Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
On February 17, 2017, Parkway, Inc. (the Company), through Parkway Operating Partnership LP, its operating partnership (the
Operating Partnership), and certain other subsidiaries, entered into an Omnibus Contribution and Partial Interest Assignment Agreement (the Contribution Agreement) with an affiliate of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
(CPPIB) and an entity controlled by TH Real Estate Global Asset Management and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners (TIAA/SP). CPPIB and TIAA/SP are referred to each as an Investor and together as the
Investors.
Pursuant to the Contribution Agreement, the Company has agreed to sell to the Investors, indirectly through a new
joint venture, an aggregate 49% interest in the Companys Greenway Plaza and Phoenix Tower properties (together, the Greenway Properties). The Greenway Properties together constitute an approximately 5.0 million square foot
campus consisting of 11 office properties located in the Greenway submarket of Houston, Texas.
The new joint venture is expected to be
owned 51% through subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership (with 1% being held by a subsidiary acting as the general partner and 50% being held by a subsidiary acting as a limited partner) and 24.5% by each of CPPIB and TIAA/SP, each as a limited
partner of the joint venture. TIAA/SP will acquire its aggregate percentage interest in two tranches over a three business day period. In addition, if TIAA/SP fails to make its required deposit, withdraws as a buyer if the new mortgage loan
described below fails to close or fails to acquire the second tranche of its aggregate limited partnership interests, CPPIB is required to purchase all of the limited partnership interests that otherwise would be purchased by TIAA/SP under the
Contribution Agreement, with TIAA/SP having no continuing interest. However, in this event, CPPIBs interest will represent an aggregate 45% interest in the joint venture, with the Operating Partnership, through its subsidiaries, retaining the
remaining 55% interest.
At closing of the transaction, the Operating Partnership will contribute all of its direct and indirect interests
in the Greenway Properties to the joint venture, which will be a newly formed entity. Also at closing, in exchange for their respective limited partnership interests in the joint venture, each of CPPIB and TIAA/SP will pay to subsidiaries of the
Operating Partnership, cash equal to 24.5% of the agreed gross asset value of the Greenway Properties of $1.045 billion, subject to certain adjustments, including the following:
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if the new mortgage loan described below is funded at closing, the amount of the new loan (excluding certain reserves) will be subtracted from the gross asset value;
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if the Phoenix Tower mortgage loan is assumed at closing, the principal balance of the loan will become an obligation of the joint venture and subtracted from the gross asset value;
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certain lease obligations and capital expenditures retained by the Operating Partnership may be added to or subtracted from the gross asset value; and
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certain other potential adjustments, including customary real estate prorations, may be added to or subtracted from the gross asset value.
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Also at closing under the Contribution Agreement, the Operating Partnership, through its subsidiaries, and the Investors will enter into a
joint venture agreement to govern the joint venture. The joint venture agreement generally will provide for a subsidiary of the Operating Partnership to serve as general partner and be responsible for the
day-to-day
business and affairs of the joint venture, subject to certain major decision rights of the Investors. The joint venture agreement also will include provisions regarding capital calls, transfer
restrictions and exit rights (including rights of first offer (ROFO)). Each partner may trigger an interest sale ROFO process at any time pursuant to which the other partners may either acquire the triggering partners partnership
interest or permit the triggering partner to sell its interest to a third party. In addition, the Operating Partnership, through its subsidiaries, or TIAA/SP and CPPIB (acting together, or if CPPIB acquired a 45% interest in the joint venture, then
CPPIB acting alone) may trigger an asset sale ROFO at any time pursuant to which the general partner of the joint venture must pursue a sale of all or substantially all of the joint ventures assets for not less than a specified amount based on
a third-party valuation. The joint venture agreement also will include
co-investment
rights in favor of the Investors
requiring the Company to permit the Investors to
co-invest
in certain opportunities pursued by the Company or its affiliates within the greater Houston
metropolitan area (as defined in the joint venture agreement) to acquire or finance commercial office properties, office building development sites or parking garages. In addition to the joint venture agreement, the Company, through one of its
subsidiaries, will enter into a property management and leasing agreement with the joint venture and/or its subsidiaries pursuant to which the Company, through its subsidiary, will act as property manager, leasing agent and construction manager of
the joint ventures properties in exchange for specified property management, leasing and construction management fees.
In addition,
at closing under the Contribution Agreement, the joint venture and certain of its subsidiaries expect to assume the existing mortgage loan on Phoenix Tower and to enter into new mortgage financing of up to $465 million secured by the Greenway
Plaza properties, as described below in Item 8.01 of this Current Report on Form
8-K.
At closing, the Operating Partnership will use a portion of the proceeds of the new mortgage financing and the purchase
price received from the Investors, in each case net of required reserves, to repay all amounts outstanding under the Companys current credit facility, dated October 6, 2016, by and among the Company, the Operating Partnership, Bank of
America, N.A. and certain other parties, and to fund a credit to the joint venture with respect to certain outstanding contractual lease obligations and
in-process
capital expenditures. The remainder of these
proceeds will be retained by the Company for general corporate purposes.
The Contribution Agreement contains customary representations,
warranties and interim operating covenants of the parties that are subject, in some cases, to specified exceptions and qualifications. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including performance in all material respects of each
partys
pre-closing
covenants and agreements contained in the Contribution Agreement, delivery of title insurance policies with respect to the Greenway Properties, certain local regulatory approvals, and
consummation of certain
pre-closing
structuring in anticipation of the transaction, including the formation of a holding company subsidiary of the joint venture to be qualified as a real estate investment
trust. Obtaining the new mortgage financing is not a condition to closing. The Contribution Agreement requires that, on or before 5:00 p.m. (EST) on the second business day after the date of the Contribution Agreement, each of the Investors deposits
$10 million into an escrow account and deliver to the Operating Partnership its pro rata share of an
up-front
financing amount under the mortgage loan commitment. In the event that CPPIB fails to make its
required deposit, the Contribution Agreement will automatically terminate in its entirety. In the event that TIAA/SP fails to make its required deposit, the Contribution Agreement will terminate only with respect to TIAA/SP and CPPIB will be
required to deposit an additional $8.3 million in the escrow account, plus contribute an additional pro rata share of the
up-front
financing amount, on or before 5:00 p.m. (EST) on the fifth business day
after the date of TIAA/SPs default.
The Investors and the Operating Partnership each have certain termination rights and remedies
under the Contribution Agreement. Subject to certain notice and other requirements, each Investor may terminate the Contribution Agreement, as to itself, in certain circumstances, including in the event of certain casualty or condemnation events or
in the event of adverse economic diminution to the value of the joint ventures assets in excess of $40 million (or a specified lesser amount in the event TIAA/SP withdraws as a buyer) arising directly from breaches of such representations
or covenants by the Operating Partnership, failure to address
non-permitted
title objections or willful failure to close on the part of the Operating Partnership. Each Investor may commence legal action after
closing to recover its pro rata share of any such losses that do not exceed such amounts, subject to the terms and conditions of the Contribution Agreement. Upon any such termination, the Operating Partnership may be obligated to return such
Investors deposit (including a full or partial reimbursement of its pro rata share of the
up-front
financing fees), in addition to making certain other payments and reimbursements to the Investor in an
amount not exceeding $1.25 million. The Operating Partnership may terminate the Contribution Agreement as to an Investor and retain such Investors deposit as liquidated damages in the event of covenant breaches by such Investor, including
the failure or refusal to deliver its initial capital contribution (less the deposit) or other closing deliveries at closing in accordance with the Contribution Agreement.
Closing under the Contribution Agreement is expected to occur during the second quarter of 2017, subject to extension to an outside date of
May 31, 2017, which may be further extended to June 21, 2017 in certain circumstances.
The foregoing description of the Contribution Agreement does not purport to be complete, and is
qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Contribution Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 2.1 and incorporated herein by reference. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the
Contribution Agreement were made only for purposes of the Contribution Agreement and as of specific dates, were solely for the benefit of the parties to the Contribution Agreement and may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the parties for the
purposes of allocating contractual risk between them that differs from risks applicable to investors. Investors should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any description thereof as characterizations of the actual state
of facts or condition of the Company or its assets.