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): | November 26, 2014 |
RAIT Financial Trust
__________________________________________
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Maryland | 1-14760 | 23-2919819 |
_____________________
(State or other jurisdiction |
_____________
(Commission |
______________
(I.R.S. Employer |
of incorporation) | File Number) | Identification No.) |
2929 Arch St., 17th Floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 19104 | |
_________________________________
(Address of principal executive offices) |
___________
(Zip Code) |
Registrants telephone number, including area code: | (215) 243-9000 |
Not Applicable
______________________________________________
Former name or former address, if changed since last report
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))
Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
On November 26, 2014, RAIT Financial Trust ("RAIT"), RAIT Partnership, L.P. ("RAIT Partnership") and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC ("JonesTrading") entered into Amendment No. 1 ("Amendment No. 1") to that certain Capital on Demand™ Sales Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") dated November 21, 2012 among RAIT, RAIT Partnership and JonesTrading. Pursuant to the Sales Agreement, as amended, RAIT may issue and sell its common shares of beneficial interest ("Common Shares") from time to time through JonesTrading acting as agent and/or principal up to that number of Common Shares then remaining available under the Sales Agreement.
Amendment No. 1 was entered into to update the reference in the Sales Agreement to the RAIT shelf registration statement pursuant to which Common Shares would be issued. No additional Common Shares were authorized for issuance under the Sales Agreement as a result of Amendment No. 1. Prior to September 9, 2014, sales of Common Shares under the Sales Agreement were made pursuant to RAIT’s prospectus supplement dated November 21, 2012 to RAIT’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-175901), which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September 9, 2011 (the "2011 Registration Statement"). Pursuant to Rule 415(a)(5) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ‘Securities Act"), offers and sales under the 2011 Registration Statement were restricted as of September 9, 2014. As a result, on November 26, 2014, RAIT filed a prospectus supplement (the "Common ATM Prospectus Supplement") to RAIT’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-195547) (the "2014 Registration Statement"), which was declared effective on May 13, 2014, registering the number of Common Shares (the "Remaining Shares") set forth in the Common ATM Prospectus Supplement that remained available for issuance pursuant to the Sales Agreement under the Securities Act. Amendment No. 1 provides that, effective upon the filing of the Common ATM Prospectus Supplement, all offers and sales of the Remaining Shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement are made pursuant to the Common ATM Prospectus Supplement and are no longer made pursuant to the 2011 Registration Statement. Except as set forth herein, all existing provisions of the Sales Agreement remain in full force and effect.
A copy of the opinion of Duane Morris LLP relating to the legality of the issuance and sale of the Remaining Shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 5.1.
A description of the terms and conditions of the Sales Agreement is set forth in RAIT’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 21, 2012 and is incorporated herein by reference.
The foregoing description of Amendment No. 1 and the Sales Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreements, copies of which are filed herewith or incorporated by reference herein as Exhibits 10.1 and 10.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K, both of which are incorporated in this Item 1.01 by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
Exhibit No. Description
5.1 Opinion of Duane Morris LLP regarding legality.
10.1 Amendment No. 1 dated November 26, 2014 to the Capital on Demand Sales Agreement dated as of November 21, 2012 between RAIT Financial Trust, RAIT Partnership, L.P. and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC.
10.2 Capital on Demand Sales Agreement dated as of November 21, 2012 between RAIT Financial Trust, RAIT Partnership, L.P. and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC (incorporated by reference to RAIT’s current report on Form 8-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 21, 2012) (File No. 1-14760).
23.1 Consent of Duane Morris LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).
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.
RAIT Financial Trust | ||||
November 26, 2014 | By: |
/s/ James J. Sebra
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Name: James J. Sebra | ||||
Title: Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
Exhibit Index
Exhibit No.
Description
Opinion of Duane Morris LLP regarding legality (including Exhibit 23.1 Consent of Duane Morris LLP).
Amendment No. 1 dated November 26, 2014 to the Capital on Demand Sales Agreement dated as of November 21, 2012 between RAIT Financial Trust, RAIT Partnership, L.P. and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC.
DUANE MORRIS LLP
111 S. Calvert Street, Suite 2000
Baltimore, MD 21202
November 26, 2014
RAIT Financial Trust
Cira Centre, 2929 Arch Street, 17
th
Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Re: RAIT Financial Trust
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
We serve as special Maryland counsel to RAIT Financial Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the Company ), for the limited purpose of rendering certain opinions in connection with that certain Capital on Demand Sales Agreement dated November 21, 2012, as amended by that certain Amendment No. 1 to Capital on Demand Sales Agreement dated November 26, 2014 (the Sales Agreement ), by and among the Company, RAIT Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, for the offering of up to 7,918,919 common shares (the Placement Shares ) of beneficial interest, $0.03 par value per share, of the Company. This opinion is being rendered to you for submission to the Commission (as herein defined) as an exhibit to the Registration Statement (as herein defined). In regard to rendering the opinions herein, you should note that we did not participate in any aspect of the drafting or negotiation of any of the Sales Agreement.
In connection with our representation of the Company, and as a basis for the opinions hereinafter set forth, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the following documents (collectively, the Documents ):
(a) The Sales Agreement, certified as being true and correct as of the date hereof by the Secretary of the Company;
(b) The Placement Shares;
(c) The Registration Statement on Form S-3 relating to the Securities (File Number 333-195547), that was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission ) on May 13, 2014 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Commission, as such registration statement has been amended and supplemented to date (the Registration Statement );
(d) The Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, as amended, corrected and supplemented, of the Company (the Declaration ), certified as of a recent date by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland (the SDAT );
(e) The Bylaws of the Company, certified as of the date hereof by the Secretary of the Company;
(f) All resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Company, or committees thereof, relating to (i) the authorization, execution and delivery of the Sales Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, and (ii) the registration, sale and issuance of the Placement Shares;
(g) A certificate of the SDAT as to the good standing of the Company, dated November 26, 2014; and
(h) A Certificate of Secretary executed by the Secretary of the Company, dated as of the date hereof (the Certificate ).
In such examination, we have assumed: (i) the genuineness of all signatures, (ii) the legal capacity of all natural persons, (iii) the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, (iv) the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified, conformed or other copies and the authenticity of the originals of such documents, (v) that all records and other information made available to us by the Company on which we have relied are complete in all material respects, and (vi) the Placement Shares will not be issued or transferred in violation of any restriction or limitation on transfer or ownership of Equity Shares (as defined in the Declaration) contained in Article VII of the Declaration. As to all questions of fact material to these opinions, we have relied solely upon the Certificate or comparable documents and upon the representations and warranties contained in the other Documents, and have not performed or had performed any independent research of public records and have assumed that certificates of or other comparable documents from public officials dated prior to the date hereof remain accurate as of the date hereof.
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications stated herein, it is our opinion that:
1. The Company is as a real estate investment trust validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland.
2. The Placement Shares, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to the Documents against payment of the consideration set forth therein, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
The opinions expressed herein are limited to the substantive laws of the State of Maryland, which, in our experience, without having made any special investigation as to the applicability of any specific law, rules or regulation, are normally applicable to transactions of the type contemplated by the Documents (collectively, the Applicable Laws ). No opinion is expressed as to the effect on the matters covered by this letter of the laws, rules or regulations of (i) the United States of America or (ii) the securities (or as they are known in the vernacular blue sky) laws of the State of Maryland, whether in any such case applicable directly or through the Applicable Laws. The opinions expressed herein are subject to the effect of judicial decisions which may permit the introduction of parol evidence to modify the terms or the interpretation of agreements.
The opinions expressed herein are rendered as of the date hereof and are based on existing law, which is subject to change. Where our opinions expressed herein refer to events to occur at a future date, we have assumed that there will have been no changes in the relevant law or facts between the date hereof and such future date. We do not undertake to advise you of any changes in the opinions expressed herein from matters that may hereafter arise or be brought to our attention or to revise or supplement such opinions should the present laws of any jurisdiction be changed by legislative action, judicial decision or otherwise.
Our opinions expressed herein are limited to the matters expressly stated herein and no opinion is implied or may be inferred beyond the matters expressly stated.
This opinion is being furnished to you for submission to the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the use of the name of our firm therein under the heading Legal Matters. In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Act.
Other than as set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, these opinions may not be used or relied upon by any other person, nor may this letter or any copies hereof be furnished to a third party, filed with a governmental agency, quoted, cited or otherwise referred to without our prior written consent.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Duane Morris LLP
RAIT FINANCIAL TRUST
10,000,000
Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
(par value $0.03 per share)
Amendment No. 1 to Capital on Demand Sales Agreement
November 26, 2014
Ladies and Gentlemen:
RAIT Financial Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the Company ), RAIT Partnership, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the Partnership ), and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC (the Agent ), are parties to that certain Capital on Demand Sales Agreement dated November 21, 2012 (the Original Agreement ). All capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Original Agreement. The parties, intending to be legally bound, hereby amend the Original Agreement as follows:
1. Section 1 of the Original Agreement is hereby deleted and replaced with the following:
1. Issuance and Sale of Shares . The Company agrees that, from time to time after the filing of the Prospectus Supplement (defined below) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission ) during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through the Agent, up to 7,918,919 (the Maximum Amount ) common shares of beneficial interest (the Placement Shares ) of the Company, par value $0.03 per share (the Common Shares ). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 1 on the amount of Placement Shares issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company and that Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of Placement Shares through Agent will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and declared effective by the Commission, although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement to issue Common Shares.
The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act ) and the rules and regulations thereunder (the Securities Act Regulations ), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-195547), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act ), and the rules and regulations thereunder (the Exchange Act Regulations ). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the Prospectus Supplement ) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement. The Company will furnish to the Agent, for use by the Agent, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, any successor registration statement, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act Regulations or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B of the Securities Act Regulations, is herein called the Registration Statement . The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act Regulations, together with the then issued Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below), is herein called the Prospectus .
Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein (the Incorporated Documents ), including, unless the context otherwise requires, the documents, if any, filed as exhibits to such Incorporated Documents. Any reference herein to the terms amend, amendment or supplement with respect to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act on or after the most recent effective date of the Registration Statement, or the date of Prospectus Supplement, Prospectus or such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as the case may be, and incorporated therein by reference. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System, or if applicable, the Interactive Data Electronic Application system when used by the Commission (collectively, EDGAR ).
2. Except as specifically set forth herein, all other provisions of the Original Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
3. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability . This Amendment No. 1 together with the Original Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and thereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto and thereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. All references in the Original Agreement to the Agreement shall mean the Original Agreement as amended by this Amendment No. 1; provided, however , that all references to date of this Agreement in the Original Agreement shall continue to refer to the date of the Original Agreement, and the reference to time of execution of this Agreement set forth in Section 13(a) shall continue to refer to the time of execution of the Original Agreement.
4. Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction . This amendment shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any transaction contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this amendment and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.
5. Waiver of Jury Trial . The Company and the Agent each hereby irrevocably waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this amendment or any transaction contemplated hereby.
6. Counterparts . This amendment may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed amendment by one party to the other may be made by facsimile transmission.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding among the Company and the Agent, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding amendment to the Agreement between the Company and the Agent.
Very truly yours,
RAIT FINANCIAL TRUST | ||
By: |
/s/ James J. Sebra
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Name: James J. Sebra
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Title: Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer |
RAIT PARTNERSHIP, L.P. | ||
By: RAIT General, Inc., its sole general partner | ||
By: /s/ James J. Sebra | ||
Name: James J. Sebra | ||
Title: Chief Financial Officer and | ||
Treasurer | ||
ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written: |
JONESTRADING INSTITUTIONAL
SERVICES LLC |
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By: |
/s/ Alan Hill
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Name: Alan Hill
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Title: Chief Financial
Officer |