0001568162 false true 0001568162 2020-09-04 2020-09-04 0001568162 us-gaap:CommonStockMember 2020-09-04 2020-09-04 0001568162 us-gaap:SeriesAPreferredStockMember 2020-09-04 2020-09-04 0001568162 AFIN:PreferredStockPurchaseRightsMember 2020-09-04 2020-09-04 iso4217:USD xbrli:shares iso4217:USD xbrli:shares

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 4, 2020

 

American Finance Trust, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

Maryland   001-38597   90-0929989

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

  (Commission File Number)  

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

650 Fifth Avenue, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10019

(Address, including zip code, of Principal Executive Offices)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 415-6500

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
   
¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
   
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
   
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class:   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of each exchange on which registered:
Class A Common Stock, $0.01 par value   AFIN   The Nasdaq Global Select Market
7.50% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value   AFINP   The Nasdaq Global Select Market
Preferred Stock Purchase Rights   true   The Nasdaq Global Select Market

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company ¨

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

 

 

 

 

  

Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.

 

On September 8, 2020, American Finance Trust, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. The information set forth in Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K and in the attached Exhibit 99.1 is deemed to be “furnished” and shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section. The information set forth in Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

 

Item 8.01. Other Events.

 

New Loan Agreement 

 

On September 4, 2020, the Company, through a wholly owned subsidiary, borrowed $125.0 million from a syndicate of regional banks led by BOK Financial. The syndicated balance sheet loan is secured by three of the Company’s single-tenant buildings located in Bridgewater, New Jersey that serve as the U.S. headquarters for Sanofi US Services Inc. At closing, all net proceeds from the loan and approximately $2.6 million in cash on hand were used to repay outstanding mortgage indebtedness encumbering the property that would have matured in January 2021 and bore interest at a rate of 5.16% per annum.

 

The loan bears interest at a floating interest rate of one-month LIBOR plus 2.9%, with the interest rate fixed at 3.22% by swap agreement. The loan is interest-only with the principal due at maturity on September 4, 2025. The Company may prepay the loan in whole or in part at any time.

 

Rent Collection Update

 

As of September 3, 2020, the Company has received approximately 90% of the original cash rent due for the month of August 2020, including approximately 96% of the original cash rent due in the Company’s single-tenant portfolio and approximately 78% of the original cash rent due in the Company’s multi-tenant portfolio. Quarter to date, the Company has collected over 90% of the original cash rent due for July and August portfolio-wide, including over 96% in the single-tenant portfolio and over 77% in the multi-tenant portfolio.

 

The statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to be materially different. The words “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the potential adverse effects of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, including actions taken to contain or treat COVID-19, on the Company, the Company’s tenants and the global economy and financial markets and that the information about rent collections may not be indicative of any future period and remains subject to changes based on ongoing collection efforts and negotiation of additional agreements with tenants, as well as those risks and uncertainties set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed on February 27, 2020, the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 filed on May 7, 2020, the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 filed on August 6, 2020 and all other filings with the SEC after that date, as such risks, uncertainties and other important factors may be updated from time to time in the Company’s subsequent reports. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results, unless required to do so by law.  

 

 

 

 

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits

 

Exhibit No   Description
99.1   Press Release dated September 8, 2020
104   Cover Page Interactive Data File - the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

  AMERICAN FINANCE TRUST, INC.
     
  By: /s/ Edward M. Weil, Jr.
    Edward M. Weil, Jr.
   

Chief Executive Officer and President

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

Dated: September 8, 2020

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

 

AMERICAN FINANCE TRUST ANNOUNCES REFINANCING AND PROVIDES AUGUST RENT UPDATE

 

NEW YORK –September 8, 2020 – American Finance Trust, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFIN) (“AFIN” or the “Company”) announced today that the Company entered into a financing transaction with Bank of Texas to borrow $125 million in a syndicated balance sheet loan (the “Loan”) on three buildings located in Bridgewater, New Jersey that serve as the US Headquarters for Sanofi. A multinational, investment-grade pharmaceutical company, Sanofi’s campus is a mission critical facility for supporting operations in the United States.

 

“Thanks to the high quality of the Sanofi properties and our long-standing relationship with Bank of Texas, we were able to complete this financing on what we believe to be very attractive terms,” said Michael Weil, CEO of AFIN. “The Loan capitalizes on the historically low interest rate environment and Sanofi’s investment-grade credit rating to replace the existing financing, which had four months of term remaining, with new five-year financing fixed by swap at an interest rate of 3.22%, 194 basis points lower than the previous rate of 5.16%. Combined with the CMBS transaction we completed in July, AFIN has refinanced over $840 million of near-term maturing debt at lower interest rates and extended our weighted average debt maturity to 5.2 years(1) from 3.3 years, with no material near-term maturities remaining.”

 

The Loan is interest-only and fixed by swap at an interest rate of 3.22%, has a five-year term and is secured by three buildings located in Bridgewater, New Jersey. At the closing of the Loan, all net proceeds from the refinance and cash on hand were used to repay the existing mortgage loan in full.

 

Update on Rent Collection

The Company also announced today that 90% of the original cash rent due for the month of August 2020 has been received as of September 3, 2020, including 96% of the original cash rent due in the Company’s single-tenant portfolio. Quarter to date, the Company has collected over 90% of the original cash rent due for July and August portfolio-wide, including over 96% in the single-tenant portfolio.

 

About American Finance Trust, Inc.

American Finance Trust, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFIN) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the Nasdaq focused on acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of primarily service-oriented and traditional retail and distribution related commercial real estate properties in the U.S. Additional information about AFIN can be found on its website at www.americanfinancetrust.com.

 

Important Notice

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to be materially different. The words “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the potential adverse effects of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, including actions taken to contain or treat COVID-19, on the Company, the Company’s tenants and the global economy and financial markets and that the information about rent collections may not be indicative of any future period, as well as those risks and uncertainties set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed on February 27, 2020, the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 filed on May 7, 2020, the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 filed on August 6, 2020 and all other filings with the SEC after that date, as such risks, uncertainties and other important factors may be updated from time to time in the Company’s subsequent reports. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results, unless required to do so by law.

 

Contacts:

Investor Relations

investorrelations@americanfinancetrust.com

(866) 902-0063

 

(1) As if the refinancing had occurred on June 30, 2020.