12.  Notes Payable

Notes payable consisted of the following:

The Company estimates that the fair value of notes payable approximated $184,883 at December 31, 2011 and $28,625 at December 31, 2010 based on anticipated current rates at which similar amounts of debt could then be borrowed. As of December 31, 2011, the Company is in compliance with all debt covenants in its debt agreements.

Revolving Credit Agreement

On October 19, 2007, in connection with the Investacorp acquisition, the Company entered into a $30,000 revolving credit agreement with Frost Gamma Investments Trust (“Frost Gamma”), an affiliate of the Company’s chairman of the board and principal shareholder, and borrowed $30,000. Borrowings under the Frost Gamma credit agreement bear interest at a rate of 11% per annum, payable quarterly. Frost Gamma received a one-time funding fee of $150. On August 25, 2009, the revolving credit agreement was amended to extend the maturity date to August 25, 2016. In connection with the Securities America acquisition, on August 16, 2011, the Company entered into a second amendment to the revolving credit agreement, under which available borrowings were increased by $10,000 to an aggregate of $40,000.

The note issued under the credit agreement contains customary events of default, which, if uncured, entitle the holder to accelerate the due date of the unpaid principal amount of, and all accrued and unpaid interest on, such note. Under the revolving credit agreement, Frost Gamma received a warrant to purchase 2,000,000 shares of LTS common stock. The warrant is exercisable at any time during its ten-year term at an exercise price of $1.91 per share, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the Investacorp acquisition date. The warrant, which is classified as debt issue cost, was valued at $3,200 based on the Black-Scholes option pricing model, and is being amortized under the straight-line method over the remaining term of the revolving credit agreement. The Company may repay outstanding amounts at any time prior to the maturity date of August 25, 2016, without penalty, and may re-borrow up to the full amount of the agreement.

Triad Note

On August 13, 2008, as part of the consideration paid for Triad, the Company issued a three-year promissory note in the aggregate principal amount of $5,000 to Triad’s then shareholders. The note, which bore interest at 2.51% per annum, was paid in 12 equal quarterly installments and was satisfied on August 13, 2011. The note was initially recorded at $4,384 based on an imputed interest rate of 11%.

NFS Forgivable Loans

On November 4, 2011, the primary clearing firm of the Company’s subsidiaries, National Financial Services LLC (“NFS”), a Fidelity Investments® company, provided the Company with a seven-year, $15,000 forgivable loan. The Company used the forgivable loan proceeds to fund expenses related to the Securities America acquisition. Interest on the loan accrues at the average annual Federal Funds effective rate plus 6% per annum, subject to the maximum rate of 11% per annum. If Securities America meets certain annual clearing revenue targets set forth in the loan agreement, the principal balance of the loan will be forgiven in seven equal yearly installments of $2,143 commencing on November 4, 2012 and continuing on an annual basis through November 2018. Interest payments due with respect to each such year will also be forgiven if the annual clearing revenue targets are met. Any principal amounts not forgiven will be due in November 2018, and any interest payments not forgiven are due annually. If during the loan term any principal amount is not forgiven, the Company may have such principal forgiven in future years if Securities America exceeds subsequent annual clearing revenue targets.

In connection with the entering into the new forgivable loan, Securities America and the Company’s other broker-dealer subsidiaries amended their clearing agreements with NFS to, among other things, extend the term of those agreements through November 2018. Also, the Company and NFS amended the terms of the 2009 forgivable loan made by NFS to the Company such that the remaining principal balance of $7,143 and the related accrued interest will be forgiven, subject to the terms and conditions of the loan, in four equal annual installments commencing in November 2012 without the Company being required to satisfy the annual clearing revenue targets previously established. Interest on the 2009 loan accrues at the prime rate plus 2%. Upon meeting annual revenue targets, principal and interest of $1,429 and $450, respectively, in 2011 and principal and interest of $1,429 and $525, respectively, in 2010 were forgiven and included in other income.

The Company has expensed, and will continue to expense, interest under the loan agreements prior to forgiveness.

The forgivable loan agreements contain other covenants including limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, maintenance of minimum adjusted shareholders’ equity levels and a prohibition on the termination of the Company’s $40,000 revolving credit agreement prior to its current maturity. Upon the occurrence of an event of default, the outstanding principal and interest under the loan agreements may be accelerated and become due and payable. If the clearing agreements are terminated prior to the loan maturity date, all amounts then outstanding must be repaid on demand. The loan agreements are secured by the Company’s (but not its broker-dealer subsidiaries’) deposits and accounts held at NFS or its affiliates, which amounted to $3,260 at December 31, 2011.

Premier Trust Note

On September 1, 2010, as part of the consideration paid for Premier Trust, the Company issued a four-year, non-negotiable promissory note in the aggregate principal amount of $1,161 to a subsidiary of Premier Trust’s former shareholder. The note bears interest at 6.5% per annum and is payable in 15 equal quarterly installments.

Securities America Notes

On November 4, 2011 (the “Closing Date”), in connection with the Securities America acquisition, the Company entered into a loan agreement with various lenders (the “Lenders”), under which the Lenders provided a loan to the Company in an aggregate principal amount of $160,700, a portion of which was used to fund the cash paid on the closing of the acquisition. Interest on the loan is payable quarterly, commencing on December 31, 2011, at 11% per annum. Interest is payable in cash; provided that (i) from December 31, 2011 until November 4, 2013, the Company may, without the consent of any Lender, elect to satisfy its interest obligations by adding such amount to the outstanding principal balance of the note, in an amount of up to approximately 36% of accrued and unpaid interest on each payment date, and (ii) after November 4, 2013 until maturity, the Company may also pay interest-in-kind with the consent of certain Lenders. This payment-in-kind feature increases the principal sum outstanding on the note that is due at maturity by the amount of such payment-in-kind. The Company paid the interest due on December 31, 2011 in cash and did not elect to make payment-in-kind. Ten percent (10%) of the principal amount of the loan, together with accrued and unpaid interest thereon, is due on each of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2015, and the balance of the loan, together with accrued and unpaid interest thereon, is due on November 4, 2016. The Company may voluntarily repay the loan at any time without premium or penalty. The notes issued under the loan rank senior in right of payment to all of the Company’s indebtedness incurred after the Closing Date and will rank at least equal in right of payment with the claims of all of the Company’s existing unsecured and unsubordinated creditors. Also, so long as amounts remain outstanding and unpaid under such notes, the Company may not, without the consent of the Lenders, create, incur or suffer to exist any indebtedness for borrowed money (other than existing indebtedness as the same may be amended or extended, or trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business) that is not subordinated in all respects to the indebtedness under such notes. The notes contain customary events of default, which, if uncured, permit the Lenders to accelerate the maturity date of the loan. On the Closing Date, the Company paid a one-time aggregate funding fee of $804 to the Lenders and issued warrants to purchase an aggregate of 10,713,332 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Warrants are exercisable at any time prior to their expiration on November 4, 2016 at $1.68 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the Closing Date, as reported by the NYSE Amex. The Warrants may be exercised in cash, by net exercise or pursuant to a Lender’s surrender of all or a portion of the principal amount of such Lender’s note.

The warrants were valued at $9,428 utilizing the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the following inputs:

The value of the warrants were credited to Additional Paid-in Capital with a corresponding reduction in the carrying value of the notes as debt discount, which is being amortized over the term of the notes by the interest method.

The Lenders include Frost Nevada Investments Trust (“Frost Nevada”), an affiliate of the Company’s Chairman of the Board and principal shareholder, Dr. Phillip Frost, M.D., Vector Group, Ltd. (“Vector Group”), a principal shareholder of the Company, and Richard J. Lampen, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer and a director. The principal amounts loaned by Frost Nevada, Vector Group and Richard J. Lampen were $135,000, $15,000 and $200, respectively. A special committee of the Company’s Board of Directors was formed to review and consider the terms of the loan, the notes issued thereunder and the Warrants, and, upon such review and consideration, which included the advice of the Committee’s independent financial advisor, the committee determined that the financing is fair from a financial point of view to the Company and its unaffiliated shareholders.