class B common stock combined. The Class B common stock converts to Class A common stock on a 1:1 basis.
(3)
Includes warrants to purchase 52,778 shares of our Class B common stock.
(4)
Based on information provided in that certain Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on May 25, 2018 and that certain Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2019, shares held by Magnolia BOC II, LP are voted by The Magnolia Group, LLC at the direction of 238 Plan Associates LLC, and 238 Plan Associates LLC may be deemed to have voting and dispositive power over such shares.
(5)
Includes warrants to purchase 51,994 shares of our Class B common stock.
(6)
Represents amount of shares and warrants owned by Adam K. Peterson, Magnolia Capital Fund, LP, Magnolia BOC I, LP, Magnolia BOC II, LP and The Magnolia Group, LLC. Mr. Peterson serves as the manager of The Magnolia Group, LLC, the general partner of each of Magnolia Capital Fund, LP, Magnolia BOC I, LP and Magnolia BOC II, LP.
(7)
Represents shares and warrants owned by Boulderado Partners, LLC and 281,278 shares of Class A common stock held by trusts of which Mr. Rozek is the trustee and over which he has voting power, but as to which he disclaims beneficial ownership. Mr. Rozek serves as the manager of Boulderado Capital, LLC, the manager of Boulderado Partners, LLC. On January 15, 2019, BP distributed to certain of its limited partner investors 485,169 shares of Class A common stock.
(8)
Represents 10,000 shares of Class A common stock held by a limited liability company of which Mr. Briner is the Managing Member and 10,000 shares of Class A common stock held by Mr. Briner.
(9)
Represents 47,400 shares of Class A common stock held by a trust established for the benefit of Mr. Keating and members of his family, 6,800 shares of Class A common stock held by Mr. Keating, and 40,800 shares of Class A common stock held in retirement and 401(k) accounts for the benefit of Mr. Keating.
(10)
Represents 58,276 shares of Class A common stock held by KD Capital, L.P., of which Mr. Kenan serves as a manager and owns 100% of KD Capital Management, LLC, which is the general partner of KD Capital, L.P. and 123,390 shares of Class A common stock held by a trust under which Mr. Kenan is both the trustee and beneficiary.
Changes in Control
There are no arrangements known to the Company, including any pledge by any person of securities of the Company, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of the Company.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
We had no outstanding equity awards at December 31, 2020. We do not currently have any compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which equity securities are authorized for issuance, and, as a result, none of our officers and directors is a party to any equity compensation or incentive plan with the Company.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The following discussion is a brief summary of certain material arrangements, agreements and transactions we have with related parties. It does not include all of the provisions of our material arrangements, agreements and transactions with related parties, does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the arrangements, agreements and transactions described. We enter into transactions with our stockholders and other entities owned by, or affiliated with, our direct and indirect stockholders in the ordinary course of business. These transactions include, among others, professional advisory, consulting and other corporate services.
The holders of record of the shares of Class B common stock, exclusively and as a separate class, are entitled to elect two directors to our Board of Directors, which number of Class B Directors may be reduced pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Amended and Restated Voting and First Refusal Agreement. Any Class B Director may be removed without cause by, and only by, the affirmative vote of the holders of eighty percent (80%) of the shares of Class B common stock exclusively and as a separate class, given either at a special meeting of such stockholders duly called for that purpose or pursuant to a written consent of such stockholders. Matters requiring the unanimous approval of the Class B Directors are described in the risk factor entitled “Certain actions cannot be taken without the approval of MCF and BP due to their ownership of Class B common stock.”
Each of BP and MCF agreed as part of the Amended and Restated Voting and First Refusal Agreement also originally entered into on June 19, 2015 to elect as the Class B Directors each of Alex B. Rozek, as a nominee of BP, and Adam Peterson, as a nominee of MCF. In the event of (a) the death of a Class B Director, (b) the incapacitation of a Class B Director as a result of illness or accident, which makes it reasonably unlikely that the Class B Director will be able to perform his normal duties for the Company for a period of ninety (90) days, or (c) a change of control of BP or MCF, then the Class B stockholder which nominated such dead or incapacitated Class B Director, or the Class B stockholder undergoing such change of control, shall convert all of such Class B common stock into shares of our Class A common stock, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the certificate of incorporation. The Amended and Restated Voting and First Refusal Agreement also provides each of us and the other parties to the Amended and Restated Voting and First Refusal Agreement with the right of first refusal to purchase the Class B common stock proposed to be sold by the other holder of Class B common stock.
On February 22, 2018, the Company entered into a Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement for the 2018 private placement, pursuant to which the Company sold to MBOC I, MBOC II, and BBOC $150,000,000 in unregistered shares of Class A common stock at a price of $23.30, a slight premium to the closing price of shares of Class A common stock of $23.29 on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as reported by NASDAQ on the date of the Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement. MBOC I and MBOC II are entities managed by Magnolia, and BBOC, which subsequently contributed all of its shares of Class A common stock to MBOC I, was an entity managed by Boulderado Group, LLC. The Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement was approved by an independent special committee of our Board of Directors with the advice of independent legal counsel and an independent investment banking firm which provided a fairness opinion to the special committee. The closing of the first tranche of shares to be sold under the agreement occurred on March 6, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,300,000 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of $76,890,000. The closing of the second tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on May 15, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,137,768 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $73,110,000. The limited partners of each of MBOC I and MBOC II have the right to receive an in-kind distribution of their interests in the partnerships upon written request. On March 6, 2018, Magnolia BOC I and Magnolia BOC II entered into a registration rights agreement with the Company pursuant to which the Company is obligated at any time after March 6, 2021 to register up to 6,437,768 shares of Class A common stock held by Magnolia BOC I and Magnolia BOC II upon demand and which also grant the holders of these shares piggyback registration rights as described in the registration rights agreement. Such registration rights expire upon the earlier of March 31, 2033 or the date all such shares may be freely sold without restriction under Rule 144.
Mr. Peterson and Mr. Rozek also receive compensation from Magnolia and Boulderado for their roles as managers of Magnolia and Boulderado, respectively.
Two of our investments in affiliates, Logic and 24th Street Holding Company, LLC, are managed by Brendan Keating, a member of our board of directors. During fiscal 2020, we invested $6,000,000 in 24th Street Fund I, LLC and 24th Street Fund II, LLC. The funds are managed by 24th Street Asset Management LLC, a subsidiary of 24th Street Holding Company, LLC, and will focus on opportunities within secured lending and direct investments in commercial real estate.
Policy and Procedures for the Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons
Our Board of Directors has adopted a written policy and procedures, which we refer to as the “Related Party Policy,” for the review, approval or ratification of “Related Party Transactions” by the independent members of the Audit and Risk Committee of our Board of Directors. For purposes of the Related Party Policy, a “Related Party Transaction” is any transaction, arrangement or relationship or series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships (including the incurrence or issuance of any indebtedness or the guarantee of indebtedness) in which (1) the aggregate amount involved will or may be reasonably expected to exceed $120,000 in any fiscal year, (2) the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a participant, and (3) any Related Party (as defined therein) has or will have a direct or indirect material interest.
The Related Party Policy defines “Related Party” as any person who is, or, at any time since the beginning of the Company’s last fiscal year, was (1) an executive officer, director or nominee for election as a director of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (2) a person with greater than five percent (5%) beneficial interest in the Company, (3) an immediate family member of any of the individuals or entities identified in (1) or (2) of this paragraph, and (4) any firm, corporation or other entity in which any of the foregoing individuals or entities is employed or is a general partner or principal or in a similar position or in which such person or entity has a five percent (5%) or greater beneficial interest. Immediate family members, each of which we refer to as a “Family Member,” includes a person’s spouse, parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, siblings, mothers- and fathers-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law and anyone residing in such person’s home, other than a tenant or employee.
Prior to the Company entering into any Related Party Transaction, such Related Party Transaction will be reported to our outside corporate counsel who will report the same to the Audit and Risk Committee. Management, with assistance from our outside corporate counsel, will conduct an investigation and evaluation of the Related Party Transaction and will report its findings to the Audit and Risk Committee, including a summary of material facts. The Audit and Risk Committee will review the material facts of all Related Party Transactions which require the Audit and Risk Committee’s approval and either approve or disapprove of the Related Party Transaction, subject to the exceptions described below. If advance notice of a Related Party Transaction has been given to the Audit and Risk Committee and it is not possible to convene a meeting of the Audit and Risk Committee, then the chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee will consider whether the Related Party Transaction is appropriate and, if it is, will approve the Related Party Transaction, with the Audit and Risk Committee being asked to ratify the Related Party Transaction at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Audit and Risk Committee. In the event the Audit and Risk Committee does not ratify any such Related Party Transaction, management shall make all reasonable efforts to cancel or annul such Related Party Transaction. In determining whether to approve or ratify a Related Party Transaction, the Audit and Risk Committee will consider all factors it deems appropriate, including the factors listed below in “Review Criteria.”
Entering into a Related Party Transaction without the approval or ratification required by the terms of the Related Party Policy is prohibited and a violation of such policy. In the event the Company’s directors, executive officers or Chief Accounting Officer become aware of a Related Party Transaction that was not previously approved or ratified under the Related Party Policy, such person will promptly notify the Audit and Risk Committee (or, if it is not practicable for the Company to wait for the Audit and Risk Committee to consider the matter, the chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee), which will consider whether the Related Party Transaction should be ratified or rescinded or whether other action should be taken, with such review considering all of the relevant facts and circumstances regarding the Related Party Transaction, including the factors listed below in “Review Criteria.” The chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee will report to the Committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting any actions taken under the Related Party Policy pursuant to the authority delegated in this paragraph. The Audit and Risk Committee will also review all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to the failure to report the Related Party Transaction to the Audit and Risk Committee and will take, or recommend to our Board of Directors, any action the Audit and Risk Committee deems appropriate.
No member of the Audit and Risk Committee or director of our Board will participate in any discussion or approval of a Related Party Transaction for which he or she is a Related Party, except that the Audit and Risk Committee member or Board member will provide all material information concerning the Related Party Transaction to the Audit and Risk Committee.
If a Related Party Transaction will be ongoing, the Audit and Risk Committee may establish guidelines for the Company’s management to follow in its ongoing dealings with the Related Party. Thereafter, the Audit and Risk Committee, on at least an annual basis, will review and assess ongoing relationships with the Related Party to ensure that they are in compliance with the Audit and Risk Committee’s guidelines and that the Related Party Transaction remains appropriate.
Review Criteria. All Related Party Transactions will be reviewed in accordance with the standards set forth in the Related Party Policy after full disclosure of the Related Party’s interests in the transaction. As appropriate for the circumstances, the Audit and Risk Committee will review and consider:
●
the Related Party’s interest in the Related Party Transaction;
●
the terms of the Related Party Transaction, including the approximate dollar value of the amount involved in the Related Party Transaction and the approximate dollar value of the amount of the Related Party’s interest in the transaction without regard to the amount of any profit or loss;
●
whether the transaction is being undertaken in the ordinary course of business of the Company;
●
whether the transaction with the Related Party is proposed to be, or was, entered into on terms no less favorable to the Company than terms that could have been reached with an unrelated third party;
●
the purpose of, and the potential benefits to the Company of, the Related Party Transaction;
●
a description of any provisions or limitations imposed as a result of entering into the Related Party Transaction;
●
whether the proposed transaction includes any potential reputational risk issues for the Company which may arise as a result of or in connection with the Related Party Transaction;
●
whether the proposed transaction would violate any requirements of the Company’s financing or other material agreements; and
●
any other relevant information regarding the Related Party Transaction or the Related Party.
The Audit and Risk Committee, or its chairman, as applicable, may approve or ratify the Related Party Transaction only if the Audit and Risk Committee determines in good faith that, under all of the circumstances, the transaction is fair to the Company. The Audit and Risk Committee, in its sole discretion, may impose such conditions as it deems appropriate on the Company or the Related Party in connection with approval of the Related Party Transaction.
Pre-Approved Related Party Transactions. The Audit and Risk Committee has determined that the following transactions will be deemed pre-approved or ratified and will not require review or approval of the Audit and Risk Committee, even if the aggregate amount involved will exceed $120,000, unless otherwise specifically determined by the Audit and Risk Committee:
●
Any employment or compensation by the Company of an executive officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries if the related compensation conforms with our Company’s compensation policies, if the executive officer is not a Family Member of another executive officer or of a director of our Board; and
●
Any compensation paid to a director of our Board if the compensation is consistent with the Company’s bylaws and any compensation policies.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Related Party Policy, in the event the bylaws of the Company require review by our Board of Directors and/or approval of a Related Party Transaction, the Audit and Risk Committee, and its chairman, will not have the authority to review or approve a Related Party Transaction but will provide a recommendation to our Board of Directors for the Board’s use in its consideration of a given Related Party Transaction.
Director Independence
Our Board currently consists of Messrs. Rozek, Peterson, Keating, Briner, Kenan, Royal and Srinivasan. Currently, we consider only Messrs. Briner, Kenan, Royal and Srinivasan to be “independent”, as Messrs. Rozek and Peterson have a direct employment relationship with us and Mr. Keating serves as the chief executive officer of two companies in which we currently own a 30% and 49.9% equity stake respectively, both directly and indirectly. The majority of our Board of Directors is “independent” in accordance with NASDAQ rules including, in the judgment of the Board, the requirement that such directors have no material relationship with us (either directly or as a partner, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with us). The Board has adopted the following standards to assist it in determining whether a director has a material relationship with us. Under these standards, a director will not be considered to have a material relationship with us if he or she is not:
(a)
a director who is, or during the past three years was, employed by us, other than prior employment as an interim executive officer (provided the interim employment did not last longer than one year);
(b)
a director who accepted or has an immediate family member who accepted any compensation from us in excess of $120,000 during any period of twelve consecutive months within the three years preceding the determination of independence, other than the following:
(i)
compensation for Board or Board committee service;
(ii)
compensation paid to an immediate family member who is our employee (other than an executive officer);
(iii)
compensation received for former service as an interim executive officer (provided the interim employment did not last longer than one year); or
(iv)
benefits under a tax-qualified retirement plan, or non-discretionary compensation;
(c)
a director who is an immediate family member of an individual who is, or at any time during the past three years was, employed by us as an executive officer;
(d)
a director who is, or has an immediate family member who is, a partner in, or a controlling stockholder or an executive officer of, any organization to which we made, or from which we received, payments (other than those arising solely from investments in our securities or payments under non-discretionary charitable contribution matching programs) that exceed 5% of the organization’s consolidated gross revenues for that year, or $200,000, whichever is more, in any of the most recent three fiscal years;
(e)
a director who is, or has an immediate family member who is, employed as an executive officer of another entity where at any time during the most recent three fiscal years any of our executive officers served on the compensation committee of such other entity; or
(f)
a director who is, or has an immediate family member who is, a current partner of our outside auditor, or was a partner or employee of our outside auditor who worked on our audit at any time during any of the past three years.
Ownership of a significant amount of our stock, by itself, does not constitute a material relationship. For relationships not covered by these standards, the determination of whether a material relationship exists shall be made by the other members of the Board who are independent (as defined above).

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
During fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, the aggregate fees that we paid to our independent auditors for professional services were as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
Audit Fees (1)
$ 535,560
$ 641,000
Audit-Related Fees (2)
$
$
Tax Fees
$
$
All Other Fees
$
$
(1)
Fees for audit services include fees associated with the annual audit and the review of our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as associated consents and comfort letters.
(2)
Fees for audit-related services include fees associated with audits for our various acquisitions.
Audit and Risk Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Our Audit and Risk Committee pre-approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. These services may include audit services, audit-related services and tax services, as well as specifically designated non-audit services that, in the opinion of the Audit and Risk Committee, will not impair the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm. Our Audit and Risk Committee annually reviews the audit and permissible non-audit services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, and reviews and approves the fees charged by it. Our Audit and Risk Committee has considered the role of our independent registered public accounting firm in providing tax and audit services and other permissible non-audit services to us and has concluded that the provision of such services was compatible with the maintenance of the independence of our independent registered public accounting firm in the conduct of its auditing functions.
Changes in Independent Registered Accounting Firm
On August 17, 2020 (“Dismissal Date”) the Audit Committee approved the dismissal of MaloneBailey, LLP ("MaloneBailey") as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm.
The reports of MaloneBailey on the financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 contained no adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principle, except that MaloneBailey’s report on internal control over financial reporting expressed an opinion that the Company had not maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2018. The material weaknesses identified related to the design and operating effectiveness of process controls over the review and approval of journal entries and the approval and authorization of expenditures. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, MaloneBailey expressed an opinion that the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the subsequent interim period through the Dismissal Date, there were no disagreements (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions to Item 304) with MaloneBailey on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements if not resolved to the satisfaction of MaloneBailey would have caused MaloneBailey to make reference thereto in its reports on the Company’s financial statements for such years. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the subsequent interim period through the Dismissal Date, there have been no reportable events (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K), except for the material weaknesses described above, all of which were subsequently remediated as of December 31, 2019.
On August 17, 2020, the accounting firm of KPMG LLP (“KPMG”) was engaged by the Committee as the Company’s new independent registered public accounting firm to perform independent audit services for the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 (including with respect to the Company's quarterly period ending September 30, 2020), effective immediately.
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 and through the subsequent interim period as of August 17, 2020, neither the Company, nor any party on behalf of the Company, consulted with KPMG with respect to either (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of the audit opinion that might be rendered with respect to the Company's consolidated financial statements, and no written report or oral advice was provided to the Company by KPMG that was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a decision as to any accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue, or (ii) any matter that was subject to any “disagreement” (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions) or a “reportable event” (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K).
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) The following consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto of the Company and the Accounting Firm thereon are filed as part of this report:
1.
Financial Statements:
Page
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms
Consolidated Balance Sheets - December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019
Consolidated Statements of Operations - Years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity - Years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
2.
Exhibits: See Item 15(b) below.
(b)
Exhibits
The exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index attached hereto are incorporated herein by reference.