If the filing person
has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing
this schedule because of Rule 13d-1(e), 13d-1(f) or 13d-1(g), check the following box.
¨
* The remainder of
this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person’s initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class
of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information that would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page.
The information required
on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions
of the Act (however, see the Notes).
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page
1 of 8 Pages
|
1
|
NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS
I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON (ENTITIES ONLY)
Ramguard LLC
|
2
|
CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
(a)
¨
(b)
¨
|
3
|
SEC USE ONLY
|
4
|
SOURCE OF FUNDS (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
WC
|
5
|
CHECK
IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) OR 2(e)
¨
|
6
|
CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
Delaware
|
NUMBER OF
SHARES
BENEFICIALLY
OWNED BY
EACH
REPORTING
PERSON
WITH
|
7
|
SOLE VOTING POWER
9,207,056
|
8
|
SHARED VOTING POWER
0
|
9
|
SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
9,207,056
|
10
|
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
0
|
11
|
AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
9,207,056
|
12
|
CHECK
IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
¨
|
13
|
PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
63.2%
|
14
|
TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
OO
|
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page
2 of 8 Pages
|
1
|
NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS
I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON (ENTITIES ONLY)
Neil Ramsey
|
2
|
CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
(a)
¨
(b)
¨
|
3
|
SEC USE ONLY
|
4
|
SOURCE OF FUNDS (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
AF
|
5
|
CHECK
IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) OR 2(e)
¨
|
6
|
CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
United States
|
NUMBER OF
SHARES
BENEFICIALLY
OWNED BY
EACH
REPORTING
PERSON
WITH
|
7
|
SOLE VOTING POWER
9,585,287
|
8
|
SHARED VOTING POWER
0
|
9
|
SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
9,585,287
|
10
|
SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
0
|
11
|
AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
9,585,287
|
12
|
CHECK
IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
¨
|
13
|
PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
65.8%
|
14
|
TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
IN
|
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page 3 of 8 Pages
|
This Amendment No. 5 to Schedule 13D amends
and supplements the Schedule 13D originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“
SEC
”) by Ramguard
LLC (formerly known as d.Quant Special Opportunities Fund, L.P.) (“
Ramguard
”) and Neil Ramsey (“
Ramsey
,”
and together with Ramguard, the “
Reporting Persons
”) on February 17, 2015, as previously amended by Amendment
No. 1 thereto (“
Amendment No. 1
”) filed with the SEC by the Reporting Persons on March 9, 2015, Amendment No.
2 thereto (“
Amendment No. 2
”) filed with the SEC by the Reporting Persons on March 25, 2015, Amendment No. 3
thereto (“
Amendment No. 3
”) filed with the SEC by the Reporting Persons on January 11, 2017 and Amendment No.
4 thereto (“
Amendment No. 4
”) filed with the SEC by the Reporting Persons on September 6, 2017 (as previously
amended, the “
Existing Schedule 13D
,” and as amended hereby, this “
Schedule 13D
”), with respect
to ownership of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“
Class A Common Stock
”), of ZAIS Group Holdings,
Inc. (formerly known as HF2 Financial Management Inc.), a Delaware corporation (the “
Issuer
”). Capitalized terms
used herein which are not defined herein have the meanings given to them in the Existing Schedule 13D. Except as set forth below,
the disclosure in the Existing Schedule 13D remains unchanged. Only those items amended or supplemented are reported herein.
The percentage of beneficial ownership reflected
in this Schedule 13D is based upon 14,555,113 shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding as of November 13, 2017, as set forth
in the Issuer’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 13, 2017.
Ramguard was formed upon the conversion
of d.Quant Special Opportunities Fund, L.P. from a Delaware limited partnership into a Delaware limited liability company.
Item 4. Purpose of Transaction.
On January 11, 2018, Z Acquisition LLC (“
Z
Acquisition
”) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “
Merger Agreement
”) with the Issuer
and ZGH Merger Sub, Inc. (“
Merger Sub
”), which, among other things, provides for the merger (the “
Merger
”)
of Merger Sub with and into the Issuer, pursuant to which the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock (other than certain excluded
shares and shares as to which the holders have sought appraisal rights) shall be converted into the right to receive $4.10 per
share in cash, without interest.
Contemporaneously with the signing of the
Merger Agreement, on January 11, 2018:
|
·
|
Ramguard entered into an Amended and Restated Share Purchase Agreement (the “
Share Purchase Agreement
”),
with Z Acquisition and CZ , which amended and restated the Share Purchase Agreement (the “
Original Share Purchase Agreement
”)
between such parties previously disclosed in the Existing Schedule 13D. Christian Zugel (“
CZ
”), the Issuer’s
Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, is the sole member of Z Acquisition.
|
|
·
|
Ramguard entered into a Stockholder Voting and Support Agreement (the “
Support Agreement
”) with the Issuer,
NAR Special Global, LLC, an affiliate of Ramguard (“
NAR
”), and solely for the purposes of Section 4(e) of the
Support Agreement, Ramsey.
|
The Share Purchase Agreement and the Support
Agreement are more fully described under Item 6 below, and such description is incorporated herein by reference.
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page 4 of 8 Pages
|
Other than as described in this Item 4 and
in Item 6 below, the Reporting Persons do not have any current plans or proposals that relate to or that would result in any of
the transactions or other matters specified in clauses (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D.
Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer.
Ramguard is the beneficial owner of 9,207,056
shares of the Class A Common Stock, or approximately 63.2% of the Issuer’s outstanding Class A Common Stock. Ramsey is the
beneficial owner of 9,585,287 shares of the Class A Common Stock, or approximately 65.8% of the Issuer’s outstanding Class
A Common Stock, consisting of (i) 9,207,056 shares of the Class A Common Stock held by Ramguard and (ii) 378,231 shares of Class
A Common Stock held by NAR, of which Ramsey is the managing member. Each of the Reporting Persons has sole voting and dispositive
power over the shares that it beneficially owns.
Since September 5, 2017, the date of filing
of Amendment No. 4, except as described in Item 4 above and in Item 6 below, the Reporting Persons have not effected any transactions
in the shares of Class A Common Stock.
Item 6. Contracts, Arrangements, Undertakings or Relationships
with Respect to Securities of the Issuer.
Share Purchase Agreement
As discussed in Item 4 above, on January
11, 2018, Ramguard entered into the Share Purchase Agreement with Z Acquisition and CZ, which amended and restated the Original
Share Purchase Agreement.
Under the Share Purchase Agreement, Z Acquisition
will acquire 6,500,000 shares of Class A Common Stock held by Ramguard (the “
Target Shares
”), for aggregate
consideration of $26,650,000, or $4.10 per Target Share, payable in the following manner:
|
·
|
on the closing, Z Acquisition will issue to Ramguard a promissory note and pledge agreement (the “
Note and Pledge
Agreement
”) in the principal amount of $13,325,000;
|
|
·
|
on the closing, Z Acquisition will make a cash payment to Ramguard of $10,250,000; and
|
|
·
|
on or before the three month anniversary of the closing, CZ will make a cash payment of $3,075,000 to Ramguard, together with
interest in the amount of $125,000.
|
The acquisition of the Target Shares under
the Share Purchase Agreement is not conditioned upon the consummation of the Merger.
In accordance with the Original Share Purchase
Agreement, Z Acquisition and CZ filed with the SEC a Rule 13e-3 transaction statement on Schedule 13E-3 relating to the purchase
of the Target Shares. Pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement, as amended and restated, Z Acquisition, CZ and the Issuer will
file an amendment to the Schedule 13E-3 relating to the purchase of the Target Shares and the other transactions contemplated by
the Share Purchase Agreement.
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page 5 of 8 Pages
|
Under the Share Purchase Agreement, effective
upon the closing, Ramguard will assign and transfer to Z Acquisition all rights to vote or act by written consent with respect
to the Target Shares with respect to each and every meeting of stockholders or action by written consent in lieu of a meeting having
a record date on or prior to the date of transfer of the Target Shares to Z Acquisition and a meeting or (in the case of action
by written consent) effective date following the closing. In furtherance of the foregoing, Ramguard will deliver to Z Acquisition,
concurrently with the closing, a duly executed irrevocable proxy with respect to the Target Shares in the form set forth in the
Share and Purchase Agreement, with respect to each and every meeting of stockholders or action by written consent of stockholders
after the closing with respect to the matters contemplated by the preceding sentence.
The Share Purchase Agreement further provides
that, in the event that within one year after September 5, 2017, Z Acquisition, CZ or any of their respective controlled affiliates
enters into a definitive agreement with the Issuer or commences a tender offer recommended by the Issuer’s board for a Take
Private Transaction at a price per share in excess of $4.10, each of the cash consideration amounts paid or payable to Ramguard
and the initial principal amount of the Promissory Note shall be adjusted on a pro rata basis, such that Ramguard shall have received
(or be entitled to receive) such greater per share consideration amount. A similar adjustment in the price payable for the Target
Shares will be made if within the one year period after September 5, 2017, there is a change in control transaction or sale of
a majority or more of the Class A Common Stock of the Issuer are acquired at a price per share in excess of $4.10.
Note and Pledge Agreement
Upon the closing of the purchase under the
Share Purchase Agreement, Z Acquisition will issue the Note and Pledge Agreement to Ramguard.
The principal amount of the Note and Pledge
Agreement will bear interest at a rate of 8% per annum, payable quarterly in cash, and will be due and payable on December 31,
2019.
Z Acquisition will be able to prepay all
or a portion of the outstanding principal amount of the Note and Pledge Agreement, without premium or penalty, together with all
accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount being prepaid, as follows: (x) on any quarterly interest payment date occurring
on or after the date that cash portion of the purchase price for the Target Shares has been paid in full, (y) at any time and from
time to time in order to comply with Regulation U promulgated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or (z) as
described below in this Item 6. After the date that cash portion of the purchase price for the Target Shares has been paid in full,
Borrower also will be able to prepay in full all amounts payable under the Note and Pledge Agreement at any time.
In addition, if, prior to the time that
CZ and Z Acquisition and their controlled affiliates and any third parties acting in concert with CZ and Z Acquisition own the
remaining outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock of the Issuer (such acquisition, a “
Take-Private Transaction
”),
CZ, Z Acquisition or any of their controlled affiliates receives any dividend or distribution from the Issuer or CZ receives any
compensatory payments or distributions in excess of his base salary, an amount equal to the net, after-tax cash proceeds received
by CZ, Z Acquisition or any such controlled affiliate, as the case may be, will be used by Z Acquisition to repay outstanding principal
under the Note and Pledge Agreement, without premium or penalty but together with all accrued and unpaid interest on the principal
amount being prepaid.
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page 6 of 8 Pages
|
After consummation of a Take-Private Transaction
and until such time as the entire principal and interest and any other amounts due under the Note and Pledge Agreement are paid
in full, Z Acquisition will not and will cause the Issuer and the Issuer’s subsidiaries not to, without the prior written
consent of Ramguard:
|
·
|
consummate any sale of material assets for a price in excess of $2,500,000, and/or make any compensatory payments or distributions
to CZ in excess of his base salary; provided, however, that Ramguard’s prior written consent will not be required if an amount
equal to the net, after-tax cash proceeds of any such sale of assets will be distributed by the Issuer and/or its subsidiaries
to their equity owners and an amount equal to the net, after-tax proceeds of any such sale of assets or compensatory payment or
distribution received by CZ, Z Acquisition or any of their controlled affiliates (other than the Issuer and its subsidiaries) will
be used by Z Acquisition to prepay outstanding principal under the Note and Pledge Agreement;
|
|
·
|
enter into any agreement that would cause a change in control transaction or sale of a majority or more of the Class A common
stock of the Issuer; or
|
|
·
|
make any distributions to its equity owners other than tax distributions.
|
The Note and Pledge Agreement will also
provide that upon the occurrence of a default, Ramguard will have the right (but not the obligation) to declare all amounts outstanding
immediately due and payable. In addition, during the continuance of a default, the interest rate on the Note and Pledge Agreement
will increase to 12.5%. Defaults under the Note and Pledge Agreement will include the following events: Z Acquisition defaults
in the timely payment of principal or interest; Z Acquisition fails to observe any covenant in the Note and Pledge Agreement and
such failure continues for 20 days; any representation or warranty in the Note and Pledge Agreement is incorrect or misleading
when made; certain events relating to the bankruptcy or insolvency of Z Acquisition or any Pledgor (as defined below) occur; CZ
has ceased to be an employee or officer of the Issuer or the controlling shareholder of the Issuer or Z Acquisition; or Z Acquisition,
the Issuer or any subsidiary has defaulted in the payment of any judgment or the payment when due of any indebtedness for borrowed
money in the amount of $1,000,000 or more, and in each case, such default shall not have been cured within 45 days following the
occurrence of such payment default.
As security for the full and punctual payment
of the principal, all accrued interest thereon and all collection costs, when due and payable (whether upon stated maturity, or
otherwise), each of Z Acquisition, CZ and the other pledgors listed on the signature pages to the Note and Pledge Agreement (collectively,
the “
Pledgors
”), as applicable, will grant to Ramguard a security interest in all of such Pledgor’s interest
in (a) all of the equity securities of Z Acquisition, (b) all of the Class A units of ZAIS Group Parent, LLC owned by CZ, and (c)
all of the equity securities of the Issuer and its subsidiaries held directly or indirectly by Z Acquisition, CZ and/or any entity
wholly owned by Z Acquisition or CZ (other than equity securities issued by the Issuer’s subsidiaries or equity tranches
issued by CLOs, in each case held by the Issuer or any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Issuer) (collectively, the “
Pledged
Interests
”), any and all dividends and distributions (in cash or other property) in respect of the Pledged Interests,
any and all securities or other property issued in substitution or exchange for the Pledged Interests and all proceeds of all of
the foregoing (collectively, the “
Pledged Collateral
”). However, if and to the extent required at any time in
order to comply with Regulation U promulgated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, CZ shall cause either (x)
the Pledgors to provide additional collateral for the outstanding balance of this Note or (y) Z Acquisition to prepay a portion
of the outstanding balance under this Note.
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page 7 of 8 Pages
|
The Pledgors will not be permitted to directly
or indirectly sell, transfer, assign, pledge, encumber or otherwise transfer any of the Pledged Interests unless Ramguard has given
its prior consent with respect to such transfer. However, Z Acquisition will be able to sell any Pledged Interests to a third party
in consideration for cash (and only cash), if the net cash proceeds received by Z Acquisition upon such a sale for cash of any
of the Pledged Interests (net of taxes and fees) shall be paid to Ramguard as a full or partial prepayment of the Note and Pledge
Agreement. The Pledgors also will be able to dispose of or transfer the Pledged Interests solely for estate planning purposes,
if the transferee assumes the obligations under the Note and Pledge Agreement.
In the event that, after the date of the
Note and Pledge Agreement, CZ or any entity (other than Z Acquisition) wholly owned directly or indirectly by CZ acquires any shares
of the Issuer other than the Target Shares, CZ will cause such entity to become subject to the terms of the Note and Pledge Agreement
to the same extent as Z Acquisition and to provide collateral with the same obligations (including pledging obligations) as Z Acquisition.
Support Agreement
As discussed in Item 4 above, on September
5, 2017, Ramguard entered into the Support Agreement with the Issuer, NAR and, solely for the purposes of Section 4(e) of the Support
Agreement, Ramsey.
Under the Support Agreement, provided that
the Issuer’s board of directors has not changed its recommendation with respect to the transactions, in connection with any
meeting or written consent of stockholders of the Issuer, Ramguard and NAR have agreed to vote any shares of Class A Common Stock
owned by them (“
Shares
”) (i) in favor of the Merger Agreement and the Merger, (ii) in favor of any proposal
to adjourn a stockholders’ meeting to permit the solicitation of additional proxies in favor of approval of the Merger Agreement
and the Merger, and (iii) against any other action or agreement that is not recommended by the Issuer’s board of directors
and that would reasonably be expected to (A) result in the breach of any covenant, representation or warranty of the Issuer or
Z Acquisition under the Merger Agreement, (B) result in, or contribute to, any of the conditions to the consummation of the Merger
under the Merger Agreement not being fulfilled, or (C) impede, frustrate, interfere with, delay, postpone or adversely affect the
Merger.
The Support Agreement provides that Ramguard
and NAR will not, directly or indirectly, (a) transfer any of the Shares, except for (i) transfers in connection with the Share
Purchase Agreement, (ii) transfers by will or intestate succession, in which case the Support Agreement will bind each transferee,
(iii) transfers in connection with bona fide estate and tax planning purposes, subject to the transferee agreeing in writing to
be bound by the Support Agreement, (iv) with the prior consent of the Issuer (which consent may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned
or delayed), transfers to other stockholders of the Issuer bound by the Support Agreement, and (v) such other transfers as the
Issuer may permit in its sole discretion, (b) deposit any of the Shares into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement or
arrangement with respect to the Shares or grant any proxy or power of attorney with respect thereto that is inconsistent with the
Support Agreement, (c) enter into any contract, option or other arrangement or undertaking with respect to the transfer of any
Shares or (d) take any other action that would materially restrict, limit or interfere with the performance of Ramguard’s
or NAR’s obligations under the Support Agreement.
CUSIP No. 98887G106
|
SCHEDULE 13D
|
Page 8 of 8 Pages
|
In the Support Agreement, Ramguard and NAR
have waived their right to assert appraisal rights pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law. Accordingly, upon the closing
of the Merger, the remaining shares of Class A Common Stock held by the Reporting Persons’ will be converted into the right
to receive $4.10 per share in cash. There can be no assurance, however, that the Merger will be consummated.
The Support Agreement will terminate on
the earlier of the termination of the Merger Agreement and the effective time of the Merger.
The Share Purchase Agreement and Support
Agreement are included as Exhibits 99.7 and 99.8 to this Schedule 13D and are incorporated herein by reference. The form of Note
and Pledge Agreement is includes as Schedule A to the Share Purchase Agreement and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7. Material to be filed as Exhibits.
|
99.1
|
Joint Filing Agreement, dated as of February 17, 2015, by and between d.Quant Special Opportunities Fund, LP (now known as
Ramguard LLC) and Neil Ramsey.*
|
|
99.2
|
[Intentionally omitted]
|
|
99.3
|
[Intentionally omitted]
|
|
99.4
|
[Intentionally omitted]
|
|
99.5
|
[Intentionally omitted]
|
|
99.6
|
[Intentionally omitted]
|
|
99.7
|
Amended and Restated Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 11, 2018 by and among Z Acquisition LLC, Ramguard LLC and
Christian Zugel.
|
|
99.8
|
Stockholder Voting and Support Agreement, dated as of January 11, 2018, by and among ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc., Ramguard
LLC and its affiliates listed on the signature page thereto and, solely for the purposes of Section 4(e), Neil Ramsey (
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the current report
on Form 8-K filed by ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc. on January 12, 2018).
|
* Previously filed.
SIGNATURE
After reasonable inquiry and to the best
of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.
Dated January 17, 2018
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RAMGUARD LLC
|
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By:
|
/s/ Neil Ramsey
|
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Name: Neil Ramsey
|
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|
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Title: Manager
|
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/s/ Neil Ramsey
|
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Neil Ramsey
|
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