AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
by and among
ACRES COMMERCIAL REALTY CORP.,
ACRES HOLDINGS SUB LLC
and
ACRES CAPITAL CORP.
ACRES CAPITAL, LLC
April 29, 2026
Exhibit 2.1
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
by and among
ACRES COMMERCIAL REALTY CORP.,
ACRES HOLDINGS SUB LLC
and
ACRES CAPITAL CORP.
ACRES CAPITAL, LLC
April 29, 2026
Table of Contents
Page
Article 1 THE MERGER |
2 |
|
Section 1.1 |
The Merger |
2 |
Section 1.2 |
Closing |
2 |
Section 1.3 |
Effective Time |
2 |
Section 1.4 |
Organization Documents |
3 |
Section 1.5 |
Tax Consequences |
3 |
Article 2 EFFECT OF THE MERGER |
3 |
|
Section 2.1 |
Effect of the Merger on Capital Stock |
3 |
Section 2.2 |
Treatment of ACC Equity Awards |
4 |
Section 2.3 |
Treatment of Outstanding ACC Warrants and Options |
4 |
Section 2.4 |
Dissenters’ Rights |
4 |
Section 2.5 |
Exchange Procedures |
4 |
Article 3 REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF ACC AND MANAGER |
5 |
|
Section 3.1 |
Organization |
5 |
Section 3.2 |
Authority |
6 |
Section 3.3 |
No Violations |
6 |
Section 3.4 |
Consents and Approvals |
6 |
Section 3.5 |
Capitalization; Subsidiaries |
6 |
Section 3.6 |
No Brokers or Finders |
7 |
Section 3.7 |
Financial Statements; No Undisclosed Liabilities |
7 |
Section 3.8 |
Absence of Certain Changes |
7 |
Section 3.9 |
Material Contracts |
7 |
Section 3.10 |
Compliance |
8 |
Section 3.11 |
Legal Proceedings |
8 |
Section 3.12 |
Employee Benefit Plans. |
8 |
Section 3.13 |
Employment Matters |
10 |
Section 3.14 |
Intellectual Property |
10 |
Section 3.15 |
Taxes |
11 |
Section 3.16 |
Insurance |
12 |
Section 3.17 |
Assets; Leases |
12 |
Section 3.18 |
Investment Company Act |
13 |
Section 3.19 |
RIA Matters of Manager |
13 |
Article 4 REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF COMPANY AND MERGER SUB |
15 |
|
Section 4.1 |
Organization |
15 |
Section 4.2 |
Authority |
15 |
Section 4.3 |
No Violation |
16 |
Section 4.4 |
Consents and Approvals |
16 |
Section 4.5 |
Capitalization |
16 |
Section 4.6 |
No Brokers or Finders |
16 |
Section 4.7 |
SEC Documents; Financial Statements; No Undisclosed Liabilities |
17 |
Section 4.8 |
Internal Controls and Procedures |
17 |
Section 4.9 |
Absence of Certain Changes |
18 |
Section 4.10 |
Investment Company Act |
18 |
Section 4.11 |
Taxes |
18 |
Section 4.12 |
Merger Sub |
18 |
Section 4.13 |
Opinion of Financial Advisor |
18 |
Article 5 COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS |
18 |
|
Section 5.1 |
Conduct of Business of ACC Entities Prior to Closing |
18 |
Section 5.2 |
Reasonable Best Efforts |
20 |
Section 5.3 |
Restricted Securities |
20 |
Section 5.4 |
Company Stockholder Approval |
20 |
Section 5.5 |
NYSE Listing |
20 |
Section 5.6 |
D&O Indemnification |
20 |
Section 5.7 |
Access to information |
21 |
Section 5.8 |
Public Announcements |
21 |
Section 5.9 |
Intercompany Matters |
21 |
Section 5.10 |
Key Employee Agreements |
22 |
Section 5.11 |
R&W Insurance |
22 |
Section 5.12 |
Transfer Taxes |
22 |
Section 5.13 |
Tax Matters |
22 |
Section 5.14 |
Resolution of Employee Loans |
23 |
Section 5.15 |
Further Assurance |
23 |
Section 5.16 |
Post-Closing Contribution |
23 |
Article 6 CONDITIONS TO CLOSING |
23 |
|
Section 6.1 |
Conditions to Each Party’s Obligations |
23 |
Section 6.2 |
Additional Conditions to Obligations of the Company and Merger Sub |
23 |
Section 6.3 |
Additional Conditions to Obligations of ACC and Manager |
24 |
Article 7 TERMINATION; AMENDMENT |
25 |
|
Section 7.1 |
Termination |
25 |
Section 7.2 |
Effect of Termination |
25 |
Section 7.3 |
Amendment |
25 |
Article 8 MISCELLANEOUS |
25 |
|
Section 8.1 |
Fees and Expenses |
25 |
Section 8.2 |
Notices |
26 |
Section 8.3 |
Waiver |
26 |
Section 8.4 |
Severability |
26 |
Section 8.5 |
Entire Agreement |
27 |
Section 8.6 |
Assignment |
27 |
Section 8.7 |
Parties in Interest |
27 |
Section 8.8 |
Failure or Indulgence Not Waiver; Remedies Cumulative |
27 |
Section 8.9 |
Submission to Jurisdiction; Governing Law |
27 |
Section 8.10 |
Specific Performance |
27 |
Section 8.11 |
Counterparts |
28 |
Section 8.12 |
Rules of Interpretation |
28 |
Article 9 DEFINITIONS |
28 |
|
Schedules and Annexes
Schedule I Pre-Merger Reorganization
Schedule II Key Employees
Schedule III Post-Closing Contribution
Schedule IV ACC Stockholders Requesting Ownership Limit Waivers from the Company
Annex A Exchange Ratio Spreadsheet
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
THIS AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER (this “Agreement”), dated as of April 29, 2026, is entered into by and among ACRES COMMERCIAL REALTY CORP., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), and ACRES HOLDINGS SUB LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), on the one hand, and ACRES CAPITAL CORP., a Delaware corporation (“ACC”), and ACRES CAPITAL, LLC, a New York limited liability company (“Manager”) and subsidiary of ACC, on the other hand. The Company, Merger Sub, ACC and Manager are collectively referred to as the “Parties” and each, a “Party.”
WHEREAS, each of the Company, Manager and ACC is a party to that certain Fourth Amended and Restated Management Agreement dated as of July 31, 2020 (the “Management Agreement”), as amended from time to time, pursuant to which Manager manages the business affairs of the Company;
WHEREAS, the Parties desire to effect a business combination transaction in which ACC shall merge with and into Merger Sub, with Merger Sub being the surviving entity (the “Internalization Merger”) and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and each outstanding share of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of ACC (the “ACC Common Stock”) will be converted into the right to receive 2.61882 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company (the “Company Common Stock”), subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement;
WHEREAS, the board of directors of the Company (the “Company Board”) has established a special committee consisting solely of non-management independent members of the Company Board (the “Company Special Committee”) and has empowered the Special Committee to, among other things, (i) review, evaluate and negotiate the Internalization Merger, and (ii) recommend to the Company Board what action, if any, should be taken by the Company with respect to the Internalization Merger;
WHEREAS, the Company Special Committee has unanimously: (a) determined that the Internalization Merger is advisable and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and approved this Agreement and the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and (b) recommended that the Company Board approve and adopt this Agreement and the Internalization Merger and recommend that the stockholders of the Company approve the issuance of the shares of Company Common Stock (the “Company Stock Issuance”) as consideration in connection with the Internalization Merger;
WHEREAS, the disinterested members of the Company Board, acting upon the recommendation of the Special Committee, has determined that the Internalization Merger is advisable and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and approved this Agreement and the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and has resolved to recommend that the stockholders of the Company approve the Company Stock Issuance in connection with the Internalization Merger;
WHEREAS, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of ACC Common Stock have approved this Agreement and the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement by written consent, in accordance with the DGCL and ACC’s Organizational Document, and have taken all actions required to be taken for the adoption, approval and due execution of this Agreement by ACC and the consummation by ACC of the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
WHEREAS, the Company, as the sole member of Merger Sub, has approved this Agreement and the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and has taken all
1
actions required to be taken for the adoption, approval and due execution of this Agreement by Merger Sub and the consummation by Merger Sub of the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
WHEREAS, ACC, as the sole manager of Manager, has approved this Agreement and the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and has taken all actions required to be taken for the adoption, approval and due execution of this Agreement by Manager and the consummation by Manager of the Internalization Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
WHEREAS, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it is intended that the Internalization Merger shall qualify as a “reorganization” under, and within the meaning of, Section 368(a) of the Code, and this Agreement is intended to be and is adopted as a “plan of reorganization” for the Internalization Merger for purposes of Sections 354 and 361 of the Code; and
WHEREAS, certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in Article 9 hereof.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficient of which are hereby acknowledge, the Parties hereto agree as follows:
(a) At the Closing, the Parties shall cause the Internalization Merger to be effectuated by filing with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware Secretary of State”) a certificate of merger (the “Certificate of Merger”) pursuant to the DGCL and the DLLC Act, in such form as is required by, and executed in accordance with, the DGCL and the DLLC Act, and the Parties shall make all other filings or recordings required under the DGCL and the DLLC Act in connection with the Internalization Merger. The Internalization Merger shall become effective upon the time the Certificate of Merger has been accepted for record by the Delaware Secretary of State, or such later time which the Parties shall have agreed upon and designated in the Certificate of Merger in accordance with the DLLC Act as the effective time of the Internalization Merger (the “Effective Time”).
2
(b) The Internalization Merger shall have the effect set forth in this Agreement and the applicable provisions of the DGCL and the DLLC Act. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and subject thereto, from and after the Effective Time, the Surviving Entity shall possess all properties, rights, privileges, powers and franchises of ACC and Merger Sub, respectively, and all of the claims, obligations, liabilities, debts and duties of ACC and Merger Sub shall become the claims, obligations, liabilities, debts and duties of the Surviving Entity.
(a) Membership Interests of Merger Sub. All of the membership interests of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall remain outstanding as membership interests of the Surviving Entity.
(b) Capital Stock of ACC.
(i) At the Effective Time, each share of ACC Common Stock, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (excluding any Dissenting Shares, as defined below), shall be converted into the right to receive (A) from the Company that number of duly authorized, validly issued, fully-paid and nonassessable shares of Company Common Stock equal to the Exchange Ratio (the “Merger Consideration”). All such shares of ACC Common Stock, when so converted pursuant to this Section 2.1(b), shall automatically be cancelled and cease to exist. Each holder of a share of ACC Common Stock that was outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall cease to have any rights with respect thereto, except the right to receive (A) the Merger Consideration, and (B) any cash to be paid in lieu of any fractional shares of Company Common Stock, in each case, to be issued or paid in consideration therefor upon the surrender of any ACC Common Stock in accordance with Section 2.1(c).
(ii) The Exchange Ratio shall be automatically adjusted to reflect the effect of any stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend (including any dividend or other distribution of securities convertible into ACC Common Stock or Company Common Stock, as applicable), subdivision, reorganization, reclassification, recapitalization, combination, exchange of shares or other like change with
3
respect to the number of shares of ACC Common Stock or Company Common Stock outstanding after the date hereof and prior to the Effective Time.
(c) No Fractional Shares. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no fractional shares of Company Common Stock will be issued upon the conversion of ACC Common Stock pursuant to Section 2.1(b). In lieu of any such fractional shares, each holder of such ACC Common Stock who would otherwise be entitled to such fractional shares shall be entitled to an amount in cash without interest, rounded down to the nearest cent, equal to the product of (i) the amount of the fractional share interest in a share of Company Common Stock to which such holder would, but for this Section 2.1(c) be entitled under Section 2.1(b), multiplied by (ii) the average of the closing prices on the NYSE for a share of Company Common Stock for the five trading days before the Determination Date.
4
(a) The Company’s transfer agent shall act as exchange agent in the Internalization Merger (the “Exchange Agent”). Immediately prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall deposit with the Exchange Agent evidence of book-entry shares representing the Company Common Stock issuable pursuant to Section 2.1(b) and cash sufficient to pay cash in lieu of fractional shares pursuant to Section 2.1(c). The Company Common Stock and cash so deposited with the Exchange Agent are referred to collectively as the “Exchange Fund.”
(b) Immediately following the Effective Time, the Exchange Agent shall issue book-entry shares representing the Merger Consideration that each holder of ACC Common Stock has the right to receive pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.1(b) and each share of ACC Common Stock, whether in certificated or book-entry form, formerly held by each such holder shall be deemed, from and after the Effective Time, to represent only the right to receive book-entry shares of Company Common Stock and cash in lieu of fractional shares representing the Merger Consideration and, following issuance of book-entry shares representing the Merger Consideration, shall be cancelled in accordance with the DGCL. The Merger Consideration shall be deemed to have been in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to ACC Common Stock.
(c) Subject to compliance with applicable escheat Laws, any portion of the Exchange Fund that remains unclaimed by holders of ACC Common Stock as of the date that is one year after the Closing Date shall be delivered to the Company upon demand, and any holders of ACC Common Stock who have not theretofore surrendered their ACC stock certificates or transferred their book-entry shares shall thereafter look only to the Company as general creditors for satisfaction of their claims for Company Common Stock and any dividends or distributions with respect to shares of Company Common Stock.
(d) No Party shall be liable to any former holder of any shares of ACC Common Stock or to any other Person with respect to any shares of Company Common Stock (or dividends or distributions with respect thereto) delivered to any public official pursuant to any applicable abandoned property Law, escheat Law or similar Law.
(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company and the Exchange Agent shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from (i) the Merger Consideration to be paid by the Company or the Exchange Agent hereunder and (ii) any other amounts otherwise payable pursuant to this Agreement, any amount required to be deducted and withheld with respect to the making of such payment under the Code or any other provision of state, local or foreign tax law. If Company or the Exchange Agent believes that such deduction or withholding is required, the applicable withholding Person shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide ACC with written notice at least five Business Days prior to withholding any amount pursuant to this Section 2.5(e) such that ACC and/or the holders of the ACC Common Stock shall have the opportunity to eliminate or reduce such deduction or withholding obligation by filing appropriate documentation or taking other appropriate action, and subject to their respective obligations under applicable Law, the Company shall, and shall instruct the Exchange Agent to, cooperate in good faith with ACC and/or such holders as necessary to eliminate or reduce such deduction or withholding, in each case, to the extent permitted under applicable Law. Any such amounts so deducted or withheld shall be paid over to the relevant Taxing Authority in accordance with applicable Law by the Exchange Agent or the Company, as the case may be, and such deducted or withheld amounts shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the Person in respect of which such deduction or withholding was made.
ACC and Manager hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to the Company and Merger Sub that:
5
(a) The authorized capital stock of ACC consists of 3,000,000 shares of capital stock, which have all been classified as ACC Common Stock. As of the date of this Agreement, 2,539,481 shares of ACC Common Stock were issued and outstanding, and 319,524 shares of ACC Common Stock were subject to outstanding ACC Options and ACC Warrants. All outstanding shares of ACC Common Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. All outstanding shares of ACC Common Stock have been issued and granted in compliance in all material respects with the DGCL and the Organizational
6
Documents of ACC. Except for the ACC Options and ACC Warrants, (i) there are no outstanding subscriptions, options, warrants, phantom stock or appreciation rights, commitments, preemptive rights, agreements, arrangements or commitments of any kind for or relating to the issuance, sale, registration or voting of, or outstanding securities convertible into or exchangeable for, any shares of capital stock of any class or other equity interests of ACC or Manager, and (ii) there are no contracts, proxies or power of attorney or understandings in effect with respect to the voting or transfer of any of the interests of ACC or Manager. As of the date of this Agreement, ACC indirectly owns all of the membership interests of Manager (except certain Class A membership interests in ACRES Holdings, LLC, Manager’s direct parent, which will be redeemed in the Pre-Merger Reorganization), free and clear of all Liens.
(b) Section 3.5(b) of the ACC Disclosure Letter sets forth an accurate and complete list of each Subsidiary of ACC, together with (i) the U.S. federal income tax status of each subsidiary, (ii) the jurisdiction of incorporation or organization, as the case may be, of such Subsidiary and (iii) the percentage of interest held by ACC in such Subsidiary.
(c) Section 3.5(c) of the ACC Disclosure Letter sets forth an accurate and complete list of Persons, other than the Subsidiaries of ACC, in which ACC has an equity interest, direct or indirect.
(a) ACC has made available to the Company complete and correct copies of the audited consolidated balance sheets of ACC as of December 31, 2025 (the “ACC Balance Sheet”) and December 31, 2024 and the related audited consolidated statements of operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. The balance sheets referred to in this Section 3.7(a) present fairly in all material respects the financial position of ACC and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of the respective dates thereof, and the other financial statements referred to in this Section 3.7(a) present fairly in all material respects the results of the operations of ACC and its consolidated Subsidiaries for the respective fiscal periods therein set forth, in each case in accordance with GAAP consistently applied.
(b) As of the date of this Agreement, there are no liabilities of ACC or any of its consolidated Subsidiaries except (i) liabilities disclosed or provided for in the ACC Balance Sheet or the notes thereto; (ii) liabilities as set forth in Section 3.7(b) of the ACC Disclosure Letter; and (iii) liabilities and obligations incurred since December 31, 2025 in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice.
(c) ACC has made available to the Company complete and correct copies of the audited consolidated balance sheets of ACRES Mortgage Fund, Ltd. (“AMF”), a consolidated affiliated entity of ACC, as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 and the related audited consolidated statements of operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024. The balance sheets referred to in this Section 3.7(c) present fairly in all material respects the financial position of AMF as of the respective dates thereof, and the other financial statements referred to in this Section 3.7(c) present fairly in all material respects the results of the operations of AMF for the respective fiscal periods therein set forth, in each case in accordance with GAAP consistently applied.
7
(a) Section 3.9(a) of the ACC Disclosure Letter contains a complete and correct list of all material contracts of ACC and Manager (“Material Contracts”) in existence on the date hereof. ACC has made available to the Company complete and correct copies of all such Material Contracts.
(b) Each Material Contract is valid, binding and in full force and effect, and is enforceable against ACC or Manager, and, to the knowledge of ACC, each other party thereto, in accordance with its terms subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, rehabilitation, liquidation, fraudulent conveyance, preferential transfer or similar applicable Laws now or hereafter in effect affecting creditors' rights and remedies generally and except that the availability of equitable remedies may be limited by equitable principles of general applicability. Neither ACC nor Manager is in default under any Material Contract, nor, to the knowledge of ACC, is any other party to any Material Contract in default thereunder.
(a) Section 3.12(a)(i) of the ACC Disclosure Letter sets forth a list of each Benefit Plan of ACC. For purposes of this Agreement, “Benefit Plans” shall mean collectively, each “employee benefit plan” (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA), and all written and unwritten employment, severance, change in control, bonus, equity-based compensation, incentive, compensation, fringe benefits, group insurance and vacation plan, program, policy or agreement sponsored, contributed to or maintained by ACC, in which any current or former employee, director, officer or independent contractor of ACC (or any
8
dependent or beneficiary thereof) participates or to which ACC has any present or future obligations or liability, including with respect to an ERISA Affiliate. Section 3.12(a)(ii) of the ACC Disclosure Letter sets forth a list of Insperity Plans.
(b) For each Benefit Plan, ACC has made available to Company complete copies of each of the following, as applicable: (i) where the Benefit Plan has been reduced to writing, the plan document and all amendments; (ii) where the Benefit Plan has not been reduced to writing, a written summary of all material plan terms; and (iii) any insurance policies and contracts, administration and service provider agreements. ACC has also provided (i) a copy of the most recent determination, opinion, or advisory letter from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) (or a copy of any pending application for a determination letter and any related correspondence from the IRS); (ii) in the case of any Benefit Plan for which a Form 5500 must be filed, a copy of the most recently filed Form 5500 (with schedules and financial statements attached); (iii) the most recent nondiscrimination and top-heavy tests performed under the Code; (iv) copies of material notices, letters, or other correspondence from the IRS, Department of Labor ("DOL"), Department of Health and Human Services, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or other Governmental Authority; and (v) copies of current and prior IRS or DOL audits or inquiries.
(c) To the knowledge of ACC, (i) each of the Benefit Plans has been maintained, operated and administered in compliance with its terms and applicable Laws, including ERISA and the Code, (ii) each Benefit Plan that is a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” within the meaning of Section 409A(d)(1) of the Code and any award thereunder, in each case that is subject to Section 409A of the Code, (A) has at all times been operated in material compliance with Section 409A of the Code and all applicable IRS guidance promulgated thereunder and (B) either (I) has at all times been in a form which materially complies with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code or (II) has been timely amended under guidance issued pursuant to Section 409A of the Code so that its terms and provisions materially comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. Nothing has occurred with respect to any Benefit Plan that has subjected or could reasonably be expected to subject ACC or any of its ERISA Affiliates or, with respect to any period on or after the Closing Date, the Company, or any of its Affiliates, to a civil action or penalty under Section 502 of ERISA or to tax or penalty under Sections 4975 or 4980 of the Code. No Benefit Plan has assets that include securities issued by the Company. To the knowledge of ACC, all benefits, contributions, and premiums relating to each Benefit Plan have been timely paid in accordance with the terms of such Benefit Plan and all applicable Laws and accounting principles, and all benefits accrued, under any unfunded Benefit Plan have been paid, accrued or otherwise adequately reserved to the extent required by, and in accordance with, GAAP. ACC has not attempted to maintain the grandfathered health plan status under the Affordable Care Act of any Benefit Plan. To the knowledge of ACC, all Benefit Plans that are intended to be funded or book-reserved are funded or book-reserved, as appropriate, based upon reasonable actuarial assumptions.
(d) Each Benefit Plan that is intended to qualify under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination or is entitled to rely on an opinion or advisory letter from the IRS with respect to a pre-approved master and prototype or volume submitter plan, and, to the knowledge of ACC, nothing has occurred that would reasonably be expected to adversely affect the qualification of such Benefit Plan.
(e) Neither ACC nor any of its ERISA Affiliates maintains, contributes to or sponsors and has not ever maintained, contributed to or sponsored or incurred or could reasonably be expected to incur any liability with respect to a “multiemployer plan” (as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA or Section 414(f) of the Code), a “defined benefit plan” as defined in Section 3(35) of ERISA, a pension plan subject to the funding standards of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code, a “multiple employer welfare arrangement” under Section 3(40) of ERISA or a “multiple employer plan” within the meaning of Section 210(a) of ERISA or Section 413(c) of the Code. To the knowledge of ACC, with respect to each group health plan benefiting Employees and former employees of ACC that is subject to Section 4980B of the
9
Code, except as would not result in material liability to ACC, ACC has complied with the continuation coverage requirements of Section 4980B of the Code and Part 9 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA. ACC has not provided post-employment medical or dental coverage to any of its former employees (or any dependent thereof), other than as required under COBRA or any similar state Law and purchased at the former employee’s own expense.
(f) Neither ACC nor any ERISA Affiliate has any commitment, intention, or understanding to create, modify, or terminate any Benefit Plan. Each Benefit Plan can be amended, terminated, or otherwise discontinued after the Closing in accordance with its terms, without material liabilities to ACC the Company or any of its Affiliates other than ordinary administrative expenses typically incurred in a termination event.
(g) Certain payments or benefits that may be made or provided in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement could constitute “parachute payments” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code. If any such payments or benefits arise in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, ACC will obtain the consent of ACC stockholders set forth in Section 3.12(g) of the ACC Disclosure Letter in accordance with Section 280G(b)(5) of the Code and applicable Treasury Regulations, to exempt such payments or benefits from the application of Section 280G and the associated excise tax.
(a) ACC has provided the Company with a correct, complete and current list of all employees of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries and the base salary or base wage rate, bonus or other incentive comp for each such employee.
(b) All employees of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries are, subject to applicable Laws involving the wrongful termination of employees, terminable at will (without the imposition of severance, penalties or damages and without advance notice) by ACC, and ACC does not have any severance obligations if any employee is terminated by ACC, Manager or their Subsidiaries.
(c) None of ACC, Manager or any of their Subsidiaries is a party to, or has any obligations under, any collective bargaining agreement or similar labor-related contract with any labor union or similar organization, and no such collective bargaining agreement or similar labor-related contract is currently being negotiated by ACC, Manager or any of their Subsidiaries. None of the employees are represented by a labor union or similar organization. To the knowledge of ACC, there is not any organizational effort presently being made or threatened by or on behalf of any labor union or similar organization with respect to employees, and no such organizational effort has been made or threatened.
(d) Each of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries has paid in full to all of its employees all wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, benefits and other compensation due and payable to such employees, and has complied with all applicable Laws governing wages and hours, including applicable Laws relating to overtime. To the knowledge of ACC, each of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries has properly classified each person providing services to the Company as either an “employee” or “independent contractor” and as “exempt” or “non-exempt” for purposes of compliance with any and all applicable Laws. Each of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries is in material compliance with all applicable Laws governing the hiring and employment of personnel by U.S. companies. Since January 1, 2024, each of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries is in material compliance with all applicable Laws relating to employment and labor, including, but not limited to, all such applicable Laws relating to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, civil rights, safety and health, background checks and workers’ compensation. Since January 1, 2024, there have been no Proceedings pending or, to the knowledge of ACC, threatened against ACC, Manager or any
10
of their Subsidiaries arising under or related to applicable Laws relating to employment and labor, including, but not limited to, all such applicable Laws relating to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, civil rights, safety and health, background checks and workers’ compensation.
11
12
(a) Each of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries has good and marketable title to, a valid leasehold interest in or valid license to use, all of its material personal properties (whether owned or leased), rights and assets, free and clear of all Liens (other than Permitted Liens).
(b) None of ACC, Manager of any of their Subsidiaries currently owns any real property or interest therein. Section 3.17(b) of the ACC Disclosure Letter sets forth all of the leases of real property necessary for the conduct of the business of ACC, Manager of their Subsidiaries. Except as disclosed in Section 3.17(b) of the ACC Disclosure Letter, the interest of ACC, Manager or any of their Subsidiaries under each lease is (i) not subordinate to the holder of any Lien (other than any Permitted Lien) on the interest of the landlord thereunder and (ii) subject to a non-disturbance agreement.
(c) The personal property and real property owned, leased or licensed by ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries represents all assets and properties material to the business of ACC, Manager and their Subsidiaries.
(a) Manager is and, at all times required by the Advisers Act, has been, duly registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act. Each Subsidiary of Manager is, and at all times required by applicable Laws has been, duly registered, licensed or qualified as an investment adviser in each state or any other jurisdiction where the conduct of its business requires such registration, licensing or qualification. Each such registration, license or qualification is in full force and effect.
(b) Manager has complied in all material respects with all requirements under applicable Laws relating to its registration as an investment adviser with the SEC.
(c) The Form ADV of Manager filed with the SEC and the securities commission of any state, including any amendments, complies with the Advisers Act and other applicable Laws in all material respects. Manager has delivered or made available to each Advisory Client or any other Person to whom such delivery or offer is required by applicable Laws Part 2 of the Form ADV or any other disclosure document or other information required by the Advisers Act to be delivered or made available to any Advisory Client or other Person if required by the Advisers Act or other applicable Laws. Manager has timely filed all forms, reports, registration statements, schedules and other documents, together with any amendments required to be made with respect thereto, that were required to be filed under applicable Laws with any Governmental Authority, including the SEC, and has timely paid in full all fees and assessments due and payable in connection therewith.
(d) Each officer, employee or similar Person of Manager, including any independent contractors performing similar functions, who is required to be registered, licensed or qualified as an “investment adviser representative” (as such term is defined in Rule 203A-3 under the Advisers Act) or in any similar capacity with any Governmental Authority is duly registered, licensed or qualified as such, and has been so registered, licensed or qualified at all times while in the employ or under contract with the Manager under applicable Laws, and each such registration, license and qualification is in full force and effect.
13
(e) Neither the Manager nor or any Person who is “associated with” the Manager for purposes of the Advisers Act is ineligible pursuant to Section 203(e) or Section 203(f) of the Advisers Act to serve as an investment adviser or as a “person associated with” an investment adviser.
(f) Manager has in effect, and at all times required by applicable Legal Requirements has had in effect, written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act by Manager and any of its supervised persons (as such term is defined in the Advisers Act) (including, a written code of ethics, as required by Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act, and those written policies and procedures required by Rule 205(4)-7 under the Advisers Act) (collectively, “Compliance Policies”), and has designated and approved an appropriate chief compliance officer in accordance with Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act. Manager has made available to the Company a complete and correct copy of all Compliance Policies of Manager (including any formal reports prepared by Manager or any third parties under such, or otherwise in connection with any formal assessment of, Compliance Policies during the past five (5) years relating to compliance by Manager and its supervised persons subject thereto). Manager has complied in all material respects with, and takes commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that its supervised persons comply in all material respects with, Manager’s Compliance Policies.
(g) Manager has made available to the Company a complete and correct copy of each no-action letter, exemptive order or other regulatory relief or guidance issued to the Manager that remain applicable to its business as conducted on the Closing Date (if any). Manager or its Affiliates, as applicable, have complied with all representations, terms and conditions of such no-action letters, exemptive orders and other regulatory relief or guidance (if any) necessary to rely on the relief granted thereby.
(h) Neither Manager nor any “covered associate” has made a “contribution” or “coordinated” or “solicited” a “contribution” to an “official” of a “government entity” (as such terms are defined in Rule 206(4)-5 under the Advisers Act) that would disqualify or otherwise prevent the Manager from providing investment advisory services for compensation to such government entity (pursuant to Rule 206(4)-5 under the Advisers Act). Neither Manager nor any manager, director, officer, employee or agent thereof has, directly or indirectly, (i) used (or promised to use) any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, gratuities, entertainment or other unlawful expenses, in each case, related to political activity or (ii) made, offered, promised or authorized any unlawful payment of any kind or (iii) violated any applicable Laws in any material respect relating to anti-bribery, export control, money laundering or anti-terrorism.
(i) True, complete and correct copies of all material correspondence relating to any examination, investigation or inquiry by any Governmental Authority provided to or by Manager since January 1, 2023 have been delivered to the Company.
(j) Manager has not (i) received a written “Wells Notice” or other written indication of the commencement of an enforcement action from the SEC or any other Governmental Authority, (ii) been subject to a formal governmental order instituting proceedings or similar action from the SEC or any other Governmental Authority, (iii) settled any claim or proceeding of the SEC or any other Governmental Authority, (iv) except as disclosed to the Company, received any written, or to the knowledge of ACC, oral notice from any Governmental Authority that alleges any material non-compliance with any applicable Laws governing the operations of investment advisers, broker-dealers or commodity trading advisors or (v) has any unresolved examination or similar deficiencies.
(k) Neither Manager nor any Person associated with Manager has received any 12b-1 fees in connection with the mutual funds recommended to Advisory Clients without disclosing such fees the applicable Advisory Clients.
14
(l) Manager does not knowingly engage, nor has it knowingly engaged in any purchase, sale, lending or borrowing transactions with an Advisory Client as a principal, agent, lender or borrower, as applicable, including any transaction subject to Section 206(3) of the Advisers Act, without notifying the Advisory Client in writing of the transaction and obtaining the Advisory Client’s consent prior to completion of the transaction, to the extent such notice and consent is required under any applicable Laws.
(m) All contractual obligations of Manager for the solicitation of Advisory Clients have been made in compliance in all material respects with the version of Rule 206(4)-1 and 206(4)-3 under the Advisers Act in effect at such time.
(n) Except as set forth in Section 3.19(n) of the ACC Disclosure Letter, Manager has not received any written complaint, claim, demand, or other similar communication from any of its Advisory Clients other than immaterial and/or normal communications in the ordinary course of business.
(o) Manager has provided the Company with a list containing the name of each existing Advisory Client as of the Closing Date, the assets under management of such Advisory Client as of the Closing Date, whether such account is discretionary or non-discretionary, and the current fee schedule in effect as of the date of this Agreement.
(p) Manager has provided investment advisory services to each Advisory Client in compliance in all material respects with the applicable Advisory Agreement with such Advisory Client.
(q) Manager has calculated all fees and expense reimbursements from the Advisory Clients in accordance with the terms of the applicable Advisory Agreement.
(r) Since January 1, 2024, no Advisory Client has provided Manager with written, or to the knowledge of ACC, oral notice (i) to terminate its Advisory Agreement or (ii) withdraw more than 20% of its total assets under the Manager’s management.
(s) Manager has not received written, or to the knowledge of ACC, oral notice from any Advisory Client that such Advisory Client will, for any reason, cease to do business with Manager after the Closing Date.
(t) Manager has delivered to the Company correct and complete copies of, all Advisory Contracts. There are no disputes as to any amounts payable to Manager under the Advisory Contracts.
The Company and Merger Sub hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant to ACC and Manager Sub that:
15
(a) The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 41,666,666 shares of Company Common Stock, 10,000,000 shares of 8.625% Series C Preferred Stock and 6,800,000 shares of 7.875% Series D Preferred Stock. As of March 6, 2026, 7,131,101 shares of Company Common Stock, 4,800,000 shares of Seres C Preferred Stock and 4,507,857 shares of Series D Preferred Stock were issued and outstanding. As of the date of this Agreement, the Company directly owns all of the membership interests of Merger Sub, free and clear of all Liens.
(b) All shares of Company Common Stock to be issued in connection with the Internalization Merger, when so issued in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, are or will be, as applicable, (i) duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and are not subject to preemptive rights and (ii) issued and granted in compliance in all material respects with applicable state and federal securities Laws, the MGCL and the Organizational Documents of the Company.
16
(a) The Company has made available to ACC and Manager (i) its annual reports on Form 10-K for its fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2025, (ii) its proxy or information statements relating to meetings of, or actions taken without a meeting by, the stockholders of the Company held since December 31, 2023 and (iii) all of its other reports, statements, schedules, registration statements and prospectuses filed with the SEC since December 31, 2023 (the documents referred to in this Section 4.7(a) being referred to collectively as the “Company SEC Documents”). The Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 is referred to herein as the “Company 10-K.”
(b) The Company has timely filed with or furnished to the SEC all forms, reports, schedules, registration statements, prospectuses, proxy statements and other documents, together with all certifications required pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as applicable, required to be filed with or furnished to the SEC by the Company since January 1, 2024, and none of the Company SEC Documents contained any untrue statement of material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(c) As of the date hereof, there are no material unresolved comments received from the SEC with respect to any Company SEC Document.
(d) The audited consolidated financial statements of Company (including any related notes and schedules) included in its annual reports on Form 10-K and unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, in each case referred to in Section 4.7(a), present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of the dates thereof and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for the periods then ended, in conformity with GAAP (except, in the case of unaudited quarterly statements, as permitted by Form 10-Q of the SEC or other rules and regulations of the SEC) applied on a consistent basis during the periods included (except as may be indicated in the notes thereto or permitted by Regulation S-X). For purposes of this Agreement, “Company Balance Sheet” means the consolidated balance sheet of Company, as of December 31, 2025, set forth in the Company 10-K.
(e) As of the date of this Agreement, there are no liabilities of Company any Subsidiary of the Company of any kind whatsoever, whether accrued, contingent, absolute, determined, determinable or otherwise, that are, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably likely to have, a Company Material Adverse Effect, other than: (i) liabilities disclosed or provided for in the Company Balance Sheet or the notes thereto; (ii) liabilities disclosed in the Company SEC Documents; and (iii) liabilities and obligations incurred since December 31, 2025 in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice.
(a) The Company has (A) designed and maintained disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-14 and 15d-14 under the Exchange Act) to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer, and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective to perform the functions for which they were established; any significant material weaknesses in internal controls have been identified for the Company’s
17
Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer; and since the date of the most recent evaluation of such disclosure controls and procedures, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls.
(b) No personal loan or other extension of credit by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any of its or their executive officers or directors has been outstanding or has been made or modified since January 1, 2024.
18
(a) declare or pay any dividends on, or make any other distribution (whether in cash, stock, property or otherwise) in respect of any outstanding capital stock of, or other equity interests in ACC, Manager of any of their subsidiaries, except for dividends or other distributions to by a indirectly wholly owned Subsidiary of ACC to its parent entity;
(b) offer, issue, deliver, grant or sell, or authorize or propose to offer, issue, deliver, grant or sell, any capital stock of, or other equity interests in, in ACC, Manager or any of their Subsidiaries or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire, any such capital stock or equity interests, except for the issuance or delivery of ACC Common Stock upon the vesting, exercise or settlement of any ACC Options, ACC Warrants, or awards granted under the ACC Equity Plans, in each case, outstanding as of the date hereof;
(c) purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, or offer to purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, any capital stock or other equity interests in ACC, Manager or any of their Subsidiaries, except for the redemption or exchange of such capital stock or equity interest pursuant to the provisions of the ACC Equity Plans or the Organizational Documents of ACC, Manager or any of their Subsidiaries.
(d) sell, lease, encumber, transfer, license or dispose of any business assets other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(e) acquire any property, plant, equipment or other assets from any Person other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(f) amend or terminate any Material Contract, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, except as set forth in Section 5.1(f) of the ACC Disclosure Letter;
(g) fail to timely pay any account payable in the ordinary course of business, other than amounts that are subject to dispute in good faith and for which adequate reserves have been made;
(h) enter into any new line of business;
(i) create, incur, assume or guarantee any indebtedness, make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (including to any of its officers, directors, Affiliates, agents or consultants), make any change in its existing borrowing or lending arrangements for or on behalf of such Persons, or enter into any “keep well” or similar agreement to maintain the financial condition of another entity, except with respect to the Employee Loans as set forth in Section 5.14;
(j) allow the lapse or termination of material policies of insurance unless contemporaneously replaced with comparable policies providing the same coverage;
(k) (i) make, revoke or change any election relating to its Taxes other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) change or revoke any of its Tax accounting methods other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (iii) change any of its Tax accounting periods other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, or (iv) settle or compromise any material Tax audit applicable to it or surrender any right to claim a refund with respect to a material Tax liability;
19
(l) increase in any manner the compensation or benefits of any employee, accelerate vesting of any benefit or payment to any employee or pay or otherwise grant any benefit with respect to any employee, or enter into any contract to do any of the foregoing, except with respect to the Employee Loans as set forth in Section 5.14;
(m) enter into new employment agreements, except for offer letters sent to prospective employees in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, or amend any existing employment agreements;
(n) terminate the employment of any employees identified in Schedule II hereto (“Key Employees”);
(o) make or authorize any change in its Organizational Documents, except as necessary to implement the amendments set forth in Section 5.1(f);
(p) take, or agree or otherwise commit to take, any of the foregoing actions or any other action that if taken would reasonably be expected to prevent the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article 6.
20
(a) From and after the date hereof until the Closing and subject to applicable Law, each of ACC and Manager shall afford to the Company access, upon reasonable advance notice and in such manner as will not unreasonably interfere with the conduct of the business of ACC and Manager, to all properties, books and records of ACC and Manager, and all other information with respect to their business and assets, together with the opportunity to make copies of such books, records and other documents and to discuss with such members of management of ACC and Manager as the Company may reasonably request. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 5.7, neither ACC nor Manager shall be required to grant access or furnish information to the Company to the extent that (i) such access would jeopardize attorney/client or attorney work product privilege, or (ii) such access or the furnishing of such information is prohibited by applicable Law.
(b) Between the date hereof and the Closing Date, ACC shall provide to the Company, no later than twenty calendar days after the last day of each calendar month, unaudited consolidated financial statements ACC for such calendar month.
(a) Termination of Management Agreement. The Parties agree that the Management Agreement shall be terminated at, and subject to, the Closing. The Management Agreement shall be void and of no further effect after the Closing and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. For the avoidance of doubt, the estimated amount of any accrued compensation and reimbursement of expenses the Manager is entitled to at the Effective Time pursuant to the Management Agreement has been included in calculation of the book value of ACC in connection with the determination of the Exchange
21
Ratio. The Parties are not aware of any facts or circumstances that will give rise to any claims for indemnification pursuant to Section 11 of the Management Agreement, and do not intend to submit any such claims. The Parties further agree that no claim for indemnification pursuant to Section 11 of the Management Agreement shall be submitted upon termination of the Management Agreement and thereafter.
(b) Unvested Company Award Shares. Each unvested share of restricted Company Common Stock (collectively, “Company Award Shares”) granted to ACC (or its Subsidiaries) pursuant to the Company’s Manager Incentive Plan shall vest, regardless of the terms of the Company’s Manager Incentive Plan, on the date the Company receives Company Stockholder Approval. For the avoidance of doubt, the value of any Company Award Shares to be vested in accordance with this Section 5.9(b) has been included in calculation of the book value of ACC in connection with the determination of the Exchange Ratio.
(c) Company Common Stock held by ACC Entities. As of the Effective Time, if there are any shares of Company Common Stock that are held by ACC, Manager or by any of their Subsidiaries immediately prior to the Effective Time (for the avoidance of doubt, including any Company Award Shares vested in accordance with Section 5.9(b)), such shares of Company Common Stock shall automatically be cancelled and return to the status of authorized but unissued shares of Company Common Stock under the MGCL, without any conversion thereof or payment or other consideration therefor.
(d) Cancellation of ACC Indebtedness to Company. As of the Effective Time, any outstanding indebtedness of ACC of any of their Subsidiaries to the Company shall be cancelled without the action of any Party.
22
(a) Company Stockholder Approval. The Company Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained in accordance with applicable Law, the rules and regulations of the NYSE and the Organizational Documents of the Company.
(b) Listing. The shares of Company Common Stock to be issued in the Internalization Merger shall have been approved for listing on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance.
(c) No Injunctions or Restraints. No Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over any Party shall have issued any order, decree, ruling, injunction or other action that is in effect (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the Internalization Merger and no Law (or interpretation thereof by a Governmental Authority) shall have been adopted that makes consummation of the Internalization Merger illegal or otherwise prohibited.
(d) ACC Warrant Holder Condition. The ACC Warrant Holder Condition shall have been satisfied,.
(e) Company Lender Notices. The Company Lender Notices shall have been delivered to the satisfaction of its lenders in accordance with the terms of the respective financing agreements.
(a) Representations and Warranties of ACC and Manager. The representations and warranties of ACC and Manager set forth in Section 3.2, Section 3.5(a) and Section 3.8 shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date (except that representations and warranties that speak as of a specified date shall have been true and correct in all material respects only
23
as of such date), and (ii) all other representations and warranties of ACC and Manager set forth in Article 3 of this Agreement shall be true and correct as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date (except that representations and warranties that speak as of a specified date shall have been true and correct only as of such date), except where the failure of such representations and warranties to be so true and correct (without regard to qualification or exceptions contained therein as to “materiality” or “ACC Material Adverse Effect”) would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, an ACC Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Performance of Obligations. Each of ACC and Manager shall have performed, or complied with, in all material respects all agreements and covenants required to be performed or complied with by it under this Agreement on or prior to the Effective Time.
(c) Pre-Merger Reorganization. The Pre-Merger Reorganization of ACC shall have been fully implemented.
(d) Compliance Certificate. The Company shall have received a certificate from each of ACC and Manager, signed by a senior executive officer of ACC on behalf of ACC and Manager, dated the Closing Date, confirming that the conditions in Sections 6.2(a), (b) and (c) have been satisfied.
(e) Absence of ACC Material Adverse Effect. Since the date of this Agreement, there shall not have been any event, change, effect or development that, individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have an ACC Material Adverse Effect, that is continuing.
(f) Key Employee Agreements. The Company and each of the Key Employees have entered into the Key Employee Agreements, effective pending only the Closing.
(a) Representations and Warranties of Company and Merger Sub. The representations and warranties of the Company and Merger Sub set forth in Section 4.2, Section 4.5 and Section 4.9 shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date (except that representations and warranties that speak as of a specified date shall have been true and correct in all material respects only as of such date), and (ii) all other representations and warranties of the Company and Merger Sub set forth in Article 4 of this Agreement shall be true and correct as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date (except that representations and warranties that speak as of a specified date shall have been true and correct only as of such date), except where the failure of such representations and warranties to be so true and correct (without regard to qualification or exceptions contained therein as to “materiality” or “Company Material Adverse Effect”) would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, an Company Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Performance of Obligations. Each of the Company and Merger Sub shall have performed, or complied with, in all material respects all agreements and covenants required to be performed or complied with by it under this Agreement on or prior to the Effective Time.
(c) Compliance Certificate. ACC shall have received a certificate from each of the Company and Merger Sub, signed by a senior executive officer of the Company on behalf of the Company and Merger Sub, dated the Closing Date, confirming that the conditions in Sections (a) and (b) have been satisfied.
(d) Absence of Company Material Adverse Effect. Since the date of this Agreement, there shall not have been any event, change, effect or development that, individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect, that is continuing.
24
(e) Ownership Limit Waivers. The Company Board shall have granted each holder of ACC Common Stock identified in Schedule IV hereto an effective exemption from the restrictions on transfer and ownership of Company Common Stock contained in Article VI of the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company, and take other actions as necessary and appropriate to ensure that the receipt of ownership of Merger Consideration by each holder will not be prohibited by any provisions of the Company’s Organization Documents.
(a) By mutual written consent of the Parties;
(b) By either the Company or ACC if the Closing shall not have occurred by December 31, 2026 (the “Outside Date”) for any reason; provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 7.1(b) shall not be available to any Party whose action or failure to act has been the cause of or resulted in the failure of the Closing to occur on or before the Outside Date and such action or failure to act constitutes a breach of this Agreement;
(c) By the Company, if the Company and Merger Sub are not in breach of their respective obligations under this Agreement, and if at any time there has been a breach on the part of ACC or Manager such that one of the conditions set forth in Section 6.2 would not be satisfied (treating such time as if it were the Closing Date for purposes of this Section 7.1(c)), provided, that if such breach is curable by ACC or Manager, then the Company may not terminate this Agreement under this Section 7.1(c) until the earlier of (i) the Outside Date and (ii) thirty days after delivery of written notice from the Company to ACC and Manager of such breach, which remains uncured at such time, provided that ACC and Manager continue to exercise commercially reasonable efforts to cure such breach; or
(d) By ACC if ACC and Manager are not in breach of their respective obligations under this Agreement, and if at any time there has been a breach on the part of the Company or Merger Sub such that one of the conditions set forth in Section 6.3 would not be satisfied (treating such time as if it were the Closing Date for purposes of this Section 7.1(d)), provided, that if such breach is curable by the Company or Merger Sub, then ACC may not terminate this Agreement under this Section 7.1(d) until the earlier of (i) the Outside Date and (ii) thirty days after delivery of written notice from ACC to the Company and Merger Sub of such breach, which remains uncured at such time, provided that the Company continues to exercise commercially reasonable efforts to cure such breach.
25
(a) If to the Company, Merger Sub, or, after the Closing, to ACC or Manager, to:
ACRES Commercial Realty Corp.
390 RXR Plaza
Uniondale, NY 11556
Attention: Jaclyn Jesberger
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
2200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20037
Attention: Robert Smith
(b) If ACC or Manager (prior to the Closing), to:
ACRES CAPITAL CORP.
390 RXR Plaza
Uniondale, NY 11556
Attention: Jaclyn Jesberger
or to such other address as the Party to whom notice is to be given may have furnished to the other Parties in writing in accordance herewith. All such notices or communications shall be deemed to be received (i) in the case of personal delivery, nationally recognized overnight courier or registered or certified mail, on the date of such delivery, and (ii) in the case of facsimile or telecopier or electronic mail, upon receipt of the appropriate facsimile or telecopier confirmation.
26
27
(a) the terms defined in Article 9 have the meanings assigned to them in Article 9 and include the plural as well as the singular;
(b) all accounting terms not otherwise defined herein have the meanings assigned under GAAP;
(c) pronouns of either gender or neuter shall include, as appropriate, the other pronoun forms;
(d) the words “include” and “including” shall be without limitation and shall be construed to mean “include, but not be limited to” or “including, without limitation”;
(e) except where the context requires otherwise, references to exhibits, schedules, Articles, Sections and paragraphs shall be references to the exhibits, schedules, Articles, Sections and paragraphs of this Agreement; and
(f) except where the context requires otherwise, the words “herein,” “hereof” and “hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Article, Section or other subdivision.
For all purposes of this Agreement, except as otherwise expressly provided or unless the context in which a term is used clearly requires otherwise:
“ACC” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“ACC Common Stock” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“ACC Balance Sheet” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.7.
“ACC Disclosure Letter” means the Disclosure Letter dated as of the date hereof and delivered by ACC and Manager to the Company and Merger Sub simultaneously with the signing of this Agreement.
“ACC Equity Plan” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.3.
“ACC Material Adverse Event” means a Material Adverse Effect on ACC.
28
“ACC Option” means each option to purchase shares of ACC Common Stock pursuant to the ACC Equity Plans.
“ACC Permits” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.10.
“ACC Warrant” means each warrant to purchase shares of ACC Common Stock pursuant to the terms of the contract governing the issuance or grant thereof.
“ACC Warrant Holder Condition” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.3.
“AMF” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.7(c).
“Advisers Act” means the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as amended from time to time.
“Advisory Agreement” means any contract entered into by Manager for the purpose of providing investment advisory or investment management services to, or otherwise managing any investment or trading account of, any Advisory Client.
“Advisory Client” means each Person that, as of the Closing Date, is an investment advisory or investment management client of Manager pursuant to an Advisory Agreement.
“Affiliate” means with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly, controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, such Person, through one or more intermediaries or otherwise
“Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“Benefit Plan” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.12(a).
“Business Day” means a day that is not a Saturday or Sunday or other day on which banks in the State of New York are authorized or obligated to be closed.
“Certificate of Merger” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.3(a).
“Closing” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.2.
“Closing Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.2.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor to such statute.
“Company” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“Company 10-K” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.7(a).
“Company Award Shares” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.9(b).
“Company Balance Sheet” has the meaning set forth in in Section 4.7(e).
“Company Board” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“Company Common Stock” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
29
“Company Disclosure Letter” means the Disclosure Letter dated as of the date hereof and delivered by the Company and Merger Sub to ACC and Manager simultaneously with the signing of this Agreement.
“Company Lender Notices” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2.
“Company Material Adverse Effect” means a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
“Company SEC Documents” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.7(a).
“Company Special Committee” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“Company Stock Issuance” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“Company Stockholder Approval” means the approval by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes cast at the meeting of the stockholders of the Company in accordance with the MGCL, the rules and regulations of the NYSE and the Organizational Documents of the Company.
“Compliance Policies” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.19(f).
“consolidated affiliated entity” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, association or other entity which is or is required to be consolidated with such Person under GAAP.
“control” and its correlative terms, means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
“Covered Matters” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.9.
“Delaware Secretary of State” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.3(a).
“Determination Date” means the last day of the first month immediately preceding the month in which the conditions set forth in Article VII are reasonably expected to be satisfied (other than the condition set forth in Section 7.1(a) and those conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied or waived at the Closing), or such other date as may be mutually agreed by the parties in their respective sole discretions.
“Dissenting Shares” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4.
“DGCL” means the Delaware General Corporation Law.
“DLLC Act” Delaware Limited Liability Company Act.
“Effective Time” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.3(a).
“Employee Loans” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.14.
“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
“ERISA Affiliate” means, with respect to a Person, any Person, whether or not incorporated, that together with such Person is treated as a single employer for purposes of Code Section 414 or ERISA Section 4001(b).
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
30
“Exchange Agent” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a).
“Exchange Fund” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a).
“Exchange Ratio” means 2.61882, as calculated in accordance with the methodology set forth in the Exchange Ratio Spreadsheet (attached hereto as Annex A), as such number may be adjusted in accordance Section 2.1(b).
“Form ADV” mean the uniform form used by investment advisers to register with both the SEC and state securities authorities.
“Fraud” means (a) a false representation, concealment or omission of a material fact, (b) made with knowledge or belief of its falsity, (c) with the intent of inducing another Person to act, or refrain from acting, and (d) upon which the other Person acted or did not act in justifiable reliance on the representation, with resulting losses or damages.
“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.
“Governmental Authority” means any court, governmental, regulatory or administrative agency or commission or other governmental authority or instrumentality, domestic or foreign.
“group” has the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act.
“Intellectual Property” means any and all proprietary and intellectual property rights, under the applicable Law of any jurisdiction or rights under international treaties, both statutory and common law rights, including: (a) patents and applications for same, and extensions, divisions, continuations, continuations-in-part, reexaminations, and reissues thereof; (b) trademarks, service marks, trade names, slogans, domain names, logos, trade dress and other identifiers of source, and registrations and applications for registrations thereof (including all goodwill associated with the foregoing); (c) copyrightable works and copyrights; and (d) trade secrets, know-how, and rights in confidential information, including designs, formulations, concepts, compilations of information, methods, techniques, procedures, and processes, whether or not patentable.
“Insperity” means Insperity, Inc., a professional employer organization (“PEO) that co-employs individuals who are also employed as employees of ACC.
“Insperity Plans” means, to the knowledge of ACC, collectively, each “employee benefit plan” (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA), and all written and unwritten employment, severance, change in control, bonus, equity-based compensation, incentive, compensation, fringe benefits, group insurance and vacation plan, program, policy or agreement sponsored, contributed to or maintained by Insperity in which any current or former ACC employee, director, officer or independent contractor of ACC (or any dependent or beneficiary thereof) participates.
“International Merger” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“Investment Company Act” means the Investment Company Act of 1940.
“IRS” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
“Key Employees” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.1(n).
31
“Key Employee Agreements” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.10.
“knowledge” means the actual knowledge of a Party and each officer and director of such Party after reasonable inquiry with his direct reports responsible for the applicable subject matter and any relevant books and records.
“Law” means any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, judgment, order, treaty, governmental directive or other legally enforceable requirement, of any Governmental Authority, including common law.
“Lien” means any lien, pledge, hypothecation, mortgage, deed of trust, security interest, conditional or installment sale agreement, encumbrance, option, right of first refusal, easement, right of way, encroachment, preemptive right, community property interest or restriction of any nature (including any restriction on the voting of any security, any restriction on the transfer of any security or other asset, or any restriction on the possession, exercise or transfer of any other attribute of ownership of any asset), whether voluntarily incurred or arising by operation of Law.
“Material Adverse Effect” means, when used with respect to any Person, any fact, circumstance, occurrence, state of fact, effect, change, event or development (an “effect”) that, individually or in the aggregate, materially adversely affects (a) the condition (financial or otherwise), business, assets, properties or results of operations of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (b) the ability of such Person and its Subsidiaries to consummate the Internalization Merger and transactions contemplated hereby before the Outside Date; provided, however, that no effect (by itself or when aggregated or taken together with any and all other effects) resulting from, arising out of, attributable to, or related to any of the following shall be deemed to be or constitute a “Material Adverse Effect,” and no effect (by itself or when aggregated or taken together with any and all other such effects) directly or indirectly resulting from, arising out of, attributable to, or related to any of the following shall be taken into account when determining whether a “Material Adverse Effect” has occurred or may, would or could occur: (i) general economic conditions (or changes in such conditions) or conditions in the global economy generally; (ii) conditions (or changes in such conditions) in the securities markets (including the mortgage backed securities markets), credit markets, currency markets or other financial markets, including (A) changes in interest rates and changes in exchange rates for the currencies of any countries and (B) any suspension of trading in securities (whether equity, debt, derivative or hybrid securities) generally on any securities exchange or over-the-counter market; (iii) conditions (or changes in such conditions) in any industry or industries in which the Person operates (including changes in general market prices and regulatory changes affecting the industry); (iv) political conditions (or changes in such conditions) or acts of war, sabotage, terrorism, acts of God, epidemics, pandemics or disease outbreaks (including any escalation or general worsening of any such acts of war, sabotage, terrorism, acts of God, epidemics, pandemics or disease outbreaks; (v) earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, mudslides, wild fires, other natural disasters or other weather conditions; (vi) changes in Law or other legal or regulatory conditions, or the interpretation thereof, or changes in GAAP or other accounting standards (or the interpretation thereof); (vii) except for purposes of Sections 3.3 and 4.3, the announcement of this Agreement or the pendency or consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, (viii) any actions taken or failure to take action, in each case, at the request of another party to this Agreement; (ix) except for purposes of Sections 3.3 and 4.3, compliance with the terms of, or the taking of any action permitted or expressly required by, this Agreement; (x) any changes in such Person’s stock price, dividends or the trading volume of such Person’s stock, or any failure by such Person to meet any analysts’ estimates or expectations of such Person’s revenue, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations for any period, or any failure by such Person or any of its Subsidiaries to meet any internal budgets, plans or forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations (it being understood that the facts or occurrences giving rise to or contributing to such changes or failures may constitute, or be taken into account in determining whether there has been or will be, a Material Adverse Effect); or (xi) any Proceeding commenced or, to any Party’s
32
knowledge, threatened against, such Party or any of its Affiliates or otherwise relating to, involving or affecting such Party or any of its Affiliates, in each case, in connection with, arising from or otherwise relating to the transactions contemplated hereby; except to the extent such effects resulting from, arising out of, attributable to or related to the matters described in the foregoing clauses (i) through (vi) disproportionately adversely affect such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, as compared to other Persons that conduct business in the regions in the world and in the industries in which such Person and its Subsidiaries conduct business (in which case, the incremental adverse effects (if any) shall be taken into account when determining whether a “Material Adverse Effect” has occurred or may, would or could occur solely to the extent they are disproportionate).
“Material Contracts” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.9.
“Material Insurance Policies” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.16.
“Manager” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“Management Agreement” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“MGCL” means Maryland General Corporation Law.
“NYSE” means the New York Stock Exchange.
“Organizational Documents” means (a) with respect to a corporation, the charter, articles, articles supplementary or certificate of incorporation, as applicable, and bylaws thereof, and any stockholders' agreement or similar voting agreement relating to any class of equity interests of the corporation, (b) with respect to a limited liability company, the certificate of formation or organization, as applicable, and the operating or limited liability company agreement thereof, (c) with respect to a partnership, the certificate of formation and the partnership agreement, and (d) with respect to any other Person the organizational, constituent and/or governing documents and/or instruments of such Person.
“Outside Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(b).
“Party” or “Parties” means a party or the parties to this Agreement, except as the context may otherwise require.
“Pre-Merger Reorganization” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.1.
“Proxy Statement” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.4.
“Merger Consideration” has the meaning set forth in in Section 2.1(b).
“Merger Sub” has the meaning set forth in in the recitals.
“Permitted Liens” means any Liens (i) for Taxes or governmental assessments, charges or claims of payment not yet delinquent or that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings, (ii) relating to any Indebtedness incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (iii) which is a carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, repairmen’s or other similar Liens arising by operation of Law in the ordinary course of business for amounts not yet delinquent, (iv) which is not material in amount and would not reasonably be expected to materially interfere with the ordinary conduct of the business of ACC, Manager and its Subsidiaries as currently conducted or materially impair the use, occupancy, value or marketability of the applicable property, (v) which is a statutory or common law Liens
33
or encumbrance to secure landlords, lessors or renters under leases or rental agreements, and (vi) which is imposed on the underlying fee interest in real property subject to a company lease.
“Person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, group (including a “person” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), trust, association or other entity or organization (including any Governmental Authority or a political subdivision, agency or instrumentality of a Governmental Authority).
“Proceeding” means any actual or threatened claim (including a claim of a violation of applicable Law), action, audit, demand, suit, proceeding, investigation or other proceeding at law or in equity or order or ruling, in each case whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or otherwise and whether or not such claim, action, audit, demand, suit, proceeding, investigation or other proceeding or order or ruling results in a formal civil or criminal litigation or regulatory action.
“R&W Insurance Policy” means the insurance policy which provides coverage for the benefit of the Company, Merger Sub or their respective designees as the named insured for breaches of the representations and warranties of ACC and Manager set forth in Article Article 3 of this Agreement.
“REIT” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.15.
“SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933.
“Series C Preferred Stock” means 8.625% Fixed-to-Floating Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock of the Company.
“Series D Preferred Stock” means 7.875% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock of the Company.
“Subsidiary” means, with respect to a Person, any Person, whether incorporated or unincorporated, of which (a) at least 50% of the securities or ownership interests having by their terms ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors or other Persons performing similar functions, (b) a general partner interest in a partnership vehicle or (c) a managing member interest, is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by the subject Person or by one or more of its respective Subsidiaries.
“Surviving Entity” has the meaning set forth in Section 1.1.
“Tax” or “Taxes” means any and all U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. taxes, assessments, levies, duties, tariffs, imposts and other similar charges and fees imposed by any Governmental Authority, including, income, franchise, windfall or other profits, gross receipts, property, sales, use, net worth, capital stock, payroll, employment, social security, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, excise, withholding, ad valorem, stamp, transfer, value-added, occupation, environmental, disability, real property, personal property, registration, alternative or add-on minimum or estimated tax, including any interest, penalty, additions to tax or additional amounts imposed with respect thereto, whether disputed or not.
“Tax Returns” means any return, report, certificate, claim for refund, election, estimated tax filing or declaration filed or required to be filed with any Taxing Authority, including any schedule or attachment thereto, and including any amendments thereof.
34
“Taxing Authority” means any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction in matters relating to Tax matters.
“Transfer Taxes” means any stock transfer, real estate transfer, documentary, stamp, recording and other similar Taxes (including interest, penalties and additions to any such Taxes); provided, for the avoidance of doubt, that Transfer Taxes shall not include any income, franchise or similar taxes arising from the Transactions.
“Treasury Regulations” means the income tax regulations, including any temporary regulations, from time to time promulgated under the Code.
[Signature Page Follows]
35
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each party hereto has caused this Agreement to be signed by its respective officer thereunto duly authorized, all as of the date first written above.
ACRES COMMERCIAL REALTY CORP.
By: /s/ Mark Fogel________________
Name: Mark Fogel
Title: President
ACRES HOLDINGS SUB, LLC
By: /s/ Mark Fogel________________
Name: Mark Fogel
Title: President
ACRES CAPITAL CORP.
By: /s/ Mark Fogel________________
Name: Mark Fogel
Title: President
ACRES CAPITAL, LLC
By: /s/ Mark Fogel________________
Name: Mark Fogel
Title: President
[Signature Page to Agreement and Plan of Merger]
Schedule I
Pre-Merger Reorganization
[Intentionally Omitted]
Schedule II
Key Employees
[Intentionally Omitted]
Schedule III
Post-Closing Contribution
[Intentionally Omitted]
Schedule IV
ACC Stockholders Requesting Ownership Limit Waivers from the Company
[Intentionally Omitted]
Annex A
Exchange Ratio Spreadsheet
[Intentionally Omitted]