UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q
þ
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2015
OR
¨

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________________ to ________________

Commission file number: 001-36400

ASHFORD INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
 
46-5292553
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
 
(IRS employer identification number)
 
 
 
14185 Dallas Parkway, Suite 1100
 
 
Dallas, Texas
 
75254
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip code)

(972) 490-9600
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ¨ Yes þ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act):
Large accelerated filer
¨
 
Accelerated filer
¨
Non-accelerated filer
þ
 
Smaller reporting company
¨
    
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ¨ Yes þ No

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share
 
1,989,770
(Class)
 
Outstanding at August 12, 2015




ASHFORD INC.
FORM 10-Q
FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
 
 




PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)

ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited, in thousands, except share amounts)
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
Assets
 
 
 
Current assets:
 
 
 
Cash and cash equivalents
$
21,077

 
$
29,597

Restricted cash
7,270

 
3,337

Investments in securities
138,030

 

Prepaid expenses and other
1,912

 
1,360

Receivables
290

 

Due from Ashford Trust OP, net
5,331

 
8,202

Due from Ashford Prime OP
2,404

 
2,546

Deferred tax asset
374

 

Total current assets
176,688

 
45,042

Investments in unconsolidated entities
4,434

 

Furniture, fixtures and equipment, net
4,389

 
4,188

Deferred tax asset
1,899

 

Other assets
4,000

 

Total assets
$
191,410

 
$
49,230

Liabilities and Equity
 
 
 
Current liabilities:
 
 
 
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$
5,983

 
$
9,307

Due to affiliates
521

 
1,313

Liabilities associated with investments in securities
26,673

 

Deferred compensation plan
81

 
175

Other liabilities
7,362

 
3,337

Total current liabilities
40,620

 
14,132

Accrued expenses
71

 

Deferred compensation plan
18,364

 
19,780

Total liabilities
59,055

 
33,912

Commitments and contingencies (Note 6)


 


Redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC
393

 
424

Equity:
 
 
 
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized:
 
 
 
Series A cumulative preferred stock, no shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014

 

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 1,990,446 and 1,986,851shares issued and 1,989,770 and 1,986,851 shares outstanding at June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively
20

 
20

Additional paid-in capital
231,051

 
228,003

Accumulated deficit
(210,232
)
 
(213,042
)
Treasury stock, at cost, 676 shares at June 30, 2015
(85
)
 

Total stockholders’ equity of the Company
20,754

 
14,981

Noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities
111,208

 
(87
)
Total equity
131,962

 
14,894

Total liabilities and equity
$
191,410

 
$
49,230

See Notes to Condensed Financial Statements.

2


ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Advisory services
$
14,489

 
$
3,913

 
$
27,412

 
$
6,225

Other

 

 
195

 

Total revenue
14,489

 
3,913

 
27,607

 
6,225

Expenses
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Salaries and benefits
5,688

 
15,825

 
23,181

 
25,935

Depreciation
399

 
87

 
528

 
174

General and administrative
4,542

 
1,456

 
8,672

 
2,369

Total expenses
10,629

 
17,368

 
32,381

 
28,478

Operating income (loss)
3,860

 
(13,455
)
 
(4,774
)
 
(22,253
)
Equity in loss of unconsolidated entities
(1,066
)
 

 
(1,066
)
 

Interest income
51

 

 
52

 

Dividend income
166

 

 
172

 

Unrealized loss on investments
(3,037
)
 

 
(2,990
)
 

Realized gain on investments
1,037

 

 
1,035

 

Other expenses
(10
)
 

 
(10
)
 

Income (loss) before income taxes
1,001

 
(13,455
)
 
(7,581
)
 
(22,253
)
Income tax expense
(233
)
 
(20
)
 
(464
)
 
(35
)
Net income (loss)
768

 
(13,475
)
 
(8,045
)
 
(22,288
)
Loss from consolidated entities attributable to noncontrolling interests
3,154

 

 
4,115

 

Net (income) loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC
(8
)
 

 
10

 

Net income (loss) attributable to the Company
$
3,914

 
$
(13,475
)
 
$
(3,920
)
 
$
(22,288
)
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to the Company
$
3,914

 
$
(13,475
)
 
$
(3,920
)
 
$
(22,288
)
Income (loss) per share – basic:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders
$
1.97

 
$
(6.80
)
 
$
(1.97
)
 
$
(11.25
)
Weighted average common shares outstanding basic
1,985

 
1,981

 
1,989

 
1,981

Income (loss) per share – diluted:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders
$
(1.26
)
 
$
(6.80
)
 
$
(2.43
)
 
$
(11.25
)
Weighted average common shares outstanding diluted
2,197

 
1,981

 
2,201

 
1,981


See Notes to Condensed Financial Statements.


3


ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF EQUITY
(unaudited, in thousands)
 
Common Stock
 
Additional Paid-in Capital
 
Accumulated
 Deficit
 
Treasury Stock
 
Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Entities
 
Total
 
Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests in Ashford LLC
 
Shares
 
Amount
 
 
 
Shares
 
Amount
 
 
 
Balance at January 1, 2015
1,987

 
$
20

 
$
228,003

 
$
(213,042
)
 

 
$

 
$
(87
)
 
$
14,894

 
$
424

Purchase of treasury stock

 

 

 

 
(1
)
 
(85
)
 

 
(85
)
 

Equity-based compensation
2

 

 
2,162

 
6,709

 

 

 

 
8,871

 

Excess tax benefit on equity-based compensation

 

 
1,065

 

 

 

 

 
1,065

 

Deferred compensation plan distribution
1

 

 
87

 

 

 

 

 
87

 

Employee advances

 

 
(266
)
 

 

 

 

 
(266
)
 

Contributions from noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities

 

 

 

 

 

 
115,410

 
115,410

 

Redemption value adjustment

 

 

 
21

 

 

 

 
21

 
(21
)
Net loss

 

 

 
(3,920
)
 

 

 
(4,115
)
 
(8,035
)
 
(10
)
Balance at June 30, 2015
1,990

 
$
20

 
$
231,051

 
$
(210,232
)
 
(1
)
 
$
(85
)
 
$
111,208

 
$
131,962

 
$
393

See Notes to Condensed Financial Statements.


4


ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(unaudited, in thousands)
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
 
 
 
Net loss
$
(8,045
)
 
$
(22,288
)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash flows used in operating activities:
 
 
 
Depreciation
528

 
174

Straight-line rent amortization

 
(21
)
Non-cash deferred compensation expense
(1,423
)
 

Equity in loss of unconsolidated entities
1,066

 

Equity-based compensation
8,871

 
12,228

Excess tax benefit on equity-based compensation
(1,065
)
 

Deferred tax benefit
(2,273
)
 

Realized and unrealized gain on investments
1,955

 

Purchases of investments in securities
(70,410
)
 

Sales of investments in securities
44,075

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
 
 
 
Restricted cash
(3,933
)
 

Prepaid expenses and other
(1,199
)
 
(822
)
Receivables
(290
)
 

Due from Ashford Trust OP, net
(482
)
 
245

Due from Ashford Prime OP
142

 
(2,114
)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
(2,266
)
 
(2,332
)
Due to affiliates
(410
)
 
588

Other liabilities
4,025

 

Due to broker
23,653

 

Net cash used in operating activities
(7,481
)
 
(14,342
)
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
 
 
 
Additions to furniture, fixtures and equipment
(1,033
)
 
(1,027
)
Investments in unconsolidated entities
(5,500
)
 

Net cash used in investing activities
(6,533
)
 
(1,027
)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
 
 
 
Excess tax benefit on equity-based compensation
1,065

 

Purchase of treasury shares
(85
)
 

Employee advances
(266
)
 

Contributions from owner

 
17,617

Contributions from noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities
4,780

 

Net cash provided by financing activities
5,494

 
17,617

Net change in cash
(8,520
)
 
2,248

Cash at beginning of period
29,597

 
600

Cash at end of period
$
21,077

 
$
2,848

 
 
 
 

5


 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
Supplemental Cash Flow Information
 
 
 
Interest paid
$

 
$

Income taxes paid
3,308

 

Supplemental Disclosure of Non Cash Investing and Financing Activities
 
 
 
Contributions of securities from noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities
$
110,630

 
$

Contributions associated with non-cash compensation

 
12,228

Dividends associated with deferred compensation plan

 
374

Contributions associated with deferred compensation plan

 
754

Dividends declared but not paid

 
191

Distribution from deferred compensation plan
87

 

Capital expenditures accrued but not paid
226

 
1,101

See Notes to Condensed Financial Statements.

6

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(unaudited)



1. Organization and Description of Business
Ashford Inc. is a Delaware corporation formed on April 2, 2014 that provides asset management and advisory services to Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (“Ashford Trust”) and Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. (“Ashford Prime”). Ashford Trust commenced operating in August 2003 and is focused on investing in the full service hotels in the upscale and upper-upscale segments in domestic and international markets that have revenue per available room (“RevPAR”) generally less than twice the national average, and in all methods including direct real estate, equity, securities and debt. Ashford Prime invests primarily in luxury, upper-upscale and upscale hotels with RevPAR of at least twice the then-current U.S. national average in gateway and resort locations. Ashford Prime became a publicly traded entity in November 2013 upon the completion of its spin-off from Ashford Trust. Each of Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) as defined in the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and the common stock of each of Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime is traded on the NYSE. The common stock of Ashford Inc. is listed on the NYSE MKT Exchange.
Ashford Inc. was formed through a spin-off of Ashford Trust’s asset management business in November 2014. The spin-off was completed by means of a distribution of common stock of Ashford Inc. and common units of Ashford Hospitality Advisors LLC (“Ashford LLC”), a Delaware limited liability company formed on April 5, 2013. Ashford LLC had no operations until November 19, 2013, the date of the Ashford Prime spin-off. As part of the Ashford Inc. spin-off from Ashford Trust, Ashford LLC became a subsidiary of Ashford Inc. on November 12, 2014. Ashford Inc. conducts its business and owns substantially all of its assets through Ashford LLC.
The spin-off of Ashford Inc. was completed on November 12, 2014, with a pro rata taxable distribution of Ashford Inc.’s common stock to Ashford Trust stockholders of record as of November 11, 2014. The distribution was comprised of one share of Ashford Inc. common stock for every 87 shares of Ashford Trust common stock held by the Ashford Trust common stockholders. In addition, for each common unit of Ashford Trust OP, the holder received one common unit of Ashford LLC. Each holder of common units of Ashford LLC could exchange up to 99% of those units for shares of Ashford Inc. stock at the rate of one share of Ashford Inc. common stock for every 55 common units. Immediately following the completion of the exchange offer, Ashford LLC effected a reverse split of its common units such that each common unit was automatically converted into 1/55 of a common unit. The distribution was completed on October 7, 2014, and the exchange and reverse split were completed on November 12, 2014. Following the spin-off, Ashford Trust continues to hold approximately 598,000 shares of Ashford Inc. common stock for the benefit of its common stockholders, which represents an approximate 30% ownership interest in Ashford Inc. In connection with the spin-off, we entered into an advisory agreement with Ashford Trust.
Ashford Investment Management, LLC (“AIM”) is an indirect subsidiary of the Company, established as an investment adviser to any private securities funds sponsored by us or our affiliates (the “Funds”). AIM became a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 5, 2015. AIM REHE Funds GP, LP (“AIM GP”), or an affiliate of AIM GP, serves as the general partner of any Funds. AIM Management Holdco, LLC (“Management Holdco”) owns 100% of AIM. We, through Ashford LLC, own approximately 60% of Management Holdco, and Mr. Monty J. Bennett, our chief executive officer and chairman of our board of directors, and Mr. J. Robison Hays, III, our chief strategy officer and a member of our board of directors, own, in the aggregate, 40% of Management Holdco. AIM Performance Holdco, LP (“Performance Holdco”) owns 99.99% of AIM GP with the remaining 0.01% general partner interest owned by our wholly owned subsidiary, AIM General Partner, LLC. We, through Ashford LLC and our 100% ownership interest in AIM General Partner, LLC, own approximately 60% of Performance Holdco, and Mr. Monty J. Bennett and Mr. J. Robison Hays, III own, in the aggregate, 40% of Performance Holdco. AIM, AIM GP, Management Holdco, Performance Holdco and AIM General Partner, LLC are all consolidated by Ashford Inc. as it has control.
AIM currently serves as investment adviser to AIM Real Estate Hedged Equity Master Fund, L.P. (the “Master Fund”), an investment partnership formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands and commenced operations on January 15, 2015. The Master Fund was organized for the purpose of purchasing, selling (including short sales), investing and trading in investments and engaging in financial transactions, including borrowing, financing, pledging, hedging and other derivative transactions. The Master Fund has two limited partners: AIM Real Estate Hedged Equity (U.S.) Fund, L.P. (the “U.S. Fund”), a U.S. investment limited partnership, and AIM Real Estate Hedged Equity (Cayman) Fund, Ltd. (the “Offshore Fund”), a Cayman Islands exempted investment company (collectively, the “Feeder Funds”). The Feeder Funds invest substantially all of their assets in the Master Fund. The Master Fund is managed by AIM GP and AIM.The Master Fund, the U.S. Fund and the Offshore Fund are collectively known as the “REHE Fund.” AIM is entitled to receive an investment management fee equal to 1.5% to 2.0% of the beginning quarterly capital account balance of certain limited partners. AIM GP serves as the general partner to the U.S. Fund and the Master Fund. As such, it is entitled to receive a performance allocation, which is earned annually and equals 15% to 20% of positive changes in the capital

7

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


account balance of certain of its limited partners. Ashford Prime, Ashford Trust and other limited partners are not obligated to pay any portion of the management fee or the performance allocation to AIM or AIM GP, as applicable, but do share pro rata in all other applicable expenses.
The accompanying financial statements reflect the operations of our asset and investment management business and the REHE Fund. Our asset and investment management business provides asset and investment management, accounting and legal services to Ashford Trust, Ashford Prime and the REHE Fund. In this report, the terms the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” refers to Ashford Inc. and all entities included in its financial statements.
2. Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation and Combination —The accompanying consolidated financial statements, subsequent to our spin-off, include the accounts of Ashford Inc., its majority-owned subsidiaries and entities which it controls. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions between these entities have been eliminated in these historical consolidated financial statements. The REHE Funds are investment companies and follow the accounting and reporting guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Boards (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 946.
For periods prior to the spin-off, the accompanying historical financial statements of Ashford Inc. have been “carved out” of Ashford Trust’s consolidated financial statements and reflect significant assumptions and allocations. These financial statements were prepared by combining the financial position and results of operations of Ashford LLC and certain assets, liabilities and operations of Ashford Trust OP (both Ashford LLC and Ashford Trust OP were under common control) related to certain activities that were historically accounted for by Ashford Trust. These activities include asset management, accounting and legal services to Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime. In addition, the combined statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) include allocations of general and administrative expenses from Ashford Trust, which in the opinion of management, are reasonable. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions between combined entities were eliminated. The historical financial information is not necessarily indicative of the Company’s future results of operations, financial position and cash flows.
Since the Company was a consolidated subsidiary of Ashford Trust and there was no advisory agreement between Ashford Trust and the Company, the accompanying statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) do not report revenue associated with its management and advisory services provided to Ashford Trust for the historical periods presented prior to our spin-off on November 12, 2014. It does include revenue associated with the advisory services provided to Ashford Prime for all periods presented.
The accompanying historical unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with instructions to Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included.
A variable interest entity (“VIE”) must be consolidated by a reporting entity if the reporting entity is the primary beneficiary because it has (i) the power to direct the VIE’s activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, (ii) an implicit financial responsibility to ensure that a VIE operates as designed, and (iii) the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE.
The REHE Fund is considered to be a VIE, as defined by authoritative accounting guidance. All major decisions related to the REHE Fund that most significantly impact its economic performance, including but not limited to admittance of limited partners and purchasing, selling (including short sales), investing and trading in investments and engaging in financial transactions, including borrowing, financing, pledging, hedging and other derivative transactions are subject to the approval of our wholly-owned subsidiary, AIM GP. As such, we consolidate the REHE Fund. The REHE Fund holds approximately $138.3 million of total assets that primarily consists of investments in securities, cash and cash equivalents and receivables that can only be used to settle the obligations of the REHE Fund. Additionally, the REHE Fund has liabilities of $26.8 million that primarily consists of liabilities associated with investments in securities for which creditors do not have recourse to Ashford Inc.

8

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


We hold a variable interest, in the form of a note receivable, in one of the consolidated entities in which the noncontrolling interest holder has a 100% interest. As we meet the conditions discussed above, we are considered the primary beneficiary of the entity and therefore we consolidate it. As of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , the note receivable had an outstanding balance of $1.5 million and $420,000 , respectively, which is eliminated in consolidation. This entity holds approximately $216,000 of total assets that primarily consists of cash and cash equivalents and other assets that can only be used to settle the obligations of that entity. Additionally, that entity has accounts payable and accrued expenses of $5,000 for which creditors do not have recourse to Ashford Inc.
Use of Estimates —The preparation of these financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents —Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand or held in banks and short-term investments with an initial maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase.
Restricted Cash —Restricted cash represents reserves for casualty insurance claims and the associated ancillary costs. At the beginning of each year, Ashford Inc.’s Risk Management department collects funds, from the Ashford Trust/Prime properties and their respective management companies, of an amount equal to the actuarial forecast of that year’s expected casualty claims and associated fees. These funds are deposited into restricted cash and used to pay casualty claims throughout the year as they are incurred. The offset to restricted cash amounts is included in other liabilities. For purposes of the statements of cash flows, changes in restricted cash caused by using such funds are shown as operating activities.
Investments in Unconsolidated Entities —We hold an investment in an unconsolidated entity in which we have a first loss ownership interest of  10% that is accounted for under the equity method of accounting by recording the initial investment and our interest in the entity’s net income/loss. We also hold an investment in an unconsolidated entity, with a carrying value of $500,000 , which we account for under the cost method of accounting as we do not exercise significant influence over the entity. We review the investments in unconsolidated entities for impairment in each reporting period pursuant to the applicable authoritative accounting guidance. An investment is impaired when its estimated fair value is less than the carrying amount of our investment. Any impairment is recorded in equity in earnings (loss) in unconsolidated entities.  No  such impairment was recorded in the three and six months ended June 30, 2015.
Our investments in certain unconsolidated entities are considered to be variable interests in the underlying entities. Because we do not have the power and financial responsibility to direct the unconsolidated entities’ activities and operations, we are not considered to be the primary beneficiary of these entities on an ongoing basis and therefore such entities should not be consolidated. In evaluating VIEs, our analysis involves considerable management judgment and assumptions.
Noncontrolling Interests —The redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC represent the members’ proportionate share of equity in earnings/losses of Ashford LLC, which is an allocation of net income/loss attributable to the common unit holders based on the weighted average ownership percentage of these members’ common unit holdings throughout the period. The redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC is classified in the mezzanine section of the balance sheets as these redeemable operating units do not meet the requirements for equity classification prescribed by the authoritative accounting guidance because the redemption feature requires the delivery of cash or registered shares at our option. The carrying value of the noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC is based on the greater of the accumulated historical cost or the redemption value.
The noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities represents noncontrolling ownership interests of 40% in AIM, 100% in the REHE Fund and 100% in the entity in which we hold a variable interest in the form of a note receivable at June 30, 2015 , and noncontrolling ownership interests of 40% in AIM and 100% in the entity in which we hold a variable interest in the form of a note receivable at December 31, 2014 .

9

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


Revenue Recognition —Revenues primarily consist of advisory and investment management fees and expense reimbursements that are recognized when services have been rendered. Advisory fees consist of base management fees and incentive fees. The quarterly base fee ranges from 0.70% to 0.50% per annum of the total market capitalization ranges from less than $6.0 billion to greater than $10.0 billion of Ashford Prime and Ashford Trust, as defined in the amended advisory agreements, subject to certain minimums. Reimbursements for overhead, travel expenses, risk management and internal audit services are recognized when services have been rendered. We also record advisory revenue for equity grants of Ashford Prime and Ashford Trust common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees in connection with providing advisory services equal to the fair value of the award in proportion to the requisite service period satisfied during the period, as well an offsetting expense in an equal amount included in “salaries and benefits.” The incentive fee is earned annually in each year that Ashford Prime’s and/or Ashford Trust’s total stockholder return exceeds the total stockholder return for each company’s respective peer group, subject to the FCCR condition, as defined in the advisory agreements.
Salaries and Benefits —Salaries and benefits are expensed as incurred. Prior to the spin-off, salaries and benefits included an allocation of 100% of salaries and benefits of the employees of Ashford Trust and an allocation of 100% of employee equity-based compensation from Ashford Trust. All such expenses were allocated to Ashford Inc. because these expenses have historically been incurred by the asset management business of Ashford Trust. In the opinion of management, such allocations were considered reasonable. Salaries and benefits also includes expense for equity grants of Ashford Prime and Ashford Trust common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees in connection with providing advisory services equal to the fair value of the award in proportion to the requisite service period satisfied during the period. There is an offsetting amount, included in “advisory services” revenue.
General and Administrative Expense —General and administrative costs are expensed as incurred. Prior to the spin-off, general and administrative expense represents an allocation of certain Ashford Trust OP corporate general and administrative costs including rent expense, insurance expense, office expenses and other miscellaneous expenses either based upon specific identification or an allocation method determined by management to reflect the portion of the expenses related to Ashford Inc. With the exception of audit fees, these costs were allocated 100% to Ashford Inc. as management believes these costs were directly incurred by Ashford Trust in connection with its asset management business and will be ongoing costs of Ashford Inc. Audit fees were allocated based on management’s estimate of the audit costs incurred to audit the activities of Ashford Trust’s asset management business. In the opinion of management, such allocations were considered reasonable.
Depreciation —Our furniture, fixtures and equipment and computer software are depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life of the related assets. Presently, our furniture and equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method over a five year life and computer software placed into service is amortized on a straight-line basis over estimated useful lives ranging from  three  to  five years. While we believe our estimates are reasonable, a change in estimated useful lives could affect depreciation expense and net income/loss as well as resulting gains or losses on potential sales.
Equity-Based Compensation —Equity-based compensation included in “salaries and benefits” is accounted for at fair value based on the market price of the shares/options on the date of grant in accordance with applicable authoritative accounting guidance. The fair value is charged to compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the shares/options. Grants of restricted stock to independent directors are recorded at fair value based on the market price of our shares at grant date and this amount is fully expensed in “general and administrative” expense as the grants of stock are fully vested on the date of grant. Our officers and employees can be granted common stock and LTIP units from Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime in connection with providing advisory services that result in expense, included in “salaries and benefits,” equal to the fair value of the award in proportion to the requisite service period satisfied during the period, as well as offsetting revenue in an equal amount included in “advisory services” revenue.
Prior to the spin-off, all equity-based compensation of Ashford Trust employees was allocated to the Company as all Ashford Trust employees became employees of the Company.
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) —As there are no transactions requiring presentation in other comprehensive income (loss), but not in net income (loss), the Company’s net income (loss) equates to other comprehensive income (loss).
Due to Affiliates —Due to affiliates represents current payables resulting from general and administrative expense and furniture, fixture and equipment reimbursements. Due to affiliates is generally settled within a period not exceeding one year.
Due from Ashford Prime OP —Due from Ashford Prime OP represents current receivables related to the advisory services fee and reimbursable expenses. Due from Ashford Prime OP is generally settled within a period not exceeding one year.

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ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


Due to/from Ashford Trust OP, net —Due to/from Ashford Trust OP, net, represents current receivables and payables resulting primarily from costs associated with our spin-off as well as receivables related to the advisory services fee and reimbursable expenses. Due to/from Ashford Trust OP, net is generally settled within a period not exceeding one year.
Income (Loss) Per Share —For periods prior to the spin-off, basic income (loss) per share was calculated by dividing net loss attributable to the Company by the 2.0 million shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the distribution including 4,000 shares for initial grants to the five independent members of our board of directors (in the aggregate) and excluding 5,000 unvested restricted shares. For both the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 , the diluted loss per share was calculated by dividing the net loss attributable to the Company by 2.0 million shares which excludes 10,000 shares comprised of 5,000 unvested restricted shares and 5,000 shares issuable on the conversion of Ashford LLC common units held by Ashford LLC unit holders as the effect of including these shares would have been anti-dilutive.
For periods after the spin-off, basic income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing net income (loss) attributable to the Company by the weighted average common shares outstanding during the period using the two-class method prescribed by applicable authoritative accounting guidance. Diluted income (loss) per common share is calculated using the two-class method, or the treasury stock method, if more dilutive. Diluted income (loss) per common share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common shares were exercised or converted into common shares, whereby such exercise or conversion would result in lower income per share.
Deferred Compensation Plan —Effective January 1, 2008, Ashford Trust established a nonqualified deferred compensation plan (“DCP”) for certain executive officers, which was assumed by the Company in connection with the separation from Ashford Trust. The plan allows participants to defer up to 100% of their base salary and bonus and select an investment fund for measurement of the deferred compensation obligation. In connection with our spin-off and the assumption of the DCP obligation by the Company, the DCP was modified to give the participants various investment options, including Ashford Inc. common stock, for measurement that can be changed by the participant at any time. These modifications resulted in the DCP obligation being recorded as a liability in accordance with the applicable authoritative accounting guidance. Distributions under the DCP are made in cash, unless the participant has elected Ashford Inc. common stock as the investment option, in which case any such distributions would be made in Ashford Inc. common stock. Additionally, the DCP obligation is carried at fair value with changes in fair value reflected in “salaries and benefits” in our statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).
Investments in Securities —Investments in securities consist of publicly traded equity securities, U.S. treasury securities and put and call options on certain publicly traded securities. The fair value of equity securities and U.S. treasury securities is based on quoted market closing prices at the balance sheet date. This is considered a Level 1 valuation technique. Put and call options are considered derivative instruments. The fair value of put and call options is based on quoted market closing prices at the balance sheet dates in active markets, which is considered a Level 1 valuation technique and inactive markets, which is considered a Level 2 valuation technique. The fair value of these investments is reported as “investments in securities” and “liabilities associated with investments in securities.” The cost of securities sold is based on the first-in, first-out method. Investment transactions are accounted for on a trade-date basis. Dividends are recorded as income on the ex-dividend date and interest is recognized when earned on the accrual basis of accounting.
Due From/To Brokers —Due from/to brokers includes cash balances held with brokers, receivables and payables from unsettled trades, margin borrowings, and collateral on derivative transactions. Amounts due from brokers may be restricted to the extent that they serve as deposits for securities sold short. In addition, margin borrowings of $23.6 million at June 30, 2015, are collateralized by certain securities and cash balances held by the REHE Fund. The REHE Fund is subject to interest on margin accounts based on daily margin borrowings. Due to brokers is included in “liabilities associated with investments in securities.”
In the normal course of business, substantially all of the REHE Fund’s securities transactions, money balances, and security positions are transacted with the REHE Fund’s broker: Goldman Sachs & Co. and ConvergEx Group. Accounts with ConvergEx Group are cleared by JP Morgan Chase and Co. The REHE Fund is subject to credit risk to the extent any broker with which it conducts business is unable to fulfill contractual obligations on its behalf. The REHE Fund’s management monitors the financial condition of such brokers and does not anticipate any losses from these counterparties.
Offsetting of Assets and Liabilities —Amounts due from and due to brokers are presented on a net basis, by counterparty, to the extent the REHE Fund has the legal right to offset the recognized amounts and intends to settle on a net basis. The REHE Fund presents on a net basis the fair value amounts recognized for over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives executed with the same counterparty under the same master netting agreement. Amounts due from brokers, net are included in “receivables” and due to brokers, net is included in “liabilities associated with investments in securities” on the balance sheet.

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ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


Income Taxes —The Company is subject to federal and state corporate income taxes. In accordance with authoritative accounting guidance, we account for income taxes using the asset and liability method under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Valuation allowances are recorded to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that will more likely than not be realized. The REHE Fund does not record a provision for U.S. federal, state, or local income taxes as it is a partnership, and the REHE Fund partners report their share of the REHE Fund’s income or loss on their income tax returns. However, certain U.S. dividend income and interest income may be subject to a maximum 30% withholding tax for those limited partners that are foreign entities or foreign individuals.
Prior to the spin-off, the Company’s taxable income was “carved out” of Ashford Trust OP, a partnership, and Ashford LLC, its wholly-owned disregarded limited liability company, neither of which are subject to U.S. federal income taxes. Rather, the partnership’s revenues and expenses passed through and were taxed to the owners. Therefore, the Company did not provide for federal income taxes. Partnerships are subject to the Texas Margin Tax. In accordance with authoritative accounting guidance, we provided for the Texas Margin Tax. Income tax expense was calculated on a separate stand-alone basis, although the Company’s operations were historically included in the tax returns filed by Ashford Trust OP of which the Company’s business was a part.
Our effective tax rates on income (loss) before income taxes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, were 23.3% and (6.1)% , respectively. The rates reflect the effects of permanent differences and changes in the valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets. The portion of equity-based compensation expense related to LTIP units granted to Ashford Trust employees prior to the spin-off is not deductible for income tax purposes and is accounted for as a permanent difference.
At the end of each quarter, we assess the need for a valuation allowance which involves consideration of both positive and negative evidence related to the likelihood of realization of the deferred tax assets. As of June 30, 2015, we recorded gross deferred tax assets of $9.6 million . After evaluating positive and negative evidence, including the generation of taxable income during the six months ended June 30, 2015 and carryback potential of certain deferred tax assets, we determined that it is more likely than not that we will utilize a portion of our deferred tax assets. We recorded a valuation allowance of $7.3 million resulting in recognition of net deferred tax assets of $2.3 million . For the three and six month periods ending June 30, 2015, we recorded corresponding non-cash deferred income tax benefits of $1.3 million and $2.3 million , respectively. A deferred tax benefit of $520,000 related to the year ended December 31, 2014 was recorded in the six months ended June 30, 2015. We evaluated the impact of this adjustment and determined that the amount was immaterial to the financial statements for the current fiscal period and the prior fiscal year. The valuation allowance is primarily the result of uncertainties regarding the future realization of certain deductible temporary differences as well as the Company’s cumulative operating losses recorded from the date of the spin-off through June 30, 2015. The analysis utilized in determining the valuation allowance involves considerable judgment and assumptions.
The “Income Taxes” Topic of the FASB ASC addresses the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements. The guidance requires us to determine whether tax positions we have taken or expect to take in a tax return are more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by the appropriate taxing authority based on the technical merits of the positions. Tax positions that do not meet the more likely than not threshold would be recorded as additional tax expense in the current period. We analyze all open tax years, as defined by the statute of limitations for each jurisdiction, which includes the federal jurisdiction and various states. We classify interest and penalties related to underpayment of income taxes as income tax expense. We and our subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various states and cities. Tax years 2013 through 2014 remain subject to potential examination by certain federal and state taxing authorities.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 is a comprehensive new revenue recognition model, which requires a company to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration the company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. The update will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue From Contracts With Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers the effective date to fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We are evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on our financial statements and related disclosures. We have not yet selected a transition method.
In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern  (“ASU 2014-15”), to provide guidance on management’s responsibility to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related disclosure requirements. ASU 2014-15 applies to all entities and is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect the adoption of this standard will have an impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02, Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis (“ASU 2015-02”). The ASU amends the consolidation guidance for VIEs and general partners’ investments in limited partnerships and modifies the evaluation of whether limited partnerships and similar legal entities are VIEs or voting interest entities. The ASU is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015, with early adoption permitted. We are evaluating the effect that ASU 2015-02 will have on our financial statements and related disclosures.
3. Derivative Contracts
For the six months ended June 30, 2015, the volume of the REHE Fund’s option derivative activities based on their notional amounts which are the fair values of the underlying shares as if the options were exercised at June 30, 2015, was six long exposure contracts with a notional amount of $538,000 and 12 short exposure contracts with a notional amount of $(1.7) million .
4. Fair Value Measurements
Fair Value Hierarchy —Our financial instruments measured at fair value either on a recurring or a non-recurring basis are classified in a hierarchy for disclosure purposes consisting of three levels based on the observability of inputs in the market place as discussed below:
Level 1: Fair value measurements that are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets that we have the ability to access for identical assets or liabilities. Market price data generally is obtained from exchange or dealer markets.
Level 2: Fair value measurements based on inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level 2 inputs include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, such as interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals.
Level 3: Fair value measurements based on valuation techniques that use significant inputs that are unobservable. The circumstances for using these measurements include those in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability.

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ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
The following tables present our assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis aggregated by the level within which measurements fall in the fair value hierarchy (in thousands):
 
Quoted Market Prices (Level 1)
 
Significant Other
Observable Inputs (Level 2)
 
Total
 
June 30, 2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
Assets
 
 
 
 
 
 
Derivative assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Equity put options
$
2,798

 
$
507

 
$
3,305

(1)  
Equity call options
852

 

 
852

(1)  
Non-derivative assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Equity - American Depositary Receipt
2,312

 

 
2,312

(1)  
Equity securities
97,837

 

 
97,837

(1)  
U.S. treasury securities
33,724

 

 
33,724

(1)  
Total
137,523

 
507

 
138,030

 
Liabilities
 
 
 
 
 
 
Derivative liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Short equity put options
(1,645
)
 
(16
)
 
(1,661
)
(2)  
Short equity call options
(1,218
)
 
(141
)
 
(1,359
)
(2)  
Non-derivative liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Deferred compensation plan
(18,445
)
 

 
(18,445
)
 
Margin account balance
(23,653
)
 

 
(23,653
)
(2)  
Total
(44,961
)
 
(157
)
 
(45,118
)
 
Net
$
92,562

 
$
350

 
$
92,912

 
 
 
Quoted Market Prices (Level 1)
 
Significant Other
Observable Inputs (Level 2)
 
Total
 
December 31, 2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liabilities
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Non-derivative liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Deferred compensation plan
 
$
(19,955
)
 
$

 
$
(19,955
)
 
__________________
(1)  
Reported as “investments in securities” in the balance sheets.
(2)  
Reported as “liabilities associated with investments in securities” in the balance sheets.

14

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ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


Effect of Fair Value Measured Assets and Liabilities on Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)
The following table summarizes the effect of fair value measured liabilities on the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) (in thousands):
 
Gain (Loss)Recognized
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Assets
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Derivative assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Equity put options
$
427

 
$

 
$
406

 
$

Equity call options
79

 

 
81

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Non-derivative assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Equity - American Depositary Receipt
39

 

 
33

 

Equity securities
(2,762
)
 

 
(2,722
)
 

U.S. treasury securities
(361
)
 

 
(351
)
 

Total
(2,578
)
 

 
(2,553
)
 

Liabilities
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Derivative liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Short equity put options
(83
)
 

 
(73
)
 

Short equity call options
457

 

 
455

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Non-derivative liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Equity securities
204

 

 
216

 

Deferred compensation plan
6,679

 

 
1,423

 

Total
7,257

 

 
2,021

 

Net
$
4,679

 
$

 
$
(532
)
 
$

Total combined
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unrealized loss on investment securities
$
(3,037
)
 
$

 
$
(2,990
)
 
$

Realized gain on investment securities
1,037

 

 
1,035

 

Deferred compensation plan
6,679

(1)  

 
1,423

(1)  

Net
$
4,679

 
$

 
$
(532
)
 
$

________
(1)  
Reported as a component of “salaries and benefits” in the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

15

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ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


5. Summary of Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Some of our financial instruments are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis. The estimates presented are not necessarily indicative of the amounts at which these instruments could be purchased, sold or settled. The carrying amounts and estimated fair values of financial instruments were as follows (in thousands):
 
 
June 30, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
 
 
Carrying
Value
 
Estimated
Fair Value
 
Carrying
Value
 
Estimated
Fair Value
Financial assets measured at fair value:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Investments in securities
 
$
138,030

 
$
138,030

 
$

 
$

Financial liabilities measured at fair value:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liabilities associated with investments in securities
 
$
26,673

 
$
26,673

 
$

 
$

Deferred compensation plan
 
18,445

 
18,445

 
19,955

 
19,955

Financial assets not measured at fair value:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Financial assets:
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
21,077

 
$
21,077

 
$
29,597

 
$
29,597

Restricted cash
 
7,270

 
7,270

 
3,337

 
3,337

Receivables
 
290

 
290

 

 

Due from Ashford Trust OP, net
 
5,331

 
5,331

 
8,202

 
8,202

Due from Ashford Prime OP
 
2,404

 
2,404

 
2,546

 
2,546

Financial liabilities not measured at fair value:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Financial liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
 
$
5,983

 
$
5,983

 
$
9,307

 
$
9,307

Due to affiliates
 
521

 
521

 
1,313

 
1,313

Other liabilities
 
7,362

 
7,362

 
3,337

 
3,337

Investments in securities and liabilities associated with investments in securities . Investment securities consist of U.S. treasury securities, publicly traded equity securities and equity put and call options on certain publicly traded equity securities. Liabilities associated with investments in securities consist of a margin account balance and short equity put and call options. The fair value of these investments is based on quoted market closing prices at the balance sheet dates in active and inactive markets. This is considered either a Level 1 or Level 2 valuation technique. See Notes 2, 3 and 4 for a complete description of the methodology and assumptions utilized in determining fair values.
Deferred compensation plan. The liability resulting from the deferred compensation plan is carried at fair value based on the closing prices of the underlying investments. This is considered a Level 1 valuation technique.
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash. These financial assets bear interest at market rates and have maturities of less than  90 days. The carrying values approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. This is considered a Level 1 valuation technique.
Receivables, due from Ashford Trust OP, net, due from Ashford Prime OP, accounts payable and accrued expenses, due to affiliates and other liabilities . The carrying values of these financial instruments approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. This is considered a Level 1 valuation technique.
6. Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation —The Company is engaged in various legal proceedings which have arisen but have not been fully adjudicated. The likelihood of loss for these legal proceedings, based on definitions within contingency accounting literature, ranges from remote to reasonably possible and to probable. Based on estimates of the range of potential losses associated with these matters, management does not believe the ultimate resolution of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect upon the financial position or results of operations of the Company. However, the final results of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty and if the Company failed to prevail in one or more of these legal matters, and the associated realized losses were to exceed the Company’s current estimates of the range of potential losses, the Company’s financial position or results of operations could be materially adversely affected in future periods.

16

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


Securities Sold Short —The REHE Fund is subject to certain inherent risks arising from selling securities short. The ultimate cost to the REHE Fund to acquire these securities may exceed the liability reflected in these financial statements.
7. Related Party Transactions
In connection with our spin-off from Ashford Trust on November 12, 2014, we entered into an advisory agreement with Ashford Trust OP, which was later amended. The quarterly base fee is a percentage of Ashford Trust’s total market capitalization and is based on a declining sliding scale, subject to a minimum quarterly base fee, as payment for managing its day-to-day operations in accordance with its investment guidelines. Total market capitalization includes the aggregate principal amount of its consolidated indebtedness (including its proportionate share of debt of any entity that is not consolidated but excluding its joint venture partners’ proportionate share of consolidated debt). The range of base fees on the scale are between 0.70% and 0.50% per annum for total market capitalization that ranges from less than $6.0 billion to greater than $10.0 billion . At June 30, 2015, the quarterly base fee was 0.70% per annum. Reimbursement for overhead and internal audit, insurance claims advisory and asset management services, including compensation, benefits and travel expense reimbursements, are billed quarterly to Ashford Trust based on a pro rata allocation as determined by the ratio of Ashford Trust’s net investment in hotel properties in relation to the total net investment in hotel properties for both Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime. We will also record advisory revenue for equity grants of Ashford Trust common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees in connection with providing advisory services equal to the fair value of the award in proportion to the requisite service period satisfied during the period, as well an offsetting expense in an equal amount included in “salaries and benefits.” We are also entitled to an incentive fee that is earned annually in each year that Ashford Trust’s total stockholder return exceeds the total stockholder return for Ashford Trust’s peer group, as defined in the advisory agreement.
The following table summarizes the advisory services revenue from Ashford Trust OP (in thousands):
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Advisory services revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Base advisory fee
$
8,505

 
$

 
$
16,516

 
$

Reimbursable fees (1)
1,790

 

 
3,290

 

Equity-based compensation (2)  
1,151

 

 
1,322

 

Incentive management fee

 

 

 

Total advisory services revenue
$
11,446

 
$

 
$
21,128

 
$

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Non-advisory expense reimbursements
$

 
$

 
$
195

 
$

________
(1)  
Reimbursable fees include overhead, internal audit, insurance claims advisory and asset management services.
(2)  
Equity-based compensation revenue is associated with equity grants of Ashford Trust’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to officers and employees of Ashford Inc.
At June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , we had a net receivable of $5.3 million and $8.2 million , respectively, from Ashford Trust OP associated with reimbursable expenses in connection with the spin-off and the advisory services fee discussed above.
On November 19, 2013, Ashford LLC entered into an advisory agreement with Ashford Prime OP. In connection with our separation from Ashford Trust, Ashford LLC became our operating company, and we assumed the advisory agreement with Ashford Prime OP, which was later amended. The quarterly base fee is a percentage of Ashford Prime’s total market capitalization and is based on a declining sliding scale, subject to a minimum quarterly base fee, as payment for managing its day-to-day operations in accordance with its investment guidelines. Total market capitalization includes the aggregate principal amount of its consolidated indebtedness (including its proportionate share of debt of any entity that is not consolidated but excluding its joint venture partners’ proportionate share of consolidated debt). The range of base fees on the scale are between 0.70% to 0.50% per annum for total market capitalization that ranges from less than $6.0 billion to greater than $10.0 billion . At June 30, 2015, the quarterly base fee was 0.70% per annum. Reimbursement for overhead and internal audit, insurance claims advisory and asset management services, including compensation, benefits and travel expense reimbursements, are billed quarterly to Ashford Prime based on a pro rata

17

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


allocation as determined by the ratio of Ashford Prime’s net investment in hotel properties in relation to the total net investment in hotel properties for both Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime.We also record advisory revenue for equity grants of Ashford Prime common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees in connection with providing advisory services equal to the fair value of the award in proportion to the requisite service period satisfied during the period, as well an offsetting expense in an equal amount included in “salaries and benefits.” We are also entitled to an incentive fee that is earned annually in each year that Ashford Prime’s total stockholder return exceeds the total stockholder return for Ashford Prime’s peer group, as defined in the advisory agreement.
The following table summarizes the advisory services revenue from Ashford Prime OP (in thousands):
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Advisory services revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Base advisory fee
$
2,164

 
$
2,239

 
$
4,369

 
$
4,208

Reimbursable fees (1)
437

 
564

 
1,004

 
907

Equity-based compensation (2)  
442

 
1,110

 
911

 
1,110

Incentive management fee

 

 

 

Total advisory services revenue
$
3,043

 
$
3,913

 
$
6,284

 
$
6,225

________
(1)  
Reimbursable fees include overhead, internal audit, insurance claims advisory and asset management services.
(2)  
Equity-based compensation revenue is associated with equity grants of Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to officers and employees of Ashford Inc.
At June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , we had receivables of $2.4 million and $2.5 million , respectively, from Ashford Prime OP associated with the advisory service fee discussed above.
Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime have management agreements with Remington, which is beneficially owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Ashford Trust’s Chairman Emeritus. Transactions related to these agreements are included in the accompanying financial statements. Under the agreements, we pay Remington general and administrative expense reimbursements, approved by the independent directors of Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime, including rent, payroll, office supplies, travel and accounting. These charges are allocated based on various methodologies, including headcount and actual amounts incurred which are then rebilled to Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime. Prior to the spin-off, these costs were paid by Ashford Trust and were included in our carve-out financial statements. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , these reimbursements totaled $ 1.2 million and $2.2 million , respectively, and are included in “general and administrative” expenses on the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). For the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 , these reimbursements totaled $518,000 and $1.0 million , respectively, and are included in “general and administrative” expenses on the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). The amounts due under these arrangements as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , are included in “due to affiliates” on our balance sheets.
Certain limited partners of the REHE Fund, including our chief executive officer, Ashford Trust, Ashford Prime and certain directors of Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime are affiliated with the General Partner. The aggregate value of the affiliated limited partners’ share of partners’ capital in the REHE Fund at June 30, 2015, was approximately $110.9 million .
Certain employees of Remington who perform work on behalf of Ashford Trust were granted shares of restricted stock under the Ashford Trust Stock Plan prior to our spin-off. These share grants were accounted for under the applicable accounting guidance related to share-based payments granted to non-employees and are recorded in “general and administrative” expense. Expense of $2,000 and $5,000 was recognized in the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , respectively. Expense of $(45,000) and $(2,000) was recognized in the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 , respectively.
For periods prior to the spin-off, the operations of the Company were principally funded by Ashford Trust OP. Ashford Trust OP used a centralized approach to cash management and the financing of its operations. During the periods through November 12, 2014, Ashford Trust OP provided the capital to fund our operating and investing activities, which are presented as a component of additional paid-in capital. Amounts funded by Ashford Trust OP were $17.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014 .

18

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


As the Company’s financial statements through November 12, 2014 have been carved out of Ashford Trust OP, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 , salaries and benefits and general and administrative expense represent an allocation of certain Ashford Trust OP corporate general and administrative costs. See Note 2.
On June 11, 2015, we announced that we are providing a total of $6 million in key money consideration to our managed REITs for two acquisitions. We are providing $4 million of key money in connection with the $62.5 million acquisition of the 226-room Le Pavillon Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana by Ashford Trust which closed in June 2015. We will purchase $4 million of furniture, fixtures and equipment for the hotel. The $4 million obligation is included in long-term “other assets” and “Due from Ashford Trust, net” on our balance sheet as of June 30, 2015 . We have also agreed to provide $2 million of key money consideration by paying approximately $206,000 in cash and issuing 19,897 shares of our common stock to Ashford Prime for the acquisition of furniture, fixtures and equipment in connection with its $85 million acquisition of the 62-room Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, California, which closed in July 2015.
8. Equity and Equity-Based Compensation
Equity-Based Compensation —Equity-based compensation expense of $3.6 million and $8.9 million was recognized for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , respectively, and included $961,000 and $1.9 million , respectively, of expense attributable to our stock options. Equity-based compensation expense also included $250,000 for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, associated with shares of our common stock issued to our independent directors and included in “general and administrative” expense on our statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). Equity-based compensation expense of $7.7 million and $12.2 million was recognized for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 , respectively. As of June 30, 2015 , the Company had approximately $9.4 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options that will be recognized over the weighted average period of 2.5 years . Additionally, as a result of the spin-off, we assumed all of the unrecognized equity-based compensation associated with prior Ashford Trust equity grants. As a result, we will continue to recognize equity-based compensation expense related to these grants. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , we recognized equity-based compensation expense of $2.4 million and $6.7 million related to these grants. As of June 30, 2015 , the outstanding restricted stock/units related to the assumed Ashford Trust equity grants had vesting schedules between January 2016 and April 2017. As of June 30, 2015 , the unrecognized cost of these unvested shares of restricted stock/units was $11.0 million , which will be amortized over a period of 1.8 years . As described in Note 7, there was equity-based compensation associated with employees of an affiliate, included in “general and administrative” expense, of $2,000 and $5,000 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , respectively, as well as $(45,000) and $(2,000) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 , respectively. Prior to the spin-off, equity-based compensation, included in “salaries and benefits”, was allocated to the Company as described in Note 2.
Preferred Stock —In accordance with Ashford Inc.’s charter, we are authorized to issue 50 million shares of preferred stock which currently includes up to two million shares of series A cumulative preferred stock. The holders of series A cumulative preferred stock are entitled to receive dividends in preference to holders of shares of any class or series of stock ranking junior to it, equal to 1,000 multiplied by the aggregate per share amount of all dividends of common stock. Each share of series A cumulative preferred stock shall entitle the holder to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of Ashford Inc. No shares of series A cumulative preferred stock are currently outstanding.
Shareholder Rights Plan —On November 16, 2014, our board of directors adopted a shareholder rights plan (the “2014 Rights Plan”). The 2014 Rights Plan is intended to improve the bargaining position of our board of directors in the event of an unsolicited offer to acquire our outstanding shares of common stock. Pursuant to the 2014 Rights Plan, our board of directors declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) payable on November 27, 2014, for each outstanding share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Shares”), outstanding on November 27, 2014 (the “Record Date”) to the stockholders of record on that date. Each Right initially entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Preferred Shares”), of the Company, at a price of $275 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share represented by a Right (the “Purchase Price”), subject to adjustment. The Rights become exercisable upon certain conditions, as defined in the rights agreement. At any time prior to the time any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person, as defined in the rights agreement, the board of directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $0.001 per Right. The value of the rights is de minimis.
Although the rights were initially set to expire on March 15, 2015, on February 25, 2015, our board of directors extended the expiration date until the date of our 2015 annual stockholder meeting, at which time the stockholders approved further extension of the expiration date to February 25, 2018.

19

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Entities —Noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities represents noncontrolling ownership interests of 40% in AIM, 100% in the REHE Fund and 100% in the entity in which we hold a variable interest in the form of a note receivable with a total carrying value of $111.2 million and noncontrolling ownership interests of 40% in AIM and 100% in the entity in which we hold a variable interest in the form of a note receivable with a total carrying value of $(87,000) at December 31, 2014 . Loss from consolidated entities attributable to these noncontrolling interests was $3.2 million and $4.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 . There was no income/loss from consolidated entities attributable to noncontrolling interests for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 .
With respect to the 100% noncontrolling interests in the REHE Fund, limited partners have redemption rights which contain certain restrictions with respect to rights of withdrawal from the REHE Fund as specified in the limited partnership agreement.
9. Deferred Compensation Plan
Effective January 1, 2008, Ashford Trust established a nonqualified DCP for certain executive officers, which was assumed by the Company in connection with the separation from Ashford Trust. The plan allows participants to defer up to 100% of their base salary and bonus and select an investment fund for measurement of the deferred compensation obligation. For the periods the DCP was administered by Ashford Trust, the participants elected Ashford Trust common stock as their investment option. In accordance with the applicable authoritative accounting guidance, the deferred amounts and any dividends earned received equity treatment and were included in additional paid-in capital. In connection with our spin-off and the assumption of the DCP obligation by the Company, the DCP was modified to give the participants various investment options, including Ashford Inc. common stock, for measurement that can be changed by the participant at any time. These modifications resulted in the DCP obligation being recorded as a liability in accordance with the applicable authoritative accounting guidance. Distributions under the DCP are made in cash, unless the participant has elected Ashford Inc. common stock as the investment option, in which case any such distributions would be made in Ashford Inc. common stock. Additionally, the DCP obligation is carried at fair value with changes in fair value reflected in “salaries and benefits” in our statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). For the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , we recorded an unrealized gain of $6.7 million and   $1.4 million , respectively. No unrealized gain or loss was recorded for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 . A distribution of 930 shares with a fair value of $87,000 was made to one participant for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 .
No dividends were associated with the deferred compensation plan for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 . For the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 , deferred compensation plan associated dividends, included as a component of accumulated deficit, totaled $191,000 and $374,000 , respectively.
10. Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests in Ashford LLC
Redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC represents certain members’ proportionate share of equity and their allocable share of equity in earnings/loss of Ashford LLC, which is an allocation of net income/loss attributable to the members based on the weighted average ownership percentage of these members’ interest. Beginning one year after issuance, each common unit of membership interest may be redeemed by the holder, for either cash or, at our sole discretion, one share of our common stock.
In connection with our spin-off, Ashford Trust OP unit holders received one common unit in Ashford LLC for every 55 common units held in Ashford Trust OP. Each holder of common units of Ashford LLC could then exchange up to 99% of the Ashford LLC common units for shares of Ashford Inc. common stock. During the year ended December 31, 2014, approximately 356,000 common units were exchanged for shares of Ashford Inc. common stock at the rate of one share of Ashford Inc. common stock for every 55 Ashford LLC common units. Following the completion of the exchange offer, Ashford LLC effected a reverse stock split of its common units such that each common unit was automatically converted into 1/55 of a common unit. Redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , were $393,000 and $424,000 , respectively, which represented ownership of approximately 0.2% as of each period. The carrying value of redeemable noncontrolling interests as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 included adjustments of $348,000 and $369,000 , respectively, to reflect the excess of redemption value over the accumulated historical cost. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 , net income of $8,000 and net loss of $10,000 , respectively, was allocated to the redeemable noncontrolling interests. No net income/loss was allocated to redeemable noncontrolling interests for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 .

20

Table of Contents
ASHFORD INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(unaudited)


11. Income (Loss) Per Share
The following table reconciles the amounts used in calculating basic and diluted income (loss) per share (in thousands, except per share amounts):
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders – basic and diluted:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income (loss) attributable to the Company
$
3,914

 
$
(13,475
)
 
$
(3,920
)
 
$
(22,288
)
Less: Net income allocated to unvested shares
(8
)
 

 

 

Distributed and undistributed net income (loss) - basic
3,906

 
(13,475
)
 
(3,920
)
 
(22,288
)
Effect of deferred compensation plan
(6,679
)
 

 
(1,423
)
 

Distributed and undistributed net loss - diluted
$
(2,773
)
 
$
(13,475
)
 
$
(5,343
)
 
$
(22,288
)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic
1,985

 
1,981

 
1,989

 
1,981

Effect of deferred compensation plan shares
212

 

 
212

 

Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted
2,197

 
1,981

 
2,201

 
1,981

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Income (loss) per share – basic:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income (loss) allocated to common stockholders per share
$
1.97

 
$
(6.80
)
 
$
(1.97
)
 
$
(11.25
)
Loss per share – diluted:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net loss allocated to common stockholders per share
$
(1.26
)
 
$
(6.80
)
 
$
(2.43
)
 
$
(11.25
)
Due to their anti-dilutive effect, the computation of diluted loss per share does not reflect the adjustments for the following items (in thousands):
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Net income (loss) allocated to common stockholders is not adjusted for:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income attributable to unvested restricted shares
$
8

 
$

 
$

 
$

Net income (loss) attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC
8

 

 
(10
)
 

Total
$
16

 
$

 
$
(10
)
 
$

Weighted average diluted shares are not adjusted for:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Effect of unvested restricted shares
3

 
5

 
3

 
5

Effect of assumed exercise of stock options

 

 
2

 

Effect of assumed conversion of Ashford LLC units
5

 
5

 
5

 
5

Total
8

 
10

 
10

 
10

 
12. Segment Reporting
We operate in one business segment: asset and investment management, which includes managing the day-to-day operations of Ashford Prime and its subsidiaries, Ashford Trust and its subsidiaries and the REHE Fund in conformity with each entity’s investment guidelines.

21



ITEM 2.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
As used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, unless the context otherwise indicates, the references to “we,” “us,” “our”, the “Company” refer to Ashford Inc., a Delaware corporation and, as the context may require, its consolidated subsidiaries, including Ashford Hospitality Advisors LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, which we refer to as “Ashford LLC” or “our operating company.” “AIM” refers to Ashford Investment Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. “Ashford Prime” or “AHP” refers to Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc., a Maryland corporation, and, as the context may require, its consolidated subsidiaries, including Ashford Hospitality Prime Limited Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership, which we refer to as “Ashford Prime OP.” “Ashford Trust” or “AHT” refers to Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation, and, as the context may require, its consolidated subsidiaries, including Ashford Hospitality Limited Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership and Ashford Trust’s operating partnership, which we refer to as “Ashford Trust OP.” “Remington” refers to Remington Lodging and Hospitality LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, a property management company owned by Mr. Monty J. Bennett, our chief executive officer and chairman, and his father, Mr. Archie Bennett, Jr., chairman emeritus of Ashford Trust.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Form 10-Q contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “approximately,” “believe,” “could,” “project,” “predict,” or other similar words or expressions. Additionally, statements regarding the following subjects are forward-looking by their nature:  
our business and investment strategy;
our projected operating results and dividend rates;
our ability to obtain future financing arrangements;
our understanding of our competition;
market trends;
projected capital expenditures; and
the impact of technology on our operations and business.
Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, discuss future expectations, describe future plans and strategies, contain financial and operating projections or state other forward-looking information. Our ability to predict results or the actual effect of future events, actions, plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, taking into account all information currently available to us, our actual results and performance could differ materially from those set forth in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could have a material adverse effect on our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
the factors discussed in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 , as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 24, 2015 (the “ 2014 10-K”), including those set forth under the sections captioned “Item 1. Business,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations;”
general volatility of the capital markets, the general economy or the hospitality industry, whether the result of market events or otherwise, and the market price of our common stock;
availability, terms and deployment of capital;
changes in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general economy;
the degree and nature of our competition;
actual and potential conflicts of interest with or between Remington, Ashford Prime and Ashford Trust, our executive officers and our non-independent directors;
availability of qualified personnel;
changes in governmental regulations, accounting rules, tax rates and similar matters; and
legislative and regulatory changes.
When considering forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the matters summarized under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of our 2014 10-K and the discussion in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations, which could cause our actual results and performance to differ significantly from those contained in our forward-looking statements. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee future results or performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue

22



reliance on any of these forward-looking statements, which reflect our views as of the date of this Form 10-Q. Furthermore, we do not intend to update any of our forward-looking statements after the date of this Form 10-Q to conform these statements to actual results and performance, except as may be required by applicable law.
Overview
We were formed as a Delaware corporation in April 2014 and became a public company on November 12, 2014, when Ashford Trust, a NYSE-listed REIT, completed the spin-off of our company through the distribution of our outstanding common stock to the Ashford Trust stockholders. As of August 6, 2015 , Ashford Trust beneficially owned approximately 598,000 shares of our common stock, representing approximately 30% of our company.
Our principal business objective is to provide asset management and other advisory services to other entities. Currently, we, through our operating subsidiary Ashford LLC, act as the advisor to Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime. In our capacity as the advisor to Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime, we are responsible for implementing the investment strategies and managing the day-to-day operations of Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime, in each case subject to the supervision and oversight of the respective board of directors of such entity. We provide the personnel and services necessary to allow each of Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime to conduct its respective business. We may also perform similar functions for new or additional platforms. We are not responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the individual hotel properties owned by either Ashford Trust or Ashford Prime, which duties are, and will continue to be, the responsibility of the property management companies that operate the hotel properties owned by Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime.
Recent Developments
On January 29, 2015, Ashford Trust announced that its board of directors had approved the formation of Ashford Hospitality Select, Inc. (“Ashford Select”), a company dedicated to investing primarily in existing premium branded, upscale and upper-midscale, select-service hotels. On February 18, 2015, Ashford Trust entered into certain contribution and purchase and sale agreements in anticipation of the imminent launch of Ashford Select, which have since been terminated. As such, Ashford Trust is no longer pursuing a select-service strategy. On June 26, 2015, Ashford Trust announced that it planned to sell a portfolio of approximately 23 select-service hotels that are mostly brand-managed. The planned sale of the portfolio is consistent with Ashford Trust’s newly redefined strategy, which focuses predominately on full-service hotels in the upscale and upper-upscale segments in domestic and international markets that have RevPAR generally less than twice the national average. Ashford Inc. is still interested in sponsoring a select-service platform.
On June 10, 2015, the independent directors of the Company approved amended and restated advisory agreements with Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime, effective as of June 10, 2015. The amendments, among other things, permit Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime to engage an asset manager other than the Company with respect to any properties acquired by them, if Ashford Trust or Ashford Prime and the Company determine that such property would be uneconomic to Ashford Trust or Ashford Prime without incentives; shorten the initial term of the advisory agreement to ten years; extend the renewal terms to five years; provide for key money investments by Ashford LLC to facilitate Ashford Trust’s or Ashford Prime’s acquisition of properties under certain conditions, including Ashford LLC becoming the asset manager for the acquired property and receiving related asset management and other fees, as applicable; adjust the base fee payable to Ashford LLC to a declining sliding scale percentage of total market capitalization of Ashford Trust or Ashford Prime above $6.0 billion; clarify the calculation of the termination fee; allow Ashford LLC to terminate the Advisory Agreement upon a Change of Control in Ashford Trust or Ashford Prime (as defined in the advisory agreement) and require Ashford Trust or Ashford Prime to pay a termination fee to Ashford LLC upon such termination; and grant Ashford LLC repurchase rights with respect to its shares held by Ashford Trust or Ashford Prime upon any termination of the advisory agreement.
On June 11, 2015, we announced that we are providing a total of $6 million in key money consideration to our managed REITs for two acquisitions. We are providing $4 million of key money in connection with the $62.5 million acquisition of the 226-room Le Pavillon Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana by Ashford Trust which closed in June 2015. We will purchase $4 million of furniture, fixtures and equipment for the hotel. The $4 million obligation is included in long-term “other assets” and “Due from Ashford Trust, net” on our balance sheet as of June 30, 2015 . We have also agreed to provide $2 million of key money consideration by paying approximately $206,000 in cash and issuing 19,897 shares of our common stock to Ashford Prime for the acquisition of furniture, fixtures and equipment in connection with its $85 million acquisition of the 62-room Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, California, which closed in July 2015.

23



Discussion of Presentation
The discussion below relates to the financial condition and results of operations of Ashford Inc. and its majority-owned subsidiaries and entities which it controls. For periods prior to spin-off, the combined historical financial statements have been prepared on a “carve out” basis from Ashford Trust’s consolidated financial statements using the historical results of operations, cash flows, assets and liabilities and include allocations of income, expenses, assets and liabilities from Ashford Trust. These allocations reflect significant assumptions, and the financial statements do not fully reflect what our financial position, results of operations and cash flows would have been had the asset management business of Ashford Trust been operated exclusively within a stand-alone company during the periods presented. As a result, historical financial information is not necessarily indicative of our future results of operations, financial position and cash flows.
For purposes of our “carve out” presentation, general and administrative expense represents an allocation of certain Ashford Trust corporate general and administrative costs including salaries and benefits, equity-based compensation, legal and professional fees, rent expense, insurance expense, office expenses and other miscellaneous expenses either based upon specific identification or an allocation method determined by management to reflect the portion of the expenses related to the asset management business. In the opinion of management, such allocations were considered reasonable.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Our short-term liquidity requirements consist primarily of funds necessary for operating expenses primarily attributable to paying our employees.
We expect to meet our short-term liquidity requirements generally through net cash provided by operations, existing cash balances and, if necessary, short-term borrowings under a possible revolving credit facility.
Our long-term liquidity requirements consist primarily of funds necessary to pay for operating expenses attributable to paying our employees and investments to grow our business. We expect to meet our long-term liquidity requirements through various sources of capital, including net cash provided by operations and a possible revolving credit facility.
Sources and Uses of Cash
As of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , we had $21.1 million and $29.6 million of cash, respectively.
We anticipate that our principal sources of funds to meet our cash requirements will include cash on hand and positive cash flow from operations. We anticipate using funds for operating expenses which is primarily attributable to paying our employees and for certain strategic investments including but not limited to key money consideration.
Net Cash Flows Used in Operating Activities . Net cash flows used in operating activities were $7.5 million and $14.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 , respectively. The decrease in cash flows used in operating activities was primarily a result of the completion of our spin-off from Ashford Trust which resulted in additional advisory fees offset by additional general and administrative expenses as a result of becoming a public company. Cash flows from operations is also impacted by the timing of receipt of advisory fees from Ashford Trust and Ashford Prime, the timing of paying vendors and the activity of the REHE Fund.
Net Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities . For the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 , investing activities used net cash flows of $6.5 million and $1.0 million , respectively. The increase in cash outlays was primarily attributable to investments in unconsolidated entities of $5.5 million in addition to purchases of computer software, furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Net Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities . For the six months ended June 30, 2015 , net cash flows provided by financing activities was $5.5 million . These cash inflows consisted of $4.8 million of contributions from noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities, an excess tax benefit associated with stock-based compensation of $1.1 million partially offset by advances to employees of $266,000 associated with tax withholdings for restricted stock vestings and $85,000 for the purchase of our treasury shares to cover tax withholdings for restricted stock vestings. For the six months ended June 30, 2014 , net cash flows provided by financing activities was $17.6 million , which consisted of cash contributions from Ashford Trust OP to fund operations.

24



RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Three Months Ended June 30, 2015 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2014
The following table summarizes the changes in key line items from our condensed statements of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands):
 
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
2014
 
$ Change
 
% Change
Revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Advisory services
 
$
14,489

 
$
3,913

 
$
10,576

 
270.3
 %
Total revenue
 
14,489

 
3,913

 
10,576

 
270.3
 %
Expenses
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Salaries and benefits
 
5,688

 
15,825

 
(10,137
)
 
(64.1
)%
Depreciation
 
399

 
87

 
312

 
358.6
 %
General and administrative
 
4,542

 
1,456

 
3,086

 
212.0
 %
Total expenses
 
10,629

 
17,368

 
(6,739
)
 
(38.8
)%
Operating income (loss)
 
3,860

 
(13,455
)
 
17,315

 
128.7
 %
Equity in loss of unconsolidated entities
 
(1,066
)
 

 
1,066

 


Interest income
 
51

 

 
51

 
 
Dividend income
 
166

 

 
166

 
 
Unrealized loss on investments
 
(3,037
)
 

 
3,037

 
 
Realized gain on investments
 
1,037

 

 
1,037

 
 
Other expenses
 
(10
)
 

 
10

 
 
Income (loss) before income taxes
 
1,001

 
(13,455
)
 
14,456

 
107.4
 %
Income tax expense
 
(233
)
 
(20
)
 
213

 
1,065.0
 %
Net income (loss)
 
768

 
(13,475
)
 
14,243

 
105.7
 %
Loss from consolidated entities attributable to noncontrolling interests
 
3,154

 

 
3,154

 
 
Net income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC
 
(8
)
 

 
8

 
 
Net income (loss) attributable to the Company
 
$
3,914

 
$
(13,475
)
 
$
17,389

 
129.0
 %
Advisory Services Revenue. Advisory services revenue in creased $10.6 million , or 270.3% , to $14.5 million during the three months ended June 30, 2015 (the “ 2015 quarter ”) compared to the three months ended June 30, 2014 (the “ 2014 quarter ”). The increase is due to having revenue from both Ashford Prime and Ashford Trust in the 2015 quarter , as a result of entering into an advisory agreement with Ashford Trust in November 2014 upon our spin-off. The 2014 quarter only included advisory services revenue from our advisory agreement with Ashford Prime, which began on November 19, 2013, upon its spin-off from Ashford Trust.
During the 2015 quarter , advisory services revenue was comprised of base advisory fees of $10.7 million , reimbursable overhead and internal audit, insurance claims advisory and asset management services of $2.2 million and equity-based compensation of $1.6 million associated with equity grants of Ashford Trust’s and Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees. We recorded an offsetting expense in an equal amount included in “salaries and benefits.” During the 2014 quarter , advisory services revenue was comprised of a base advisory fee of $2.2 million , reimbursable overhead and internal audit reimbursements of $565,000 and equity-based compensation of $1.1 million associated with equity grants of Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees. No incentive management fee was earned for the 2015 quarter or the 2014 quarter in connection with our advisory agreements with Ashford Prime or Ashford Trust.
Salaries and Benefits Expense. Salaries and benefits expense de creased $10.1 million , or 64.1% , to $5.7 million during the 2015 quarter compared to the 2014 quarter . During the 2015 quarter , salaries and benefits expense included $7.4 million of cash salaries and benefits, $5.0 million of non-cash equity-based compensation and a $6.7 million non-cash gain associated with our deferred compensation plan (“DCP”). The de crease in salaries and benefits was attributable to lower non-cash expense associated with our DCP of $6.7 million, lower non-cash equity-based compensation of $3.9 million, and lower salary expense of approximately $199,000, offset by higher expenses for bonuses of approximately $301,000 and payroll tax burden of $328,000.

25



In connection with our spin-off, we assumed the DCP obligation, which was modified to give the participants various investment options including Ashford Inc. common stock for measurement, which options can be changed by the participant at any time. These modifications resulted in the DCP obligation being recorded as a liability in accordance with the applicable authoritative accounting guidance. The DCP obligation is carried at fair value with changes in fair value reflected in earnings. Additionally, as a result of the spin-off, we assumed all of the unrecognized equity-based compensation associated with prior Ashford Trust equity grants. As a result, we will continue to recognize equity-based compensation expense related to these grants. During the 2015 quarter , non-cash equity-based compensation consisted of $2.4 million associated with prior Ashford Trust equity grants, $1.0 million in connection with stock option grants and $1.6 million associated with equity grants of Ashford Trust’s and Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees, in which we record offsetting revenue in an equal amount. During the 2014 quarter , the $15.8 million of salaries and benefits expense included $7.0 million of cash salaries and benefits, $7.7 million of non-cash equity-based compensation and $1.1 million associated with equity grants of Ashford Trust’s and Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees, in which we record offsetting revenue in an equal amount.
Depreciation Expense. Depreciation expense in creased $312,000 , or 358.6% , to $399,000 during the 2015 quarter compared to the 2014 quarter , as a result of furniture, fixtures and equipment additions in 2015 .
General and Administrative Expense. General and administrative expenses in creased $3.1 million , or 212.0% , to $4.5 million during the 2015 quarter compared to the 2014 quarter , as a result of higher professional fees of $1.5 million, office expense of $587,000, public company costs of $337,000, director costs of $172,000, travel and other expense of $261,000 and stock-based compensation for stock grants to our independent directors, which vested immediately, of $250,000.
Equity in Loss of Unconsolidated Entities . We recorded equity in loss of unconsolidated entities of $1.1 million during the 2015 quarter which consisted of equity in loss in an unconsolidated investment fund for which AIM is the investment adviser. We did not have any equity in loss of unconsolidated entity in the 2014 quarter .
Interest Income. Interest income was $51,000 for the 2015 quarter related to investments in the REHE Fund. There was no interest income in the 2014 quarter as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Dividend Income. Dividend income was $166,000 for the 2015 quarter related to investments in the REHE Fund. There was no dividend income in the 2014 quarter as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Unrealized Loss on Investments. Unrealized loss on investments was $3.0 million for the 2015 quarter related to investments in the REHE Fund and is based on changes in closing market prices during the period. There was no unrealized gain/loss on investments in the 2014 quarter as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Realized Gain on Investments. Realized gain on investments was $1.0 million for the 2015 quarter related to investments in the REHE Fund. There was no realized gain/loss on investments in the 2014 quarter as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Other Expenses. Other expenses were $10,000 for the 2015 quarter . There were no other expenses in the 2014 quarter .
Income Tax Expense. Income tax expense increased $213,000 from $20,000 for the 2014 quarter to $233,000 for the 2015 quarter . The increase in income tax expense is primarily due to the provision for federal and state income taxes for the 2015 quarter. For the 2014 quarter, the Company’s taxable income was “carved out” of Ashford Trust OP, a partnership, and its wholly-owned disregarded limited liability company which are not subject to U.S. federal income taxes. Rather, the partnership’s revenues and expenses passed through to and were taxed to the owners. Therefore, the Company did not provide for federal income taxes. The income tax expense in the 2014 period is related to Texas margin tax.
Loss from Consolidated Entities Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests. The noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities were allocated a loss of $3.2 million in the 2015 quarter . At June 30, 2015 , noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities represented ownership interests of 40% in one entity and 100% in two entities with a total carrying value of $111.2 million .
Net Income Attributable to Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests in Ashford LLC. Noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC were allocated net income of $8,000 in the 2015 quarter . Redeemable noncontrolling interests represented ownership interests of 0.2% in Ashford LLC at June 30, 2015 .

26



Six Months Ended June 30, 2015 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2014
The following table summarizes the changes in key line items from our condensed statements of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands):
 
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
2014
 
$ Change
 
% Change
Revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Advisory services
 
$
27,412

 
$
6,225

 
$
21,187

 
340.4
 %
Other
 
195

 

 
195

 
 
Total revenue
 
27,607

 
6,225

 
21,382

 
343.5
 %
Expenses
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

Salaries and benefits
 
23,181

 
25,935

 
(2,754
)
 
(10.6
)%
Depreciation
 
528

 
174

 
354

 
203.4
 %
General and administrative
 
8,672

 
2,369

 
6,303

 
266.1
 %
Total expenses
 
32,381

 
28,478

 
3,903

 
13.7
 %
Operating income (loss)
 
(4,774
)
 
(22,253
)
 
(17,479
)
 
78.5
 %
Equity in loss of unconsolidated entities
 
(1,066
)
 

 
1,066

 


Interest income
 
52

 

 
52

 
 
Dividend income
 
172

 

 
172

 
 
Unrealized loss on investments
 
(2,990
)
 

 
2,990

 
 
Realized gain on investments
 
1,035

 

 
1,035

 
 
Other expenses
 
(10
)
 

 
10

 
 
Loss before income taxes
 
(7,581
)
 
(22,253
)
 
(14,672
)
 
(65.9
)%
Income tax expense
 
(464
)
 
(35
)
 
429

 
1,225.7
 %
Net loss
 
(8,045
)
 
(22,288
)
 
(14,243
)
 
(63.9
)%
Loss from consolidated entities attributable to noncontrolling interests
 
4,115

 

 
4,115

 
 
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC
 
10

 

 
10

 
 
Net loss attributable to the Company
 
$
(3,920
)
 
$
(22,288
)
 
$
(18,368
)
 
(82.4
)%
Advisory Services Revenue . Advisory services revenue in creased $21.2 million , or 340.4% , to $27.4 million during the six months ended June 30, 2015 (the “ 2015 period ”) compared to the six months ended June 30, 2014 (the “ 2014 period ”). The increase is due to having revenue from both Ashford Prime and Ashford Trust in the 2015 period , as a result of entering into an advisory agreement with Ashford Trust in November 2014 upon our spin-off. The 2014 period only included advisory services revenue from our advisory agreement with Ashford Prime.
During the 2015 period , advisory services revenue was comprised of base advisory fees of $20.9 million and reimbursable overhead and internal audit, insurance claims advisory and asset management services of $4.3 million . Advisory services revenue also included $2.2 million of equity-based compensation associated with equity grants of Ashford Trust’s and Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees, and we recorded an offsetting expense in an equal amount which is included in “salaries and benefits.” During the 2014 period , advisory services revenue was comprised of a base advisory fee of $4.2 million , reimbursable overhead and internal audit reimbursements of $907,000 and equity-based compensation of $1.1 million associated with equity grants of Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees. No incentive management fee was earned for the 2015 period or the 2014 period in connection with our advisory agreements with Ashford Prime or Ashford Trust.
Other Revenue . Other revenue represents $195,000 of other non-advisory expense reimbursements from Ashford Trust for the 2015 period . There was no other revenue for the 2014 period .
Salaries and Benefits Expense . Salaries and benefits expense de creased $2.8 million , or 10.6% , to $23.2 million during the 2015 period compared to the 2014 period . During the 2015 period , salaries and benefits expense included $13.7 million of cash salaries and benefits, $10.9 million of non-cash equity-based compensation and a $1.4 million non-cash gain associated with our DCP. The de crease in salaries and benefits was attributable to lower non-cash expense associated with our DCP of $1.4 million,

27



and lower non-cash equity-based compensation of $2.5 million, offset by higher expenses for cash salaries of $267,000, bonuses of $376,000 and payroll tax burden of $511,000.
In connection with our spin-off, we assumed the DCP obligation, which was modified to give the participants various investment options including Ashford Inc. common stock for measurement, which options can be changed by the participant at any time. These modifications resulted in the DCP obligation being recorded as a liability in accordance with the applicable authoritative accounting guidance. The DCP obligation is carried at fair value with changes in fair value reflected in earnings. Additionally, as a result of the spin-off, we assumed all of the unrecognized equity-based compensation associated with prior Ashford Trust equity grants. As a result, we will continue to recognize equity-based compensation expense related to these grants. During the 2015 period , non-cash equity-based compensation consisted of $6.7 million associated with prior Ashford Trust equity grants, $1.9 million in connection with stock option grants and $2.2 million associated with equity grants of Ashford Trust’s and Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees, in which we record offsetting revenue in an equal amount. During the 2014 period , the $25.9 million of salaries and benefits expense included $12.6 million of cash salaries and benefits and $12.2 million of non-cash equity-based compensation and $1.1 million associated with equity grants of Ashford Trust’s and Ashford Prime’s common stock and LTIP units awarded to our officers and employees, in which we record offsetting revenue in an equal amount.
Depreciation Expense . Depreciation expense in creased $354,000 , or 203.4% , to $528,000 during the 2015 period compared to the 2014 period , as a result of furniture, fixtures and equipment additions since June 30, 2014 .
General and Administrative Expense . General and administrative expenses in creased $6.3 million , or 266.1% , to $8.7 million during the 2015 period compared to the 2014 period as a result of higher professional fees of $3.2 million, office expense of $1.1 million, public company costs of $594,000, director costs of $637,000 and travel and other expense of $835,000.
Equity in Loss of Unconsolidated Entities . We recorded equity in loss of unconsolidated entities of $1.1 million in the 2015 period which consisted of equity in loss in an unconsolidated investment fund for which AIM is the investment adviser. We did not have any equity in loss of unconsolidated entity in the 2014 period .
Interest Income. Interest income was $52,000 for the 2015 period related to investments in the REHE Fund. There was no interest income in the 2014 period as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Dividend Income. Dividend income was $172,000 for the 2015 period related to investments in the REHE Fund. There was no dividend income in the 2014 period as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Unrealized Loss on Investments. Unrealized loss on investments was $3.0 million for the 2015 period related to investments in the REHE Fund and is based on changes in closing market prices during the period. There was no unrealized gain/loss on investments in the 2014 period as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Realized Gain on Investments. Realized gain on investments was $1.0 million for the 2015 period related to investments in the REHE Fund. There was no realized gain/loss on investments in the 2014 period as the REHE Fund began operations in 2015.
Other Expenses. Other expenses was $10,000 for the 2015 period . There were no other expenses in the 2014 period .
Income Tax Expense . Income tax expense in creased $429,000 , from $35,000 for the 2014 period , to $464,000 for the 2015 period . The in crease in tax expense is due to the provision for federal and state income taxes for the 2015 period. For the 2014 period, the Company’s taxable income was “carved out” of Ashford Trust OP, a partnership, and its wholly-owned disregarded limited liability company which are not subject to U.S. federal income taxes. Rather, the partnership’s revenues and expenses passed through to and were taxed to the owners. Therefore, the Company did not provide for federal income taxes. The income tax expense in the 2014 period is related to Texas margin tax.
Loss from Consolidated Entities Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests . The noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities were allocated a loss of $4.1 million in the 2015 period . At June 30, 2015 , noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities represented ownership interests of 40% in one entity and 100% in two entities with a total carrying value of $111.2 million .
Net Loss Attributable to Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests in Ashford LLC. Noncontrolling interests in Ashford LLC were allocated net loss of $10,000 in the 2015 period . Redeemable noncontrolling interests represented ownership interests of 0.2% in Ashford LLC at June 30, 2015 . No income was allocated during the  2014 period  as there were no noncontrolling interests in the operating partnership prior to our spin-off from Ashford Trust.

28



Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
In the normal course of business, we may form or invest in partnerships or joint ventures. We evaluate each partnership and joint venture to determine whether the entity is a variable interest entity (“VIE”). If the entity is determined to be a VIE, we assess whether we are the primary beneficiary and need to consolidate the entity. For further discussion see Notes 1 and 2 to the financial statements.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
There have been no material changes since December 31, 2014 , outside the ordinary course of business, to contractual obligations specified in the table of contractual obligations included in the section “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in our 2014 Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our accounting policies that are critical or most important to understanding our financial condition and results of operations and that require management to make the most difficult judgments are described in the section “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in our 2014 Form 10-K. There have been no material changes in these critical accounting policies.
ITEM 3.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK
We currently do not hold any financial instruments that subject us to market risk.
ITEM 4.
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, our management has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of June 30, 2015 . Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as a result of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, as of March 31, 2015, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective to ensure that (i) information required to be disclosed in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (ii) information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. See “Risk Factors- We identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting that existed for the three months ended March 31, 2015. If we fail to properly remediate the material weaknesses, or fail to properly identify or remediate any future weaknesses or deficiencies, or achieve and maintain effective internal control, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired and investors could lose confidence in our financial statements.”
We previously noted a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting for the period ended December 31, 2014 that resulted from an operational deficiency in our controls surrounding management’s preparation and review of carve out financial statements. Since discovering the operational deficiency, we have not been required to prepare additional carve-out financial statements, nor do we expect to do so in the future. However, to address the identified weakness, we have hired additional accounting personnel and segregated certain accounting functions to provide for additional review functions. Should the need arise to prepare carve-out financial statements in the future, we believe the steps we have taken will eliminate any future similar operational deficiency.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are engaged in various legal proceedings which have arisen but have not been fully adjudicated. The likelihood of loss from these legal proceedings, based on definitions within contingency accounting literature, ranges from remote to reasonably possible and to probable. Based on estimates of the range of potential losses associated with these matters, management does not believe the ultimate resolution of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations. However, the final results of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty and if we fail to prevail in one or more of these legal matters, and the associated realized losses exceed our current estimates of the range of potential losses, our consolidated financial position or results of operations could be materially adversely affected in future periods.

29



ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS
The discussion of our business and operations should be read together with the risk factors contained in Item 1A of our 2014 Form 10-K and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2015, which describe various risks and uncertainties to which we are or may become subject. These risks and uncertainties have the potential to affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, strategies, or prospects in a material and adverse manner.
We identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting that existed for the three months ended March 31, 2015.  If we fail to properly remediate the material weaknesses, or fail to properly identify or remediate any future weaknesses or deficiencies, or achieve and maintain effective internal control, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired and investors could lose confidence in our financial statements.
Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP. In August 2015, we became aware of deficiencies in the effectiveness of our controls that led to the following errors in our financial statements: (i) a misstatement related to income tax expense and deferred tax assets resulting from improper consideration of carryback potential of certain deferred tax assets in assessing whether it is more likely than not that a portion of our deferred tax assets will be realized, and (ii) a misstatement relating to the consolidation of certain private investment funds managed by AIM. These errors indicate design deficiencies in our controls surrounding management’s preparation and review of (i) our interim income tax provision and (ii) analysis supporting VIE consolidation. We corrected these errors and restated our historical unaudited interim condensed financial statements as of March 31, 2015; however the lack of proper controls resulted in material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting as defined in Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Auditing Standard No. 5. As of the date of filing this Form 10-Q, we are still remediating the material weaknesses.
There can be no assurance that our remedial measures will be sufficient to address the material weaknesses or that our internal control over financial reporting will not be subject to additional material weaknesses in the future. If the remedial measures that we take are insufficient to address the material weaknesses or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control are discovered or occur in the future, our consolidated financial statements may contain material misstatements, and we could be required to restate our financial results. Additionally, we may encounter problems or delays in implementing any changes necessary for management to make a favorable assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. If we cannot favorably assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in our financial information and the price of our common stock could decline.
ITEM 2.
UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer
The following table provides the information with respect to purchases of our common stock during each of the months in the second quarter of 2015 :
Period
 
Total Number of Shares Purchased
 
 
Average Price Paid Per Share
 
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of a Publicly Announced Plan
 
Maximum Dollar Value of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plan
Common stock:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
April 1 to April 30
 
169

(1)  
 
$
109.17

 

 
$

May 1 to May 31
 
13

 
 
99.97

 

 

June 1 to June 30
 
12

 
 
93.68

 

 

Total
 
194

 
 
$
107.59

 

 
 
__________________
(1)  
Includes 110 shares that were withheld to cover tax-withholding requirements related to the vesting of restricted stock units issued to employees pursuant to the Company’s stockholder-approved stock incentive plan.
ITEM 3.
DEFAULT UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None.

30



ITEM 4.
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
None.
ITEM 5.
OTHER INFORMATION
On November 16, 2014, our board of directors declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”), payable on November 27, 2014, for each outstanding share of common stock outstanding on November 27, 2014 to the stockholders of record on that date. Each Right initially entitles the registered holder to purchase from us one one-thousandth of a share of our Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Preferred Shares”), at a price of $275 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share represented by a Right, subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights were set forth in a Rights Agreement (the “Rights Agreement”), dated effective November 17, 2014, between us and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as Rights Agent (the “Rights Agent”).
The Rights were initially set to expire on March 15, 2015 (the “Final Expiration Date”); however, on February 25, 2015, our board of directors extended the Final Expiration Date until the date of our annual stockholder meeting, held on May 13, 2015, at which time the stockholders approved a further extension of the Final Expiration Date to February 25, 2018. In order to integrate the extension of the Final Expiration Date pursuant to the stockholder vote, into the terms of the Rights Agreement, we entered into an Amended and Restated Rights Agreement, dated as of August 12, 2015, between us and the Rights Agent (the “Amended and Restated Rights Agreement”). Other than the extension of the Final Expiration Date, the terms of the Amended and Restated Rights Agreement are consistent with the terms of the Rights Agreement.


31



ITEM 6.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit
 
Description
2.1
 
Separation and Distribution Agreement, dated October 31, 2014, by and between Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., Ashford OP Limited Partner LLC, Ashford Hospitality Limited Partnership, Ashford Inc. and Ashford Hospitality Advisors LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 6, 2014) (File No. 001-36400)
3.1
 
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Ashford Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Form 10-K, filed on March 24, 2015) (File No. 001-36400)
3.2
 
Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation dated May 18, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 18, 2015) (File No. 001-36400)
3.3
 
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 6, 2014) (File No. 001-36400)
10.1
 
Amended and Restated Advisory Agreement, dated as of June 10, 2015, by and between Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., Ashford Hospitality Limited Partnership, Ashford TRS Corporation, Ashford Inc. and Ashford Hospitality Advisors LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 12, 2015) (File No. 001-36400)
10.2
 
Third Amended and Restated Advisory Agreement, dated as of June 10, 2015, by and between Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc., Ashford Hospitality Prime Limited Partnership, Ashford Prime TRS Corporation, Ashford Inc. and Ashford Hospitality Advisors LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 12, 2015) (File No. 001-36400)
10.3*
 
Amended and Restated Rights Agreement, dated as of August 12, 2015, between Ashford Inc. and Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
31.1*
 
Certifications of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
31.2*
 
Certifications of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
32.1*
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2*
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
 
 
 
 
The following materials from the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, are formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Condensed Balance Sheets; (ii) Condensed Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss); (iii) Condensed Statement of Equity; (iv) Condensed Statements of Cash Flows; and (v) Notes to the Condensed Financial Statements. In accordance with Rule 402 of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in Exhibit 101 to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, and shall not be part of any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
 
 
101.INS
 
XBRL Instance Document
Submitted electronically with this report.
101.SCH
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
Submitted electronically with this report.
101.CAL
 
XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document
Submitted electronically with this report.
101.DEF
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
Submitted electronically with this report.
101.LAB
 
XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document.
Submitted electronically with this report.
101.PRE
 
XBRL Taxonomy Presentation Linkbase Document.
Submitted electronically with this report.
___________________________________
* Filed herewith.


32



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 thereunto duly authorized.
ASHFORD INC.
Date:
August 14, 2015
By:
/s/  MONTY J. BENNETT
 
 
 
 
Monty J. Bennett
 
 
 
 
Chief Executive Officer
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date:
August 14, 2015
By:
/s/  DERIC S. EUBANKS
 
 
 
 
Deric S. Eubanks
 
 
 
 
Chief Financial Officer
 


33

EXHIBIT 10.3


ASHFORD INC.

and

COMPUTERSHARE TRUST COMPANY, N.A.


(Rights Agent)


Amended and Restated Rights Agreement

Dated as of August 12, 2015








TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1. Definitions     1
2. Appointment of Rights Agent     6
3. Issue of Right Certificates     7
4. Form of Right Certificates     9
5. Countersignature and Registration     9
6. Transfer, Split-up, Combination and Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates     10
7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights     10
8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates     12
9. Status and Availability of Preferred Shares     12
10. Preferred Shares Record Date     13
11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights     13
12. Certificate of Adjustment     19
13. Consolidation, Merger, Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power     19
14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares     21
15. Rights of Action     21
16. Agreement of Right Holders     22
17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder     22

i




18. Concerning the Rights Agent     22
19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent     23
20. Duties of Rights Agent     24
21. Change of Rights Agent     26
22. Issuance of New Right Certificates     27
23. Redemption     27
24. Exchange     28
25. Notice of Certain Events     29
26. Notices     30
27. Supplements and Amendments     31
28. Successors     31
29. Benefits of This Agreement     31
30. Severability     32
31. Governing Law     32
32. Counterparts     32
33. Descriptive Headings     32
34. Administration     32
35. Force Majeure     32



ii




AMENDED AND RESTATED RIGHTS AGREEMENT
This Amended and Restated Rights Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) dated as of August 12, 2015 is between Ashford Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company (the “ Rights Agent ”).
The Board of Directors of the Company (the “ Board ”) adopted resolutions creating a series of preferred stock designated as “Series A Preferred Stock” and authorized and declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “ Right ”) for each Common Share, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company outstanding on the Close of Business (as defined below) on November 27, 2014 (the “ Record Date ”) and authorized the issuance of one Right (subject to adjustment) with respect to each additional Common Share issued by the Company between the Record Date and the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, (ii) the Redemption Date or (iii) the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date (as all are defined below), and additional Common Shares that shall become outstanding after the Distribution Date as provided in Section 22 of this Agreement, each Right initially representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth (subject to adjustment) of a Preferred Share (as defined below), subject to adjustment, upon the terms and subject to the conditions below.
The Company and the Rights Agent entered into that certain Rights Agreement, dated as of November 17, 2014 (the “ Original Agreement ”) and the Board and the stockholders of the Company approved the extension of the Final Expiration Date (as defined therein) to February 25, 2018.
The parties wish to enter into this Agreement to amend and restate in its entirety the Original Agreement to integrate such extension into the Agreement.
Accordingly, in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements herein set forth, the parties agree as follows:





1. Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings indicated:
1.1      Acquiring Person ” means any Person (other than an Exempt Person) who or which, together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner of 10% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, but shall not include (i) the Company, (ii) any Subsidiary of the Company, (iii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, (iv) any entity or trustee holding (or acting in a fiduciary capacity in respect of) Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such employee benefit plan or for the purpose of funding any such plan or funding other employee benefits for employees of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, (v) Monty J. Bennett and his Affiliates and Associates (collectively, “ Bennett ”) for so long as they collectively, in the aggregate, are the Beneficial Owners of, directly or indirectly, 20% or less (the “ Bennett Threshold ”) of the then outstanding Common Shares of the Company ( provided that (a) Common Shares Beneficially Owned by any of (w) Archie Bennett Jr., (x) Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. (“ AHT ”), (y) Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. (“ Ashford Prime ”), or (z) any directors or officers of AHT, Ashford Prime or the Company and (b) Common Shares issuable or reserved for issuance to, or held in trust on behalf of or for the benefit of, Monty J. Bennett or any of his beneficiaries pursuant to any nonqualified deferred compensation plan maintained by the Company or any of its Affiliates shall, in all cases, not be aggregated with Bennett for purposes of determining whether Bennett is the Beneficial Owner of Common Shares in excess of the Bennett Threshold), and (vi) any Person who or which, at the Close of Business on the Record Date, was a Beneficial Owner of 10% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, other than a Person who or which is not an Affiliate or Associate of the Beneficial Owner on the Record Date and who or which subsequently becomes an Affiliate or Associate of such Beneficial Owner without the prior written approval of the Board of Directors (a “ Grandfathered Stockholder ”); provided , however , that if a Grandfathered Stockholder becomes, after the Record Date, the Beneficial Owner of additional Common Shares (other than Common Shares acquired solely as a result of corporate action of the Company not caused, directly or indirectly, by such Person) at any time such that the Grandfathered Stockholder is or thereby becomes the Beneficial Owner of 10% or more of the Common Shares then outstanding (or such other percentage as would otherwise result in such Person becoming an Acquiring Person), then such Grandfathered Stockholder shall be deemed an Acquiring Person; provided, however , that upon the first decrease of a Grandfathered Stockholder’s Beneficial Ownership below 10%, such Grandfathered Stockholder shall no longer be considered a Grandfathered Stockholder and this clause (v) shall have no further force or effect with respect to such Grandfathered Stockholder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall become an Acquiring Person as the result of an acquisition of Common Shares by the Company which, by reducing the number of shares outstanding, increases the proportionate number of Common Shares Beneficially Owned by such Person to 10% or more of the then outstanding Common Shares of the Company (or such other percentage as would otherwise result in such Person becoming an Acquiring Person); provided , however , that if a Person would, but for the provisions of this paragraph, become an Acquiring Person by reason of an acquisition of Common Shares by the Company and shall, after such share purchases by the Company, become the Beneficial Owner of any additional Common Shares of the

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Company at any time such that the Person is or thereby becomes the Beneficial Owner of 10% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding (or such other percentage as would otherwise result in such Person becoming an Acquiring Person) (other than Common Shares acquired solely as a result of corporate action of the Company not caused, directly or indirectly, by such Person), then such Person shall be deemed to be an Acquiring Person.
Notwithstanding the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 1.1, if the Board of Directors of the Company determines that a Person who would otherwise be an Acquiring Person, has become such inadvertently (including, without limitation, because (A) such Person was unaware that it Beneficially Owned that number of Common Shares that would otherwise cause such Person to be an “Acquiring Person” or (B) such Person was aware of the extent of its Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares but had no actual knowledge of the consequences of such Beneficial Ownership under this Agreement) and without any intention of obtaining, changing or influencing control of the Company, and such Person divests as promptly as practicable (as determined by the Board of Directors of the Company) a sufficient number of Common Shares so that such Person would no longer be an Acquiring Person, then such Person shall not be deemed to have become an Acquiring Person for any purposes of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a bona fide swaps or derivatives dealer who would otherwise be an “Acquiring Person” has become so as a result of its actions in the ordinary course of its business that the Board of Directors of the Company determines, in its sole discretion, were taken without the intent or effect of evading or assisting any other Person to evade the purposes and intent of this Agreement, or otherwise seeking to control or influence the management or policies of the Company, then, and unless and until the Board of Directors shall otherwise determine, such Person shall not be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” for any purposes of this Agreement.
1.2      A Person shall be deemed to be “ Acting in Concert ” with another Person if such Person knowingly acts (whether or not pursuant to an express agreement, arrangement or understanding) in concert or in parallel with such other Person, or towards a common goal with such other Person, relating to (i) acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of voting securities of the Company or (ii) changing or influencing the control of the Company or in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that purpose or effect, where (x) each Person is conscious of the other Person’s conduct or intent and this awareness is an element in their decision-making processes and (y) at least one additional factor supports a determination by the Board that such Persons intended to act in concert or in parallel, which such additional factors may include, without limitation, exchanging information, attending meetings, conducting discussions, or making or soliciting invitations to act in concert or in parallel. A Person who is Acting in Concert with another Person shall also be deemed to be Acting in Concert with any third Person who is also Acting in Concert with such other Person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall be deemed to be Acting in Concert with another Person solely as a result of (i) making or receiving a solicitation of, or granting or receiving, revocable proxies or consents given in response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act by means of a proxy or solicitation statement filed on Schedule 14A, or (ii) soliciting or being solicited for, or tendering or receiving tenders of securities in a public tender or exchange offer made pursuant to, and in accordance with, Section 14(d) of the Exchange Act by means of a tender offer statement filed on Schedule TO.

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1.3      Affiliate ” and “ Associate ” shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
1.4      A Person shall be deemed the “ Beneficial Owner ” of, shall be deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of and shall be deemed to “ beneficially own ” any securities:
1.4.1      which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act;
1.4.2      which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates has (i) the right or the obligation to acquire (whether such right is exercisable, or such obligation is required to be performed, immediately or only after the passage of time or upon the satisfaction of conditions) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding (other than customary agreements with and between underwriters and selling group members with respect to a bona fide public offering of securities), written or otherwise, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, rights (other than the Rights), warrants or options, or otherwise; provided , however , that a Person shall not be deemed to be the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own, (w) securities tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act by or on behalf of such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates until such tendered securities are accepted for purchase or exchange, (x) securities which such Person has a right to acquire upon the exercise of Rights at any time prior to the time that any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, (y) securities issuable upon the exercise of Rights from and after the time that any Person becomes an Acquiring Person if such Rights were acquired by such first Person or any of such first Person’s Affiliates or Associates prior to the Distribution Date or pursuant to Section 3.1 or Section 22 hereof (“Original Rights”) or pursuant to Section 11.9 or Section 11.14 with respect to an adjustment to Original Rights, or (z) securities which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates may acquire, does or do acquire or may be deemed to have the right to acquire, pursuant to any merger or other acquisition agreement between the Company and such Person (or one or more of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates) if such agreement has been approved by the Board of Directors prior to such Person’s becoming an Acquiring Person; or (ii) the right to vote pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided , however , that a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own, any security by reason of such agreement, arrangement or understanding if the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such security (A) arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act and (B) is not also then reportable on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report);
1.4.3      which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any other Person (or any Affiliate or Associate of such other Person) with which such first Person or any of such first Person’s Affiliates or Associates or any other Person (or any Affiliate or Associate of such other Person) with whom such first Person (or any Affiliates or Associates of such first Person) is Acting

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in Concert, has any agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether or not in writing, for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except pursuant to a revocable proxy as described in clause (ii) of Section 1.3.2) or disposing of any voting securities of the Company; or
1.4.4      which are the subject of, or the reference securities for, or that underlie, any Derivative Interest of such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates, with the number of Common Shares deemed Beneficially Owned being the notional or other number of Common Shares specified in the documentation evidencing the Derivative Interest as being subject to be acquired upon the exercise or settlement of the Derivative Interest or as the basis upon which the value or settlement amount of such Derivative Interest is to be calculated in whole or in part or, if no such number of Common Shares is specified in such documentation, as determined by the Board of Directors to be the number of Common Shares to which the Derivative Interest relates.
Notwithstanding anything in this definition of Beneficial Owner to the contrary, the phrase “ then outstanding ,” when used with reference to a Person’s beneficial ownership of securities of the Company, means the number of such securities then issued and outstanding together with the number of such securities not then actually issued and outstanding which such Person would be deemed to beneficially own hereunder but the number of securities not outstanding that such Person is otherwise deemed to beneficially own for purposes of this Agreement shall not be included for the purpose of computing the percentage of the outstanding securities beneficially owned by any other Person (unless such other Person is also deemed to beneficially own for purposes of this Agreement such securities not outstanding).
1.5      Book Entry ” shall mean an uncertificated book entry for the Common Shares.
1.6      Business Day ” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the state of New York are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
1.7      Close of Business ” on any given date means 5:00 p.m., New York time, on such date; provided , however , that if such date is not a Business Day, it means 5:00 p.m., New York time, on the next succeeding Business Day.
1.8      Common Shares ” when used with reference to the Company or without reference means the shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company. “ Common Shares ” when used with reference to any Person other than the Company means the capital stock (or, in the case of any entity other than a corporation, the equivalent equity interest) with the greatest voting power of such other Person or, if such other Person is a Subsidiary of another Person, the Person or Persons which ultimately control such first-mentioned Person.
1.9      Common Stock Equivalents ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.1.1(ii)(C).
1.10      Current Per Share Market Price ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.4.1.
1.11      Current Value ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.1.1(i)(A).

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1.12      Derivative Interest ” shall mean any derivative securities (as defined under Rule 16a-1 under the Exchange Act) that increase in value as the value of the underlying equity increases, including, but not limited to, a long convertible security, a long call option and a short put option position, in each case, regardless of whether (x) such interest conveys any voting rights in such security, (y) such interest is required to be, or is capable of being, settled through delivery of such security or (z) transactions hedge the economic effect of such interest.
1.13      Distribution Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.1.
1.14      Earning Power ” has the meaning set forth in Section 13.4.
1.15      Equivalent Preferred Shares ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.2.
1.16      Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
1.17      Exchange Ratio ” has the meaning set forth in Section 24.1.
1.18      Exempt Person ” shall mean any Person that the Board of Directors determines is exempt from this Agreement; provided that such determination is made, and no Person shall qualify as an Exempt Person unless such determination is made, prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person; provided further that any Person will cease to be an Exempt Person if the Board of Directors makes a contrary determination with respect to such Person.
1.19      Final Expiration Date ” means February 25, 2018.
1.20      NYSE ” means the New York Stock Exchange.
1.21      Person ” means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, business trust, limited liability company, unincorporated association or other entity, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.
1.22      Preferred Shares ” means shares of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company having such rights and preferences as are set forth in the form of Certificate of Designation set forth as Exhibit A hereto, as the same may be amended from time to time.
1.23      Purchase Price ” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.2.
1.24      Redemption Date ” has the meaning set forth in Section 23.22.
1.25      Redemption Price ” has the meaning set forth in Section 23.21.
1.26      Right Certificate ” means a certificate evidencing a Right in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto.
1.27      Spread ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.1.1(i).

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1.28      Stock Acquisition Date ” means the earlier of (i) the date of the public announcement (which, for purposes of this definition, shall include, without limitation, a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become such or (ii) the date that a majority of the Board of Directors of the Company shall become aware of the existence of an Acquiring Person.
1.29      Subsidiary ” of any Person means any corporation or entity of which securities or other ownership interest having ordinary voting power sufficient to elect a majority of the board of director or other person performing similar functions are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person and any corporation or other entity that is otherwise controlled by such Person.
1.30      Substitution Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.1.1.
1.31      Summary of Rights ” means the Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares in substantially the form of Exhibit C hereto.
1.32      Trading Day ” means a day on which the principal national securities exchange on which a security is listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business or, if a security is not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, a Business Day.
2.      Appointment of Rights Agent . The Company hereby confirms the appointment of the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company in accordance with the express terms and conditions hereof (and no implied terms or conditions), and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment. The Company may from time to time appoint such co-Rights Agents as it may deem necessary or desirable, upon ten (10) calendar days’ prior written notice to the Rights Agent. In the event the Company appoints one or more co-Rights Agents, the respective duties of the Rights Agent and any co-Rights Agents under the provisions of this Agreement shall be as the Company shall reasonably determine and the Company shall notify in writing, the Rights Agent and any co-Rights Agent of such duties. The Rights Agent shall have no duty to supervise, and shall in no event be liable for, the acts or omissions of any such co-Rights Agent.
3.      Issue of Right Certificates .
3.1      Until the earlier of (i) the tenth Business Day after the Stock Acquisition Date (or, in the event the Board of Directors determines on or before such tenth day Business Day to effect an exchange in accordance with Section 24 and determines in accordance with Section 24.6 that a later date is advisable, such later date that is not more than twenty days after the Stock Acquisition Date) or (ii) the tenth Business Day (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person) after the date of the commencement by any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, or any entity or trustee holding (or acting in a fiduciary capacity in respect of) Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such benefit plan or for the purpose of funding any such plan or funding other employee benefits for employees of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company) of, or of the first public announcement of the intention of any Person (other than any of the Persons referred to in the preceding parenthetical) to commence, a tender or exchange offer the consummation of which

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would result in any Person becoming an Acquiring Person (including any such date which is after the date of this Agreement and prior to the issuance of the Rights; such date being herein referred to as the “ Distribution Date ”, provided, however, that the Distribution Date shall in no event be prior the Record Date), (x) the Rights will be evidenced (subject to the provisions of Section 3.12) by the certificates for Common Shares registered in the names of the holders thereof and not by separate Right Certificates, and (y) the Rights will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of Common Shares. As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date, the Company will prepare and execute, and, at the request of the Company, the Rights Agent will countersign, and the Company will send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent will, if so requested and provided with all necessary information and documents, will, at the expense of the Company, send) by first-class, insured, postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares as of the Close of Business on the Distribution Date (other than any Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person), at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company, a Right Certificate, in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto, evidencing one Right for each Common Share so held, subject to adjustment as provided herein. As of the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Right Certificates. The Company shall promptly notify the Rights Agent in writing upon the occurrence of the Distribution Date. Until such written notice is received by the Rights Agent, the Rights Agent may presume conclusively for all purposes that the Distribution Date has not occurred.
3.2      As soon as practicable after the date hereof, the Company will (directly or, at the expense of the Company, through the Rights Agent or its transfer agent if the Rights Agent or transfer agent is directed by the Company and provided with all necessary information and documents) send a copy of the Summary of Rights by first-class, postage-prepaid mail to each record holder of Common Shares evidenced by certificates as of the Close of Business on the date hereof (other than any Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person), at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company. With respect to certificates representing Common Shares (or Book Entry Common Shares) outstanding as of the date hereof, until the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced by such certificates registered in the names of the holders thereof together with the Summary of Rights. Until the Distribution Date (or, if earlier, the Expiration Date), the surrender for transfer of any certificate representing Common Shares outstanding on the Record Date, with or without a copy of the Summary of Rights, shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares represented thereby. With respect to Book Entry Common Shares outstanding as of the Record Date, until the Distribution Date, the Rights shall be evidenced by the balances indicated in the Book Entry account system of the transfer agent for the Common Shares. Until the earlier of the Distribution Date and the Expiration Date, the transfer of any Common Shares outstanding on the Record Date (whether represented by certificates or evidenced by the balances indicated in the Book Entry account system of the transfer agent for Common Shares, and, in either case, regardless of whether a copy of the Summary of Rights is submitted with the surrender or request for transfer), shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with such Common Shares.
3.3      Certificates for Common Shares which are issued (including, without limitation, reacquired Common Shares referred to in the last sentence of this Section 3.33) after the date hereof but prior to the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, (ii) the Redemption

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Date or (iii) the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or otherwise affixed to them the following legend:
This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to certain Rights as set forth in an Amended and Restated Rights Agreement between Ashford Inc. and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as Rights Agent, dated as of August 12, 2015, as it may from time to time be amended or supplemented pursuant to its terms (the “ Rights Agreement ”), the terms of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal executive offices of Ashford Inc. Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by separate certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this certificate. Ashford Inc. will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request therefor. Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights Agreement, Rights that are or were acquired or beneficially owned by Acquiring Persons (as defined in the Rights Agreement) will become null and void and will no longer be transferable.
If the Company purchases or acquires any Common Shares after the Record Date but prior to the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, any Rights associated with such Common Shares shall be deemed canceled and retired so that the Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated with the Common Shares which are no longer outstanding.
With respect to Common Shares in Book Entry form for which there has been sent a confirmation or account statement containing the foregoing legend, until the earliest of the Distribution Date and the Expiration Date, the Rights associated with the Common Shares shall be evidenced by such Common Shares alone and registered holders of Common Shares shall also be the registered holders of the associated Rights, and the transfer of any such Common Shares shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with such Common Shares.
Notwithstanding this Section 3.3, neither the omission of a legend nor the failure to deliver the notice of such legend required hereby shall affect the enforceability of any part of this Agreement or the rights of any holder of the Rights.
4.      Form of Right Certificates . The Right Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase Preferred Shares and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall be substantially the same as Exhibit B hereto and may have such marks of identification or designation and such legends, summaries or endorsements printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange on which the Rights may from time to time be listed, or to conform to usage. Subject to the other provisions of this Agreement, the Right Certificates shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as shall be set forth therein at the Purchase Price, but the amount and type of securities purchasable upon exercise and the Purchase Price shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.
5.      Countersignature and Registration . The Right Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board or its Chief Executive Officer, its President or any of

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its Vice Presidents, either manually or by facsimile signature; shall have affixed thereto the Company’s seal or a facsimile thereof; and shall be attested by the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Company or the Treasurer or an assistant treasurer of the Company, either manually or by facsimile signature. The Right Certificates shall be countersigned by the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless so countersigned, either manually or by facsimile. If any officer of the Company who shall have signed any of the Right Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company, such Right Certificates nevertheless may be countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the Person who signed such Right Certificates had not ceased to be such officer of the Company. Any Right Certificate may be signed on behalf of the Company by any Person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Right Certificate, is a proper officer of the Company to sign such Right Certificate, even if at the date of the execution of this Agreement such Person was not such an officer.
Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or cause to be kept, at its principal office, books for registration of the transfer of the Right Certificates issued hereunder. Such books shall show the names and addresses of the respective holders of the Right Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the Right Certificates, and the date of each of the Right Certificates.
6.      Transfer, Split-up, Combination and Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates .
6.1      Subject to the provisions of Section 14, at any time after the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, and prior to the earlier of the Redemption Date or the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date, any Right Certificate (other than a Right Certificate representing Rights that have become void pursuant to Section 11.1.2 or that have been exchanged pursuant to Section 24) may be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged for another Right Certificate, entitling the registered holder to purchase a like number of Preferred Shares as the Right Certificate surrendered then entitled such holder to purchase. Any registered holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Right Certificate shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent, and shall surrender the Right Certificate to be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the principal office of the Rights Agent. Thereupon the Rights Agent shall countersign and deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Right Certificate or Right Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested. The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient for any tax or governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with any transfer, split-up, combination or exchange of Right Certificates. If and to the extent the Company does require payment of any such taxes or charges, the Company shall give the Rights Agent written notice thereof and the Rights Agent shall not deliver any Rights Certificate unless and until such payments have been made, and the Rights Agent shall forward any such sum collected by it to the Company or to such Persons as the Company specifies by written notice. The Rights Agent shall have no duty or obligation to take any action with respect to a Rights holder under any Section of this Agreement which requiring the payment by such Rights holder of applicable taxes and/or charges unless and until such taxes and/or charges have been paid.

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6.2      Subject to the provisions of Section 14, at any time after the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, and prior to the earlier of the Redemption Date or the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date, upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of a Right Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company’s request, reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses incidental thereto, and, in case of mutilation, upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of the Right Certificate, the Company will make and deliver a new Right Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for delivery to the registered holder in lieu of the Right Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated.
Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the Company and the Rights Agent may amend this Agreement to provide for uncertificated Rights in addition to or in place of Rights Certificates, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
7.      Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights .
7.1      Except as otherwise provided herein, the Rights shall become exercisable on the Distribution Date, and thereafter, the registered holder of any Right Certificate (other than a holder whose Rights have become void pursuant to Section 11.1.2 or have been exchanged pursuant to Section 24) may, subject to Section 11.1.2 and except as otherwise provided herein, exercise the Rights evidenced thereby in whole or in part at any time after the Distribution Date upon surrender of the Right Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent at its principal office, together with payment of the Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share represented by a Right that is exercised and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax required to be paid pursuant to Section 9, prior to the time (the “ Expiration Date” ) that is the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date, (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed pursuant to Section 23, or (iii) the time at which the Rights are exchanged pursuant to Section 24 and (iv) the Closing of any merger or other acquisition transaction involving the Company pursuant to Agreement described in Sections 1.3.2(i)(z) and 13.3 at which time the Rights are terminated.
7.2      The purchase price to be paid upon the exercise of each Right to purchase one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share represented by a Right shall initially be $275 (the “ Purchase Price ”) and shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of America in accordance with Section 7.3. Each Right shall initially entitle the holder to acquire one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share upon exercise of the Right. The Purchase Price and the number of Preferred Shares or other securities for which a Right is exercisable shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11 and 13.
7.3      Except as otherwise provided herein, upon receipt of a Right Certificate representing exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by payment of the Purchase Price for the number of Rights exercised and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Right Certificate in accordance with Section 9 by cash, certified check, cashier’s check or money order payable to the order of the Company, the Rights Agent shall thereupon promptly (i)(A) requisition from any transfer agent of the Preferred

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Shares certificates for the number of Preferred Shares to be purchased, and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with all such requests, or (B) requisition from any depositary agent for the Preferred Shares depositary receipts representing such number of Preferred Shares as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the Preferred Shares represented by such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent with the depositary agent), and the Company hereby directs any such depositary agent to comply with such request; (ii) when appropriate, requisition from the Company the amount of cash to be paid in lieu of issuance of fractional Preferred Shares in accordance with Section 14; (iii) after receipt of such certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Right Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder; and (iv) when appropriate, after receipt, deliver such cash to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Right Certificate.
7.4      Except as otherwise provided herein, if the registered holder of any Right Certificate shall exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Right Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent to the exercisable Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the Rights Agent to the registered holder of such Right Certificate or to such holder’s duly authorized assigns, subject to the provisions of Section 14.
7.5      Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to undertake any action with respect to a registered holder of Rights upon the occurrence of any purported transfer or exercise of Rights as set forth in Section 6 or this Section 7 unless such registered holder shall have (i) properly completed and signed the certificate contained in the form of assignment or form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Right Certificate surrendered for such transfer or exercise and (ii) provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates thereof as the Company and the Rights Agent shall reasonably request.
8.      Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates . All Right Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split-up, combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of its agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in canceled form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be canceled by it, and no Right Certificates shall be issued in lieu thereof except as expressly permitted by any of the provisions of this Agreement. The Company shall deliver to the Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so cancel and retire, any other Right Certificate purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall deliver all canceled Right Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the written request of the Company, destroy such canceled Right Certificates, and in such case shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.
9.      Status and Availability of Preferred Shares .
9.1      The Company covenants and agrees that it will cause to be reserved and kept available, out of its authorized and unissued Preferred Shares or any Preferred Shares held in its treasury, the number of Preferred Shares that will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights in accordance with Section 7.

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9.2      The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such action as may be necessary to ensure that all Preferred Shares (or other securities of the Company) delivered upon exercise of Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for such Preferred Shares (subject to payment of the Purchase Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and non-assessable shares.
9.3      The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay when due and payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges which may be payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Right Certificates or the issuance and delivery of any certificates or depository receipts or entries in the Book Entry account system of the transfer agent for the of any Preferred Shares (or other securities of the Company) upon the exercise of Rights. The Company shall not, however, be required to pay any transfer tax which may be payable in respect of any transfer or delivery of Right Certificates to a Person other than, or the issuance or delivery of certificates or depositary receipts for the Preferred Shares (or other securities of the Company) in a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Right Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise, and shall not be required to issue or deliver any certificates or depositary receipts for Preferred Shares (or other securities of the Company) upon the exercise of any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid (any such tax being payable by the holder of such Right Certificate at the time of surrender) or until it has been established to the Company’s reasonable satisfaction that no such tax is due.
10.      Preferred Shares Record Date . Each Person in whose name any certificate or entry in the Book Entry account system of the transfer agent for the Preferred Shares is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of the Preferred Shares (or other securities of the Company) represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Right Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase Price (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided, however , that, if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company are closed, such Person shall be deemed to have become the record holder of such shares on, and such certificate shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company are open. Prior to the exercise of the Rights evidenced thereby, the holder of a Right Certificate shall not be entitled to any rights of a holder of Preferred Shares for which the Rights shall be exercisable, including, without limitation, the right to vote, to receive dividends or other distributions, or to exercise any preemptive rights, and shall not be entitled to receive any notice of any proceedings of the Company, except as provided herein.
11.      Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights .
11.1      General .
11.1.1      In the event the Company shall at any time after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Distribution Date (i) declare a dividend on the Preferred Shares payable in Preferred Shares, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Preferred Shares, (iii) combine the outstanding Preferred Shares into a smaller number of Preferred Shares or (iv) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Preferred Shares (including any such reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), except

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as otherwise provided in this Section 11.1, the number and kind of shares of capital stock issuable upon the exercise of a Rights as of the record date for such dividend or the effective date or such subdivision, combination or reclassification, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to such date, the holder would have owned upon such exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination or reclassification; provided , however , that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of the Company issuable upon exercise of one Right.
11.1.2      Subject to the second paragraph of this Section 11.1.2 and to Section 24, on the Stock Acquisition Date, each holder of a Right shall thereafter have a right to receive, upon exercise of each Right to purchase one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share at a price equal to the then current Purchase Price, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and in lieu of Preferred Shares, such number of Common Shares of the Company as shall equal the result obtained by dividing the current Purchase Price by 50% of the then Current Per Share Market Price of the Company’s Common Shares (determined pursuant to Section 11.4) on the Stock Acquisition Date.
From and after the Stock Acquisition Date, any Rights that are or were acquired or beneficially owned by (x) such Acquiring Person (or any Associate or Affiliate of such Acquiring Person) (y) a transferee of any Acquiring Person (or of any such Affiliate or Associate) who becomes a transferee after the Stock Acquisition Date or (z) a transferee of any Acquiring Person (or of any such Affiliate or Associate) who became a transferee prior to or on the Stock Acquisition Date pursuant to either (I) a transfer (whether or not for consideration) from the Acquiring Person to holders of its equity securities or to any Person with whom it has any continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing) regarding the transferred Rights or (II) a transfer which the Board of Directors has determined is part of a plan, arrangement or understanding which has the purpose or effect of avoiding the provisions of this paragraph, and subsequent transferees, either direct transferees or transferees through one or more intermediate transferees, of such Persons, shall be void, and any holder of such Rights shall thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights under any provision of this Agreement. No Right Certificate shall be issued pursuant to Section 3 that represents Rights that are or have become void pursuant to the preceding sentence. No Right Certificate shall be issued at any time upon the transfer of any Rights to an Acquiring Person whose Rights would be void pursuant to this Section 11.1.2 or to any Associate or Affiliate thereof or to any nominee of such Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate. Any Right Certificate delivered to the Rights Agent for transfer to an Acquiring Person whose Rights would be void pursuant to the preceding sentence, or to any Associate or Affiliate thereof, shall be canceled.
11.1.3      If there are not sufficient authorized but unissued Common Shares to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with Section 11.1.2, or should the Board of Directors so elect, the Company shall with respect to such deficiency, to the extent permitted by applicable law and any material agreements to which the Company is a party, (i) determine the excess (the “ Spread ”) of (A) the value of the Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of a Right as provided in Section 11.1.2 (the “ Current Value ”) over (B) the Purchase Price, and (ii) with respect to each Right (other than Rights which have become void pursuant to Section 11.1.2), make adequate

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provision to substitute for such Common Shares, upon payment of the applicable Purchase Price, any one or more of the following having an aggregate value determined by the Board of Directors to be equal to the Current Value: (A) cash, (B) a reduction in the Purchase Price, (C) Common Shares or other equity securities of the Company (including, without limitation, shares, or fractions of shares, of preferred stock which the Board of Directors of the Company has determined to have the same value as Common Shares (“ Common Stock Equivalents ”)), (D) debt securities of the Company or (E) other assets; provided , however , if the Company shall not have made adequate provision to deliver value pursuant to clause (ii) above within thirty days following the Stock Acquisition Date, then the Company shall be obligated to deliver, to the extent permitted by law and any material agreements then in effect to which the Company is a party, upon the surrender for exercise of a Right and without requiring payment of the Purchase Price, Common Shares (to the extent available) and then, if necessary, cash, which shares and cash shall have an aggregate value equal to the Spread.
If the Board of Directors of the Company shall determine that it is likely that sufficient additional Common Shares could be authorized for issuance upon exercise in full of the Rights, the thirty-day period set forth above may be extended to the extent necessary, but not more than ninety days after the Stock Acquisition Date, in order that the Company may seek stockholder approval for the authorization of such additional shares (such period, as it may be extended, the “ Substitution Period ”). If the Company determines that action need be taken pursuant to this Section 11.1.1, the Company (x) shall provide, subject to Section 7.5 and the last paragraph of Section 11.1.2, that such action shall apply uniformly to all outstanding Rights, and (y) may suspend the exercisability of the Rights until the expiration of the Substitution Period in order to seek any authorization of additional shares, decide the appropriate form of distribution to be made and determine the value thereof. If the exercisability of the Rights is suspended pursuant to this Section 11.1.1, the Company shall make a public announcement, and shall deliver to the Rights Agent a statement, stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended. When the suspension is no longer in effect, the Company shall make another public announcement, and deliver to the Rights Agent a statement, so stating. For purposes of this Section 11.1.1, the value of the Common Shares shall be the Current Per Share Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11.4.1) of the Common Shares as of the Stock Acquisition Date, and the value of any Common Stock Equivalent shall be deemed to have the same value as the Common Shares on such date.
11.2      If the Company fixes a record date for the issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Shares entitling them (for a period expiring within forty-five calendar days after such record date) to subscribe for or purchase Preferred Shares (or shares having the same rights, privileges and preferences as the Preferred Shares (“ Equivalent Preferred Shares ”)) or securities convertible into Preferred Shares or Equivalent Preferred Shares at a price per Preferred Share or Equivalent Preferred Share (or having a conversion price per share, if a security convertible into Preferred Shares or Equivalent Preferred Shares) less than the then Current Per Share Market Price of the Preferred Shares (as defined in Section 11.4.2) on such record date, the Purchase Price to be in effect after such record date shall be adjusted by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, (i) the numerator of which shall be (A) the number of Preferred Shares outstanding on such record date plus (B) the number of Preferred Shares which the aggregate offering price of the total number of Preferred Shares or Equivalent Preferred

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Shares to be offered (or the aggregate initial conversion price of the convertible securities to be offered) would purchase at such Current Per Share Market Price and (ii) the denominator of which shall be (A) the number of Preferred Shares outstanding on such record date plus (B) the number of additional Preferred Shares or Equivalent Preferred Shares to be offered for subscription or purchase (or into which the convertible securities to be offered are initially convertible); provided , however , that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the Preferred Shares issuable upon exercise of one Right. If such subscription price may be paid in a consideration part or all of which shall be in a form other than cash, the value of such consideration shall be as determined by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent. Preferred Shares owned by or held for the account of the Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such computation. Such adjustment shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed. If such rights, options or warrants are not so issued, the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase Price that would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.
11.3      If the Company fixes a record date for the making of a distribution to all holders of the Preferred Shares (including any distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation) of evidences of indebtedness or assets (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend or a dividend payable in Preferred Shares) or subscription rights or warrants (excluding those referred to in Section 11.2), the Purchase Price to be in effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, (i) the numerator of which shall be the then Current Per Share Market Price of the Preferred Shares on such record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent) of the portion of the assets or evidences of indebtedness to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants applicable to one Preferred Share and (ii) the denominator of which shall be the then Current Per Share Market Price of the Preferred Shares; provided , however , that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the Preferred Shares to be issued upon exercise of one Right. Such adjustments shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed. If such distribution is not so made, the Purchase Price shall again be adjusted to be the Purchase Price that would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.
11.4      Current Per Share Market Price .
11.4.1      Except as otherwise provided herein, for the purpose of any computation hereunder, the “ Current Per Share Market Price ” of any security on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily closing prices per share of such security for the thirty consecutive Trading Days immediately prior to such date; provided , however , that if the Current Per Share Market Price of the security is determined during a period (i) following the announcement by the issuer of such security of (A) a dividend or distribution on such security payable in shares of such security or other securities convertible into such shares, or (B) any subdivision, combination or reclassification of such security, and (ii) prior to the expiration of thirty Trading Days after the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or the record date for such subdivision, combination or reclassification,

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then, and in each such case, the Current Per Share Market Price shall be appropriately adjusted to reflect the current market price per share equivalent of such security. The closing price for each day shall be the last sale price or, if no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices, in either case as reported by the NYSE, or, if on any such date the security is not quoted by the NYSE, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the security selected by the Board of Directors of the Company.
11.4.2      For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the “ Current Per Share Market Price ” of the Preferred Shares, if the Preferred Shares are publicly traded, the Current Per Share Market Price shall be determined in accordance with the method set forth in Section 11.4.1. If the Preferred Shares are not publicly traded, the “ Current Per Share Market Price ” of the Preferred Shares shall be conclusively deemed to be the Current Per Share Market Price of the Common Shares as determined pursuant to Section 11.4.1 (appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof) multiplied by one thousand. If neither the Common Shares nor the Preferred Shares are publicly held or so listed or traded, “ Current Per Share Market Price ” means the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent.
11.5      No adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be required unless such adjustment would require an increase or decrease of at least 1% in the Purchase Price; provided , however , that any adjustments which by reason of this Section 11.5 are not required to be made shall be carried forward and taken into account in any subsequent adjustment. All calculations under this Section 11 shall be made to the nearest cent or to the nearest one ten-millionth of a Preferred Share or one ten-thousandth of any other share or security as the case may be. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11.5, any adjustment required by this Section 11 shall be made no later than three years from the date of the transaction which requires such adjustment.
11.6      If, as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11.1, the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled to receive any shares of capital stock of the Company other than Preferred Shares, the Purchase Price and number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any Right shall thereafter be subject to adjustment from time to time in a manner and on terms as nearly equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the Preferred Shares contained in Sections 11.1 through 11.3, inclusive, and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10 and 13 with respect to the Preferred Shares shall apply on like terms to any such other shares.
11.7      All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to any adjustment made to the Purchase Price hereunder shall evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.
11.8      Unless the Company exercises its election as provided in Section 11.9, upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a result of the calculations made in Sections 11.2 and 11.3, each Right outstanding immediately prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (calculated to the nearest one ten-millionth of a Preferred Share) obtained by (i) multiplying

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the number of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment by the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the Purchase Price and (ii) dividing the product by the Purchase Price in effect immediately after such adjustment of the Purchase Price.
11.9      The Company may elect on or after the date of any adjustment of the Purchase Price to adjust the number of Rights in substitution for any adjustment in the number of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share purchasable upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after such adjustment of the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment. Each Right held of record prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest one hundred-thousandth) obtained by dividing the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Purchase Price by the Purchase Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Purchase Price. The Company shall make a public announcement of its election to adjust the number of Rights (with written notice to the Rights Agent), indicating the record date for the adjustment and, if known at the time, the amount of the adjustment to be made. The record date may be the date on which the Purchase Price is adjusted or any day thereafter but, if the Right Certificates have been distributed, shall be at least ten days after the date of the public announcement. If Right Certificates have been distributed, upon each adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant to this Section 11.9, the Company shall, as promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record of Right Certificates on such record date Right Certificates evidencing, subject to Section 14, the additional Rights to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in substitution and replacement for the Right Certificates held by such holders prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof if required by the Company, new Right Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled after such adjustment. Right Certificates to be so distributed shall be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner provided for herein and shall be registered in the names of the holders of record of Right Certificates on the record date specified in the public announcement.
11.10      Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price or the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the Right Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may continue to express the Purchase Price and the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share which were expressed in the initial Right Certificates issued hereunder.
11.11      Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment reducing the Purchase Price below the then par value of the fraction of Preferred Shares or other shares of capital stock issuable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company shall take any corporate action which may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and non-assessable Preferred Shares or other such shares at such adjusted Purchase Price.
11.12      If this Section 11 requires that an adjustment in the Purchase Price be made effective as of a record date for a specified event, the Company may defer, until the occurrence of such event, issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date Preferred Shares and other capital

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stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and above the Preferred Shares and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise on the basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such adjustment; provided , however , that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due bill or other appropriate instrument evidencing such holder’s right to receive such additional shares upon the occurrence of the event requiring adjustment.
11.13      Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary notwithstanding, the Company shall be entitled to make such reductions in the Purchase Price, in addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to the extent that it in its sole discretion shall determine to be advisable in order that any (i) combination or subdivision of the Preferred Shares, (ii) issuance wholly for cash of any Preferred Shares at less than the Current Per Share Market Price, (iii) issuance wholly for cash of Preferred Shares or securities which by their terms are convertible into or exchangeable for Preferred Shares, (iv) dividends on Preferred Shares payable in Preferred Shares, or (v) issuance of any rights, options or warrants referred to in Section 11.2 made by the Company after the date of this Agreement to holders of its Preferred Shares shall not be taxable to such stockholders.
11.14      If, at any time after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Distribution Date, the Company (i) declares or pays any dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or (ii) effects a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise other than by payment of dividends in Common Shares) into a greater or lesser number of Common Shares, then in any such case (i) the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share purchasable after such event upon exercise of each Right shall be determined by multiplying the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share so purchasable immediately prior to such event by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately before such event and the denominator of which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately after such event, and (ii) each Common Share outstanding immediately after such event shall have issued with respect to it that number of Rights which each Common Share outstanding immediately prior to such event had issued with respect to it. The adjustments provided for in this Section 11.14 shall be made successively whenever such a dividend is declared or paid or such a subdivision, combination or consolidation is affected.
12.      Certificate of Adjustment . Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Sections 11 and 13, the Company shall promptly (i) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment, (ii) file with the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for the Common Shares or the Preferred Shares a copy of such certificate, and (iii) if such adjustment occurs following a Distribution Date, mail a brief summary thereof to each holder of a Right Certificate in accordance with Section 25. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the failure of the Company to make such a certification or give such notice shall not affect the validity of such adjustment or the force or effect of the requirement for such adjustment. The Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment therein contained and shall not be obligated or responsible for calculating any adjustment, nor shall the Rights Agent be deemed to have knowledge of such an adjustment, unless and until it shall have received such certificate.

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13.      Consolidation, Merger, Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power .
13.1      If, at any time after a Stock Acquisition Date, (i) the Company consolidates with, or merges with and into, any other Person; (ii) any Person consolidates with the Company, or merges with and into the Company, and the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation of such merger and, in connection with such merger, all or part of the Common Shares are or will be changed into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person (or the Company) or cash or any other property; or (iii) the Company sells or otherwise transfers (or one or more of its Subsidiaries sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more transactions, assets or Earning Power aggregating 50% or more of the assets or Earning Power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person other than the Company or one or more of its wholly owned Subsidiaries, then proper provision shall be made so that (A) each holder of a Right (except for Rights which have become void as provided herein) shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise of each Right to purchase one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share represented by a Right at a price equal to the then current Purchase Price, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and in lieu of Preferred Shares, such number of Common Shares of such other Person (including the Company as successor thereto or as the surviving corporation) equal to the result obtained by dividing the then current Purchase Price by 50% of the then Current Per Share Market Price of the Common Shares of such other Person (determined pursuant to Section 11.4 hereof) on the date of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer; (B) the issuer of such Common Shares shall thereafter be liable for, and shall assume, by virtue of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer, all the obligations and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (C) the term “Company” shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such issuer; and (D) such issuer shall take steps (including, but not limited to, the reservation of a sufficient number of shares of its common stock in accordance with Section 9) in connection with such consummation as may be necessary to ensure that the provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in relation to the common stock thereafter deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights; provided that, upon the subsequent occurrence of any consolidation, merger, sale or transfer of assets or other extraordinary transaction in respect of such issuer, each holder of a Right shall thereupon be entitled to receive, upon exercise of a Right and payment of the Purchase Price as provided in this Section 13.1, such cash, shares, rights, warrants and other property which such holder would have been entitled to receive had such holder, at the time of such transaction, owned Common Shares of the issuer receivable upon the exercise of a Right pursuant to this Section 13.1, and such issuer shall take such steps (including, but not limited to, reservation of shares of stock) as may be necessary to permit the subsequent exercise of the Rights in accordance with the terms hereof for such cash, shares, rights, warrants and other property.
13.2      The Company shall not consummate any such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer unless prior thereto the Company and such issuer shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement providing for such issuer’s compliance with this Section 13. The Company shall not enter into any transaction of the kind referred to in this Section 13 if, at the time of such transaction, there are any rights, warrants, instruments or securities outstanding or any agreements or arrangements which, as a result of the consummation of such transaction, would eliminate or substantially diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights. The provisions of this Section 13 shall apply to successive mergers or consolidations or sales or other transfers.

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13.3      Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, in the event of any merger or other acquisition transaction involving the Company pursuant to a merger or other acquisition agreement between the Company and any Person (or one or more of such Person’s Affiliates or Associations) which agreement has been approved by the Board of Directors prior to any Person becoming an Acquiring Person, this Agreement and the rights of holders of Rights hereunder shall be terminated in accordance with Section 7.1.
13.4      For purposes hereof, the “ Earning Power ” of the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be determined in good faith by the Company’s Board of Directors on the basis of the operating earnings of each business operated by the Company and its Subsidiaries during the three fiscal years preceding the date of such determination (or, in the case of any business not operated by the Company or any Subsidiary during three full fiscal years preceding such date, during the period such business was operated by the Company or any Subsidiary).
14.      Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares .
14.1      The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights (except prior to the Distribution Date in accordance with Section 11.14) or to distribute Right Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Right. For the purposes of this Section 14.1, the current market value of a whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such fractional Rights would have been otherwise issuable.
14.2      The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share). Fractions of Preferred Shares in integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts, pursuant to an agreement between the Company and a depositary selected by the Company; provided , that such agreement shall provide that the holders of such depositary receipts shall have all the rights, privileges and preferences to which they are entitled as Beneficial Owners of the Preferred Shares represented by such depositary receipts. In lieu of fractional Preferred Shares that are not integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, the Company shall pay to each registered holder of Right Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised or exchanged as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of one Preferred Share as the fraction of one Preferred Share that such holder would otherwise receive upon the exercise of the aggregate number of rights exercised by such holder. For the purposes of this Section 14.2, the current market value of a Preferred Share shall be the closing price of a Preferred Share (pursuant to Section 11.4.1) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise or exchange.
14.3      The closing price for any day shall be the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices as reported by the NYSE, or if on any such date the Rights or Preferred Shares, as applicable, are not quoted by any such organization, the average of

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the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the Rights or Preferred Shares, as applicable, selected by the Board of Directors of the Company. If on any such date no such market maker is making a market in the Rights or Preferred Shares, as applicable, the fair value of the Rights or Preferred Shares, as applicable, on such date as determined by the Board of Directors of the Company shall be used.
14.4      The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Right expressly waives any right to receive fractional Rights or fractional shares upon exercise of a Right (except as provided in this Section 14).
15.      Rights of Action . All rights of action in respect of this Agreement, excepting the rights of action given to the Rights Agent under Section 18, are vested in the respective registered holders of the Right Certificates and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of the Common Shares. Any registered holder of any Right Certificate or, prior to the Distribution Date, of Common Shares may, without the consent of the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Right Certificate or, prior to the Distribution Date, of Common Shares, on such holder’s own behalf and for such holder’s own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, such holder’s right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate in the manner provided in such Right Certificate and in this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement and will be entitled to specific performance of the obligations under, and injunctive relief against actual or threatened violations of the obligations of any Person subject to, this Agreement.
16.      Agreement of Right Holders . Every holder of a Right, by accepting the same, consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent and with every other holder of a Right that:
16.1      prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of the Common Shares;
16.2      after the Distribution Date, the Right Certificates are transferable only on the registry books maintained by the Rights Agent if surrendered at the principal office of the Rights Agent, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer; and
16.3      the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the Person in whose name the Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated Common Shares certificate or Book Entry) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the Right Certificates or the associated Common Shares certificate Book Entry made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent, subject to Section 7.5 hereof, shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.
17.      Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder . No holder, as such, of any Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote or receive dividends, or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or any other securities of the Company that may at any time be issuable on

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the exercise or exchange of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein or in any Right Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Right Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in Section 25), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate shall have been exercised or exchanged in accordance with the provisions hereof.
18.      Concerning the Rights Agent . The Company agrees to pay to the Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it hereunder and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable expenses and counsel fees and other disbursements incurred in the administration and execution of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder. The Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to hold it harmless against, any loss, liability or expense, incurred without negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent, for anything done or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the acceptance and administration of this Agreement, including the costs and expenses of defending against any claim or liability arising therefrom, directly or indirectly.
The Rights Agent shall be protected and shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in connection with its administration of this Agreement in reliance upon any Right Certificate or certificate for Preferred Shares, Common Shares, or for other securities of the Company, instrument of assignment or transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice, direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to be signed, executed and, where necessary, verified or acknowledged by the proper Person or Persons, or otherwise upon the advice of counsel as set forth in Section 20 hereof. The Rights Agent shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any event of which it was supposed to receive written notice thereof hereunder, but for which it has not received such written notice, and the Rights Agent shall (subject to the limitations set forth herein) be fully protected and shall incur no liability for failing to take action in connection therewith unless and until it has received such written notice.
19.      Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent . Any entity into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any entity succeeding to the corporate trust powers of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto; provided that such entity would be eligible for appointment as a successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21. If, at the time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by this Agreement, any of the Right Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of the predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Right Certificates so countersigned. If, at that time, any of the Right Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Right Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Rights Agent or in the

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name of the successor Rights Agent. In all such cases such Right Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Right Certificates and in this Agreement.
If, at any time, the name of the Rights Agent changes and any of the Right Certificates have been countersigned but not delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name and deliver Right Certificates so countersigned. If, at that time, any of the Right Certificates have not been countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Right Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name. In all such cases such Right Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Right Certificates and in this Agreement.
The provisions of this Section 19 and Section 20 below shall survive the termination of this Agreement, the resignation, replacement or removal of the Rights Agent and the exercise, termination and the expiration of the Rights. In no event shall the Rights Agent be liable for special, punitive, incidental, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including but not limited to lost profits), even if the Rights Agent has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of the action (unless the Rights Agent has been found liable for such special, punitive, incidental, indirect or consequential loss or damage by a court of competent jurisdiction); and the Company agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent and to hold it harmless to the fullest extent permitted by law against any loss, liability or expense incurred as a result of claims for special, punitive, incidental, indirect or consequential loss or damages of any kind whatsoever provided in each case that such claims are not based on the gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct of the Rights Agent (each as determined by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction).
20.      Duties of Rights Agent . The Rights Agent undertakes the duties and obligations set forth in this Agreement. The Rights Agent shall perform those duties and obligations upon the following terms and conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Right Certificates, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:
20.1      The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel selected by it (who may be outside legal counsel for the Rights Agent or the Company), and the opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent and the Rights Agent will have no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in the absence of bad faith and in accordance with such advice or opinion.
20.2      Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement the Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter (including the identity of any Acquiring Person and the determination of Current Market Price) be proved or established by the Company prior to taking, suffering, or omitting to take any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof is specifically prescribed herein) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by any one of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman of the Board, the President, a Vice President, the Treasurer or the Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent, and such certificate shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent and the Rights Agent shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it, in the absence of bad faith, under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such certificate.

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20.3      The Rights Agent shall be liable to the Company and any other Person hereunder only for its own gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct (which gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct must be determined by a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction).
20.4      The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the Right Certificates (except as to its countersignature thereof) or be required to verify the same. All such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to have been made by the Company only.
20.5      The Rights Agent shall not have any liability for nor be under any responsibility in respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execution and delivery hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or execution of any Right Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be liable or responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or failure by the Company to satisfy any condition contained in this Agreement or in any Right Certificate; nor shall it be responsible for any adjustment required under the provisions of Sections 11 or 13 or for the manner, method or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment (except with respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Right Certificates after receipt of a certificate furnished pursuant to Section 12 describing such adjustment); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any shares of Preferred Shares or other securities to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Right Certificate or as to whether any Preferred Shares or other securities will, when so issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid, and non-assessable.
20.6      The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and deliver, or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered, all such further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably be required by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the Rights Agent of the provisions of this Agreement.
20.7      The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to accept instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder and certificates delivered pursuant to any provision hereof from any one of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman of the Board, the President, a Vice President, the Treasurer or the Secretary of the Company, and to apply to such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties. The Rights Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or suffered to be taken by it, in the absence of bad faith, in accordance with instructions of any such officer and such advice or instruction shall be full authorization and protection to the Rights Agent and the Rights Agent shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken or suffered or omitted to be taken by it by it, in the absence of bad faith, in accordance with advice or instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting while waiting for those instructions.
20.8      The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director, officer or employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or other securities of the Company, or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the Company, or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not the Rights Agent under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.

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20.9      The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself (through its directors, officers and employees) or by or through its attorneys or agents. The Rights Agent shall not be answerable or accountable for any act, default, neglect, or misconduct of any such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company resulting from any such act, default, neglect or misconduct; provided that reasonable care was exercised in the selection and continued employment of such attorneys or agents.
20.10      No provision of this Agreement shall require the Rights Agent to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of its rights if there shall be reasonable grounds for believing that repayment of such funds or adequate indemnification against such risk or liability is not reasonably assured to it.
20.11      The Rights Agent shall not be required to take notice or be deemed to have notice of any fact, event or determination (including, without limitation, any dates or events defined in this Agreement or the designation of any Person as an Acquiring Person, Affiliate or Associate) under this Agreement unless and until the Rights Agent shall be specifically notified in writing by the Company of such fact, event or determination.
21.      Change of Rights Agent . The Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement upon thirty days’ notice in writing mailed to the Company and, in the event that the Rights Agent or one of its Affiliates is not also the transfer agent for the Company, to each transfer agent of the Common Shares and the Preferred Shares by registered or certified mail. In the event the transfer agency relationship in effect between the Company and the Rights Agent terminates, the Rights Agent will be deemed to have resigned automatically and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement as of the effective date of such termination, and the Company shall be responsible for sending any required notice. The Company may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon thirty days’ notice in writing, mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to each transfer agent of the Common Shares and the Preferred Shares by registered or certified mail, and, after the Distribution Date, to the holders of the Right Certificates by first class mail. If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise become incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of thirty days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a Right Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit such Right Certificate for inspection by the Company), then the registered holder of any Right Certificate may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new Rights Agent. Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be a corporation or trust company organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or of any state of the United States, in good standing, which is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust or stock transfer powers, is subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority, and has, along with its Affiliates, at the time of its appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at least $50 million. After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be vested with the same powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been originally named as Rights Agent without further act or deed, and the predecessor Rights Agent shall deliver and transfer to the successor Rights Agent any property at the time held by it hereunder,

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and shall execute and deliver any further assurance, conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose. Not later than the effective date of any such appointment the Company shall file notice thereof in writing with the predecessor Rights Agent and each transfer agent of the Common Shares and the Preferred Shares, and, after the Distribution Date, mail a notice in writing to the registered holders of the Right Certificates. Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21, however, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as the case may be.
22.      Issuance of New Right Certificates . Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Right Certificates to the contrary, the Company may, at its option, issue new Right Certificates evidencing Rights in such form as may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Right Certificates made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. In addition, in connection with the issuance or sale of Common Shares following the Distribution Date and prior to the earlier of the Redemption Date and the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date, the Company may, with respect to Common Shares so issued or sold (i) pursuant to the exercise of stock options; (ii) under any employment plan or arrangement; (iii) upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of securities, notes or debentures issued by the Company, or (iv) pursuant to a contractual obligation of the Company, in each case existing prior to the Distribution Date, issue Right Certificates representing the appropriate number of Rights in connection with such issuance or sale.
23.      Redemption .
23.1      The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, redeem all, but not less than all, of the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $0.001 per one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share represented by a Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (the “ Redemption Price ”). The redemption of the Rights by the Board of Directors may be made effective at such time, on such basis and subject to such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish. The Redemption Price shall be payable, at the option of the Company, in cash, Common Shares or such other form of consideration as the Board of Directors shall determine.
23.2      Immediately upon the time of the effectiveness of the redemption of the Rights or such earlier time as may be determined by the Board of Directors of the Company in the action ordering such redemption (although not earlier than the time of such action) (the “ Redemption Date ”), and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise the Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of the holders of Rights shall be to receive the Redemption Price. The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such redemption; provided , however , that the failure to give, or any defect in, any such notice shall not affect the validity of such redemption. Within ten days after action of the Board of Directors ordering the redemption of the Rights (or such later time as the Board of Directors may establish for the effectiveness of such redemption), the Company shall mail a notice of redemption to all the holders of the then outstanding Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, prior

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to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer agent for the Common Shares. Any notice mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. If the payment of the Redemption Price is not included with such notice, each such notice shall state the method by which the payment of the Redemption Price will be made. Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates or Associates may redeem, acquire or purchase for value any Rights at any time in any manner other than that specifically set forth in this Section 23 or in Section 24, other than in connection with the purchase of Common Shares prior to the Distribution Date.
24.      Exchange .
24.1      The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time after a Stock Acquisition Date, exchange all or part of the then outstanding and exercisable Rights (which excludes Rights that have become void pursuant to Section 11.1.2) for Common Shares at an exchange ratio of one Common Share per one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share represented by a Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (the “ Exchange Ratio ”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors shall not be empowered to effect such exchange at any time after an Acquiring Person becomes the Beneficial Owner of a majority of the Common Shares then outstanding. From and after the occurrence of an event specified in Section 13.1, any rights that theretofore have not been exchanged pursuant to this Section 24 shall thereafter be exercisable only in accordance with Section 13 and may not be exchanged pursuant to this Section 24. The exchange of the Rights by the Board of Directors of the Company may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors of the Company in its sole discretion may establish.
24.2      Immediately upon effectiveness of the action of the Board of Directors of the Company ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to Section 24.1, and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise such Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of a holder of such Rights shall be to receive that number of Common Shares equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the Exchange Ratio. The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such exchange; provided , however , that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not affect the validity of such exchange. The Company promptly shall mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of exchange will state the method by which the exchange of the Common Shares for Rights will be effected and, in the event of any partial exchange, the number of Rights which will be exchanged. Any partial exchange shall be effected pro rata based on the number of Rights (other than Rights which have become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11.1.2) held by each holder of Rights.
24.3      In any exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the Company, at its option, may substitute Preferred Shares or Common Stock Equivalents for Common Shares exchangeable for Rights, at the initial rate of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (or an appropriate number of Common Stock Equivalents) for each Common Share, as appropriately adjusted to reflect

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adjustments in the voting rights of the Preferred Shares pursuant to the terms thereof, so that the fraction of a Preferred Share delivered in lieu of each Common Share shall have the same voting rights as one Common Share.
24.4      If there shall not be sufficient Common Shares, Preferred Shares or Common Stock Equivalents authorized but unissued to permit any exchange of Rights as contemplated in accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall take all such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common Shares, Preferred Shares or Common Stock Equivalents for issuance upon exchange of the Rights.
24.5      The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Common Shares or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Common Shares. In lieu of issuing fractional Common Shares, the Company may instead pay to the registered holders of the Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional Common Shares would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current per share market value of a whole Common Share. For the purposes of this Section 24.5, the current per share market value of a whole Common Share shall be the closing price of a Common Share (as determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 11.4.1) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of exchange pursuant to this Section 24.
24.6      Notwithstanding anything in this Section 24 to the contrary, the exchange of the Rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish. Without limiting the preceding sentence, the Board of Directors may (i) in lieu of issuing Common Shares or any other securities contemplated by this Section 24 to the Persons entitled thereto in connection with the exchange (such Persons, the “Exchange Recipients,” and such shares and other securities, together with any dividends or distributions made on such shares or other securities, the “Exchange Property”) issue, transfer or deposit the Exchange Property to or into a trust or other entity that may hold such Exchange Property for the benefit of the Exchange Recipients (provided that such trust or other entity may not be controlled by the Company or any of its Affiliates or Associates and provided further that the trustee or similar fiduciary of the trust or other entity will attempt to distribute the Exchange Property to the Exchange Recipients as promptly as practicable), (ii) permit such trust or other entity to exercise all of the rights that a stockholder of record would possess with respect to any shares deposited in such trust or entity and (iii) impose such procedures as are necessary to verify that the Exchange Recipients are not Acquiring Persons or Affiliates or Associates of Acquiring Persons as of any time periods established by the Board of Directors or such trust or entity. In the event the Board of Directors determines, before the Distribution Date, to effect an exchange, such Board may delay the occurrence of the Distribution Date to such time as such Board deems advisable; provided that the Distribution Date must occur no later than twenty days after the Stock Acquisition Date.
25.      Notice of Certain Events .
25.1      If the Company shall after the Distribution Date propose (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to the holders of its Preferred Shares or to make any other distribution to the holders of its Preferred Shares (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend); (ii) to offer to the holders of its Preferred Shares rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional

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Preferred Shares or shares of stock of any class or any other securities, rights or options; (iii) to effect any reclassification of its Preferred Shares (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding Preferred Shares); (iv) to effect any consolidation or merger into or with any other Person, or to effect any sale or other transfer (or to permit one or more of its Subsidiaries to effect any sale or other transfer), in one or more transactions, of 50% or more of the assets or Earning Power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person; (v) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company; or (vi) to declare or pay any dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares, or to effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in Common Shares), then, in each such case, the Company shall give to each holder of a Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26, a notice of such proposed action, which shall specify the record date for the purposes of such stock dividend, or distribution of rights or warrants, or the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer, liquidation, dissolution or winding-up is to take place and the date of participation therein by the holders of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares or both, if any such date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in the case of any action covered by clause (i) or (ii) above at least ten days prior to the record date for determining holders of the Preferred Shares for purposes of such action, and in the case of any such other action, at least ten days prior to the date of the taking of such proposed action or the date of participation therein by the holders of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares or both, whichever shall be the earlier. The failure to give notice required by this Section 25.1 or any defect there in shall not affect the legality or validity of the action taken by the Company or the vote upon any such action.
25.2      The Company shall, as soon as practicable after a Stock Acquisition Date, give to each holder of a Right Certificate (or if occurring prior to the Distribution Date, the holders of Common Shares), in accordance with Section 26, a notice that describes the transaction in which the a Person became an Acquiring Person and the consequences of the transaction to holders of Rights under Section 11.1.2.
26.      Notices . Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Right Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by overnight delivery service or first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Rights Agent) as follows:
Ashford Inc.
14185 Dallas Parkway Suite 1100 ,
Dallas, Texas 75254
Attention: General Counsel
Copy to:

Kirkland & Ellis, LLP
601 Lexington Avenue,
New York, New York 10022

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Attn: David Fox
Richard Brand
Subject to the provisions of Section 21, any notice or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any Right Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be deemed given upon receipt and shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by overnight delivery service or registered or certified mail addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Company) as follows:
Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
250 Royall Street
Canton, MA 02021
Attention: Client Services
Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Right Certificate shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry books of the Company.
27.      Supplements and Amendments . The Company may from time to time, and the Rights Agent shall if the Company so directs, supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of Right Certificates in order to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective or inconsistent with any other provisions herein, or to make any change to or delete any provision hereof or to adopt any other provisions with respect to the Rights which the Company may deem necessary or desirable; provided , however , that, from and after such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, this Agreement shall not be amended or supplemented in any manner which would adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights (other than an Acquiring Person and its Affiliates and Associates). Without limited the foregoing, the Company may at any time prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person amend this Agreement to lower the thresholds set forth in Section 1(a) and 3(a) hereof to not less than 5% (the Reduced Threshold ); provided , however , that no Person who, at the time of the amendment setting a Reduced Threshold, Beneficially Owns a number of Common Shares equal to or greater than the Reduced Threshold shall become an Acquiring Person unless such Person shall, after the public announcement of the Reduced Threshold, increase its Beneficial Ownership of the then outstanding Common Shares (other than as a result of an acquisition of Common Shares by the Company) to an amount equal to or greater than the greater of (x) the Reduced Threshold or (y) the sum of (i) the lowest Beneficial Ownership of such Person as a percentage of the outstanding Common Shares as of any date on or after the date of the public announcement of such Reduced Threshold plus (ii) .001%. Any supplement or amendment authorized by this Section 27 will be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and the Rights Agent. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no supplement or amendment that changes the rights and duties of the Rights Agent under this Agreement will be effective against the Rights Agent without the execution of such supplement or amendment by the Rights Agent.

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28.      Successors . All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Rights Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.
29.      Benefits of This Agreement . Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to give to any Person or entity other than the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the Common Shares) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under this Agreement. This Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the Common Shares).
30.      Severability . If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, null and void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated; provided, that if any such excluded terms, provisions, covenants or restrictions shall materially and adversely affect the rights, immunities, liabilities, duties, responsibilities or obligations of the Rights Agent, the Rights Agent shall be entitled to resign upon ten (10) Business Days’ written notice to the Company.
31.      Governing Law . This Agreement and each Right Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the state of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such state applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such state.
32.      Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. A signature to this Agreement transmitted electronically shall have the same authority, effect and enforceability as an original signature.
33.      Descriptive Headings . Descriptive headings of the sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.
34.      Administration . The Board of Directors of the Company shall have the exclusive power and authority to administer and interpret the provisions of this Agreement and to exercise all rights and powers specifically granted to the Board of Directors or the Company or as may be necessary or advisable in the administration of this Agreement. All such actions, calculations, determinations and interpretations which are done or made by the Board of Directors in good faith shall be final, conclusive and binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, holders of the Rights and all other parties and shall not subject the Board of Directors to any liability to the holders of the Rights.
35.      Force Majeure . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Rights Agent will not have any liability for not preforming, or a delay in the performance of, any act, duty, obligation or responsibility by reason of any occurrence beyond the reasonable control of the Rights Agent (including, without limitation, any act or provision of any present or future law or regulation

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or government authority, any act of God, war, civil or military disobedience or disorder, riot, terrorism, fire, earthquake, storm, flood, strike, work stoppage or similar occurrence).
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and their respective corporate seals to be hereunder affixed and attested, all as of the day and year first above written.
Ashford Inc.


By:
    /s/ David A. Brooks    
Computershare Trust Company, N.A .


By:     /s/ Dennis V. Moccia    
    as Rights Agent



33




EXHIBIT A
FORM

of

CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION


of


SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK


of


ASHFORD INC.


________________________
(Pursuant to Section 151 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware)
________________________
Ashford Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “ Corporation ”), hereby certifies that the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “ Board of Directors ”) as required by Section 151 of the General Corporation Law at a meeting duly called and held on November 16, 2014:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority granted to and vested in the Board of Directors in accordance with the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation (the “ Certificate of Incorporation ”), the Board of Directors hereby creates a series of Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “ Preferred Stock ”), of the Corporation and hereby states the designation and number of shares, and fixes the voting and other powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other rights of the shares of such series, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof as follows:
Section 1.     Designation and Amount . The shares of this series shall be designated as Series A Preferred Stock (the “ Series A Preferred Stock ”), and the number of shares constituting the Series A Preferred Stock shall be two million (2,000,000). Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; provided , that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series A Preferred Stock.

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Section 2.     Dividends and Distributions .
(A)    Subject to the rights of the holders of any shares of any class or series of Preferred Stock (or any other stock of the Corporation) ranking prior and superior to the shares of Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of shares of any class or series of stock of the Corporation ranking junior to the Series A Preferred Stock in respect thereof, shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the last day of March, June, September and December in each year (each such date a “ Quarterly Dividend Payment Date ”), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, in an amount (if any) per share (rounded to the nearest cent), subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 multiplied by the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 1,000 multiplied by the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “ Common Stock ”), of the Corporation or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise) declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B)    The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in paragraph (A) of this Section 2 immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock).
(C)    Dividends due pursuant to paragraph (A) of this Section 2 shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares, unless the date of issue of such shares is prior to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding.

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The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.
Section 3.     Voting Rights . The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(A)    Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B)    Except as otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, including any other Certificate of Designations creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock, or by law, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock and any other capital stock of the Corporation having general voting rights shall vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(C)    Except as set forth herein, or as otherwise required by law, holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.
Section 4.     Certain Restrictions .
(A)    Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:
(i)    declare or pay dividends, or make any other distributions, on any shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up) to the Series A Preferred Stock;
(ii)    declare or pay dividends, or make any other distributions, on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled; or

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(iii)    redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up) to the Series A Preferred Stock, provided that the Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such junior stock in exchange for shares of any stock of the Corporation ranking junior (as to dividends and upon dissolution, liquidation or winding-up) to the Series A Preferred Stock.
(B)    The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.
Section 5.     Reacquired Shares . Any shares of Series A Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and canceled promptly after the acquisition thereof. The Corporation shall take all such actions as are necessary to cause all such shares to become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock that may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein or in the Certificate of Incorporation, including any Certificate of Designations creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock, or as otherwise required by law.
Section 6.     Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding-Up .
(A)    Upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Corporation, voluntary or otherwise, no distribution shall be made to the holders of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up) to the Series A Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have received an amount per share (the “ Series A Liquidation Preference ”) equal to an amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 multiplied by the aggregate amount to be distributed per share to holders of shares of Common Stock plus an amount equal to any accrued and unpaid dividends. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the aggregate amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B)    If there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Series A Liquidation Preference and the liquidation preferences of all other classes and series of stock of the Corporation, if any, that rank on a parity with the Series A Preferred Stock in respect thereof, then the assets available for such distribution shall be distributed ratably to the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and the holders of such parity shares in proportion to their respective liquidation preferences.

A-4




(C)    Neither the merger or consolidation of the Corporation into or with another entity nor the merger or consolidation of any other entity into or with the Corporation shall be deemed to be a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Corporation within the meaning of this Section 6.
Section 7.     Consolidation, Merger, Etc. If the Corporation shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed into an amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 multiplied by the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each share of Common Stock is changed or exchanged. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 8.     Amendment . At any time that any shares of Series A Preferred Stock are outstanding, the Certificate of Incorporation shall not be amended in any manner, including in a merger, consolidation or otherwise, which would alter, change or repeal the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, voting separately a single class.
Section 9.     Rank . The Series A Preferred Stock shall rank, with respect to the payment of dividends and upon liquidation, dissolution and winding-up, junior to all other series of Preferred Stock, unless the terms of any such series shall provide otherwise, and shall rank senior to the Common Stock as to such matters.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate of Designation is executed on behalf of the Corporation by its duly authorized officer this 17 day of November 2014.
Ashford Inc.


By:
        
    Name: [ ]
    Title: [ ]


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EXHIBIT B
Form of Right Certificate
Certificate No. R-    Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER FEBRUARY 25, 2018 OR EARLIER IF REDEMPTION OR EXCHANGE OCCURS. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION AT $0.001 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT. UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT, RIGHTS THAT ARE OR WERE ACQUIRED OR BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR ANY ASSOCIATES OR AFFILIATES THEREOF (AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) OR ANY SUBSEQUENT HOLDER OF SUCH RIGHTS MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID AND WILL NO LONGER BE TRANSFERABLE.
Right Certificate

ASHFORD INC.
This certifies that , or registered assigns, is the registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which entitles the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Amended and Restated Rights Agreement dated as of August 12, 2015, as may be amended from time to time (the “ Rights Agreement ”), between Ashford Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company (the “ Rights Agent ”), to purchase from the Company at any time after the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement) and prior to 5:00 p.m., New York time, on November 27, 2014, at the principal office of the Rights Agent, or at the office of its successor as Rights Agent, one one-thousandth of a fully paid non-assessable share of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “ Preferred Shares ”), of the Company, at a purchase price of $275 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (the “ Purchase Price ”), upon presentation and surrender of this Right Certificate with the Form of Election to Purchase duly executed. The number of Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate (and the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share which may be purchased upon exercise hereof) set forth above, and the Purchase Price set forth above, are the number and Purchase Price as of August 12, 2015, based on the Preferred Shares as constituted at such date. As provided in the Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price and the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or other securities or property) which may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of certain events.
From and after the occurrence of a Stock Acquisition Date (as defined in the Rights Agreement) of the Rights Agreement, if the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate are or were at any time on or after the earlier of (x) the date of such event or (y) the Distribution Date acquired or beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person,

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such Rights shall become void, and any holder of such Rights shall thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights.
This Right Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are incorporated herein by this reference and made a part hereof, and to which Rights Agreement reference is made for a full description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Right Certificates. Copies of the Rights Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the Company and the offices of the Rights Agent. The Company will mail to the holders of this Rights Certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request therefor.
This Right Certificate, with or without other Right Certificates, upon surrender at the principal office of the Rights Agent, may be exchanged for another Right Certificate or Right Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of Preferred Shares as the Rights evidenced by the Right Certificate or Right Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase. If this Right Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon surrender hereof another Right Certificate or Right Certificates for the number of whole Rights not exercised.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, at the Company’s option, the Rights evidenced by this Certificate (i) may be redeemed by the Company at a redemption price of $0.001 per Right or (ii) may be exchanged in whole or in part for shares of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, or Preferred Shares.
No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued upon the exercise of any Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), but in lieu thereof a cash payment will be made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.
No holder of this Right Certificate, as such, shall be entitled to vote or receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or of any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise or exchange hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights Agreement or herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate shall have been exercised or exchanged as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Right Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.
    

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WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company and its corporate seal. Dated as of __________________, ______.
Attest:  


   
Ashford Inc.  

 
By:
   



 
Countersigned:  


     
Rights Agent
 



 
By:      
   Authorized Signature
 



 

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Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate

FORM OF ASSIGNMENT

(To be executed by the registered holder if such holder desires to transfer the Right Certificate.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto     

    
(Please print name and address of transferee)
Rights represented by this Right Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint , Attorney, to transfer said Rights on the books of the within-named Company, with full power of substitution.
Date:    
   
Signature
 
 
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution (bank, stock broker or savings and loan association with membership in an approved signature medallion program).
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate are not beneficially owned by and were not acquired by the undersigned from, and are not being assigned to, an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof and are not issued with respect to notional Common Shares related to a Derivative Interest described in Section 1.3.4 of the definition of Beneficial Owner (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement).
        
Signature
    
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate — continued

FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE

(To be executed if holder desires to exercise Rights represented by the Right Certificate.)
To ASHFORD INC.:

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The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise Rights represented by this Right Certificate to purchase the Preferred Shares (or other securities or property) issuable upon the exercise of such Rights and requests that certificates for such Preferred Shares (or other securities or property) be issued in the name of:
Please insert Social Security or other identifying number:
    

(Please print name and address)
    
If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate, a new Right Certificate for the balance remaining of such Rights shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:
Please insert Social Security or other identifying number:
    

(Please print name and address)
    
Dated:    
   
Signature



 
(Signature must conform to the holder specified on the Right Certificate)
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution (bank, stock broker or savings and loan association with membership in an approved signature medallion program).
    

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Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate — continued
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate are not beneficially owned by, were not acquired by the undersigned from and are not being assigned to an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof and are not issued with respect to notional Common Shares related to a Derivative Interest described in Section 1.3.4 of the definition of Beneficial Owner (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement).
        
Signature
NOTICE
The signature in the foregoing Forms of Assignment and Election to Purchase must conform to the name as written upon the face of this Right Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.
In the event the certification set forth above in the Form of Assignment or the Form of Election to Purchase, as the case may be, is not completed, such assignment or election to purchase will not be honored.



B-6




EXHIBIT C
UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT, RIGHTS OWNED BY OR TRANSFERRED TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OR BECOMES AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) AND CERTAIN TRANSFEREES THEREOF WILL BECOME NULL AND VOID AND WILL NO LONGER BE TRANSFERABLE.
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE
PREFERRED SHARES
On November 16, 2014, the Board of Directors of Ashford Inc. (the “ Company ”) declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “ Right ”) for each outstanding share of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “ Common Shares ”) outstanding on November 27, 2014 (the “ Record Date ”) to the stockholders of record on that date. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “ Preferred Shares ”), of the Company, at a price of $275 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share represented by a Right (the “ Purchase Price ”), subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in an Amended and Restated Rights Agreement (the “ Rights Agreement ”) dated as of August 12, 2015, as the same may be amended from time to time between the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company, as Rights Agent.
Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 business days following a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons has acquired beneficial ownership of 10% or more of the outstanding Common Shares (with certain exceptions as described below, an “ Acquiring Person ”) (or, in the event an exchange is effected in accordance with Section 24 of the Rights Agreement and the Board determines that a later date is advisable, then such later date that is not more than 20 days after such public announcement) or (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such time as any person becomes an Acquiring Person) following the commencement of, or announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or exchange offer the consummation of which would result in the beneficial ownership by a person or group of 10% or more of the outstanding Common Shares (the earlier of such dates, the “ Distribution Date ”), the Rights will be evidenced, with respect to any of the Common Share certificates outstanding as of the Record Date, by such Common Share certificate with a copy of this Summary of Rights attached thereto.
A Person shall not be deemed to be an “ Acquiring Person ” if (i) such Person, on the date of the first public announcement of the adoption of the Rights Agreement, is a Beneficial Owner of 10% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, (a “ Grandfathered Stockholder ”); provided , however, that Monty J. Bennett and his Affiliates and Associates shall not be deemed to be an Acquiring Person for so long as they collectively, in the aggregate, are the Beneficial Owners of, directly or indirectly, 20% or less (the “ Bennett Threshold ”) of the then outstanding Common Shares of the Company ( provided that (a) Common Shares held any of by (i) Archie Bennett Jr., (ii) Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. (“ AHT ”) or (iii) any directors or officers of

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AHT, Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc. or the Company and (b) Common Shares issuable or reserved for issuance to, or held in trust on behalf of or for the benefit of, Monty J. Bennett or any of his beneficiaries pursuant to any nonqualified deferred compensation plan maintained by the Company or any of its Affiliates shall, in all cases, not be aggregated for purposes of determining whether Bennett is the Beneficial Owner of Common Shares in excess of the Bennett Threshold); provided, further , that if a Grandfathered Stockholder becomes, after the Record Date, the Beneficial Owner of additional Common Shares (other than Common Shares acquired solely as a result of corporate action of the Company not caused, directly or indirectly, by such Person) at any time such that the Grandfathered Stockholder is or thereby becomes the Beneficial Owner of 10% or more of the Common Shares then outstanding (or such other percentage as would otherwise result in such Person becoming an Acquiring Person), then such Grandfathered Stockholder shall be deemed an Acquiring Person; provided, however , that upon the first decrease of a Grandfathered Stockholder’s Beneficial Ownership below 10%, such Grandfathered Stockholder shall no longer be considered a Grandfathered Stockholder. “ Beneficial Ownership ” shall include any securities such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates (i) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, (ii) has the right to acquire, (iii) which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any other Person (or any Affiliate or Associate of such other Person) with which such first Person or any of such first Person’s Affiliates or Associates or any other Person (or any Affiliate or Associate of such other Person) with whom such first Person (or any Affiliates or Associates of such first Person) is Acting in Concert has any agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether or not in writing, for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (subject to certain limited exceptions) or disposing of any voting securities of the Company, and (iv) which are the subject of, or the reference securities for, or that underlie, any derivative securities (as defined under Rule 16a-1 under the Exchange Act) of such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates that increase in value as the value of the underlying equity increases, with the number of Common Shares deemed Beneficially Owned being the notional or other number of Common Shares specified in the documentation evidencing the derivative interest as being subject to be acquired upon the exercise or settlement of the derivative interest or as the basis upon which the value or settlement amount of such derivative interest is to be calculated in whole or in part or, if no such number of Common Shares is specified in such documentation, as determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion to be the number of Common Shares to which the derivative interest relates.
The Rights Agreement provides that, until the Distribution Date (or earlier expiration of the Rights), the Rights will be transferred with and only with the Common Shares. Until the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), new Common Share certificates issued after the Record Date or upon transfer or new issuance of Common Shares will contain a notation incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference. Until the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), the surrender for transfer of any certificates for Common Shares outstanding as of the Record Date, even without such notation or a copy of this Summary of Rights being attached thereto, will also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares represented by such certificate. As soon as practicable following the Distribution Date, separate certificates evidencing the Rights (“ Right Certificates ”) will be mailed to holders of record of the Common Shares as of the close of business on the Distribution Date, and such separate Right Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.

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The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date. The Rights will expire on February 25, 2018 (the “ Final Expiration Date ”), unless the Final Expiration Date is extended or unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by the Company, in each case, as described below, or upon the occurrence of certain transactions.
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of Preferred Shares or other securities or property issuable, upon exercise of the Rights is subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution (i) in the event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the Preferred Shares; (ii) upon the grant to holders of the Preferred Shares of certain rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase Preferred Shares at a price, or securities convertible into Preferred Shares with a conversion price, less than the then current market price of the Preferred Shares; or (iii) upon the distribution to holders of the Preferred Shares of evidences of indebtedness or assets (excluding regular periodic cash dividends or dividends payable in Preferred Shares) or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).
The number of outstanding Rights and the number of Preferred Shares issuable upon exercise of each Right are also subject to adjustment in the event of a stock split of the Common Shares or a stock dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or subdivisions, consolidations or combinations of the Common Shares occurring, in any such case, prior to the Distribution Date.
Preferred Shares purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will not be redeemable. Each Preferred Share will be entitled, when, as and if declared, to a quarterly dividend payment of 1,000 multiplied by the dividend declared per Common Share. In the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, the holders of the Preferred Shares will be entitled to a payment per share equal to 1,000 multiplied by the aggregate payment made per Common Share. Each Preferred Share will have 1,000 votes, voting together with the Common Shares. In the event of any merger, consolidation or other transaction in which Common Shares are converted or exchanged, each Preferred Share will be entitled to receive 1,000 multiplied by the amount received per Common Share. These rights are protected by customary antidilution provisions.
Because of the nature of the dividend, liquidation and voting rights of the Preferred Shares, the value of the one one-thousandth interest in a Preferred Share purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate the value of one Common Share.
From and after the time any person becomes an Acquiring Person, if the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate are or were at any time on or after the earlier of (i) the date of such event or (ii) the Distribution Date acquired or beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement), such Rights shall become void, and any holder of such Rights shall thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights.
If, at any time after a person becomes an Acquiring Person, the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction or 50% or more of its consolidated assets or Earning Power (as defined in the Rights Agreement) are sold, proper provision will be made so that each holder of a Right will thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at the then current exercise price of the Right, that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring company

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which at the time of such transaction will have a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right. If any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, proper provision shall be made so that each holder of a Right, other than Rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person and its Affiliates and Associates (which will thereafter be void), will thereafter have the right to receive upon exercise that number of Common Shares having a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right. If the Board of Directors so elects, the Company shall deliver upon payment of the exercise price of a Right an amount of cash or securities equivalent in value to the Common Shares issuable upon exercise of a Right; provided that, if the Company fails to meet such obligation within 30 days following the date a person becomes an Acquiring Person, the Company must deliver, upon exercise of a Right but without requiring payment of the exercise price then in effect, Common Shares (to the extent available) and cash equal in value to the difference between the value of the Common Shares otherwise issuable upon the exercise of a Right and the exercise price then in effect. The Board of Directors may extend the 30-day period described above for up to an additional 60 days to permit the taking of action that may be necessary to authorize sufficient additional Common Shares to permit the issuance of Common Shares upon the exercise in full of the Rights.
At any time after any person becomes an Acquiring Person and prior to the acquisition by any Person or group of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares, the Board of Directors of the Company may exchange the Rights (other than Rights owned by such Person or group which have become void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one Common Share per Right (subject to adjustment).
With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase Price will be required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of at least 1% in such Purchase Price. No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), and in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made based on the market price of the Preferred Shares on the last trading day prior to the date of exercise.
At any time prior to the time any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person, the Board of Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $0.001 per Right (the “ Redemption Price ”). The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish. Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the Redemption Price.
The terms of the Rights Agreement may be amended by the Board of Directors of the Company without the consent of the holders of the Rights provided that no such amendment may adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company may at any time prior to such time as any Person being an Acquiring Person amend the Rights Agreement to lower the threshold at which a person or group becomes an Acquiring Person, but may not lower the threshold below 5% of the outstanding Common Shares. In addition, the Board may not cause a person or group to become an Acquiring Person by lowering this threshold below the percentage interest that such person or group already owns from and after such time as any

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Person becomes an Acquiring Person no such amendment may adversely affect the interests of the holders of the Rights (other than the Acquiring Person and its Affiliates and Associates).
Until a Right is exercised or exchanged, the holder thereof, as such, will have no rights as a stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive dividends.
A copy of the Rights Agreement has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 14, 2015. A copy of the Rights Agreement is available free of charge from the Company. This summary description of the Rights does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.


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EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATION
I, Monty J. Bennett, certify that:
1.
I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ashford Inc.;
2.
Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.
Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.
The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
 
(a)
designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
(b)
designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
(c)
evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
(d)
disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.
The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
 
(a)
all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
(b)
any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 14, 2015

/s/ MONTY J. BENNETT
 
Monty J. Bennett
 
Chief Executive Officer
 




EXHIBIT 31.2
CERTIFICATION
I, Deric S. Eubanks, certify that:
1.
I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ashford Inc.;
2.
Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.
Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.
The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
 
(a)
designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
(b)
designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
(c)
evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
(d)
disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.
The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
 
(a)
all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
(b)
any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 14, 2015

/s/ DERIC S. EUBANKS
 
Deric S. Eubanks
 
Chief Financial Officer
 




EXHIBIT 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Quarterly Report of Ashford Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2015 , as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Monty J. Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to my knowledge:
 
(1)
The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and
(2)
The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: August 14, 2015

/s/  MONTY J. BENNETT
 
Monty J. Bennett
 
Chief Executive Officer
 




EXHIBIT 32.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Quarterly Report of Ashford Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2015 , as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Deric S. Eubanks, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to my knowledge:
 
(1)
The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and
(2)
The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: August 14, 2015

/s/  DERIC S. EUBANKS
 
Deric S. Eubanks
 
Chief Financial Officer