Related Party Transactions |
3 Months Ended | ||||||||||||
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Mar. 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Related Party Transactions [Abstract] | |||||||||||||
| Related Party Transactions |
Related Party Transactions
Loan Advances in lieu of Future Payouts from WMS
In February 2019, the Company entered into a demand promissory note with WMS (as an advance against future dividends that WMS may pay the Company) for approximately $7.4 million, accruing interest at 6.5% per annum, and concurrently signed an agreement to waive future dividends or other such distributions by WMS to the Company until such time as the outstanding principal and accrued but unpaid interest on the demand promissory note has been repaid in full. The outstanding demand promissory note would be reduced dollar-for-dollar by any such distribution amounts waived. The Company may prepay the promissory note at any time without prepayment penalty. The entire principal balance of this promissory note together with all accrued but unpaid interest is due on the earliest to occur of (i) demand by the holder, (ii) December 31, 2020 and (iii) the date of acceleration of the promissory note as a result of the occurrence of an event of default. The promissory note was reduced to zero in the third quarter of 2019 for distribution amount waived. During the three months ended March 31, 2020, WMS approved a deemed dividend to the Company totaling $3.7 million, which was distributed in cash to the Company in the second quarter of 2020.
Due to Santander
In connection with the EMC Acquisition, the Company acquired a 49% equity interest in Santander. The Company accounts for its interest in Santander using the equity method and includes our share of Santander’s profits or losses in Income from equity method investments in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. During each of the three months ending March 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company purchased approximately $1.1 million from Santander for teleport and related network support services. As of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company owed Santander approximately $1.3 million and $1.8 million, respectively, which is included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets for their teleport services and related network operations support services.
Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement
When we consummated our business combination in January 2013 with Row 44 and Advanced Inflight Alliance AG, we entered into an amended and restated registration rights agreement with Par Investment Partners, L.P. (“PAR”), entities affiliated with Putnam Investments, Global Eagle Acquisition LLC (the “Sponsor”) and a current member of our board of directors (“Board of Directors” or “Board”), Harry E. Sloan and our then Board member, Jeff Sagansky, both of whom were affiliated with the Sponsor. Under that agreement, we agreed to register the resale of securities held by such parties (the “registrable securities”) and to sell those registrable securities pursuant to an effective registration statement in a variety of manners, including in underwritten offerings. We also agreed to pay the security holders’ expenses in connection with their exercise of their registration rights.
In addition, the amended and restated registration rights agreement restricts our ability to grant registration rights to a third party on parity with or senior to those held by the “holders” (as defined under that agreement) without the consent of holders of at least a majority of the “registrable securities” under that agreement. In April 2018, we entered into a consent to the amended and restated registration rights agreement with PAR whereby PAR (as a holder of a majority of registrable securities thereunder) consented to the registration rights that we provided to Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. (“Searchlight”) as part of its investment in us.
According to a Schedule 13G/A filed on February 7, 2018, and a Schedule 13D/A filed on June 6, 2019, respectively, neither Putnam Investments nor PAR hold more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, and as such each has ceased to be a related party. Furthermore, Mr. Sagansky ceased being a related party on June 24, 2019 when he retired from our Board. Mr. Sloan continues to be a related party.
Second Lien Amendment
In addition, on April 15, 2020, we entered into a Third Amendment to Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Third Amendment to Securities Purchase Agreement”) among the Company, the guarantors party thereto, and each purchaser party thereto. The Third Amendment to Securities Purchase Agreement amended the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 8, 2018, by and among the Company, Searchlight II TBO, L.P., Searchlight II TBO-W, L.P., and Cortland Capital Market Services LLC, as collateral agent, and modified the Securities Purchase Agreement, including with respect to the following terms:
The Third Amendment to Securities Purchase Agreement is attached to the December 31, 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K as Exhibit 10.22.
Subscription Receivable with Former Employee
A former employee is party to a Secured Promissory Note dated July 15, 2011, pursuant to which the former employee agreed to pay the Company (as successor to Row 44, Inc., which is a Company subsidiary) a principal sum of approximately $0.4 million, plus interest thereon at a rate of 6% per annum. The former employee granted the Company a security interest in shares of Row 44 held by him (which Row 44 shares were subsequently converted into 8,956 shares of the Company’s common stock) to secure his obligations to repay the loan. As of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the balance of the note (with interest) was approximately $0.6 million, which is presented as a subscription receivable. We recognize interest income on the note when earned (using the simple interest method) but have not collected any interest payments since the origination of the note. Interest income recognized by the Company during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019 were not material. The Company has been making ongoing assessments regarding the collectability of this note and the subscription receivable balance and has been in litigation with the former employee to recover the loan and to address his allegations that we breached related settlement agreements with him in 2014 and 2015. On December 16, 2019, following trial in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Company regarding the employee’s obligation to repay the note and a mixed verdict regarding the alleged breach of two claimed settlement agreements between the parties. On February 24, 2020, the Court entered judgement deeming the Company the prevailing party in the lawsuit and, among other things, providing for a net monetary award in favor of the Company of approximately $0.5 million, which award represents the full value of the note and associated interest offset by the amount the employee claimed he would have saved under the purported 2015 settlement agreement. On May 6, 2020, the former employee filed a Notice of Appeal; the Company cross-appealed on June 2, 2020. In addition, the Company filed a motion for attorneys’ fees in the trial court for over $0.9 million, which has been set for hearing on September 9, 2020. The Company will continue making assessments regarding the collectability of our monetary award as the appeals process progresses.
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