American Finance Trust, Inc (Form: 8-K, Received: 12/03/2020 08:09:24)

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): December 3, 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 per share	AFIN	The Nasdaq Global Select Market
7.50% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value per share	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 December 3, 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.

Rent Collection Update

As of December 2, 2020, the Company has received approximately 95% of the original cash rent due for the fourth quarter to date of 2020, including approximately 99% of the original cash rent due in the Company’s single-tenant portfolio and approximately 86% of the original cash rent due in the Company’s 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, 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, the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 filed on November 5, 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 December 3, 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, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto 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: December 3, 2020

Exhibit 99.1

AMERICAN FINANCE TRUST PROVIDES RENT COLLECTION UPDATE

NEW YORK – December 3, 2020 – American Finance Trust, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFIN) (“AFIN” or the “Company”) announced today that 95% of the original cash rent due for the fourth quarter to date of 2020 has been received as of December 2, 2020, including 99% of the original cash rent due in the Company’s single-tenant portfolio.

“Our rent collection rate continues to excel, totaling 95% for the fourth quarter through November 30th,” said Michael Weil, CEO of AFIN. “We believe our ongoing rent collection success is a result of our direct engagement with tenants and the high-quality and resiliency of our necessity retail focused portfolio. Through rigorous underwriting and selective acquisitions and dispositions, we have built a portfolio that is leased to primarily investment grade or implied investment grade tenants, including 80%¹ of our top ten tenants portfolio-wide.”

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 November 2020 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 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

Percentage of top 10 tenants based on annualized straight-line rent as of September 30, 2020. Implied investment grade may include actual ratings of tenant parent, guarantor parent (regardless of whether or not the parent has guaranteed the tenant’s obligation under the lease) or by using a proprietary Moody’s analytical tool, which generates an implied rating by measuring a company’s probability of default. Ratings information is as of September 30, 2020. Top 10 tenants are 72% actual investment grade rated and 8% implied investment grade rated.