UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

For the Fiscal Year Ended: December 31, 2014

OR

For the transition period from                      To                     

Commission File Number: 001-36746

 

PARAMOUNT GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 237-3100

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act:

Title of each class

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    YES  ¨    NO  x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    YES  ¨    NO  x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    YES  x    NO  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    ¨  Yes    ¨  No

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  YES  ¨    NO  x

 

As of February 27, 2015, there were 212,106,718 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding. The registrant’s shares of common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on November 19, 2014.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Proxy Statement for the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting (which is scheduled to be held on May 21, 2015) to be filed within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

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Forward-Looking Statements

We make statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which are usually identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are including this statement for purposes of complying with those safe harbor provisions. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation:

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Accordingly, there is no assurance that our expectations will be realized. Except as otherwise required by the U.S. federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligations or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should review carefully our financial statements and the notes thereto, as well as Item 1A entitled “Risk Factors” in this report.

 

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PART I

 

 

General

Paramount Group, Inc. (“Paramount”) is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust (“REIT”) focused on owning, operating and managing high-quality, Class A office properties in select central business district submarkets of New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.  We conduct our business through, and substantially all our interests in properties are held by, Paramount Group Operating Partnership LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Operating Partnership”).  We are the sole general partner of, and as of December 31, 2014, owned approximately 80.4% of the common limited partnership interest in, the Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2014, our portfolio consisted of 12 Class A office properties aggregating approximately 10.4 million square feet that was 93.9% leased. All references to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” and “Paramount” refer to Paramount Group, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including the Operating Partnership.  

 

We were incorporated in Maryland as a corporation on April 14, 2014 to continue the business of our Predecessor, as defined, and did not have any meaningful operations until the completion of the formation transactions (the “Formation Transactions”) and our initial public offering on November 24, 2014 (the “Offering”).

 

 

Our Competitive Strengths

 

We believe that we distinguish ourselves from other owners and operators of office properties through the following competitive strengths:

 

 

 

 

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Objectives and Strategy

 

Our primary business objective is to enhance shareholder value by increasing cash flow from operations. The strategies we intend to execute to achieve this objective include:

 

 

 

Significant Tenants

 

None or our tenants accounted for more than 10% of total revenues in the year ended December 31, 2014.

 

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Segments

 

Upon completion of the Offering and Formation Transactions, we acquired substantially all of the assets of our Predecessor, as defined below, and substantially all of the assets of the Property Funds, as defined below, that it controlled. Our business, post the Formation Transactions, is comprised of one reportable segment. We have determined that our properties have similar economic characteristics to be aggregated into one reportable segment (operating, leasing and managing office properties). Our determination was based primarily on our method of internal reporting.

 

Our Predecessor historically operated an integrated business that consisted of three reportable segments, (i) Owned Properties, (ii) Managed Funds, and (iii) a Management Company. The Owned Properties segment consisted of properties in which our Predecessor had a direct or indirect ownership interest, other than properties that it owned through its private equity real estate funds. The Managed Funds segment consisted of the private equity real estate funds.  In addition, our Predecessor included a Management Company that performed property management and asset management services and certain general and administrative level functions, including legal and accounting, as a separate reportable segment.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2014, we had 219 employees, including 147 on-site building and property management personnel. Certain of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

 

 

Insurance

 

We carry commercial general liability coverage on our properties, with limits of liability customary within the industry to insure against liability claims and related defense costs. Similarly, we are insured against the risk of direct and indirect physical damage to our properties including coverage for the perils of flood and earthquake shock. Our policies also cover the loss of rental income during an estimated reconstruction period. Our policies reflect limits and deductibles customary in the industry and specific to the buildings and portfolio. We also obtain title insurance policies when acquiring new properties, which insure fee title to our real properties. We currently have coverage for losses incurred in connection with both domestic and foreign terrorist-related activities. While we do carry commercial general liability insurance, property insurance and terrorism insurance with respect to our properties, these policies include limits and terms we consider commercially reasonable. In addition, there are certain losses (including, but not limited to, losses arising from known environmental conditions or acts of war) that are not insured, in full or in part, because they are either uninsurable or the cost of insurance makes it, in our belief, economically impractical to maintain such coverage. Should an uninsured loss arise against us, we would be required to use our own funds to resolve the issue, including litigation costs. In addition, for properties we may self-insure certain portions of our insurance program, and therefore, use our own funds to satisfy those limits, when applicable. We believe the policy specifications and insured limits are adequate given the relative risk of loss, the cost of the coverage and industry practice and, in the opinion of our management, the properties in our portfolio are adequately insured.

 

Competition

 

The leasing of real estate is highly competitive in markets in which we operate. We compete with numerous acquirers, developers, owners and operators of commercial real estate, many of which own or may seek to acquire or develop properties similar to ours in the same markets in which our properties are located. The principal means of competition are rent charged, location, services provided and the nature and condition of the facility to be leased. In addition, we face competition from other real estate companies including other REITs, private real estate funds, domestic and foreign financial institutions, life insurance companies, pension trusts, partnerships, individual investors and others that may have greater financial resources or access to capital than we do or that are willing to acquire properties in transactions which are more highly leveraged or are less attractive from a financial viewpoint than we are willing to pursue. If our competitors offer space at rental rates below current market rates, below the rental rates we currently charge our tenants, in better locations within our markets or in higher quality facilities, we may lose potential tenants and we may be pressured to reduce our rental rates below those we currently charge in order to retain tenants when our tenants’ leases expire.

 

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Environmental and Related Matters

 

Under various federal, state and/or local laws, ordinances and regulations, as a current or former owner or operator of real property, we may be liable for costs and damages resulting from the presence or release of hazardous substances, waste, or petroleum products at, on, in, under or from such property, including costs for investigation or remediation, natural resource damages, or third-party liability for personal injury or property damage. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence or release of such materials, and the liability may be joint and several. Some of our properties have been or may be impacted by contamination arising from current or prior uses of the property or adjacent properties for commercial, industrial or other purposes. Such contamination may arise from spills of petroleum or hazardous substances or releases from tanks used to store such materials. We also may be liable for the costs of remediating contamination at off-site disposal or treatment facilities when we arrange for disposal or treatment of hazardous substances at such facilities, without regard to whether we comply with environmental laws in doing so. The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination on our properties may adversely affect our ability to attract and/or retain tenants, and our ability to develop or sell or borrow against those properties. In addition to potential liability for cleanup costs, private plaintiffs may bring claims for personal injury, property damage or for similar reasons. Environmental laws also may create liens on contaminated sites in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs to address such contamination. Moreover, if contamination is discovered on our properties, environmental laws may impose restrictions on the manner in which that property may be used or how businesses may be operated on that property.

 

Some of our properties may be adjacent to or near other properties used for industrial or commercial purposes or that have contained or currently contain underground storage tanks used to store petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances. Releases from these properties could impact our properties. While certain properties contain or contained uses that could have or have impacted our properties, we are not aware of any liabilities related to environmental contamination that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our operations.

 

In addition, our properties are subject to various federal, state and local environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. Noncompliance with these environmental and health and safety laws and regulations could subject us or our tenants to liability. These liabilities could affect a tenant’s ability to make rental payments to us. Moreover, changes in laws could increase the potential costs of compliance with such laws and regulations or increase liability for noncompliance. This may result in significant unanticipated expenditures or may otherwise materially and adversely affect our operations, or those of our tenants, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on us. We sometimes require our tenants to comply with environmental and health and safety laws and regulations and to indemnify us for any related liabilities in our leases with them. But in the event of the bankruptcy or inability of any of our tenants to satisfy such obligations, we may be required to satisfy such obligations. We are not presently aware of any instances of material noncompliance with environmental or health and safety laws or regulations at our properties, and we believe that we and/or our tenants have all material permits and approvals necessary under current laws and regulations to operate our properties.

 

As the owner or operator of real property, we may also incur liability based on various building conditions. For example, buildings and other structures on properties that we currently own or operate or those we acquire or operate in the future contain, may contain, or may have contained, asbestos-containing material (“ACM”). Environmental and health and safety laws require that ACM be properly managed and maintained and may impose fines or penalties on owners, operators or employers for noncompliance with those requirements. These requirements include special precautions, such as removal, abatement or air monitoring, if ACM would be disturbed during maintenance, renovation or demolition of a building, potentially resulting in substantial costs. In addition, we may be subject to liability for personal injury or property damage sustained as a result of releases of ACM into the environment. We are not presently aware of any material liabilities related to building conditions, including any instances of material noncompliance with asbestos requirements or any material liabilities related to asbestos. In addition, our properties may contain or develop harmful mold or suffer from other indoor air quality issues, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects or property damage or costs for remediation. When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds may produce airborne toxins or irritants. Indoor air quality issues can also stem from inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources, and other biological contaminants such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to airborne toxins or irritants above certain levels can be alleged to cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants from the affected property or increase indoor ventilation. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our tenants, employees of our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury occurs. We are not presently aware of any material adverse indoor air quality issues at our properties.

 

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Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)

 

Our properties must comply with Title III of the ADA to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations” as defined by the ADA. The ADA may require removal of structural barriers to access by persons with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where such removal is readily achievable. We believe the existing properties are in substantial compliance with the ADA and that we will not be required to make substantial capital expenditures to address the requirements of the ADA. However, noncompliance with the ADA could result in imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties and make alterations as appropriate in this respect.

 

 

Legal Proceedings

 

From time to time, we are a party to various claims and routine litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that the results of any such claims or litigation, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

 

Emerging Growth Company Status

 

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We have not yet made a decision as to whether we will take advantage of any or all of these exemptions. If we do take advantage of any of these exemptions, we do not know if some investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result. The result may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

 

In addition, the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. However, we have chosen to “opt out” of this extended transition period, and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for all public companies that are not “emerging growth companies”. Our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.

 

We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year during which our total annual revenue equals or exceeds $1 billion (subject to adjustment for inflation), (ii) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the offering, (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Exchange Act.

 

Executive Office

 

Our principal executive offices are located at 1633 Broadway, Suite 1801, New York, NY 10019; telephone (212) 237 - 3100.

 

 

Available Information

 

Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, are available free of charge on our website (www.paramount-group.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). You may also obtain our reports by accessing the EDGAR database at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or copies of these documents are also available directly from us, free of charge upon written request to Investor Relations, 1633 Broadway, Suite 1801, New York, NY 10019; telephone (212) 237 - 3100. Also available on our website are copies of our (i) Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charter, (ii) Corporate Governance Guidelines, (iii) Compensation Committee Charter, (iv) Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, (v) Audit Committee Charter and (vi) Stockholder Communication Policy. In the event of any changes to these items, revised copies will be made available on our website.    

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Set forth below are the risks that we believe are material to our investors. This section contains forward-looking statements. You should refer to the explanation of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements beginning on page 3.  

Risks Related to Real Estate

Unfavorable market and economic conditions in the United States and globally and in the specific markets or submarkets where our properties are located could adversely affect occupancy levels, rental rates, rent collections, operating expenses, and the overall market value of our assets, impair our ability to sell, recapitalize or refinance our assets and have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Unfavorable market conditions in the areas in which we operate and unfavorable economic conditions in the United States and globally may significantly affect our occupancy levels, rental rates, rent collections, operating expenses, the market value of our assets and our ability to strategically acquire, dispose, recapitalize or refinance our properties on economically favorable terms or at all. Our ability to lease our properties at favorable rates may be adversely affected by increases in supply of office space in our markets and is dependent upon overall economic conditions, which are adversely affected by, among other things, job losses and unemployment levels, recession, stock market volatility and uncertainty about the future. Some of our major expenses, including mortgage payments and real estate taxes, generally do not decline when related rents decline. We expect that any declines in our occupancy levels, rental revenues and/or the values of our buildings would cause us to have less cash available to pay our indebtedness, fund necessary capital expenditures and to make distributions to our stockholders, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the market value of our securities. Our business may be affected by the volatility and illiquidity in the financial and credit markets, a general global economic recession and other market or economic challenges experienced by the real estate industry or the U.S. economy as a whole. Our business may also be adversely affected by local economic conditions, as all of our revenues are derived from properties located in New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Factors that may affect our occupancy levels, our rental revenues, our net operating income, or NOI, our funds from operations and/or the value of our properties include the following, among others:

All of our properties are located in New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, and adverse economic or regulatory developments in these areas could negatively affect our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

All of our properties are located in New York City, in particular midtown Manhattan, as well as Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. As a result, our business is dependent on the condition of the economy in those cities, which may expose us to greater economic risks than if we owned a more geographically diverse portfolio. We are susceptible to adverse developments in the New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco economic and regulatory environments (such as business layoffs or downsizing, industry slowdowns, relocations of businesses, increases in real estate and other taxes, costs of complying with governmental regulations or increased regulation). Such adverse developments could materially reduce the value of our real estate portfolio and our rental revenues, and thus adversely affect our ability to service current debt and to pay dividends to stockholders.

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We are subject to risks inherent in ownership of real estate.

Real estate cash flows and values are affected by a number of factors, including competition from other available properties and our ability to provide adequate property maintenance and insurance and to control operating costs. Real estate cash flows and values are also affected by such factors as government regulations (including zoning, usage and tax laws), interest rate levels, the availability of financing, property tax rates, utility expenses, potential liability under environmental and other laws and changes in environmental and other laws.

A significant portion of our revenue is generated from three properties.

As of December 31, 2014, three of our properties, 1633 Broadway, 1301 Avenue of the Americas and One Market Plaza, together accounted for approximately 61.9% of our total revenue. Our results of operations and cash available for distribution to our stockholders would be adversely affected if any of these properties were materially damaged or destroyed. Additionally, our results of operations and cash available for distribution to our stockholders would be adversely affected if a significant number of our tenants at these properties experienced a downturn in their business, which may weaken their financial condition and result in their failure to make timely rental payments, defaulting under their leases or filing for bankruptcy.

We may be unable to renew leases, lease currently vacant space or vacating space on favorable terms or at all as leases expire, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

As of December 31, 2014, the vacancy rate of our portfolio was 6.1%. In addition, 6.4% of the square footage of the properties in our portfolio will expire by the end of 2015. We cannot assure you that the expiring leases will be renewed or that our properties will be re-leased at rental rates equal to or above current rental rates. If the rental rates of our properties decrease, our existing tenants do not renew their leases or we do not re-lease a significant portion of our available and soon-to-be-available space, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, market value of common stock and our ability to satisfy our principal and interest obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders would be adversely affected.

We are exposed to risks associated with property redevelopment and repositioning that could adversely affect us, including our financial condition and results of operations.

To the extent that we continue to engage in redevelopment and repositioning activities with respect to our properties, we will be subject to certain risks, which could adversely affect us, including our financial condition and results of operations. These risks include, without limitation, (i) the availability and pricing of financing on favorable terms or at all; (ii) the availability and timely receipt of zoning and other regulatory approvals; (iii) the potential for the fluctuation of occupancy rates and rents at redeveloped properties, which may result in our investment not being profitable; (iv) start up, repositioning and redevelopment costs may be higher than anticipated; and (v) cost overruns and untimely completion of construction (including risks beyond our control, such as weather or labor conditions, or material shortages). These risks could result in substantial unanticipated delays or expenses and could prevent the initiation or the completion of redevelopment activities, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, the market value of our common stock and ability to satisfy our principal and interest obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders.

We may be required to make rent or other concessions and/or significant capital expenditures to improve our properties in order to retain and attract tenants, which could adversely affect us, including our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

In the event that there are adverse economic conditions in the real estate market and demand for office space decreases, with respect to our current vacant space and upon expiration of leases at our properties, we may be required to increase tenant improvement allowances or concessions to tenants, accommodate increased requests for renovations, build-to-suit remodeling and other improvements or provide additional services to our tenants, all of which could negatively affect our cash flow. In addition, a few of our existing properties are pre-war office properties, which may require frequent and costly maintenance in order to retain existing tenants or attract new tenants in sufficient numbers. If the necessary capital is unavailable, we may be unable to make these significant capital expenditures. This could result in non-renewals by tenants upon expiration of their leases and our vacant space remaining untenanted, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and market value of our common stock.

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We depend on significant tenants in our office portfolio, which could cause an adverse effect on us, including our results of operations and cash flow, if any of our significant tenants were adversely affected by a material business downturn or were to become bankrupt or insolvent.

Our rental revenue depends on entering into leases with and collecting rents from tenants. As of December 31, 2014, our six largest tenants together represented 26.0% of our total portfolio’s annualized rent. As of December 31, 2014, The Corporate Executive Board Company, Barclays Capital Inc., Allianz Global Investors L.P., Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Clifford Chance, LLP and Commerzbank AG leased an aggregate of 2,379,343 rentable square feet of office space at four of our office properties, representing approximately 23.0% of the total rentable square feet in our portfolio. General and regional economic conditions may adversely affect our major tenants and potential tenants in our markets. Our major tenants may experience a material business downturn, which could potentially result in a failure to make timely rental payments and/or a default under their leases. In many cases, through tenant improvement allowances and other concessions, we have made substantial up front investments in the applicable leases that we may not be able to recover. In the event of a tenant default, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights and may also incur substantial costs to protect our investments.

The bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or lease guarantor may adversely affect the income produced by our properties and may delay our efforts to collect past due balances under the relevant leases and could ultimately preclude collection of these sums altogether. If a lease is rejected by a tenant in bankruptcy, we would have only a general unsecured claim for damages that is limited in amount and which may only be paid to the extent that funds are available and in the same percentage as is paid to all other holders of unsecured claims.

If any of our significant tenants were to become bankrupt or insolvent, suffer a downturn in their business, default under their leases, fail to renew their leases or renew on terms less favorable to us than their current terms, our results of operations and cash flow could be adversely affected.

Real estate investments are relatively illiquid and may limit our flexibility.

Equity real estate investments are relatively illiquid, which may tend to limit our ability to react promptly to changes in economic or other market conditions. Our ability to dispose of assets in the future will depend on prevailing economic and market conditions. Our inability to sell our properties on favorable terms or at all could have an adverse effect on our sources of working capital and our ability to satisfy our debt obligations. In addition, real estate can at times be difficult to sell quickly at prices we find acceptable. The Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) also imposes restrictions on REITs, which are not applicable to other types of real estate companies, on the disposal of properties. Furthermore, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the highest regular corporate rate, which is currently 35%, on certain built-in gain recognized in connection with a taxable disposition of a number of our properties for a period of up to 10 years following the completion of the Formation Transactions, which may make an otherwise attractive disposition opportunity less attractive or even impractical. These potential difficulties in selling real estate in our markets may limit our ability to change or reduce the office buildings in our portfolio promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions.

Competition could limit our ability to acquire attractive investment opportunities and increase the costs of those opportunities, which may adversely affect us, including our profitability and impede our growth.

We compete with numerous commercial developers, real estate companies and other owners of real estate for office buildings for acquisition and pursuing buyers for dispositions. We expect that other real estate investors, including insurance companies, private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, other REITs and other well-capitalized investors will compete with us to acquire existing properties and to develop new properties. Our markets are each generally characterized by high barriers-to-entry to construction and limited land on which to build new office space, which contributes to the competition we face to acquire existing properties and to develop new properties in these markets. This competition could increase prices for properties of the type we may pursue and adversely affect our profitability and impede our growth.

We are subject to losses that are either uninsurable, not economically insurable or that are in excess of our insurance coverage.

Our San Francisco properties are located in the general vicinity of active earthquake faults. Our New York City and Washington, D.C. properties are located in areas that could be subject to windstorm losses. Insurance coverage for earthquakes and windstorms can be costly because of limited industry capacity. As a result, we may experience shortages in desired coverage levels if market conditions are such that insurance is not available or the cost of insurance makes it, in our belief, economically impractical to maintain such coverage. In addition, our New York City, Washington, D.C. and other properties may be subject to a heightened risk of terrorist attacks. We carry commercial general liability insurance, property insurance and terrorism insurance with respect to our properties with limits and on terms we consider commercially reasonable. We cannot assure you, however, that our insurance coverage will be sufficient or that any uninsured loss or liability will not have an adverse effect on our business and our financial condition and results of operations.

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We are subject to risks from natural disasters such as earthquakes and severe weather.

Natural disasters and severe weather such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes or floods may result in significant damage to our properties. The extent of our casualty losses and loss in operating income in connection with such events is a function of the severity of the event and the total amount of exposure in the affected area. When we have geographic concentration of exposures, a single catastrophe (such as an earthquake, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area) or destructive weather event (such as a hurricane, especially in New York City or Washington, D.C. area) affecting a region may have a significant negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations. As a result, our operating and financial results may vary significantly from one period to the next. Our financial results may be adversely affected by our exposure to losses arising from natural disasters or severe weather. We also are exposed to risks associated with inclement winter weather, particularly in the Northeast states in which many of our properties are located, including increased need for maintenance and repair of our buildings.

Climate change may adversely affect our business.

To the extent that climate change does occur, we may experience extreme weather and changes in precipitation and temperature, all of which may result in physical damage or a decrease in demand for our properties located in the areas affected by these conditions. Should the impact of climate change be material in nature or occur for lengthy periods of time, our financial condition or results of operations would be adversely affected. In addition, changes in federal and state legislation and regulation on climate change could result in increased capital expenditures to improve the energy efficiency of our existing properties in order to comply with such regulations.

Actual or threatened terrorist attacks may adversely affect our ability to generate revenues and the value of our properties.

We have significant investments in large metropolitan markets that have been or may be in the future the targets of actual or threatened terrorism attacks, including New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. As a result, some tenants in these markets may choose to relocate their businesses to other markets or to lower-profile office buildings within these markets that may be perceived to be less likely targets of future terrorist activity. This could result in an overall decrease in the demand for office space in these markets generally or in our properties in particular, which could increase vacancies in our properties or necessitate that we lease our properties on less favorable terms or both. In addition, future terrorist attacks in these markets could directly or indirectly damage our properties, both physically and financially, or cause losses that materially exceed our insurance coverage. As a result of the foregoing, our ability to generate revenues and the value of our properties could decline materially. See also “-We are subject to losses that are either uninsurable, not economically insurable or that are in excess of our insurance coverage.”

We may become subject to liability relating to environmental and health and safety matters, which could have an adverse effect on us, including our financial condition and results of operations.

Under various federal, state and/or local laws, ordinances and regulations, as a current or former owner or operator of real property, we may be liable for costs and damages resulting from the presence or release of hazardous substances, waste, or petroleum products at, on, in, under or from such property, including costs for investigation or remediation, natural resource damages, or third-party liability for personal injury or property damage. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence or release of such materials, and the liability may be joint and several. Some of our properties have been or may be impacted by contamination arising from current or prior uses of the property or from adjacent properties used for commercial, industrial or other purposes. Such contamination may arise from spills of petroleum or hazardous substances or releases from tanks used to store such materials. We also may be liable for the costs of remediating contamination at off-site disposal or treatment facilities when we arrange for disposal or treatment of hazardous substances at such facilities, without regard to whether we comply with environmental laws in doing so. The presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination on our properties may adversely affect our ability to attract and/or retain tenants and our ability to develop or sell or borrow against those properties. In addition to potential liability for cleanup costs, private plaintiffs may bring claims for personal injury, property damage or for similar reasons. Environmental laws also may create liens on contaminated sites in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs to address such contamination. Moreover, if contamination is discovered on our properties, environmental laws may impose restrictions on the manner in which that property may be used or how businesses may be operated on that property. See “Business -Environmental and Related Matters.”

In addition, our properties are subject to various federal, state and local environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. Noncompliance with these environmental and health and safety laws and regulations could subject us or our tenants to liability. These liabilities could affect a tenant’s ability to make rental payments to us. Moreover, changes in laws could increase the potential costs of compliance with such laws and regulations or increase liability for noncompliance. This may result in significant unanticipated expenditures or may otherwise adversely affect our operations, or those of our tenants, which could in turn have an adverse effect on us.

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As the owner or operator of real property, we may also incur liability based on various building conditions. For example, buildings and other structures on properties that we currently own or operate or those we acquire or operate in the future contain, may contain, or may have contained ACM. Environmental and health and safety laws require that ACM be properly managed and maintained and may impose fines or penalties on owners, operators or employers for non-compliance with those requirements. These requirements include special precautions, such as removal, abatement or air monitoring, if ACM would be disturbed during maintenance, renovation or demolition of a building, potentially resulting in substantial costs. In addition, we may be subject to liability for personal injury or property damage sustained as a result of exposure to ACM or releases of ACM into the environment.

In addition, our properties may contain or develop harmful mold or suffer from other indoor air quality issues. Indoor air quality issues also can stem from inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources, and other biological contaminants such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to airborne toxins or irritants can be alleged to cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants or to increase ventilation. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury occurs.

We cannot assure you that costs or liabilities incurred as a result of environmental issues will not affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders or that such costs, liabilities, or other remedial measures will not have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We may incur significant costs complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (the “ADA”), and similar laws, which could adversely affect us, including our future results of operations and cash flow.

Under the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. We have not conducted a recent audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance with the ADA. If one or more of our properties were not in compliance with the ADA, then we could be required to incur additional costs to bring the property into compliance. We cannot predict the ultimate amount of the cost of compliance with the ADA or similar laws. Substantial costs incurred to comply with the ADA and any other legislation could adversely affect us, including our future results of operations and cash flow.

Our option property is subject to various risks and we may not acquire it.

We have entered into an option to acquire 60 Wall Street, New York, New York. 60 Wall Street is exposed to many of the same risks that may affect the other properties in our portfolio. The terms of the option agreement relating to 60 Wall Street were not determined by arm’s-length negotiations, and such terms may be less favorable to us than those that may have been obtained through negotiations with third parties. It may become economically unattractive to exercise our option with respect to 60 Wall Street. These risks could cause us to decide not to exercise our option to purchase this property in the future.

We may be unable to identify and successfully complete acquisitions and, even if acquisitions are identified and completed, including potentially the option property, we may fail to successfully operate acquired properties, which could adversely affect us and impede our growth.

Our ability to identify and acquire properties on favorable terms and successfully operate or redevelop them may be exposed to significant risks. Agreements for the acquisition of properties are subject to customary conditions to closing, including completion of due diligence investigations and other conditions that are not within our control, which may not be satisfied. In this event, we may be unable to complete an acquisition after incurring certain acquisition-related costs. In addition, if mortgage debt is unavailable at reasonable rates, we may be unable to finance the acquisition on favorable terms in the time period we desire, or at all, including potentially the option property. We may spend more than budgeted to make necessary improvements or renovations to acquired properties and may not be able to obtain adequate insurance coverage for new properties. Further, acquired properties may be located in new markets where we may face risks associated with a lack of market knowledge or understanding of the local economy, lack of business relationships in the area and unfamiliarity with local governmental and permitting procedures. We may also be unable to integrate new acquisitions into our existing operations quickly and efficiently, and as a result, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. Any delay or failure on our part to identify, negotiate, finance and consummate such acquisitions in a timely manner and on favorable terms, or operate acquired properties to meet our financial expectations, could impede our growth and have an adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and the market value of our securities.

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Should we decide at some point in the future to expand into new markets, we may not be successful, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and market value of our securities.

If opportunities arise, we may explore acquisitions of properties in new markets. Each of the risks applicable to our ability to acquire and integrate successfully and operate properties in our current markets is also applicable in new markets. In addition, we will not possess the same level of familiarity with the dynamics and market conditions of the new markets we may enter, which could adversely affect the results of our expansion into those markets, and we may be unable to build a significant market share or achieve our desired return on our investments in new markets. If we are unsuccessful in expanding into new markets, it could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, the market value of our securities and ability to satisfy our principal and interest obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders.

We are subject to risks involved in real estate activity through joint ventures and private equity real estate funds.

We have in the past, are currently and may in the future acquire and own properties in joint ventures and private equity real estate funds with other persons or entities when we believe circumstances warrant the use of such structures. We manage and consolidate into our combined consolidated financial statements, investments of certain private equity real estate funds in which we are the general partner. As of December 31, 2014, these real estate fund investments had an aggregate fair value of $323,387,000. Joint venture and fund investments involve risks, including: the possibility that our partners might refuse to make capital contributions when due; that we may be responsible to our partners for indemnifiable losses; that our partners might at any time have business or economic goals that are inconsistent with ours; and that our partners may be in a position to take action or withhold consent contrary to our recommendations, instructions or requests. We and our respective joint venture partners may each have the right to trigger a buy-sell or forced sale arrangement, which could cause us to sell our interest, or acquire our partner’s interest, or to sell the underlying asset, at a time when we otherwise would not have initiated such a transaction, without our consent or on unfavorable terms. In some instances, joint venture and fund partners may have competing interests in our markets that could create conflicts of interest. These conflicts may include compliance with the REIT requirements, and our REIT status could be jeopardized if any of our joint ventures or funds does not operate in compliance with the REIT requirements. Further, our joint venture and fund partners may fail to meet their obligations to the joint venture or fund as a result of financial distress or otherwise, and we may be forced to make contributions to maintain the value of the property. We will review the qualifications and previous experience of any co-venturers or partners, although we do not expect to obtain financial information from, or to undertake independent investigations with respect to, prospective co-venturers or partners. To the extent our partners do not meet their obligations to us or our joint ventures or funds or they take action inconsistent with the interests of the joint venture or fund, we may be adversely affected.

Our joint venture partners in 31 West 52nd Street, 712 Fifth Avenue and One Market Plaza have forced sale rights as a result of which we may be forced to sell these assets to third parties at times or prices that may not be favorable to us.

Our partners in the joint ventures that own 31 West 52nd Street, 712 Fifth Avenue and One Market Plaza have forced sale rights pursuant to which, after a specified period, each may require us either to purchase the property or attempt to sell the property to a third party. With respect to 31 West 52nd, at any time, our joint venture partner shall have the right to cause a sale of the property by delivering a written notice to us designating the sales price and other material terms and conditions upon which our joint venture partner desires to cause a sale of the property. Upon receipt of the sale notice from the joint venture partner, we will have the right either to attempt to sell the property to a third party for not less than 95% of the sales price set forth in the sales notice, or to elect to purchase the interests of the joint venture partner for cash at a price equal to the amount the joint venture partner would have received if the property had been sold for the sales price set forth in the sales notice (and the joint venture paid any applicable financing breakage costs and transfer taxes, prepaid all liquidated liabilities of the joint venture and distributed the balance to the partners). With respect to 712 Fifth Avenue, beginning six years after the completion of the Offering and any time thereafter, our joint venture partner may exercise a forced sale right by delivering a written notice to us designating the sales price and other material terms and conditions upon which our joint venture partner desires to cause a sale of the property. Upon receipt of such sales notice, we will have the obligation either to attempt to sell the property to a third party for not less than 95.0% of the designated sales price or to elect to purchase the interest of our joint venture partner for cash at a price equal to the amount our joint venture partner would have received if the property had been sold for the designated sales price (and the joint venture paid any applicable financing breakage costs, transfer taxes, brokerage fees and marketing costs, prepaid all liquidated liabilities of the joint venture and distributed the balance). With respect to One Market Plaza, at any time on or after March 31, 2021, our joint venture partner may exercise a forced sale right. Upon exercise of this right, we and our joint venture partner have 60 days to negotiate a mutually agreeable transaction regarding the property. If we cannot mutually agree upon a transaction, then we will work together in good faith to market the property in a commercially reasonable manner and neither we nor our joint venture partner will be allowed to bid on the property. If our joint venture partner, after consultation with us and a qualified broker, finds a third-party bid for the property acceptable, then the joint venture will cause the property to be sold. As a result of these forced sale rights, our joint venture partners could require us either to purchase their interests at an agreed upon price or to sell the properties held by our joint ventures to third parties. In the case of One Market Plaza, our joint venture partner could force us to sell this property to a third party on terms it deems acceptable. The exercise of these rights could adversely impact our company by requiring us to sell one or more of these properties to third parties at times or prices that may not be favorable to us.

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Contractual commitments with existing private equity real estate funds may limit our ability to acquire properties directly in the near term.

Paramount Group Real Estate Fund VII, LP and its parallel fund, or Fund VII, is one of our private equity real estate funds and is actively engaged in acquisition activities. In connection with the formation of Fund VII, we agreed that we would make all investments that meet its stated investment objectives through Fund VII (provided that Fund VII is able to participate in the investment and subject to our ability to co-invest), until July 18, 2017, unless we, as the general partner of Fund VII, choose to extend it until July 18, 2018. Because of the exclusivity requirements of Fund VII, we may be required to acquire properties through this fund that we otherwise would have acquired through our operating partnership, which may prevent our operating partnership from acquiring attractive investment opportunities and adversely affect our growth prospects. Alternatively, we may choose to co-invest with Fund VII as a joint venture partner to the extent it is determined that it is in the best interest of Fund VII. In connection with any property that we co-invest in with Fund VII, Fund VII will have the authority, subject to our consent in limited circumstances, to make most of the decisions in connection with such property. Such authority in connection with a co-investment could subject us to the applicable risks described above. As of December 31, 2014, Fund VII had an aggregate of $57,600,000 of committed capital that had not yet been invested.

Paramount Group Real Estate Fund VIII, LP and its parallel funds, or Fund VIII, is one of our private equity real estate funds that completed its initial closing in November 2014, with $485,000,000 in capital commitments and is targeting approximately $600,000,000 in capital commitments. Fund VIII is actively engaged in pursuing a diversified portfolio of real estate and real estate-related assets and companies primarily consisting of acquiring and/or issuing loans to real estate and real estate-related companies or investing in their preferred equity. We expect that, subject to certain prior rights granted to other of our private equity real estate funds, we would make all investments that meet Fund VIII’s stated investment objectives through Fund VIII (provided that Fund VIII is able to participate in the investment and subject to our right to co-invest), until the end of the fund’s investment period, which will end three years after the fund’s final closing. Given that the fund conducted its initial closing in November 2014, and a final closing is expected to take place approximately 18 months later, the fund’s investment period would end during mid-2019, unless we, as the general partner of Fund VIII, choose to extend it an additional year. However, we will have the option (but not the obligation) of participating in each of Fund VIII’s investments in debt and preferred equity for up to 25% of the total investment and in each of Fund VIII’s equity investments for up to 50% of the total investment, and may, where it is attractive to us and determined to be in the best interest of Fund VIII, acquire greater percentages of a given investment opportunity. Because of the limited exclusivity requirements of Fund VIII, we may be required to acquire assets partially through this fund that we otherwise would have acquired solely through our operating partnership, which may prevent our operating partnership from acquiring attractive investment opportunities and adversely affect our growth prospects. In connection with certain assets that we co-invest in with Fund VIII, specifically those where Fund VIII owns a majority of the joint venture-it is expected that Fund VIII will have the authority, subject to our consent in limited circumstances, to make most of the decisions in connection with such asset. Such authority in connection with a co-investment could subject us to the applicable risks described above. As of December 31, 2014 Fund VIII had an aggregate of $434,000,000 of committed capital that had not yet been invested.

We share control of some of our properties with other investors and may have conflicts of interest with those investors.

While we make all operating decisions for certain of our joint ventures and private equity real estate funds, we are required to make other decisions jointly with other investors who have interests in the relevant property or properties. For example, the approval of certain of the other investors may be required with respect to operating budgets and refinancing, encumbering, expanding or selling any of these properties, as well as bankruptcy decisions. We might not have the same interests as the other investors in relation to these decisions or transactions. Accordingly, we might not be able to favorably resolve any of these issues, or we might have to provide financial or other inducements to the other investors to obtain a favorable resolution.

In addition, various restrictive provisions and third-party rights provisions, such as consent rights to certain transactions, apply to sales or transfers of interests in our properties owned in joint ventures. Consequently, decisions to buy or sell interests in properties relating to our joint ventures may be subject to the prior consent of other investors. These restrictive provisions and third-party rights may preclude us from achieving full value of these properties because of our inability to obtain the necessary consents to sell or transfer these interests.

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Risks Related to Our Business and Operations

Capital and credit market conditions may adversely affect our access to various sources of capital or financing and/or the cost of capital, which could impact our business activities, dividends, earnings and common stock price, among other things.

In periods when the capital and credit markets experience significant volatility, the amounts, sources and cost of capital available to us may be adversely affected. We primarily use third-party financing to fund acquisitions and to refinance indebtedness as it matures. As of December 31, 2014, including debt of our unconsolidated joint ventures, we had $3.099 billion of total debt ($2.392 billion on a pro rata basis), substantially all of which was asset level debt, and we have $1.0 billion of available borrowing capacity, including amounts reserved for letters of credit, under our revolving credit facility. If sufficient sources of external financing are not available to us on cost effective terms, we could be forced to limit our acquisition, development and redevelopment activity and/or take other actions to fund our business activities and repayment of debt, such as selling assets, reducing our cash dividend or paying out less than 100% of our taxable income. To the extent that we are able and/or choose to access capital at a higher cost than we have experienced in recent years (reflected in higher interest rates for debt financing or a lower stock price for equity financing) our earnings per share and cash flow could be adversely affected. In addition, the price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly and/or decline in a high interest rate or volatile economic environment. If economic conditions deteriorate, the ability of lenders to fulfill their obligations under working capital or other credit facilities that we may have in the future may be adversely impacted.

We may from time to time be subject to litigation, including litigation arising from the Formation Transactions, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and trading price of our common stock.

We are a party to various claims and routine litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. Some of these claims or others to which we may be subject from time to time, including claims arising specifically from the Formation Transactions, may result in defense costs, settlements, fines or judgments against us, some of which are not, or cannot be, covered by insurance. Payment of any such costs, settlements, fines or judgments that are not insured could have an adverse impact on our financial position and results of operations. Should any litigation arise in connection with the Formation Transactions, we would contest it vigorously. In addition, certain litigation or the resolution of certain litigation may affect the availability or cost of some of our insurance coverage, which could adversely impact our results of operations and cash flow, expose us to increased risks that would be uninsured, and/or adversely impact our ability to attract officers and directors.

We may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities related to properties or businesses that we acquire for which we may have limited or no recourse against the sellers.

Assets and entities that we have acquired or may acquire in the future may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities for which we may have limited or no recourse against the sellers. Unknown or contingent liabilities might include liabilities for clean-up or remediation of environmental conditions, claims of customers, vendors or other persons dealing with the acquired entities, tax liabilities and other liabilities whether incurred in the ordinary course of business or otherwise. In the future we may enter into transactions with limited representations and warranties or with representations and warranties that do not survive the closing of the transactions, in which event we would have no or limited recourse against the sellers of such properties. While we usually require the sellers to indemnify us with respect to breaches of representations and warranties that survive, such indemnification is often limited and subject to various materiality thresholds, a significant deductible or an aggregate cap on losses.

As a result, there is no guarantee that we will recover any amounts with respect to losses due to breaches by the sellers of their representations and warranties. In addition, the total amount of costs and expenses that we may incur with respect to liabilities associated with acquired properties and entities may exceed our expectations, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Finally, indemnification agreements between us and the sellers typically provide that the sellers will retain certain specified liabilities relating to the assets and entities acquired by us. While the sellers are generally contractually obligated to pay all losses and other expenses relating to such retained liabilities, there can be no guarantee that such arrangements will not require us to incur losses or other expenses as well.

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We depend on key personnel, including Albert Behler, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, and the loss of services of one or more members of our senior management team, or our inability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, could adversely affect our business, diminish our investment opportunities and weaken our relationships with lenders, business partners and existing and prospective industry participants, which could negatively affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and market value of our common stock.

There is substantial competition for qualified personnel in the real estate industry and the loss of our key personnel could have an adverse effect on us. Our continued success and our ability to manage anticipated future growth depend, in large part, upon the efforts of key personnel, particularly Albert Behler, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, who has extensive market knowledge and relationships and exercises substantial influence over our acquisition, redevelopment, financing, operational and disposition activity. Among the reasons that Albert Behler is important to our success is that he has a national, regional and local industry reputation that attracts business and investment opportunities and assists us in negotiations with financing sources and industry personnel. If we lose his services, our business and investment opportunities and our relationships with such financing sources and industry personnel could diminish.

Many of our other senior executives also have extensive experience and strong reputations in the real estate industry, which aid us in identifying or attracting investment opportunities and negotiating with sellers of properties. The loss of services of one or more members of our senior management team, or our inability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, could adversely affect our business, diminish our investment opportunities and weaken our relationships with lenders, business partners and industry participants, which could negatively affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

We face risks associated with security breaches through cyber attacks, cyber intrusions or otherwise, as well as other significant disruptions of our information technology (IT) networks and related systems.

We face risks associated with security breaches, whether through cyber attacks or cyber intrusions over the Internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to e-mails, persons inside our organization or persons with access to systems inside our organization, and other significant disruptions of our IT networks and related systems. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber attack or cyber intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Our IT networks and related systems are essential to the operation of our business and our ability to perform day-to-day operations (including managing our building systems) and, in some cases, may be critical to the operations of certain of our tenants. Although we make efforts to maintain the security and integrity of these types of IT networks and related systems, and we have implemented various measures to manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, there can be no assurance that our security efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the techniques used in such attempted security breaches evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases are designed not to be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures, and thus it is impossible for us to entirely mitigate this risk.

A security breach or other significant disruption involving our IT networks and related systems could:

 

Any or all of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

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Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

The ability of stockholders to control our policies and effect a change of control of our company is limited by certain provisions of our charter and bylaws and by Maryland law.

There are provisions in our charter and bylaws that may discourage a third party from making a proposal to acquire us, even if some of our stockholders might consider the proposal to be in their best interests. These provisions include the following:

Our charter authorizes our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock, to authorize us to issue additional shares of our common stock or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and thereafter to authorize us to issue such classified or reclassified shares of stock. We believe these charter provisions provide us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs that might arise. The additional classes or series, as well as the additional authorized shares of our common stock, are available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities are listed or traded. Although our board of directors does not currently intend to do so, it could authorize us to issue a class or series of stock that could, depending upon the terms of the particular class or series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or that our common stockholders otherwise believe to be in their best interests.

In order to qualify as a REIT, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities such as private foundations) at any time during the last half of any taxable year (beginning with our second taxable year as a REIT). In order to help us qualify as a REIT, our charter generally prohibits any person or entity from actually owning or being deemed to own by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions, (i) more than 6.50% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of the outstanding shares of our common stock or (ii) more than 6.50% in value of the aggregate of the outstanding shares of all classes and series of our stock, in each case, excluding any shares of our stock not treated as outstanding for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We refer to these restrictions as the “ownership limits.” These ownership limits may prevent or delay a change in control and, as a result, could adversely affect our stockholders’ ability to realize a premium for their shares of our common stock. In connection with the Formation Transactions and the concurrent private placement to certain members of the Otto family and their affiliates, our board of directors granted waivers to the lineal descendants of Professor Dr. h.c. Werner Otto, their spouses and controlled entities to own up to 22.0% of our outstanding common stock in the aggregate (which can be automatically increased to an amount greater than 22.0% to the extent that their aggregate ownership exceeds such percentage solely as a result of a repurchase by the company of its common stock). The term the “Otto family” refers to the lineal descendants and the surviving former spouse of the late Professor Dr. h.c. Werner Otto.

In addition, certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law, or MGCL, may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including the Maryland business combination and control share provisions.

As permitted by the MGCL, our board of directors adopted a resolution exempting any business combinations between us and any other person or entity from the business combination provisions of the MGCL. Our bylaws provide that this resolution or any other resolution of our board of directors exempting any business combination from the business combination provisions of the MGCL may only be revoked, altered or amended, and our board of directors may only adopt any resolution inconsistent with any such resolution (including an amendment to that bylaw provision), which we refer to as an opt in to the business combination provisions, with the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by holders of outstanding shares of our common stock. In addition, as permitted by the MGCL, our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share acquisition provisions of the MGCL any and all acquisitions by any person of shares of our stock. This bylaw provision may be amended, which we refer to as an opt in to the control share acquisition provisions, only with the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on such an amendment by holders of outstanding shares of our common stock.

Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permits our board of directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain takeover defenses, including adopting a classified board or increasing the vote required to remove a director. Such takeover defenses may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making an acquisition proposal for us or of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us under the circumstances that otherwise could provide our common stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then current market price.

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In addition, the provisions of our charter on the removal of directors and the advance notice provisions of our bylaws, among others, could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest.

Each item discussed above may delay, deter or prevent a change in control of our company, even if a proposed transaction is at a premium over the then-current market price for our common stock. Further, these provisions may apply in instances where some stockholders consider a transaction beneficial to them. As a result, our stock price may be negatively affected by these provisions.

Our board of directors may change our policies without stockholder approval.

Our policies, including any policies with respect to investments, leverage, financing, growth, debt and capitalization, are determined by our board of directors or those committees or officers to whom our board of directors may delegate such authority. Our board of directors also establishes the amount of any dividends or other distributions that we pay to our stockholders. Our board of directors or the committees or officers to which such decisions are delegated have the ability to amend or revise these and our other policies at any time without stockholder vote. Accordingly, our stockholders are not entitled to approve changes in our policies, and, while not intending to do so, we may adopt policies that may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.  

Conflicts of interest may exist or could arise in the future between the interests of our stockholders and the interests of holders of common units, which may impede business decisions that could benefit our stockholders.

Conflicts of interest may exist or could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our operating partnership or any of its partners, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company under Maryland law in connection with their management of our company. At the same time, we have duties and obligations to our operating partnership and its limited partners under Delaware law as modified by the partnership agreement of our operating partnership in connection with the management of our operating partnership as the sole general partner. The limited partners of our operating partnership expressly acknowledge that the general partner of our operating partnership acts for the benefit of our operating partnership, the limited partners and our stockholders collectively. When deciding whether to cause our operating partnership to take or decline to take any actions, the general partner will be under no obligation to give priority to the separate interests of (i) the limited partners of our operating partnership (including, without limitation, the tax interests of our limited partners, except as provided in a separate written agreement) or (ii) our stockholders. Nevertheless, the duties and obligations of the general partner of our operating partnership may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to our company and our stockholders.

If there are deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately present our financial statements, which could materially and adversely affect us, including our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

As a publicly-traded company, we are required to report our financial statements on a consolidated basis. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to accurately report our financial results. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 will require us to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting and have our independent registered public accounting firm issue an opinion with respect to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. There can be no guarantee that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in accomplishing all control objectives all of the time. Furthermore, as we grow our business, our internal controls will become more complex, and we may require significantly more resources to ensure our internal controls remain effective. Deficiencies, including any material weakness, in our internal control over financial reporting which may occur in the future could result in misstatements of our results of operations that could require a restatement, failing to meet our public company reporting obligations and causing investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. These events could materially and adversely affect us, including our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

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We may assume unknown liabilities in connection with the Formation Transactions, which, if significant, could adversely affect our business.

As part of the Formation Transactions, we (through corporate acquisitions and contributions to our operating partnership) acquired the properties and assets of our predecessor and certain other assets, subject to existing liabilities, some of which may be unknown. Each of the entities comprising our predecessor and the private equity real estate funds controlled by our management company from whom we acquired assets in the Formation Transactions made representations, warranties and covenants to us regarding the entities and assets we acquired. In order to provide us with indemnification in connection with breaches of these representations, warranties or covenants, the owners of our management company placed $19.0 million of our common stock, that they are otherwise entitled to receive, into an escrow from which we will be entitled to indemnification for breaches of representations, warranties and covenants made by any of these entities. In addition, in connection with each of these acquisitions, 1.5% of the common stock or common units in our Operating Partnership (“common units”) that we issued in the acquisition was placed into an escrow from which we are entitled to indemnification for breaches of such representations, warranties or covenants made by the applicable entity in the acquisition. These indemnification escrows will remain in place for one year following the Offering after which, if no indemnification claims have been made, the escrowed amounts will be released, except that each person or the entity will be permitted to have such shares of our common stock or common units released from escrow by posting satisfactory alternative collateral. The third parties from whom we acquired assets in the Formation Transactions also made representations, warranties and covenants to us and provided us with indemnification or remained subject to state law claims for breaches of such representations, warranties or covenants pursuant to the individually negotiated terms of the agreements with each of these parties. Because many liabilities, including tax liabilities, may not be identified within such period, we may have no recourse for such liabilities. Any unknown or unquantifiable liabilities that we assumed in connection with the Formation Transactions for which we have no or limited recourse could adversely affect us. See “—We may become subject to liability relating to environmental and health and safety matters, which could have an adverse effect on us, including our financial condition and results of operations” as to the possibility of undisclosed environmental conditions potentially affecting the value of the properties in our portfolio.

We may pursue less vigorous enforcement of terms of certain formation transaction agreements because of conflicts of interest with certain members of our senior management team and our board of directors, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

Certain members of our senior management team and our board of directors had ownership interests in our predecessor and the private equity real estate funds controlled by our management company that we acquired in the Formation Transactions upon completion of the Offering. As part of the Formation Transactions, we are indemnified for certain claims made with respect to breaches of such representations, warranties or covenants by certain contributing entities following the completion of the Offering. Such indemnification is limited, however, and we are not entitled to any other indemnification in connection with the Formation Transactions. See “We may assume unknown liabilities in connection with the Formation Transactions, which, if significant, could adversely affect our business” above. We may choose not to enforce, or to enforce less vigorously, our rights under these agreements because of our desire to maintain our ongoing relationship with our executive officers given their significant knowledge of our business, relationships with our customers and significant equity ownership in us and members of our board of directors, and this could have an adverse effect on our business.

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Risks Related to Our Indebtedness and Financing

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness that may limit our financial and operating activities and may adversely affect our ability to incur additional debt to fund future needs.

As of December 31, 2014, our total indebtedness, including indebtedness of our unconsolidated joint ventures, was approximately $3.099 billion ($2.392 billion on a pro rata basis). As of December 31, 2014, substantially all of our debt was asset level debt, and we have $1.0 billion of available borrowing capacity, including amounts reserved for letters of credit, under our senior unsecured revolving credit facility.

Payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash resources to operate our properties, fully implement our capital expenditure, acquisition and redevelopment activities, or meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our debt agreements could have significant adverse consequences, including the following:

If any one of these events were to occur, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and trading price of our common stock could be adversely affected. Furthermore, foreclosures could create taxable income without accompanying cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code, and, in the case of some of our properties, expose us to entity-level sting tax, as defined below.

We may not have sufficient cash flow to meet the required payments of principal and interest on our debt or to pay distributions on our shares at expected levels.

In the future, our cash flow could be insufficient to meet required payments of principal and interest or to pay distributions on our shares at expected levels. In this regard, we note that in order for us to continue to qualify as a REIT, we are required to make annual distributions generally equal to at least 90% of our taxable income, computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gain. In addition, as a REIT, we are subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our taxable income (including capital gains) and are subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount by which our distributions in any calendar year are less than a minimum amount specified by the Code. These requirements and considerations may limit the amount of our cash flow available to meet required principal and interest payments.

If we are unable to make required payments on indebtedness that is secured by a mortgage on our property, the asset may be transferred to the lender with a consequent loss of income and value to us, including adverse tax consequences related to such a transfer.

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Our debt agreements include restrictive covenants, requirements to maintain financial ratios and default provisions which could limit our flexibility, our ability to make distributions and require us to repay the indebtedness prior to its maturity.

The mortgages on our properties contain customary negative covenants that, among other things, limit our ability, without the prior consent of the lender, to further mortgage the property and to reduce or change insurance coverage. As of December 31, 2014, including debt of our unconsolidated joint ventures, we had $3.099 billion of total debt ($2.392 billion on a pro rata basis), substantially all of which was asset level debt. Additionally, our debt agreements contain customary covenants that, among other things, restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness and, in certain instances, restrict our ability to engage in material asset sales, mergers, consolidations and acquisitions, and restrict our ability to make capital expenditures. These debt agreements, in some cases, also subject us to guarantor and liquidity covenants and our senior unsecured revolving credit facility will, and other future debt may, require us to maintain various financial ratios. Some of our debt agreements contain certain cash flow sweep requirements and mandatory escrows, and our property mortgages generally require certain mandatory prepayments upon disposition of underlying collateral. Early repayment of certain mortgages may be subject to prepayment penalties.

Variable rate debt is subject to interest rate risk that could increase our interest expense, increase the cost to refinance and increase the cost of issuing new debt.

As of December 31, 2014, $263.2 million of our outstanding consolidated debt was subject to instruments which bear interest at variable rates, and we may also borrow additional money at variable interest rates in the future. Unless we have made arrangements that hedge against the risk of rising interest rates, increases in interest rates would increase our interest expense under these instruments, increase the cost of refinancing these instruments or issuing new debt, and adversely affect cash flow and our ability to service our indebtedness and make distributions to our stockholders, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We may, in a manner consistent with our qualification as a REIT, seek to manage our exposure to interest rate volatility by using interest rate hedging arrangements that involve risk, such as the risk that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under these arrangements, and that these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to interest rate changes. Moreover, there can be no assurance that our hedging arrangements will qualify for hedge accounting or that our hedging activities will have the desired beneficial impact on our results of operations. Should we desire to terminate a hedging agreement, there could be significant costs and cash requirements involved to fulfill our obligation under the hedging agreement. Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may adversely affect our results of operations.

Mortgage debt obligations expose us to the possibility of foreclosure, which could result in the loss of our investment in a property or group of properties subject to mortgage debt.

Incurring mortgage and other secured debt obligations increases our risk of property losses because defaults on indebtedness secured by properties may result in foreclosure actions initiated by lenders and ultimately our loss of the property securing any loans for which we are in default. Any foreclosure on a mortgaged property or group of properties could adversely affect the overall value of our portfolio of properties. For tax purposes, a foreclosure of any of our properties that is subject to a nonrecourse mortgage loan would be treated as a sale of the property for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the property, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure, but would not receive any cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the distribution requirements applicable to REITs under the Code and, in the case of some of our properties, expose us to entity-level sting tax, as defined below.

High mortgage rates and/or unavailability of mortgage debt may make it difficult for us to finance or refinance properties, which could reduce the number of properties we can acquire, our net income and the amount of cash distributions we can make.

If mortgage debt is unavailable at reasonable rates, we may not be able to finance the purchase of properties. If we place mortgage debt on properties, we may be unable to refinance the properties when the loans become due, or to refinance on favorable terms. If interest rates are higher when we refinance our properties, our income could be reduced. If any of these events occur, our cash flow could be reduced. This, in turn, could reduce cash available for distribution to our stockholders and may hinder our ability to raise more capital by issuing more stock or by borrowing more money. In addition, payments of principal and interest made to service our debts may leave us with insufficient cash to make distributions necessary to meet the distribution requirements imposed on REITs under the Code.

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Risks Related to Our Common Stock

The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common stock include:

In the past, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the price of their common stock. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and trading price of our common stock.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year during which our total annual revenue equals or exceeds $1 billion (subject to adjustment for inflation), (ii) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering, (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Exchange Act. We may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions and benefits under the JOBS Act. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the market price of our common stock may be more volatile and decline significantly.

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The market value of our common stock may decline due to the large number of our shares eligible for future sale.

The market value of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock in the market or upon exchange of common units, or the perception that such sales could occur. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell shares of our common stock in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

As of December 31, 2014, a significant number of our outstanding shares of our common stock are held by our continuing investors and their affiliates who acquired shares in the Formation Transactions and the concurrent private placements.  These shares of common stock are “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act and may not be sold in the absence of registration under the Securities Act unless an exemption from registration is available, including the exemptions contained in Rule 144. All of these shares of our common stock will be eligible for future sale following the expiration of the 180-day lock-up period and certain of such shares held by our continuing investors have registration rights pursuant to registration rights agreements that we have entered into with those investors. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement we entered into with members of the Otto family and certain affiliated entities receiving shares of our common stock in the Formation Transactions and concurrent private placements, the parties to this agreement may, 14 months following the completion of the Offering and under certain circumstances, demand that we register the resale and/or facilitate an underwritten offering of their shares; provided that the demand relates to shares having a market value of at least $40.0 million and that such parties may not make more than two such demands in any consecutive 12-month period. When the restrictions under the lock-up arrangements expire or are waived, the related shares of common stock or securities convertible into, exchangeable for, exercisable for, or repayable with common stock will be available for sale or resale, as the case may be, and such sales or resales, or the perception of such sales or resales, could depress the market price for our common stock. In addition, from and after 14 months following the closing of our initial public offering, limited partners of our operating partnership, other than us, will have the right to require our operating partnership to redeem part or all of their 46,810,117 common units for cash, based upon the value of an equivalent number of shares of our common stock at the time of the election to redeem, or, at our election, shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis. Furthermore, to the extent a holder transfers more than 50% of the common stock or common units that it receives in connection with the Formation Transactions within two years of the completion of the Offering, the holder generally will be required to bear additional New York City and State real property transfer taxes attributable to such holder based on the holder’s transfer.

Future issuances of debt securities and equity securities may negatively affect the market price of shares of our common stock and, in the case of equity securities, may be dilutive to existing stockholders.

Our charter provides that we may issue up to 900,000,000 shares of our common stock, $0.01 par value per share, and up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share. Moreover, under Maryland law and our charter, our board of directors has the power to increase the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we are authorized to issue without stockholder approval. Similarly, the partnership agreement of our operating partnership authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional common units, which may be exchangeable for shares of our common stock. In addition, share equivalents are available for future issuance under the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (with full value awards counting as one share equivalent and options counting as one-half of a share equivalent).

In the future, we may issue debt or equity securities or incur other financial obligations, including stock dividends and shares that may be issued in exchange for common units and equity plan shares/units. Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and other loans and preferred stock will receive a distribution of our available assets before common stockholders. We are not required to offer any such additional debt or equity securities to existing stockholders on a preemptive basis. Therefore, additional common stock issuances, directly or through convertible or exchangeable securities (including common units and convertible preferred units), warrants or options, will dilute the holdings of our existing common stockholders and such issuances or the perception of such issuances may reduce the market price of shares of our common stock. Any convertible preferred units would have, and any series or class of our preferred stock would likely have, a preference on distribution payments, periodically or upon liquidation, which could eliminate or otherwise limit our ability to make distributions to common stockholders.

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Risks Related to Our Status as a REIT

Failure to qualify or to maintain our qualification as a REIT would have significant adverse consequences to the value of our common stock.

We intend to elect and to qualify to be treated as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2014. The Code generally requires that a REIT distribute at least 90% of its taxable income (without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gains) to stockholders annually, and a REIT must pay tax at regular corporate rates to the extent that it distributes less than 100% of its taxable income (including capital gains) in a given year. In addition, a REIT is required to pay a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which the distributions it makes in a calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of its ordinary income, 95% of its capital gain net income and 100% of its undistributed income from prior years. To avoid entity-level U.S. federal income and excise taxes, we anticipate distributing at least 100% of our taxable income annually.

We believe that we have been and are organized, and have operated and will operate, in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2014. However, we cannot assure you that we have been and are organized and have operated or will operate as such. This is because qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code as to which there may only be limited judicial and administrative interpretations and involves the determination of facts and circumstances not entirely within our control. We have not requested and do not intend to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, that we qualify as a REIT. The complexity of the Code provisions and of the applicable Treasury Regulations is greater in the case of a REIT that, like us, acquired assets from taxable C corporations in tax-deferred transactions and holds its assets through one or more partnerships. Moreover, in order to qualify as a REIT, we must meet, on an ongoing basis, various tests regarding the nature and diversification of our assets and our income, the ownership of our outstanding stock, the absence of inherited retained earnings from non-REIT periods and the amount of our distributions. Our ability to satisfy the asset tests depends upon our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination, and for which we will not obtain independent appraisals. Our compliance with the REIT gross income and quarterly asset requirements also depends upon our ability to manage successfully the composition of our gross income and assets on an ongoing basis. Future legislation, new regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions may significantly change the tax laws or the application of the tax laws with respect to qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes or the U.S. federal income tax consequences of such qualification. Accordingly, it is possible that we may not meet the requirements for qualification as a REIT.  

If, with respect to any taxable year, we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we would not be allowed to deduct distributions to stockholders in computing our taxable income. If we were not entitled to relief under the relevant statutory provisions, we would also be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four subsequent taxable years. If we fail to qualify as a REIT, we would be subject to entity-level income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate tax rates. As a result, the amount available for distribution to holders of our common stock would be reduced for the year or years involved, and we would no longer be required to make distributions to our stockholders. In addition, our failure to qualify as a REIT could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and adversely affect the value of our common stock.

We may owe certain taxes notwithstanding our qualification as a REIT.

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we will be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and property, on taxable income that we do not distribute to our stockholders, on net income from certain “prohibited transactions,” and on income from certain activities conducted as a result of foreclosure. We may, in certain circumstances, be required to pay an excise or penalty tax (which could be significant in amount) in order to utilize one or more relief provisions under the Code to maintain our qualification as a REIT. In addition, we expect to provide certain services that are not customarily provided by a landlord, hold properties for sale and engage in other activities (such as a portion of our management business) through one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”), and the income of those subsidiaries will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates. Furthermore, to the extent that we conduct operations outside of the United States, our operations would subject us to applicable foreign taxes, regardless of our status as a REIT for U.S. tax purposes.

In the case of assets we acquired on a tax-deferred basis from certain corporations controlled by the Otto family and Wilhelm von Finck (which we collectively refer to as the “family corporations”) as part of the Formation Transactions, we are subject to U.S. federal income tax, sometimes called the “sting tax,” at the highest regular corporate tax rate, which is currently 35%, on all or a portion of the gain recognized from a taxable disposition of any such assets occurring within the 10-year period following the acquisition date, to the extent of the asset’s built-in gain based on the fair market value of the asset on the acquisition date in excess of our initial tax basis in the asset. Gain from a sale of such an asset occurring after the 10-year period ends will not be subject to this sting tax. We currently do not expect to dispose of any asset if the disposition would result in the imposition of a material sting tax liability under the above rules. We cannot, however, assure you that we will not change our plans in this regard. We estimate the maximum amount of built-in gain potentially subject to the sting tax is approximately $745.8 million, which corresponds to a

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maximum potential tax of approximately $241.5 million (based on current tax rates and the valuation of the properties based on the estimated price per share of the Offering or negotiated prices).

As part of the Formation Transactions, we also acquired assets of the family corporations through mergers, stock acquisition and similar transactions. As a result of those acquisitions, we inherited any liability for the unpaid taxes of the family corporations for periods prior to the acquisitions. In each case, our acquisition of assets was intended to qualify as a tax-deferred acquisition for the family corporation. As a result, none of the corporations is expected to recognize gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes in the Formation Transactions. If for any reason our acquisition of a family corporation’s assets failed to qualify for tax-deferred treatment, the corporation generally would recognize gain for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent that the fair market value of our stock (and any cash) issued in exchange for the stock of the family corporation or the corporation’s assets, plus debt assumed, exceeded the corporation’s adjusted tax basis in its assets. We would inherit the resulting tax liability of the family corporation. In several of the Formation Transactions, the acquired family corporation will recognize gain for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless the acquisition qualifies as a tax-deferred “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of Code. The requirements of tax-deferred reorganizations are complex, and it is possible that the IRS could interpret the applicable law differently and assert that one or more of the acquisitions failed to qualify as a reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Code. Moreover, under the “investment company” rules under Section 368 of the Code, certain of the acquisitions could be taxable if the acquired corporation is an “investment company” under such rules. If any such acquisition failed to qualify for tax-free reorganization treatment we could incur significant U.S. federal income tax liability.

Our Operating Partnership has, and various predecessor partnerships whose assets were acquired in the Formation Transactions, have, limited partners that are non-U.S. persons. Such non-U.S. persons are subject to a variety of U.S. withholding taxes, including with respect to certain aspects of the Formation Transactions, withholding taxes that the relevant partnership must remit to the U.S. Treasury. A partnership that fails to remit the full amount of withholding taxes is liable for the amount of the under withholding, as well as interest and potential penalties. As a successor to certain of the private equity real estate funds controlled by our predecessor, our operating partnership could be responsible if the private equity real estate funds failed to properly withhold for prior periods. Although we believe that we and our predecessor partnerships have complied and will comply with the applicable withholding requirements, the determination of the amounts to be withheld is a complex legal determination, depends on provisions of the Code and the applicable Treasury Regulations that have little guidance and the treatment of certain aspects of the Formation Transactions under the withholding rules may be uncertain. Accordingly, we may interpret the applicable law differently from the IRS and the IRS may seek to recover additional withholding taxes from us.

Our property taxes could increase due to property tax rate changes or reassessment, which could impact our cash flow.

Even if we qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we will be required to pay state and local taxes on our properties. The real property taxes on our properties may increase as property tax rates change or as our properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. In particular, our portfolio of properties may be reassessed as a result of the Offering. Therefore, the amount of property taxes we pay in the future may increase substantially from what we have paid in the past and such increases may not be covered by tenants pursuant to our lease agreements. If the property taxes we pay increase, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, per share trading price of our common stock and our ability to satisfy our principal and interest obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected.

If our operating partnership is treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we will cease to qualify as a REIT.

We believe our operating partnership qualifies and will continue to qualify as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Assuming that it qualifies as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our operating partnership will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its income. Instead, its partners, including us, generally are required to pay tax on their respective allocable share of our operating partnership’s income. No assurance can be provided, however, that the IRS will not challenge our operating partnership’s status as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in treating our operating partnership as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would fail to meet the gross income tests and certain of the asset tests applicable to REITs and, therefore, cease to qualify as a REIT, and our operating partnership would become subject to U.S. federal, state and local income tax. The payment by our operating partnership of income tax would reduce significantly the amount of cash available to our partnership to satisfy obligations to make principal and interest payments on its debt and to make distribution to its partners, including us.

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There are uncertainties relating to our distribution of non-REIT earnings and profits.

To qualify as a REIT, we must not have any non-REIT accumulated earnings and profits, as measured for U.S. federal income tax purposes, at the end of any REIT taxable year. Such non-REIT earnings and profits generally will include any accumulated earnings and profits of the family corporations acquired by us (or whose assets we acquired) in the Formation Transactions. Thus, we are required to distribute any such non-REIT accumulated earnings and profits that we inherit from the family corporations in the Formation Transactions prior to the end of our first taxable year as a REIT, which was the taxable year ended December 31, 2014. We believe that the family corporations made sufficient distributions prior to the Formation Transactions so that we did not have any undistributed non-REIT earnings and profits at the end of 2014. However, the determination of the amounts of any such non-REIT earnings and profits is a complex factual and legal determination, especially in the case of corporations, such as the family corporations, that have been in operation for many years. If it is subsequently determined that we had undistributed non-REIT earnings and profits as of the end of our first taxable year as a REIT or at the end of any subsequent taxable year, we could fail to qualify as a REIT.

Dividends payable by REITs generally do not qualify for reduced tax rates applicable to non-corporate taxpayers.

The maximum U.S. federal income tax rate for certain qualified dividends payable to U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates generally is 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, are generally not eligible for the reduced rates and therefore may be subject to a 39.6% maximum U.S. federal income tax rate on ordinary income when paid to such stockholders. Although the reduced U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to dividend income from regular corporate dividends does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs or dividends paid by REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate dividends could cause investors who are individuals, trusts and estates or are otherwise sensitive to these lower rates to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stock of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including our common stock.

Complying with the REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities or liquidate certain of our investments.

To qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our stock. We may be required to make distributions to our stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may, for instance, hinder our ability to make certain otherwise attractive investments or undertake other activities that might otherwise be beneficial to us and our stockholders, or may require us to borrow or liquidate investments in unfavorable market conditions and, therefore, may hinder our investment performance.

As a REIT, at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets must consist of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified real estate assets. The remainder of our investments in securities (other than cash, cash items, government securities, securities issued by a TRS and qualified real estate assets) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our total assets (other than cash, cash items, government securities, securities issued by a TRS and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of our total securities can be represented by securities of one or more TRSs. After meeting these requirements at the close of a calendar quarter, if we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any subsequent calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain other statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification. As a result, we may be required to liquidate from our portfolio otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

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We may be subject to a 100% penalty tax on any prohibited transactions that we enter into, or may be required to forego certain otherwise beneficial opportunities in order to avoid the penalty tax on prohibited transactions.

If we are found to have held, acquired or developed property primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to a 100% “prohibited transactions” tax under U.S. federal tax laws on the gain from disposition of the property unless the disposition qualifies for one or more safe harbor exceptions for properties that have been held by us for at least two years and satisfy certain additional requirements (or the disposition is made through a TRS and, therefore, is subject to corporate U.S. federal income tax).

Under existing law, whether property is held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business is a question of fact that depends on all the facts and circumstances. We intend to hold, and, to the extent within our control, to have any joint venture to which our operating partnership is a partner hold, properties for investment with a view to long-term appreciation, to engage in the business of acquiring, owning, operating and developing the properties, and to make sales of our properties and other properties acquired subsequent to the date hereof as are consistent with our investment objectives (and to hold investments that do not meet these criteria through a TRS). Based upon our investment objectives, we believe that overall, our properties (other than certain interests we intend to hold through a TRS) should not be considered property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. However, it may not always be practical for us to comply with one of the safe harbors, and, therefore, we may be subject to the 100% penalty tax on the gain from dispositions of property if we otherwise are deemed to have held the property primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

The potential application of the prohibited transactions tax could cause us to forego potential dispositions of property or to forego other opportunities that might otherwise be attractive to us, or to hold investments or undertake such dispositions or other opportunities through a TRS, which would generally result in corporate income taxes being incurred.

REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our liquidity and adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.

In order to maintain our qualification as a REIT and to meet the REIT distribution requirements, we may need to modify our business plans. Our cash flow from operations may be insufficient to fund required distributions, for example, as a result of differences in timing between our cash flow, the receipt of income for accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) purposes and the recognition of income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves, payment of required debt service or amortization payments, or the need to make additional investments in qualifying real estate assets. The insufficiency of our cash flow to cover our distribution requirements could require us to (i) sell assets in adverse market conditions, (ii) borrow on unfavorable terms, (iii) distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions or capital expenditures or used for the repayment of debt, (iv) pay dividends in the form of “taxable stock dividends” or (v) use cash reserves, in order to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. As a result, compliance with the REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect the market value of our common stock. The inability of our cash flow to cover our distribution requirements could have an adverse impact on our ability to raise short- and long-term debt or sell equity securities. In addition, if we are compelled to liquidate our assets to repay obligations to our lenders or make distributions to our stockholders, we may be subject to a 100% tax on any resultant gain if we sell assets that are treated as property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, and, in the case of some of our properties, we may be subject to an entity-level sting tax.

The ability of our board of directors to revoke our REIT qualification without stockholder approval may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

Our charter provides that our board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to be a REIT, we will not be allowed a deduction for dividends paid to stockholders in computing our taxable income and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates and state and local taxes, which may have adverse consequences on our total return to our stockholders.

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Our ability to provide certain services to our tenants may be limited by the REIT rules, or may have to be provided through a TRS.

As a REIT, we generally cannot provide services to our tenants other than those that are customarily provided by landlords, nor can we derive income from a third party that provides such services. If we forego providing such services to our tenants, we may be at a disadvantage to competitors who are not subject to the same restrictions. However, we can provide such non-customary services to tenants or share in the revenue from such services if we do so through a TRS, though income earned through the TRS will be subject to corporate income taxes.

Although our use of TRSs may partially mitigate the impact of meeting certain requirements necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT, there are limits on our ability to own and enter into transactions with TRSs, and a failure to comply with the limits would jeopardize our REIT qualification and may result in the application of a 100% excise tax.

A REIT may own up to 100% of the stock of one or more TRSs. A TRS may hold assets and earn income that would not be qualifying assets or income if held or earned directly by a REIT. Both the subsidiary and the REIT must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. A corporation of which a TRS directly or indirectly owns more than 35% of the voting power or value of the stock will automatically be treated as a TRS. Overall, no more than 25% of the value of a REIT’s assets may consist of securities of one or more TRSs. In addition, rules limit the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT to assure that the TRS is subject to an appropriate level of corporate taxation. Rules also impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are treated as not being conducted on an arm’s-length basis.

We intend to jointly elect with one or more companies for those companies to be treated as our TRS under the Code for U.S. federal income tax purposes. These companies and any other TRSs that we form will pay U.S. federal, state and local income tax on their taxable income, and their after-tax net income will be available for distribution to us but is not required to be distributed to us unless necessary to maintain our REIT qualification. Although we will monitor the aggregate value of the securities of such TRSs and intend to conduct our affairs so that such securities will represent less than 25% of the value of our total assets, there can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the TRS limitation in all market conditions.

Possible legislative, regulatory or other actions could adversely affect our stockholders and us.

The rules dealing with U.S. federal, state and local income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department. Changes to tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application) could adversely affect our stockholders or us. In recent years, many such changes have been made and changes are likely to continue to occur in the future. We cannot predict whether, when, in what form, or with what effective dates, tax laws, regulations and rulings may be enacted, promulgated or decided, which could result in an increase in our, or our stockholders’, tax liability or require changes in the manner in which we operate in order to minimize increases in our tax liability. A shortfall in tax revenues for states and municipalities in which we operate may lead to an increase in the frequency and size of such changes. If such changes occur, we may be required to pay additional taxes on our assets or income and/or be subject to additional restrictions. These increased tax costs could, among other things, adversely affect our financial condition, the results of operations and the amount of cash available for the payment of dividends. Stockholders are urged to consult with their own tax advisors with respect to the impact that recent legislation may have on their investment and the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on their investment in our shares. In particular, certain members of Congress recently circulated a draft of proposed legislative changes to the REIT rules that, if ultimately adopted, could adversely affect our REIT status, including reducing the maximum amount of our gross asset value in TRSs from 25% to 20%. That discussion draft also included provisions that, if enacted in their current form (and with the proposed retroactive effective dates), would make our acquisitions of the family corporations taxable events, subjecting us to material corporate tax liability.

 

 

ITEM 1B.UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

There are no unresolved comments from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Our Portfolio Summary

As of December 31, 2014, our portfolio consisted of 12 office properties aggregating approximately 10.4 million square feet that was 93.9% leased. The table below presents an overview of our portfolio as of December 31, 2014.

 

 

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Tenant Diversification

As of December 31, 2014, our properties were leased to a diverse base of tenants. Our tenants represent a broad array of industries, including financial services, media and entertainment, consulting, legal and other professional services, technology and federal government agencies. The following table sets forth information regarding the 10 largest tenants in our portfolio based on annualized rent as of December 31, 2014.

 

Industry Diversification

The following table sets forth information relating to tenant diversification by industry in our portfolio based on annualized rent as of December 31, 2014.

 

 

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Lease Expirations

The following table sets forth a summary schedule of the lease expirations for leases in place as of December 31, 2014 for each of the 10 calendar years beginning with the year ending December 31, 2015, at the properties in our portfolio. The information set forth in the table assumes that tenants exercise no renewal options and no early termination rights.

 

 

 

Our portfolio contains a number of large buildings in select central business district submarkets, which often involve large users occupying multiple floors for relatively long terms. Accordingly, the re-lease or renewal of one or more large leases may have a disproportionate positive or negative impact on average base rent, tenant improvement and leasing commission costs in a given period. Tenant improvement costs include expenditures for general improvements related to installing a tenant. Leasing commission costs are similarly subject to significant fluctuations depending upon the anticipated revenue to be received under the leases and the length of leases being signed. Our ability to re-lease space subject to expiring leases will impact our results of operations and is affected by economic and competitive conditions in our markets and by the desirability of our individual properties.

 

As of December 31, 2014, the vacancy rate of our portfolio was 6.1%.  In addition approximately 665,321 square feet, or 6.4% of square footage of our portfolio is scheduled to expire during the year ending December 31, 2015, which represents approximately 7.2% of our annualized rent.  

 

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Real Estate Fund Investments

 

We have an investment management business, where we serve as the general partner of real estate funds for institutional investors and high net-worth individuals. The following is a summary of our ownership in these funds and the funds ownership in the underlying investments.

 

Property Funds

The purpose of the Property Funds is to invest in office buildings and related facilities primarily in New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.  As of December 31, 2014, the Property Funds were comprised of (i) Paramount Group Real Estate Fund II, L.P. (“Fund II”), (ii) Paramount Group Real Estate Fund III, L.P. (“Fund III”), (iii) Paramount Group Real Estate Fund VII, L.P.(“Fund VII”), and (iv) Paramount Group Real Estate Fund VII-H, L.P. (“Fund VII-H”).  The following is a summary of the investments of our Property Funds.

 

 

Alternative Investment Funds

The purpose of the Alternative Investment Funds is to invest primarily in real estate related debt and preferred equity investments. As of December 31, 2014, the Alternative Investment Funds were comprised of (i) Paramount Group Real Estate Special Situations Fund, L.P. (“PGRESS”), (ii) Paramount Group Real Estate Special Situations Fund-H, L.P. (“PGRESS-H”), (iii) Paramount Group Real Estate Special Situations Fund-A, L.P. (“PGRESS-A”), and (iv) Paramount Group Real Estate Fund VIII, L.P. (“Fund VIII”), which had an aggregate of $434,000,000 of committed capital that had not yet been invested. The following is a summary of the investments of our Alternative Investment Funds.    

 

26 Broadway

 

In December 2014, Fund VIII made a $50,000,000 mezzanine loan, of which $46,000,000 was funded at closing. The loan is secured by the equity interests in 26 Broadway, an 836,000 square foot office building located in the financial district of New York.  The loan bears interest at 8.25% and matures in January 2022.  The loan is subordinate to $220,000,000 of other debt.

 

470 Vanderbilt Avenue

 

In February 2014, PGRESS, PGRESS-A and PGRESS-H (collectively referred to as the “PGRESS Funds”) acquired a $33,750,000 preferred equity investment in a partnership that owns 470 Vanderbilt Avenue, a 650,000 square foot office building located in Brooklyn, New York.  The preferred equity has a dividend rate of 10.25%, of which 8.0% is paid currently and the remainder accretes to the balance of the investment.  The preferred equity investment is redeemable in February 2019.

 

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2 Herald Square

 

The PGRESS Funds own a $17,500,000 preferred equity investment in a partnership that owns 2 Herald Square, a 369,000 square foot office and retail property in New York, New York.  The preferred equity has a dividend rate of 10.3%, of which 7.0% is paid currently and the remainder accretes to the balance of the investment.  The preferred equity investment is redeemable in April 2017 and has two one-year extension options.

 

One Court Square

 

PGRESS and PGRESS-H own a combined 28.0% interest in a $125,000,000 preferred equity investment in a partnership that owns One Court Square, a 1.5 million square foot office building located in Long Island City, New York.  The preferred equity has a dividend rate of 15.0%, of which 9.5% is paid currently and the remainder accretes to the balance of the investment.  The preferred equity investment is redeemable in September 2015 and has a one-year extension option.

 

Residential Development Fund

 

The purpose of the Residential Development Fund (“Residential Fund”) is to construct a multifamily residential project in San Francisco.  As of December 31, 2014, the Residential Fund had an aggregate of $135,600,000 of committed capital, of which $75,600,000 was invested.

Other

 

60 Wall Street - Option Agreement

60 Wall Street is a 47-story, 1.6 million square foot Class-A office building located steps from the New York Stock Exchange in the heart of New York’s financial district. It features a two-story retail arcade and enclosed park on the ground floor and serves as the American headquarters of Deutsche Bank. The property is 100% net leased to Deutsche Bank through 2022 and Deutsche Bank has five five-year renewal options to extend the lease term through 2047 and a contraction option on up to 174,420 rentable square feet exercisable between June 2017 and June 2018.

In connection with the Formation Transactions, we entered into an option agreement with each of Fund II and Fund III pursuant to which we will have the right to acquire their interests in the joint venture that owns 60 Wall Street. We will have the right to acquire these interests at any time for up to two years after the completion of the Offering (i.e., through November 2016) at a purchase price based on the fair market value of the property, subject to a minimum floor price, and the net value of the other assets and liabilities of the joint venture on the date on which the option is exercised. In order to determine the fair market value of the property, we will obtain three independent appraisals from nationally recognized valuation firms and the fair market value will be deemed to be the average of the two highest appraisals; provided that the fair market value will be subject to a minimum floor price equal to 95% of the appraised value of the property as of December 31, 2013. We will have the right to acquire these interests for either cash or shares of our common stock, based on the then current market value. Our acquisition of these interests upon exercise of the option will be subject to Fund II and Fund III obtaining all applicable consents or waivers, including the consent or waiver of any lenders or tenants to the extent required. In addition, the purchase price will be increased to the extent we enter into any new lease or lease amendment at the property within 90 days after the closing that would have resulted in the fair market value of the property increasing by more than one percent if such lease or lease amendment had been in place as of the date of the appraisals used to determine the fair market value of the property. If we were to exercise the option, we have agreed to provide our joint venture partner with the right to “tag-along” and transfer their interests in the joint venture that owns 60 Wall Street at a purchase price based on the same valuation procedures pursuant to which we would acquire each of Fund II’s and Fund III’s interests.

If we were to exercise the option and our joint venture partner did not exercise its right to tag-along, we would continue to act as the general partner of the joint venture that is in charge of the property’s day-to-day operations. In the event we desire to transfer, sell or assign any portion of our interest in the joint venture to a third party, our joint venture partner will have the right to elect to purchase our interests subject to certain conditions. The partnership agreement contains a buy-sell provision, under which at any time, we or the joint venture partner may deliver a notice designating the amount that we or the joint venture partner determines the market value of the property to be. The party receiving a buy-sell notice will have the right to either purchase the entire partnership interest of the partner delivering the buy-sell notice, or sell its entire partnership interest to the partner delivering the buy-sell notice, in each case for cash at a price equal to the amount the selling partner would have received if the property had been sold for the amount listed in the notice (with financing breakage costs and transfer taxes to be apportioned between the partners in accordance with their percentage interests in the joint venture).

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718 Fifth Avenue - Put Right

We manage 718 Fifth Avenue, a five-story building containing 19,050 square feet of prime retail space that is located on the southwest corner of 56th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York. The property is one block south of one of the world’s most exclusive commercial intersections (57th Street and Fifth Avenue). Rockefeller Center and Central Park are within walking distance, as are numerous luxury hotels, museums and retail stores, including the Plaza Hotel, the Museum of Modern Art, FAO Schwarz, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. The property serves as the flagship store of, Harry Winston, a high-end American luxury jeweler and producer of Swiss timepieces owned by The Swatch Group.

Prior to the Formation Transactions, an affiliate of our Predecessor owned a 25.0% interest in 718 Fifth Avenue (based on its 50.0% interest in a joint venture that held a 50.0% tenancy-in-common interest in the property). Prior to the completion of the Formation Transactions, this interest was sold to its partner in the 718 Fifth Avenue joint venture, who is also our partner in the joint venture that owns 712 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. In connection with this sale, we granted our joint venture partner a put right, pursuant to which the 712 Fifth Avenue joint venture would be required to purchase the entire direct or indirect interests held by our joint venture partner or its affiliates in 718 Fifth Avenue at a purchase price equal to the fair market value of such interests. The put right may be exercised at any time after the four-year anniversary of the sale of its interest in 718 Fifth Avenue upon 12 months written notice with the actual purchase occurring no earlier than the five-year anniversary of the sale of its interest in 718 Fifth Avenue. If the put right is exercised and the 712 Fifth Avenue joint venture acquires the 50.0% tenancy-in-common interest in the property that will be held by our joint venture partner following the sale of its interest to our joint venture partner, we will own a 25.0% interest in 718 Fifth Avenue.

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From time to time, we are a party to various claims and routine litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that the results of any such claims or litigation, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Not applicable.

 

 

 

 

 

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PART II

 

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol PGRE. Our common stock began trading on the NYSE on November 19, 2014. As a result, we have not set forth quarterly information with respect to the high and low closing sales prices of our common stock and dividends declared on our common stock for the two most recent fiscal years. The table below sets forth the high and low sales prices of our common stock and dividends for the period from November 19, 2014 through December 31, 2014:

 

 

As of December 31, 2014, there were approximately 40 registered holders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

 

In order to maintain our qualification as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code, we must distribute at least 90% of our taxable income to shareholders. We intend to pay dividends on a quarterly basis to holders of our common stock. Any dividend distributions we pay in the future will depend upon our actual results of operations, economic conditions and other factors that could differ materially from our current expectations. Our actual results of operations will be affected by a number of factors; including the revenue we receive from our properties, our operating expenses, interest expense, the ability of our tenants to meet their obligations and unanticipated expenditures. Distributions declared by us will be authorized by our board of directors in its sole discretion out of funds legally available therefore and will be dependent upon a number of factors, including restrictions under applicable law, the capital requirements of our company and the distribution requirements necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors," and Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations," of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for information regarding the sources of funds used for dividends and for a discussion of factors, if any, which may adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

 

On February 27, 2015, we declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.039 per share of common stock for the 38 day period in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014, during which we were a public company. The dividend is payable on March 27, 2015 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 11, 2015.

 

On February 27, 2015, we also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.095 per share of common stock for the first quarter ending March 31, 2015 (an indicated annual rate of $0.38 per common share). The dividend is payable on March 30, 2015 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 12, 2015.

 

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Performance Graph

The following graph is a comparison of the cumulative return of our common stock, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (the “S&P 500 Index”) and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ (“NAREIT”) All Equity Index (the “All Equity Index”). The graph assumes that $100 was invested on November 19, 2014 (the first trading day of our common stock) in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index and the All Equity Index and that all dividends were reinvested without the payment of any commissions. There can be no assurance that the performance of our stock will continue in line with the same or similar trends depicted in the graph below.

  

 

 

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Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities and Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities

 

Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

On May 12, 2014, we issued 1,000 shares of our common stock in connection with the initial capitalization of our company for an aggregate purchase price of $1,000. The issuance of such shares was effected in reliance upon an exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

 

Use of Proceeds

On November 18, 2014, the SEC declared effective our registration statement on Form S-11, as amended (File No. 333-198392) (the “Registration Statement”), for the Offering. We registered the offering and sale of 131,000,000 shares of our common stock, including 19,650,000 shares of common stock to be sold to the underwriters pursuant to their option to purchase additional shares. On November 24, 2014, we completed the offering of 150,650,000 shares of common stock, which included the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, at a price of $17.50 per share for an aggregate offering price of approximately $2.6 billion. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as active joint book-running managers and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. also acted as a book-running manager of the Offering.

In connection with the Offering, we received net proceeds of approximately $2.5 billion, after deducting the underwriters’ discounts and commissions of approximately $106.9 million and offering expenses of approximately $31.3 million. All of the foregoing underwriting discounts and expenses were direct or indirect payments to persons other than: (i) our directors, officers or any of their associates; (ii) persons owning 10 percent or more of our shares of common stock; or (iii) our affiliates. We contributed the proceeds from the Offering to the Operating Partnership, which used them to repay outstanding indebtedness and any applicable prepayment costs, exit fees, defeasance costs and settlement of interest rate swap liabilities associated with such repayment, to pay cash consideration in connection with the Formation Transactions and for general corporate purposes.

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table summarizes certain information about our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2014.

 

Recent Purchases of Equity Securities

None

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Since the assets that we acquired from our Predecessor are no longer held by funds which qualify for investment company accounting, we account for these assets following the Formation Transactions using consolidated historical cost accounting. As a result, our consolidated financial statements following the Formation Transactions differ significantly from the combined consolidated financial statements of our Predecessor.  The following table sets forth selected financial and operating data for the period from November 24, 2014 to December 31, 2014 and as of the end of such period. This data should be read in conjunction with the combined consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This data may not be comparable to, or indicative of, future operating results.