Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Form 10-K in evaluating us and our common stock. Any of the following risks, as well as additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial, could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. The risk factors generally have been separated into the following groups: risks related to our business, risks related to our capital structure, risks related to our Manager, risks related to the spin-off, risks related to the Wheeling acquisition and risks related to our common stock. However, these categories do overlap and should not be considered exclusive.
Risks Related to Our Business
We have limited operating history as an independent company and may not be able to successfully operate our business strategy, generate sufficient revenue to make or sustain distributions to our stockholders or meet our contractual commitments.
We have limited experience operating as an independent company and cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully operate our business or implement our operating policies and strategies as described in this report. The timing, terms, price and form of consideration that we pay in future transactions may vary meaningfully from prior transactions.
As an independent public company, there can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient returns to pay our operating expenses and make or sustain distributions to our stockholders, or any distributions at all, or meet our contractual commitments. Our results of operations, ability to make or sustain distributions to our stockholders or meet our contractual commitments depend on several factors, including the availability of opportunities to acquire attractive assets, the level and volatility of interest rates, the availability of adequate short- and long-term financing, the financial markets and economic conditions.
Uncertainty relating to macroeconomic conditions may reduce the demand for our assets, limit our ability to obtain additional capital to finance new investments or refinance existing debt, or have other unforeseen negative effects.
Uncertainty and negative trends in general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, including significant tightening of credit markets and commodity price volatility, have created in the past and may continue to create difficult operating environments for owners and operators in the infrastructure industry. Many factors, including factors that are beyond our control, may impact our operating results or financial condition. For some years, the world has experienced weakened economic conditions and volatility following adverse changes in global capital markets. Volatility in oil and gas markets can put significant upward or downward pressure on prices for these commodities, and may affect demand for assets used in production, refining and transportation of oil and gas. Additionally, the worldwide military or geopolitical environment, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the conflicts in the Middle East and any related geopolitical or economic responses, U.S. federal government , global macroeconomic effects of trade and increased tariffs, such as those imposed, or that may be
imposed, by the U.S., may put further upward or downward pressure on prices for such commodities. In the past, a significant decline in oil prices has led to lower production and transportation budgets worldwide. These conditions have resulted in significant contraction, deleveraging and reduced liquidity in the credit markets. A number of governments have implemented, or are considering implementing, a broad variety of governmental actions or new regulations for the financial markets. In addition, limitations on the availability of capital, higher costs of capital for financing expenditures or the desire to preserve liquidity, may cause our current or prospective customers to make reductions in future capital budgets and spending.
The industries in which we operate have experienced periods of oversupply during which asset values have declined, particularly during the most recent economic downturn, and any future oversupply could materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.
The oversupply of a specific asset is likely to depress the value of our assets and result in decreased utilization of our assets, and the industries in which we operate have experienced periods of oversupply during which asset values have declined, particularly during the most recent economic downturn. Factors that could lead to such oversupply include, without limitation:
• general demand for the type of assets that we purchase;
• general macroeconomic conditions, including market prices for commodities that our assets may serve;
• geopolitical events, including war, prolonged armed conflict and acts of terrorism;
• outbreaks of communicable diseases and natural disasters;
• governmental regulation or economic trade or other policies, including as a result of changing trade policies and tariffs, including related uncertainty or the imposition of modified or additional tariffs, trade wars, barriers or restrictions, or threats of such actions;
• interest rates;
• the availability of credit;
• restructurings and bankruptcies of companies in the industries in which we operate, including our customers;
• manufacturer production levels and technological innovation;
• manufacturers merging or exiting the industry or ceasing to produce certain asset types;
• retirement and obsolescence of the assets that we own;
• increases in supply levels of assets in the market due to the sale or merging of our customers; and
• reintroduction of previously unused or dormant assets into the industries in which we operate.
These and other related factors are generally outside of our control and could lead to persistence of, or increase in, the oversupply of the types of assets that we acquire or decreased utilization of our assets, either of which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.
There can be no assurance that any target returns will be achieved.
Our target returns for assets are targets only and are not forecasts of future profits. We develop target returns based on our Manager’s assessment of appropriate expectations for returns on assets and the ability of our Manager to enhance the return generated by those assets through active management. There can be no assurance that these assessments and expectations will be achieved and failure to achieve any or all of them may materially adversely impact our ability to achieve any target return with respect to any or all of our assets.
In addition, our target returns are based on estimates and assumptions regarding a number of other factors, including, without limitation, holding periods, the absence of material adverse events affecting specific investments (which could include, without limitation, natural disasters, terrorism, social unrest or civil disturbances), general and local economic and market conditions, changes in law, taxation, regulation or governmental policies and changes in the geopolitical approach to infrastructure investment, either generally or in specific countries in which we may invest or seek to invest. Many of these factors, as well as the other risks described elsewhere in this report, are beyond our control and all could adversely affect our ability to achieve a target return with respect to an asset. Further, target returns are targets for the return generated by specific assets and not by us. Numerous factors could prevent us from achieving similar returns, notwithstanding the performance of individual assets, including, without , taxation and fees payable by us or our operating subsidiaries, including fees and incentive allocation payable to our Manager.
There can be no assurance that the returns generated by any of our assets will meet our target returns, or any other level of return, or that we will achieve or successfully implement our asset acquisition objectives, and failure to achieve the target return in respect of any of our assets could, among other things, have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Further, even if the returns generated by individual assets meet target returns, there can be no assurance that the returns generated by other existing or future assets would do so, and the historical performance of the assets in our existing portfolio should not be considered as indicative of future results with respect to any assets.
Contractual defaults may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows by decreasing revenues and increasing storage, positioning, collection, recovery and lost equipment expenses.
The success of our business depends in large part on the success of the operators in the sectors in which we participate. Cash flows from our assets are substantially impacted by our ability to collect compensation and other amounts to be paid in respect of such assets from the customers with whom we enter into contractual arrangements. Inherent in the nature of the arrangements for the use of such assets is the risk that we may not receive, or may experience delay in realizing, such amounts to be paid. While we target the entry into contracts with credit-worthy counterparties, no assurance can be given that such counterparties will perform their obligations during the term of the contractual arrangement. In addition, when counterparties default, we may fail to recover all of our assets, and the assets we do recover may be returned in damaged condition or to locations where we will not be able to efficiently use or sell them.
If we acquire a high concentration of a particular type of asset, or concentrate our investments in a particular sector, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected by changes in market demand or problems specific to that asset or sector.
If we acquire a high concentration of a particular asset, or concentrate our investments in a particular sector, our business and financial results could be adversely affected by sector-specific or asset-specific factors. Furthermore, as a result of the spin-off transaction, our assets are focused on infrastructure and we do not have any interest in FTAI’s aviation assets, which limits the diversity of our portfolio. Any decrease in the value and rates of our assets may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may not generate a sufficient amount of cash or generate sufficient free cash flow to fund our operations or repay our and our subsidiaries’ indebtedness and preferred stock.
Our ability to make payments on our and our subsidiaries’ indebtedness and preferred stock as required depends on our and our subsidiaries’ ability to generate cash flow in the future. This ability, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. If we or our subsidiaries do not generate sufficient free cash flow to satisfy our or our subsidiaries’ debt or preferred stock obligations, including interest payments and the payment of principal at maturity, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, selling assets, reducing or delaying capital investments or seeking to raise additional capital. We cannot provide assurance that any refinancing would be possible, that any assets could be sold, or, if sold, of the timeliness and amount of proceeds realized from those sales, that additional financing could be obtained on acceptable terms, if at all, or that additional financing would be permitted under the terms of our various debt or preferred stock instruments then in effect. Furthermore, our ability to refinance would depend upon the condition of the finance and credit markets. Our inability to generate sufficient free cash flow to satisfy our and our subsidiaries’ debt and preferred stock obligations, or to refinance our and our subsidiaries’ obligations on commercially reasonable terms or on a timely basis, would materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We operate in highly competitive markets.
The business of acquiring infrastructure assets is highly competitive. Market competition for opportunities includes traditional infrastructure companies, commercial and investment banks, as well as a growing number of non-traditional participants, such as hedge funds, private equity funds and other private investors, including Fortress-related entities. Some of these competitors may have access to greater amounts of capital and/or to capital that may be committed for longer periods of time or may have different return thresholds than us, and thus these competitors may have certain advantages not shared by us. In addition, competitors may have incurred, or may in the future incur, leverage to finance their debt investments at levels or on terms more favorable than those available to us. Strong competition for investment opportunities could result in fewer such opportunities for us, as certain of these competitors have established and are establishing investment vehicles that target the same types of assets that we intend to purchase.
In addition, some of our competitors may have longer operating histories, greater financial resources and lower costs of capital than us, and consequently, may be able to compete more effectively in one or more of our target markets. We likely will not always be able to compete successfully with our competitors and competitive pressures or other factors may also result in significant price competition, particularly during industry downturns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The values of our assets may fluctuate due to various factors.
The fair market values of our assets may decrease or increase depending on a number of factors, including general economic and market conditions affecting our target markets, type and age of assets, supply and demand for assets, competition, new governmental or other regulations and technological advances, all of which could impact our profitability and our ability to develop, operate, or sell such assets. In addition, our assets depreciate as they age and may generate lower revenues and cash flows. We must be able to replace such older, depreciated assets with newer assets, or our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and cash flows will decline. In addition, if we dispose of an asset for a price that is less than the depreciated book value of the asset on our balance sheet or if we determine that an asset’s value has been impaired, we will recognize a related charge in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and such charge could be material.
We may acquire operating businesses, including businesses whose operations are not fully matured and stabilized. These businesses may be subject to significant operating and development risks, including increased competition, cost overruns and delays, and difficulties in obtaining approvals or financing. These factors could materially affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
We received in the spin-off, and may in the future acquire, operating businesses, including businesses whose operations are not fully matured and stabilized (including, but not limited to, our businesses within the Railroad, Jefferson Terminal, Repauno, Power and Gas, and Sustainability and Energy Transition segments). While our Manager has deep experience in the construction and operation of these companies, we are nevertheless subject to significant risks and contingencies of an operating business, and these risks are greater where the operations of such businesses are not fully matured and stabilized. Key factors that may affect our operating businesses include, but are not limited to:
• competition from market participants;
• general economic and/or industry trends, including pricing for the products or services offered by our operating businesses;
• the issuance and/or continued availability of necessary permits, licenses, approvals and agreements from governmental agencies and third parties as are required to construct and operate such businesses;
• changes or deficiencies in the design or construction of development projects;
• unforeseen engineering, environmental or geological problems;
• potential increases in construction and operating costs due to changes in the cost and availability of fuel, power, materials and supplies;
• the availability and cost of skilled labor and equipment;
• our ability to enter into additional satisfactory agreements with contractors and to maintain good relationships with these contractors in order to construct development projects within our expected cost parameters and time frame, and the ability of those contractors to perform their obligations under the contracts and to maintain their creditworthiness;
• potential liability for injury or casualty losses which are not covered by insurance;
• potential opposition from non-governmental organizations, environmental groups, local or other groups which may delay or prevent development activities;
• local and economic conditions;
• recent geopolitical events;
• changes in legal requirements; and
• force majeure events, including catastrophes and adverse weather conditions.
Any of these factors could materially affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our use of joint ventures or partnerships, and our Manager’s outsourcing of certain functions, may present unforeseen obstacles or costs.
We received in the spin-off, and may in the future acquire, interests in certain assets in cooperation with third-party partners or co-investors through jointly owned acquisition vehicles, joint ventures or other structures. In these co-investment situations, our ability to control the management of such assets depends upon the nature and terms of the joint arrangements with such partners and our relative ownership stake in the asset, each of which will be determined by negotiation at the time of the investment and the determination of which is subject to the discretion of our Manager. Depending on our Manager’s perception of the relative risks and rewards of a particular asset, our Manager may elect to acquire interests in structures that afford relatively little or no operational and/or management control to us. Such arrangements present risks not present with wholly owned assets, such as the possibility that a co-investor becomes bankrupt, develops business interests or goals that conflict with our interests and goals in respect of the assets, all of which could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, our Manager expects to utilize third-party contractors to perform services and functions related to the operation of our assets. These functions may include billing, collections, recovery and asset monitoring. Because we and our Manager do not directly control these third parties, there can be no assurance that the services they provide will be delivered at a level commensurate with our expectations, or at all. The failure of any such third-party contractors to perform in accordance with our expectations could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to the risks and costs of obsolescence of our assets.
Technological and other improvements expose us to the risk that certain of our assets may become technologically or commercially obsolete. If we are not able to acquire new technology or are unable to implement new technology, we may suffer a competitive disadvantage. For example, as the freight transportation markets we serve continue to evolve and become more efficient, the use of certain locomotives or railcars may decline in favor of other more economic modes of transportation. If the
technology we use in our lines of business is superseded, or the cost of replacing our locomotives or railcars is expensive and requires additional capital, we could experience significant cost increases and reduced availability of the assets and equipment that are necessary for our operations. Any of these risks may adversely affect our ability to sell our assets on favorable terms, if at all, which could materially adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects.
The North American rail sector is a highly regulated industry and increased costs of compliance with, or liability for violation of, existing or future laws, regulations and other requirements could significantly increase our operational costs of doing business, thereby adversely affecting our profitability.
The rail sector is subject to extensive laws, regulations and other requirements, including, but not limited to, those relating to the environment, safety, rates and charges, service obligations, employment, labor, immigration, minimum wages and overtime pay, health care and benefits, working conditions, public accessibility and other requirements. These laws and regulations are enforced by U.S. federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “U.S. EPA”), the U.S. Department of Transportation (the “DOT”), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the “OSHA”), the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (the “FRA”), and the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (the “STB”), as well as numerous other state, provincial, local and federal agencies. Ongoing compliance with, or a violation of, these laws, regulations and other requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that our rail operations are, and have been, in substantial compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, these laws and regulations, and the interpretation or enforcement thereof, are subject to frequent change and varying interpretation by regulatory authorities, and we are unable to predict the ongoing cost to us of complying with these laws and regulations or the future impact of these laws and regulations on our operations. In addition, from time to time we are subject to inspections and investigations by various regulators. Violation of environmental or other laws, regulations and permits can result in the imposition of significant administrative, civil and criminal penalties, injunctions and construction bans or delays.
Legislation passed by the U.S. Congress or Canadian Parliament or new regulations issued by federal agencies can significantly affect the revenues, costs and profitability of our business. For instance, the STB’s recent proposal to modify its policy regarding forced reciprocal switching by rail carriers or other competitive access proposals, if adopted, could increase government involvement in railroad pricing, service and operations and significantly change the current federal regulatory framework of the railroad industry. Such changes could have a significant negative impact on the Company’s ability to determine prices for rail services, meet service standards and could force a reduction in capital spending. Statutes imposing price constraints or affecting rail-to-rail competition could adversely affect the Company’s profitability.
Under various U.S. federal, state, provincial and local environmental requirements, as the owner or operator of terminals or other facilities, we may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of contamination at or from our existing locations, whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of such contamination. The failure to timely report and properly remediate contamination may subject us to liability to third parties and may adversely affect our ability to sell or rent our property or to borrow money using our property as collateral. Additionally, we may be liable for the costs of remediating third-party sites where hazardous substances from our operations have been transported for treatment or disposal, regardless of whether we own or operate that site. In the future, we may incur substantial expenditures for investigation or remediation of contamination that has not yet been discovered at our current or former locations or locations that we may acquire.
A discharge of hydrocarbons or hazardous substances into the environment associated with operating our rail assets could subject us to substantial expense, including the cost to recover the materials spilled, restore the affected natural resources, pay fines and penalties, and natural resource damages and claims made by employees, neighboring landowners, government authorities and other third parties, including for personal injury and property damage. We may experience future catastrophic sudden or gradual releases into the environment from our trains or facilities or discover historical releases that were previously unidentified or not assessed. Although our inspection and testing programs are designed to prevent, detect and address any such releases promptly, the liabilities resulting from any future releases into the environment from our assets, have the potential to substantially affect our business. Such events could also subject us to media and public scrutiny that could have a negative effect on our operations and also on the value of our common stock.
Our business could be adversely affected if service on the railroads is interrupted or if more stringent regulations are adopted regarding railcar design or the transportation of crude oil by rail.
As a result of hydraulic fracturing and other improvements in extraction technologies, there has been a substantial increase in the volume of crude oil and liquid hydrocarbons produced and transported in North America, and a geographic shift in that production versus historical production. The increase in volume and shift in geography has resulted in increased pipeline congestion and a corresponding growth in crude oil being transported by rail from Canada and across the U.S. High-profile accidents involving crude-oil-carrying trains in Quebec, North Dakota and Virginia, and more recently in Saskatchewan, West Virginia and Illinois, have raised concerns about derailments and the environmental and safety risks associated with crude oil transport by rail and the associated risks arising from railcar design. In Canada, the transport of hazardous products is receiving greater scrutiny which could impact our customers and our business.
Our business is subject to evolving regulations regarding railcar design and the transportation of hazardous materials. Following the 2023 East Palestine derailment, authorities have accelerated safety mandates, including the final transition to DOT-117 tank cars. As of May 2025, legacy CPC-1232 cars are largely prohibited from crude and ethanol service, with a final deadline of May 1, 2029, for all other flammable liquids.
To mitigate the costs of retrofitting our fleet of railcars at Jefferson and the risks of stricter operational controls, we are increasingly focusing our business development on customers and commodities that do not involve the movement of hazardous materials. Despite this shift, any additional federal or provincial mandates—such as real-time reporting requirements or speed restrictions—could still increase compliance costs. Furthermore, railroad service disruptions due to labor disputes, mechanical failures, or extreme weather could adversely affect our operations and financial results.
The adoption of additional federal, state, provincial or local laws or regulations, including any voluntary measures by the rail industry regarding railcar design or crude oil and liquid hydrocarbon rail transport activities, or efforts by local communities to restrict or limit rail traffic involving crude oil, could affect our business by increasing compliance costs and decreasing demand for our services, which could adversely affect our financial position and cash flows. Moreover, any disruptions in the operations of railroads, including those due to shortages of railcars, weather-related problems, flooding, drought, accidents, mechanical difficulties, strikes, lockouts or bottlenecks, could adversely impact our customers’ ability to move their product and, as a result, could affect our business.
We could be negatively impacted by environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) and sustainability-related matters.
Governments, investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders are increasingly focusing on corporate ESG practices and disclosures, and expectations in this area continue to evolve. In addition, ESG laws and regulations are expanding mandatory disclosure, reporting and diligence requirements. We have announced, and may in the future announce, sustainability-focused investments, partnerships and other initiatives and goals. These initiatives, aspirations, targets or objectives reflect our current plans and aspirations and are not guarantees that we will be able to achieve them. Our efforts to accomplish and accurately report on these initiatives and goals present numerous operational, regulatory, reputational, financial, legal, and other risks, any of which could have a material negative impact, including on our reputation and stock price.
In addition, the standards for tracking and reporting on ESG matters are relatively new, have not been harmonized and continue to evolve. Our selection of disclosure frameworks that seek to align with various voluntary reporting standards may change from time to time and may result in a lack of comparative data from period to period. Moreover, our processes and controls may not always align with evolving voluntary standards for identifying, measuring, and reporting ESG metrics, our interpretation of reporting standards may differ from those of others, and such standards may change over time, any of which could result in significant revisions to our goals or reported progress in achieving such goals. In this regard, the criteria by which our ESG practices and disclosures are assessed may change due to the quickly evolving landscape, which could result in greater expectations of us and cause us to undertake costly initiatives to satisfy such new criteria. The increasing attention to corporate ESG initiatives could also result in increased investigations and litigation or threats thereof. If we are to such new criteria, investors may conclude that our ESG and sustainability practices are . On the other hand, state attorneys general and other governmental authorities may take action certain ESG policies or practices, and we may become subject to restrictions on ESG initiatives. If we or are perceived to have to previously announced initiatives or goals, accurately our on such initiatives or goals or comply with various ESG and anti-ESG practices and regulations, our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations could be impacted.
We transport hazardous materials.
We transport certain hazardous materials and other materials, including crude oil, ethanol, and toxic inhalation hazard (“TIH”) materials, such as chlorine, that pose certain risks in the event of a release or combustion. Additionally, U.S. laws impose common carrier obligations on railroads that require us to transport certain hazardous materials regardless of risk or potential exposure to loss. In addition, insurance premiums charged for, or the self-insured retention associated with, some or all of the coverage currently maintained by us could increase dramatically or certain coverage may not be available to us in the future if there is a catastrophic event related to rail transportation of these materials. A rail accident or other incident or accident on our network, at our facilities, or at the facilities of our customers involving the release or combustion of hazardous materials could involve significant costs and claims for personal injury, property , and environmental and remediation in excess of our insurance coverage for these risks, which could have a material effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.
We may be affected by fluctuating prices for fuel and energy.
Volatility in energy prices could have a significant effect on a variety of items, including, but not limited to: the economy; demand for transportation services; business related to the energy sector, including the production and processing of crude oil, natural gas, and coal; fuel prices; and, fuel surcharges. Particularly in our rail business, fuel costs constitute a significant portion of our expenses. Diesel fuel prices and availability can be subject to dramatic fluctuations, and significant price increases could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. If a severe fuel supply shortage arose from production curtailments, disruption of oil imports or domestic oil production, disruption of domestic refinery production, damage to refinery or pipeline infrastructure, political unrest, war, terrorist attack or otherwise, diesel fuel may not be readily available and may be subject to rationing regulations. Currently, we receive fuel surcharges and other rate adjustments to offset fuel prices, although there may be a significant delay in our recovery of fuel costs based on the terms of the fuel surcharge program. If Class I railroads change their policies regarding fuel surcharges, the compensation we receive for increases in fuel costs may decrease, which could have a effect on our ; in fact, we cannot be certain that we will always be to mitigate rising or elevated fuel costs through fuel surcharges at all, as future market conditions or legislative or regulatory activities could affect our ability to apply fuel surcharges or recover increased fuel costs through fuel surcharges.
International, political, and economic factors, events and conditions and the potential for worsening economic conditions or economic downturn, including as a result of recent geopolitical events and changing trade policies and tariffs, including related uncertainty or the imposition of modified or additional tariffs, trade wars, barriers or restrictions, or threats of such actions, may affect the volatility of fuel prices and supplies. Weather can also affect fuel supplies and limit domestic refining capacity. A severe shortage of, or disruption to, domestic fuel supplies could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity. In addition, lower fuel prices could have a negative impact on commodities we process and transport, such as crude oil and petroleum products, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.
Because we depend on Class I railroads for a significant portion of our operations in North America, our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity may be adversely affected if our relationships with these carriers deteriorate.
The railroad industry in the United States and Canada is dominated by six Class I carriers that have substantial market control and negotiating leverage. In addition, Class I carriers also traditionally have been significant sources of business for us, and may be future sources of potential acquisition candidates as they divest branch lines. A decision by any of these Class I carriers to cease or re-route certain freight movements or to alter existing business relationships, including operational or relationship changes, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. The overall impact of any such decision would depend on which Class I carrier is involved, the routes and freight movements affected, as well as the nature of any changes.
The Railroad segment faces competition from other railroads and other transportation providers.
The Railroad segment faces competition from other railroads, motor carriers, ships, barges, and pipelines. We operate in some corridors served by other railroads and motor carriers. In addition to price competition, we face competition with respect to transit times, quality, and reliability of service from motor carriers and other railroads. Motor carriers in particular can have an advantage over railroads with respect to transit times and timeliness of service. However, railroads are much more fuel-efficient than trucks, which reduces the impact of transporting goods on the environment and public infrastructure. Additionally, we must build or acquire and maintain our rail system, while trucks, barges, and maritime operators are able to use public rights-of-way maintained by public entities. Any of the following could also affect the competitiveness of our rail services, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity: (i) improvements or expenditures materially increasing the quality or reducing the costs of these alternative modes of transportation, such as autonomous or more fuel efficient trucks, (ii) legislation that eliminates or significantly increases the size or weight limitations applied to motor carriers, or (iii) legislation or regulatory changes that impose operating restrictions on railroads or that affect the of some or all railroad traffic. Additionally, any future consolidation of the rail industry could materially affect our competitive environment.
Our assets are exposed to unplanned interruptions caused by events outside of our control which may disrupt our business and cause damage or losses that may not be adequately covered by insurance.
The operations of infrastructure projects are exposed to unplanned interruptions caused by breakdown or failure of equipment or plants, aging infrastructure, employee error or contractor or subcontractor failure, problems that delay or increase the cost of returning facilities to service after outages, limitations that may be imposed by equipment conditions or environmental, safety or other regulatory requirements, fuel supply or fuel transportation reductions or interruptions, labor disputes, difficulties with the implementation or operation of information systems, derailments, power outages, pipeline or electricity line ruptures and catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, floods, explosions, fires or other . Any equipment or system or constraint can, among other things, reduce sales, increase costs and affect the ability to meet regulatory service metrics, customer expectations and regulatory reliability and security requirements. We have in the past experienced power at plants which their operations and impacted our revenues. We cannot you that similar events may not occur in the future. Operational , as well as supply , and increased government oversight could impact the cash flows available from these assets. In addition, the cost of repairing or replacing assets could be considerable. Repeated or may result in temporary or permanent of customers, substantial or for regulatory or contractual non-compliance, and any from such events may not be recoverable under relevant insurance policies. Although we believe that we are insured these types of events no assurance can be given that the occurrence of any such event will not materially affect us.
We are actively evaluating potential acquisitions of assets and operating companies in other infrastructure sectors which could result in additional risks and uncertainties for our business and unexpected regulatory compliance costs.
While our existing portfolio consists of assets in the energy, port and rail sectors, we are actively evaluating potential acquisitions of assets and operating companies in other infrastructure sectors and we plan to be flexible as other attractive opportunities arise over time. To the extent we make acquisitions in other sectors, we will face numerous risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the required investment of capital and other resources and with combining or integrating operational and management systems and controls. Entry into certain lines of business may subject us to new laws and regulations and may lead to increased litigation and regulatory risk. Many types of infrastructure assets, including certain rail and seaport assets, are subject to registration requirements by U.S. governmental agencies, as well as foreign governments if such assets are to be used outside of the United States. Failing to register the assets, or losing such registration, could result in substantial penalties, forced liquidation of the assets and/or the inability to operate and, if applicable, lease the assets. We may need to incur significant costs to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to any such new acquisition. The to comply with these
laws and regulations could cause us to incur significant costs, fines or penalties or require the assets to be removed from service for a period of time resulting in reduced income from these assets. In addition, if our acquisitions in other sectors produce insufficient revenues, or produce investment losses, or if we are unable to efficiently manage our expanded operations, our results of operations will be adversely affected, and our reputation and business may be harmed.
Restrictive covenants in our and our subsidiaries’ debt and preferred stock instruments may adversely affect us.
The instruments governing our and our subsidiaries’ outstanding debt and preferred stock contain, certain restrictive covenants that limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interests. For example, these covenants significantly restrict our and certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to:
• incur indebtedness;
• issue equity interests of the Company ranking pari passu with, or senior in priority to, our Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock;
• issue equity interests of any subsidiary of the Company;
• pay dividends or make other distributions;
• repurchase or redeem capital stock or subordinated indebtedness and make investments;
• create liens;
• incur dividend or other payment restrictions affecting the Company and certain of its subsidiaries;
• transfer or sell assets, including capital stock of subsidiaries;
• merge or consolidate with other entities or transfer all or substantially all of the Company’s assets;
• take actions to cause the Company to cease to be treated as a domestic C corporation for U.S. tax purposes;
• consummate a change in control without concurrently redeeming the Series A Preferred Units and warrants of FIP RR Holdings LLC;
• amend, terminate or permit the assignment or subcontract of, or the transfer of any rights or obligations under, the Management Agreement, in order to alter the (i) scope of services in any material respect, (ii) the compensation, fee payment or other economic terms relating to the Management Agreement, or (iii) the scope of matters expressly required to be approved by the Independent Directors (as such term is defined in the Management Agreement) pursuant to the Management Agreement;
• engage in certain intercompany transactions;
• engage in certain prohibited business activities; and
• enter into transactions with affiliates.
While these covenants are subject to a number of important exceptions and qualifications, such restrictive covenants could affect our ability to operate our business and may limit our ability to take advantage of potential business opportunities. Events beyond our control can affect our ability to comply with these covenants. If an event of default occurs, we cannot assure you that we would have sufficient assets to repay all of our obligations.
In addition, certain other debt instruments (including the Series 2020A Bonds, Series 2021 Bonds and Series 2024 Bonds, the EB-5 loan agreements, the Long Ridge Acquiom Loan, the RailCo Revolver and the June 2025 Jefferson Credit Agreement) and the Series A Preferred Units and warrants of FIP RR Holdings LLC include restrictive covenants that may materially limit our, or our subsidiaries’, ability to repay other debt or require us to achieve and maintain compliance with specified financial ratios. See “Description of Indebtedness” in the Information Statement filed with the SEC on Form 8-K on July 15, 2022 and Exhibits 10.11, 10.14 and 10.15 included herein.
Terrorist attacks or other hostilities could negatively impact our operations and our profitability and may expose us to liability and reputational damage.
Terrorist attacks may negatively affect our operations. Such attacks have contributed to economic instability in the United States and elsewhere, and further acts of terrorism, violence or war, including recent geopolitical events, could similarly affect world trade and the industries in which we and our customers operate. In addition, terrorist attacks or hostilities may directly impact locations where our trains and containers travel or our physical facilities or those of our customers. In addition, it is also possible that our assets could be involved in a terrorist attack or other hostilities. The consequences of any terrorist attacks or hostilities are unpredictable, and we may not be able to foresee events that could have a material adverse effect on our operations.
Our inability to obtain sufficient capital would constrain our ability to grow our portfolio and to increase our revenues.
Our business is capital intensive, and we have used and may continue to employ leverage to finance our operations. Accordingly, our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and maintain our operations depends on the availability and cost of debt and equity capital. Additionally, our ability to borrow against our assets is dependent, in part, on the appraised value of such
assets. If the appraised value of such assets declines, we may be required to reduce the principal outstanding under our debt facilities or otherwise be unable to incur new borrowings.
We can give no assurance that the capital we need will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all. Our inability to obtain sufficient capital, or to renew or expand our credit facilities, could result in increased funding costs and would limit our ability to:
• meet the terms and maturities of our existing and future debt facilities;
• purchase new assets or refinance existing assets;
• fund our working capital needs and maintain adequate liquidity; and
• finance other growth initiatives.
In addition, we conduct our operations so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”). As such, certain forms of financing such as finance leases may not be available to us. Please see “—If we are deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.”
The effects of various environmental regulations may negatively affect the industries in which we operate which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharge of pollutants to air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the cleanup of contaminated sites and noise and emission levels and greenhouse gas emissions. Under some environmental laws in the United States, strict liability may be imposed on the owners or operators of assets, which could render us liable for environmental and natural resource damages without regard to negligence or fault on our part. In addition, changes to environmental standards or regulations in the industries in which we operate could limit the economic life of the assets we acquire or reduce their value, and also require us to make significant additional investments in order to maintain compliance, which would negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, a variety of new legislation is being enacted, or considered for enactment, at the federal, state and local levels relating to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. While there has historically been a lack of consistent climate change legislation, as climate change concerns continue to grow, further legislation and regulations are expected to continue in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions control, emission disclosure requirements and building codes or other infrastructure requirements that impose energy standards. Government mandates, standards or regulations intended to mitigate or reduce greenhouse gas emissions or projected climate change impacts could result in prohibitions or restrictions on infrastructure development in certain areas, increased energy and transportation costs, and increased compliance expenses and other financial obligations to meet permitting or development requirements that we may be to fully recover (due to market conditions or other factors), any of which could result in reduced profits and affect our results of operations. While we typically maintain liability insurance coverage, the insurance coverage is subject to large deductibles, limits on maximum coverage and significant exclusions and may not be sufficient or available to protect any or all liabilities and such indemnities may not cover or be sufficient to protect us arising from environmental . In addition, changes to environmental standards or regulations in the industries in which we operate could limit the economic life of the assets we acquire or reduce their value, and also require us to make significant additional investments in order to maintain compliance, which would impact our cash flows and results of operations.
Our Repauno site and the Long Ridge property are subject to environmental laws and regulations that may expose us to significant costs and liabilities.
Our Repauno site is subject to ongoing environmental investigation and remediation by the former owner that sold Repauno to FTAI (the “Repauno Seller”) related to historic industrial operations. The Repauno Seller is responsible for completion of this work, and we benefit from a related indemnity and insurance policy. If the Repauno Seller fails to fulfill its investigation and remediation, or indemnity obligations and the related insurance, which are subject to limits and conditions, fail to cover our costs, we could incur losses. Redevelopment of the property in those areas undergoing investigation and remediation must await state environmental agency confirmation that no further investigation or remediation is required before redevelopment activities can occur in such areas of the property. Therefore, any delay in the Repauno Seller’s completion of the environmental work or receipt of related approvals in an area of the property could delay our redevelopment activities. In addition, once received, permits and approvals may be subject to , and projects may be or approvals reversed or modified in . If there is a in obtaining any required regulatory approval, it could projects and cause us to incur costs.
In addition, a portion of the Long Ridge site was redeveloped as a combined cycle gas-fired electric generating facility, and other portions will likely be redeveloped in the future. Although we have not identified material impacts to soils or groundwater that reasonably would be expected to prevent or delay further redevelopment projects, impacted materials could be encountered that require special handling and/or result in delays to those projects. Any additional projects may require environmental permits and approvals from federal, state and local environmental agencies. Once received, permits and approvals may be subject to litigation, and projects may be delayed or approvals reversed or modified in litigation. If there is a delay in obtaining any required regulatory approval, it could delay projects and cause us to incur costs.
Moreover, new, stricter environmental laws, regulations or enforcement policies, including those imposed in response to climate change, could be implemented that significantly increase our compliance costs, or require us to adopt more costly methods of operation. If we are not able to transform the Repauno or Long Ridge sites into hubs for industrial and energy development in a timely manner, their future prospects could be materially and adversely affected, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
We have material customer concentration with respect to the Jefferson Terminal and Railroad segments, with a limited number of customers accounting for a material portion of our revenues.
We earned approximately 10%, 13% and 12% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 from one customer within the Jefferson Terminal segment, respectively, and 32%, 50% and 51% of our revenue from one customer within the Railroad segment during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, accounts receivable from three customers within the Jefferson Terminal and Railroad segments represented 41% of total accounts receivable, net. As of December 31, 2024, accounts receivable from two customers within the Jefferson Terminal and Railroad segments represented 48% of total accounts receivable, net.
There are inherent risks whenever a large percentage of total revenues are concentrated with a limited number of customers. It is not possible for us to predict the future level of demand for our services that will be generated by these customers or the future demand for the products and services of these customers in the end-user marketplace. In addition, revenues from these customers may fluctuate from time to time based on the commencement and completion of projects, the timing of which may be affected by market conditions or other factors, some of which may be outside of our control. If any of these customers experience declining or delayed sales due to market, economic or competitive conditions, or undergo material management or ownership changes, we could be pressured to reduce the prices we charge for our services or we could lose a major customer. Any such development could have an adverse effect on our margins and financial position and would negatively affect our revenues and results of operations and/or trading price of our common stock.
A cyberattack that bypasses our information technology (“IT”) security systems or the IT security systems of our third-party providers, causing an IT security breach or cybersecurity incident, may lead to a disruption of our IT systems and the loss of business information which may hinder our ability to conduct our business effectively and may result in lost revenues and additional costs.
Parts of our business depend on the secure operation of our IT systems and the IT systems of our third-party providers to manage, process, store, and transmit information. We have, from time to time, experienced cybersecurity threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, any of which could be enhanced or facilitated by artificial intelligence. A cyberattack that bypasses our IT security systems or the IT security systems of our third-party providers, causing an IT security breach or cybersecurity incident, could adversely impact our daily operations and lead to the loss of sensitive information, including our own proprietary information and that of our customers, suppliers and employees. Such losses could harm our reputation and result in competitive disadvantages, litigation, regulatory enforcement actions, lost revenues, additional costs and liabilities. While we devote substantial resources to maintaining adequate levels of cyber-security, our resources and technical sophistication may not be adequate to prevent all types of or .
If we are deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We conduct our operations so that neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are U.S. government securities and securities issued by entities which are at least 50% owned that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exception from the definition of investment company for certain privately offered investment vehicles set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.
The Investment Company Act may limit our and our subsidiaries’ ability to enter into financing leases and engage in other types of financial activity because less than 40% of the value of our and our subsidiaries’ total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis can consist of “investment securities.”
If we or any of our subsidiaries were required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, the registered entity would become subject to substantial regulation that would significantly change our operations, and we would not be able to conduct our business as described in this report. We have not obtained a formal determination from the SEC as to our status under the Investment Company Act and, consequently, any violation of the Investment Company Act would subject us to material adverse consequences.
Adverse judgments or settlements in legal proceedings could materially harm our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows.
We may be party to claims that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business, which may include those related to, for example, contracts, sub-contracts, employment of our workforce and immigration requirements or compliance with any of a
wide array of state and federal statutes, rules and regulations that pertain to different aspects of our business. We may also be required to initiate expensive litigation or other proceedings to protect our business interests. There is a risk that we will not be successful or otherwise be able to satisfactorily resolve any pending or future litigation. In addition, litigation and other legal claims are subject to inherent uncertainties and management’s view of currently pending legal matters may change in the future. Those uncertainties include, but are not limited to, litigation costs and attorneys’ fees, unpredictable judicial or jury decisions and the differing laws regarding damage awards among the states in which we operate. Unexpected outcomes in such legal proceedings, or changes in management’s evaluation or predictions of the likely outcomes of such proceedings (possibly resulting in changes in established reserves), could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Manager
We are dependent on our Manager and other key personnel at Fortress and may not find suitable replacements if our Manager terminates the Management Agreement or if other key personnel depart.
Our officers and other individuals who perform services for us (other than Jefferson Terminal, Repauno, Long Ridge, Transtar, Aleon and Gladieux, Wheeling, KRS, Clean Planet, FYX, and CarbonFree employees) are employees of our Manager or other Fortress entities. We are completely reliant on our Manager, which has significant discretion as to the implementation of our operating policies and strategies, to conduct our business. We are subject to the risk that our Manager will terminate the Management Agreement and that we will not be able to find a suitable replacement for our Manager in a timely manner, at a reasonable cost, or at all. Furthermore, we are dependent on the services of certain key employees of our Manager and certain key employees of Fortress entities whose compensation is partially or entirely dependent upon the amount of management fees earned by our Manager and whose continued service is not guaranteed, and the loss of such personnel or services could materially adversely affect our operations. We do not have key man insurance for any of the personnel of the Manager or other Fortress entities that are key to us. An inability to find a suitable replacement for any departing employee of our Manager or Fortress entities on a timely basis could materially adversely affect our ability to operate and grow our business.
In addition, our Manager may assign our Management Agreement to an entity whose business and operations are managed or supervised by Mr. Wesley R. Edens, who is an employee of Fortress, which is an affiliate of our Manager, and who until May 2024, was a principal and a member of the board of directors of Fortress and a member of the management committee of Fortress since co-founding Fortress in May 1998. In the event of any such assignment to a non-affiliate of Fortress, the functions currently performed by our Manager’s current personnel may be performed by others. We can give you no assurance that such personnel would manage our operations in the same manner as our Manager currently does, and the failure by the personnel of any such entity to acquire assets generating attractive risk-adjusted returns could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
On May 14, 2024, certain members of Fortress management and affiliates of Mubadala completed their acquisition of 100% of the equity of Fortress. While Fortress’s senior investment professionals are expected to remain at Fortress, including those individuals who perform services for us, there can be no assurance that the transaction will not have an adverse impact on us or our relationship with our Manager.
There are conflicts of interest in our relationship with our Manager.
Our Management Agreement was not negotiated at arm’s-length, and its terms, including fees payable, may not be as favorable to us as if they had been negotiated with an unaffiliated third party.
There are conflicts of interest inherent in our relationship with our Manager insofar as our Manager and its affiliates—including investment funds, private investment funds, or businesses managed by our Manager, including Florida East Coast Industries, LLC (“FECI”)—invest in transportation and transportation-related infrastructure assets and whose investment objectives overlap with our asset acquisition objectives. Certain opportunities appropriate for us may also be appropriate for one or more of these other investment vehicles. Certain members of our board of directors and employees of our Manager who are our officers also serve as officers and/or directors of these other entities. Although we have the same Manager, we may compete with entities affiliated with our Manager or Fortress, including FECI, for certain target assets. From time to time, entities affiliated with or managed by our Manager or Fortress may focus on investments in assets with a similar profile as our target assets that we may seek to acquire. These affiliates may have meaningful purchasing capacity, which may change over time depending upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, available equity capital and debt financing, market conditions and cash on hand. Fortress has multiple existing and planned funds focused on investing in one or more of our target sectors, each with significant current or expected capital commitments. In connection with the spin-off, we received assets previously purchased by FTAI, and we may in the future purchase assets from these funds, and FTAI has previously co-invested and we may in the future co-invest with these funds in infrastructure assets. Fortress funds generally have a fee structure similar to ours, but the fees actually paid will vary depending on the size, terms and performance of each fund.
Our Management Agreement generally does not limit or restrict our Manager or its affiliates from engaging in any business or managing other pooled investment vehicles that invest in assets that meet our asset acquisition objectives. Our Manager intends to engage in additional infrastructure related management and other investment opportunities in the future, which may compete with us for investments or result in a change in our current investment strategy. In addition, our certificate of incorporation provides that if any of the Fortress Parties or any of their officers, directors or employees acquire knowledge of a potential transaction that could be a corporate opportunity, they have no duty, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to offer such corporate opportunity to us, our stockholders or our affiliates. In the event that any of our directors and officers who is also a director, officer
or employee of any of the Fortress Parties or their affiliates acquires knowledge of a corporate opportunity or is offered a corporate opportunity, provided that this knowledge was not acquired solely in such person’s capacity as a director or officer of us and such person acts in good faith, then to the fullest extent permitted by law such person is deemed to have fully satisfied such person’s fiduciary duties owed to us and is not liable to us if any of the Fortress Parties, or their respective affiliates, pursues or acquires the corporate opportunity or if such person did not present the corporate opportunity to us.
The ability of our Manager and its officers and employees to engage in other business activities, subject to the terms of our Management Agreement, may reduce the amount of time our Manager, its officers or other employees spend managing us. In addition, we may engage (subject to our strategy) in material transactions with our Manager or another entity managed by our Manager or one of its affiliates, including FTAI and FECI, which may include, but are not limited to, certain acquisitions, financing arrangements, purchases of debt, co-investments, consumer loans, servicing advances and other assets that present an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest. Our board of directors adopted a policy regarding the approval of any “related party transactions” pursuant to which certain of the material transactions described above may require disclosure to, and approval by, the independent members of our board of directors. Actual, potential or perceived conflicts have given, and may in the future give, rise to investor dissatisfaction, litigation or regulatory inquiries or enforcement actions. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation could be if we , or appear to , to deal appropriately with one or more potential, actual or perceived of interest. Regulatory of, or in connection with, of interest could have a material effect on our reputation, which could materially affect our business in a number of ways, including causing an to raise additional funds, a of counterparties to do business with us, a decrease in the prices of our equity securities and a resulting increased risk of and regulatory enforcement actions.
The structure of our Manager’s compensation arrangements may have unintended consequences for us. We have agreed to pay our Manager a management fee that is based on different measures of performance. Consequently, there may be conflicts in the incentives of our Manager to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for us. Investments with higher yield potential are generally riskier or more speculative than investments with lower yield potential. This could result in increased risk to the value of our portfolio of assets and our common stock.
Our directors have approved a broad asset acquisition strategy for our Manager and will not approve each acquisition we make at the direction of our Manager. In addition, we may change our strategy without a stockholder vote, which may result in our acquiring assets that are different, riskier or less profitable than our current assets.
Our Manager is authorized to follow a broad asset acquisition strategy. We may pursue other types of acquisitions as market conditions evolve. Our Manager makes decisions about our investments in accordance with broad investment guidelines adopted by our board of directors. Accordingly, we may, without a stockholder vote, change our target sectors and acquire a variety of assets that differ from, and are possibly riskier than, our current asset portfolio. Consequently, our Manager has great latitude in determining the types and categories of assets it may decide are proper investments for us, including the latitude to invest in types and categories of assets that may differ from those in our existing portfolio. Our directors will periodically review our strategy and our portfolio of assets. However, our board will not review or pre-approve each proposed acquisition or our related financing arrangements. In addition, in conducting periodic reviews, the directors will rely primarily on information provided to them by our Manager. Furthermore, transactions entered into by our Manager may be difficult or impossible to reverse by the time they are reviewed by the directors even if the transactions contravene the terms of the Management Agreement. In addition, we may change our asset acquisition strategy, including our target asset classes, without a stockholder vote.
Our asset acquisition strategy may evolve in light of existing market conditions and investment opportunities, and this evolution may involve additional risks depending upon the nature of the assets we target and our ability to finance such assets on a short or long-term basis. Opportunities that present unattractive risk-return profiles relative to other available opportunities under particular market conditions may become relatively attractive under changed market conditions and changes in market conditions may therefore result in changes in the assets we target. Decisions to make acquisitions in new asset categories present risks that may be difficult for us to adequately assess and could therefore reduce or eliminate our ability to pay dividends on our common stock or have adverse effects on our liquidity or financial condition. A change in our asset acquisition strategy may also increase our exposure to interest rate, foreign currency or credit market fluctuations. In addition, a change in our asset acquisition strategy may increase our use of non-match-funded financing, increase the guarantee obligations we agree to incur or increase the number of transactions we enter into with affiliates. Our to accurately assess the risks inherent in new asset categories or the financing risks associated with such assets could affect our results of operations and our financial condition.
Our Manager will not be liable to us for any acts or omissions performed in accordance with the Management Agreement, including with respect to the performance of our assets.
Pursuant to our Management Agreement, our Manager will not assume any responsibility other than to render the services called for thereunder in good faith and will not be responsible for any action of our board of directors in following or declining to follow its advice or recommendations. Our Manager, its members, managers, officers, employees, sub-advisers and any other person controlling or Manager, will not be liable to us or any of our subsidiaries, to our board of directors, or our or any subsidiary’s stockholders or partners for any acts or omissions by our Manager, its members, managers, officers, employees, sub-advisers and any other person controlling or Manager, except liability to us, our stockholders, directors, officers and employees and persons controlling us, by reason of acts constituting bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement. We will, to the full extent lawful, reimburse, indemnify and hold our
Manager, its members, managers, officers and employees, sub-advisers and each other person, if any, controlling our Manager harmless of and from any and all expenses, losses, damages, liabilities, demands, charges and claims of any nature whatsoever (including attorneys’ fees) in respect of or arising from any acts or omissions of an indemnified party made in good faith in the performance of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement and not constituting such indemnified party’s bad faith, willful misconduct, gross negligence or reckless disregard of our Manager’s duties under our Management Agreement.
Our Manager’s due diligence of potential asset acquisitions or other transactions may not identify all pertinent risks, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our Manager intends to conduct due diligence with respect to each asset acquisition opportunity or other transaction it pursues. It is possible, however, that our Manager’s due diligence processes will not uncover all relevant facts, particularly with respect to any assets we acquire from third parties. In these cases, our Manager may be given limited access to information about the asset and will rely on information provided by the seller of the asset. In addition, if asset acquisition opportunities are scarce, the process for selecting bidders is competitive, or the timeframe in which we are required to complete diligence is short, our ability to conduct a due diligence investigation may be limited, and we would be required to make decisions based upon a less thorough diligence process than would otherwise be the case. Accordingly, transactions that initially appear to be viable may prove not to be over time, due to the limitations of the due diligence process or other factors.
Risks Related to the Spin-off
The ownership by some of our directors of common shares, options, or other equity awards of FTAI may create, or may create the appearance of, conflicts of interest.
Because some of our directors also currently hold positions with FTAI, they own FTAI common shares, options to purchase FTAI common shares or other equity awards. For example, Judith Hannaway and Ray Robinson are directors of both FTAI and FTAI Infrastructure, and Joseph Adams, Jr., who is the chairman of the board of both FTAI and FTAI Infrastructure and is the chief executive officer of FTAI, owns common shares and options to purchase common shares in both FTAI and FTAI Infrastructure. Ownership by some of our directors of common shares or options to purchase common shares of FTAI, or any other equity awards, creates, or, may create the appearance of, conflicts of interest when these directors are faced with decisions that could have different implications for FTAI than they do for us.
We may compete with affiliates of and entities managed by our Manager which could adversely affect our and their results of operations.
Affiliates of and entities managed by our Manager are primarily engaged in the infrastructure and energy business and invest in, and actively manage, portfolios of infrastructure and energy investments and other assets. Affiliates of and entities managed by our Manager are not restricted in any manner from competing with us. After the spin-off, affiliates of and entities managed by our Manager may decide to invest in the same types of assets that we invest in. Furthermore, certain of our directors and officers are the same as certain of our Manager’s affiliates. See “—Risks Related to Our Manager—There are conflicts of interest in our relationship with our Manager.”
We share certain key directors with FTAI, which means those officers do not devote their full time and attention to our affairs and the overlap may give rise to conflicts.
There is an overlap between certain key directors of the Company and of FTAI. Judith Hannaway and Ray Robinson are directors of both the Company and FTAI, and Joseph Adams, Jr. is the chairman of the board of directors of both the Company and FTAI, and continues to serve as the chief executive officer of FTAI. Shared directors may have actual or apparent conflicts of interest with respect to matters involving or affecting each company. For example, there will be the potential for a conflict of interest when we on the one hand, and FTAI and its respective subsidiaries and successors on the other hand, are party to commercial transactions concerning the same or adjacent investments. In addition, certain of our directors and officers continue to own shares and/or options or other equity awards of FTAI. These ownership interests could create actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest when these individuals are faced with decisions that could have different implications for our company and FTAI. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Our Manager and Management Agreement” in the Information Statement filed with the SEC on Form 8-K on July 15, 2022 for a discussion of certain procedures we instituted to help ameliorate such potential conflicts that may arise.
The degree to which we are leveraged could cause a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are responsible for servicing our own debt and obtaining and maintaining sufficient working capital and other funds to satisfy our cash requirements. Our access to and cost of debt financing is different from the historical access to and cost of debt financing under FTAI. Differences in access to and cost of debt financing may result in differences in the interest rates charged to us on financings, as well as the amount of indebtedness, types of financing structures and debt markets that may be available to us. Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our and our subsidiaries’ indebtedness and preferred stock, as well as any future debt and preferred stock that we or our subsidiaries may incur, will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future from operations, financings and/or asset sales. Our ability to generate cash is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.
We experienced an “ownership change” for purposes of Section 382 of the Code, which limits our ability to utilize our net operating loss and certain other tax attributes to reduce our future taxable income.
Although we currently have significant tax attributes, including significant net operating losses, our use of those attributes is subject to significant limitations as a result of the fact that we believe we underwent an “ownership change” for purposes of Section 382 of the Code in the first half of 2025. Specifically, Section 382 of the Code imposes an annual limitation on the ability of a company that undergoes an “ownership change” to utilize its net operating loss and certain built-in losses to offset taxable income earned in years after the ownership change. The Code also contains other limitations on the use of net operating losses and other tax attributes, which may impact our ability to utilize such losses and attributes. As a result of the Section 382 limitation and potentially other limitations or changes in circumstances, our use of our tax attributes may be significantly delayed, and we may not be to use all of those attributes, potentially our future operating results by effectively increasing our future U.S. federal income tax obligations. In addition, we may be subject to similar or other under state, local or other tax laws.
Risks Related to the Wheeling Acquisition
We may be unable to successfully integrate the businesses and realize the anticipated benefits of the Wheeling Acquisition.
The success of the Wheeling Acquisition will depend, in part, on our ability to successfully integrate Wheeling, with our business and realize the anticipated benefits, including synergies, cost savings, innovation and operational efficiencies, from this combination. If we are unable to achieve these objectives within the anticipated time frame, or at all, the anticipated benefits may not be realized fully, or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected and the value of our common stock may be harmed. Additionally, as a result of the Wheeling Acquisition, rating agencies may take negative actions against our credit ratings, which may increase our financing costs.
The integration of Wheeling into our business is a complex, costly and time-consuming process, and may result in material challenges, including, without limitation:
• failure to successfully integrate Wheeling in a manner that permits us to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition;
• managing a larger rail platform;
• difficulties expanding our customer base;
• difficulties and delays integrating Wheeling’s operations and systems and retaining key employees;
• higher than anticipated costs incurred in connection with the integration of Wheeling;
• the possibility of faulty assumptions underlying expectations regarding the integration process;
• retaining existing business and operational relationships and attracting new business and operational relationships;
• disruptions to our ongoing business and diversion of our management’s attention caused by transition or integration activities involving Wheeling;
• consolidating corporate and administrative infrastructures and eliminating duplicative functions;
• assumption of pre-existing contractual relationships of Wheeling that we may not have otherwise entered into, the termination or modification of which may be costly or disruptive to our business;
• unanticipated issues in integrating information technology, communications and other systems;
• incurring debt to finance the Wheeling Acquisition, which will increase our debt service requirements, expense and leverage;
• any potential litigation arising from the transaction; and
• unanticipated changes in applicable federal or state laws or regulations.
Many of these factors will be outside of our control and any one of them could result in delays, increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenues and diversion of management’s time and energy, which could materially affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
We may not have discovered undisclosed liabilities or other issues of Wheeling during our due diligence process, and we may not have adequate legal protection from potential liabilities of, or in respect of our acquisition of Wheeling.
In the course of the due diligence review of Wheeling that we conducted prior to the execution of the Stock Purchase Agreement, we may not have discovered, or may have been unable to quantify, undisclosed liabilities or other issues relating to Wheeling and its subsidiaries. Moreover, we may not have adequate legal protection from potential liabilities of, or in respect of our acquisition of Wheeling, irrespective of whether or not such potential liabilities were discovered. Examples of such undisclosed or potential liabilities or other issues may include, but are not limited to, pending or threatened litigation, regulatory and environmental compliance, tax liabilities, indemnification of obligations, undisclosed counterparty termination rights, or
undisclosed letter of credit or guarantee requirements. Any such undisclosed or potential liabilities or other issues could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Wheeling faces competition from other railroads and other transportation providers.
Wheeling faces competition from other railroads, motor carriers, ships, barges, and pipelines. Wheeling operates in some corridors served by other railroads and motor carriers. In addition to price competition, Wheeling faces competition with respect to transit times, quality, and reliability of service from motor carriers and other railroads. Motor carriers in particular can have an advantage over railroads with respect to transit times and timeliness of service. However, railroads are much more fuel-efficient than trucks, which reduces the impact of transporting goods on the environment and public infrastructure. Additionally, Wheeling must build or acquire and maintain its rail system, while trucks, barges, and maritime operators are able to use public rights-of-way maintained by public entities. Any of the following could also affect the competitiveness of our rail services, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity: (i) improvements or expenditures materially increasing the quality or reducing the costs of these alternative modes of transportation, such as autonomous or more fuel efficient trucks, (ii) legislation that eliminates or significantly increases the size or weight limitations applied to motor carriers, or (iii) legislation or regulatory changes that impose operating restrictions on railroads or that affect the of some or all railroad traffic. Additionally, any future consolidation of the rail industry could materially affect our competitive environment.
Wheeling has material customer concentration, with a limited number of customers accounting for a material portion of our revenues.
Wheeling earned approximately 43% of its total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2025 from two customers. There are inherent risks whenever a large percentage of total revenues are concentrated with a limited number of customers. It is not possible for us to predict the future level of demand for Wheeling’s services that will be generated by these customers or the future demand for the products and services of these customers in the end-user marketplace. In addition, revenues from these customers may fluctuate from time to time, which may be affected by market conditions or other factors, some of which may be outside of our control. If any of these customers experience declining or delayed sales due to market, economic or competitive conditions, or undergo material management or ownership changes, Wheeling could be pressured to reduce the prices it charges for its services or could lose a major customer. Any such development could have a significant adverse impact on the business and financial condition of the Company.
The future results of the Company may be adversely impacted if the Company does not effectively manage its expanded operations following the completion of the Wheeling Acquisition.
As a result of the Wheeling Acquisition, the size of the Company’s business has increased significantly. The Company’s ability to successfully manage this expanded business will depend, in part, upon management’s ability to design and implement strategic initiatives that address not only the integration of Wheeling, but also the increased scale and scope of the combined business with its associated increased costs and complexity.
Wheeling has not been required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley”).
Prior to the Wheeling Acquisition, Wheeling was a privately-held company not subject to Sarbanes-Oxley. Sarbanes-Oxley requires public companies to have and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and preparation of financial statements and to have management report on the effectiveness of those controls on an annual basis (and have its independent public accountants attest annually to the effectiveness of such internal controls). As a private company, Wheeling is not required to comply with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley.
We have begun applying our Sarbanes-Oxley procedures regarding internal controls over financial reporting with respect to Wheeling. This process will require us to expend a significant amount of time from our management and other personnel and will require us to expend a significant amount of financial resources, which is likely to increase our compliance costs. Even after expending such resources, we cannot assure you that we will be able to conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting with respect to Wheeling are effective within the time frame required. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley in a timely manner, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would entail expenditure of additional financial and management resources and could materially adversely affect the combined company.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile, which could result in rapid and substantial losses for our stockholders.
The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our common stock declines significantly, you may be unable to resell your stock at or above your purchase price, if at all. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate or decline significantly in the future. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our stock price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our stock include:
• a shift in our investor base;
• our quarterly or annual earnings, or those of other comparable companies;
• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
• changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
• announcements by us or our competitors of significant investments, acquisitions or dispositions;
• the failure of securities analysts to cover our common stock;
• changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or our ability to meet those estimates;
• the operating and share price performance of other comparable companies;
• overall market fluctuations;
• general economic conditions; and
• developments in the markets and market sectors in which we participate.
Stock markets in the United States have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. Market fluctuations, as well as general political and economic conditions, such as acts of terrorism, prolonged economic uncertainty, the potential for worsening economic conditions, economic downturn, a recession or interest rate or currency rate fluctuations, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
An increase in market interest rates may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
One of the factors that investors may consider in deciding whether to buy or sell our stock is our distribution rate as a percentage of our stock price relative to market interest rates. If the market price of our common stock is based primarily on the earnings and return that we derive from our investments and income with respect to our investments and our related distributions to stockholders, and not from the market value of the investments themselves, then interest rate fluctuations and capital market conditions will likely affect the market price of our common stock. For instance, if market interest rates rise without an increase in our distribution rate, the market price of our common stock could decrease, as potential investors may require a higher distribution yield on our stock or seek other securities paying higher distributions or interest. In addition, rising interest rates would result in increased interest expense on our outstanding and future (variable and fixed) rate debt, thereby adversely affecting cash flows and our ability to service our indebtedness and pay distributions.
There can be no assurance that the market for our common stock will provide you with adequate liquidity.
There can be no assurance that an active trading market for our common stock will develop or be sustained in the future, and the market price of our stock may fluctuate widely, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond our control. These factors include, without limitation:
• a shift in our investor base;
• our quarterly or annual earnings and cash flows, or those of other comparable companies;
• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
• changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
• announcements by us or our competitors of significant investments, acquisitions, dispositions or other transactions;
• the failure of securities analysts to cover our stock;
• changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or our ability to meet those estimates;
• market performance of affiliates and other counterparties with whom we conduct business;
• the operating and stock price performance of other comparable companies;
• our failure to maintain our exemption under the Investment Company Act or satisfy Nasdaq listing requirements;
• negative public perception of us, our competitors or industry;
• overall market fluctuations; and
• general economic conditions.
Stock markets in general have experienced volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of a particular company. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.
As a public company, we are required to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Internal control over financial reporting is complex and may be revised over time to adapt to changes in our business, or changes in applicable accounting rules. We may make investments through joint ventures and
accounting for such investments can increase the complexity of maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting. We cannot assure you that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in the future or that a material weakness will not be discovered with respect to a prior period for which we had previously believed that our internal control over financial reporting was effective. If we are not able to maintain or document effective internal control over financial reporting, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue an adverse opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Matters impacting our internal control over financial reporting may cause us to be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis or may cause us to restate previously issued financial information, and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions or by the SEC, or of applicable stock exchange listing rules. There could also be a reaction in the financial markets due to a of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our financial statements is also likely to if we or our independent registered public accounting firm reports a material in the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This could materially affect us by, for example, to a in our stock price and our ability to raise capital.
Your percentage ownership in us may be diluted in the future.
Your percentage ownership in us may be diluted in the future because of equity awards that we expect will be granted to our Manager, to the directors, officers and employees of our Manager who perform services for us, and to our directors, officers and employees, as well as other equity instruments such as debt and equity financing, including, but not limited to, the Series B Preferred Stock, the Series I Warrants (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements) and the Series A Warrants (as defined in Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements).
On August 1, 2022, our board of directors adopted the FTAI Infrastructure Inc. Nonqualified Stock Option and Incentive Award Plan (the “Incentive Plan”), which provides for the ability to grant compensation awards in the form of stock, options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, performance awards, manager awards, tandem awards, other stock-based awards (including restricted stock units) and non-stock-based awards, in each case to our Manager, to the directors, officers, employees, service providers, consultants and advisors of our Manager who perform services for us, and to our directors, officers, employees, service providers, consultants and advisors. We initially reserved 30,000,000 shares of our common stock for issuance under the Incentive Plan. On the date of any equity issuance by us during the ten-year term of the Incentive Plan, that number will be increased by a number of shares of our common stock equal to 10% of (i) the number of shares of our common stock newly issued by us in such equity issuance or (ii) if such equity issuance relates to equity securities other than our common stock, the number of shares of our common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the gross capital raised in such equity issuance by the fair market value of a share of our common stock as of the date of such equity issuance (such quotient, the “Equity Security Factor”). The term of the Incentive Plan expires in 2032. For a more detailed description of the Incentive Plan, see “Management—FTAI Infrastructure Nonqualified Stock Option and Inventive Award Plan” in the Information Statement filed with the SEC on Form 8-K on July 15, 2022. Upon the completion of an equity offering by us, we will issue to our Manager (or an affiliate of our Manager), as compensation for our Manager’s role in raising capital for us, options to purchase shares of our common stock equal to up to 10% of (i) the aggregate number of shares of our common stock being issued in such offering or (ii) if such equity issuance relates to equity securities other than shares of our common stock, the number of shares of our common stock equal to the Equity Security Factor. In addition, the compensation committee of our board of directors has the authority to grant such other awards to our Manager as it deems advisable; provided that no such award may be granted to our Manager in connection with any issuance by us of equity securities in excess of 10% of (i) the maximum number of shares of our common stock then being issued or (ii) if such equity issuance relates to equity securities other than shares of our common stock, the maximum number of shares of our common stock determined in accordance with the Equity Security Factor.
The Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock may be converted into a maximum of 22,237,370 shares of our common stock, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments and assuming shareholder approval is not sought and obtained to issue additional shares. Furthermore, the Series I Warrants and the Series A Warrants represent the right to purchase 3,342,566 shares of common stock and 550,000 shares of common stock, respectively, at an exercise price of $10.00 per share, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments.
Our common stock is subject to ownership and transfer restrictions intended to preserve our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes.
We have incurred and may also continue to incur significant net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes, the amount and availability of which are subject to certain qualifications, limitations, and uncertainties. Our certificate of incorporation imposes certain restrictions on the transferability and ownership of our common stock, preferred stock, and other interests treated as our “stock” (such stock and other interests, the “Corporation Securities,” such restrictions on transferability and ownership, the “Ownership Restrictions”) in order to reduce the possibility of an equity ownership shift that could result in limitations on our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Any acquisition of Corporation Securities that results in a stockholder being in violation of these restrictions may not be valid.
Subject to certain exceptions (including with respect to Initial Substantial Stockholders, as defined in our certificate of incorporation), the Ownership Restrictions will restrict (i) any person or entity (including certain groups of persons) from directly or indirectly acquiring 4.8% or more of the outstanding Corporation Securities and (ii) the ability of any person or entity (including certain groups of persons) already owning, directly or indirectly, 4.8% or more of the Corporation Securities to increase their proportionate interest in, or to sell, the Corporation Securities. Any transferee receiving Corporation Securities that would result in a violation of the Ownership Restrictions will not be recognized as an FTAI Infrastructure stockholder or entitled to any rights of
stockholders, including, without limitation, the right to vote and receive dividends or distributions, whether liquidating or otherwise, in each case, with respect to the Corporation Securities causing the violation. FTAI Infrastructure common stockholders whose ownership violates the Ownership Restrictions at the time of the spin-off will not be required to sell their FTAI Infrastructure common stock, but may be prevented from acquiring more Corporation Securities.
The Ownership Restrictions will remain in effect until the earlier of (i) the date on which Section 382 of the Code is repealed, amended, or modified in such a way as to render the restrictions imposed by Section 382 of the Code no longer applicable to us or (ii) a determination by the board of directors that (1) an ownership change would not result in a substantial limitation on our ability to use our available net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes; (2) no significant value attributable to our available net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes would be preserved by continuing the transfer restrictions; or (3) it is not in our best interests to continue the Ownership Restrictions. The Ownership Restrictions may also be waived by the board of directors on a case-by-case basis. There is no assurance, however, that the Company will not experience a future ownership change under Section 382 that may significantly limit its ability to use its NOL carryforwards as a result of such a waiver or otherwise.
The Ownership Restrictions described above could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or could discourage a third party from acquiring, a large block of our common stock. This may adversely affect the marketability of our common stock by discouraging existing or potential investors from acquiring our stock or additional shares of our stock. It is also possible that the transfer restrictions could delay or frustrate the removal of incumbent directors and could make more difficult a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving us, or impede an attempt to acquire a significant or controlling interest in us, even if such events might be beneficial to us and our stockholders.
You are advised to carefully monitor your ownership of our common stock and consult your legal advisors to determine whether your ownership of our common stock violates the ownership restrictions that are in our certificate of incorporation.
We may incur or issue debt or issue equity, which may negatively affect the market price of our common stock.
We may in the future incur or issue debt or issue equity or equity-related securities. In the event of our liquidation, lenders and holders of our debt and holders of our preferred stock (if any) would receive a distribution of our available assets before common stockholders. Any future incurrence or issuance of debt would increase our interest cost and could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. We are not required to offer any additional equity securities to existing common stockholders on a preemptive basis. Therefore, additional issuances of common stock, directly or through convertible or exchangeable securities, warrants or options, including, but not limited to, the Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, the Series I Warrants and the Series A Warrants, will dilute the holdings of our existing common stockholders and such issuances, or the perception of such issuances, may reduce the market price of our common stock. Any additional preferred stock issued by us would likely have, a preference on distribution payments, periodically or upon liquidation, which could eliminate or otherwise limit our ability to make distributions to common stockholders. Because our decision to incur or issue debt or issue equity or equity-related securities in the future will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, nature or success of our future capital raising efforts. Thus, stockholders bear the risk that our future incurrence or issuance of debt or issuance of equity or equity-related securities will affect the market price of our stock.
Provisions of Delaware law, our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, prevent or delay an acquisition of our company, which could decrease the market price of our common stock.
Delaware law contains, and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain, provisions that are intended to deter coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids by making such practices or bids unacceptably expensive to the raider and to encourage prospective acquirers to negotiate with our board of directors rather than to attempt a hostile takeover. These provisions include, among others:
• a classified board of directors with staggered three-year terms;
• provisions regarding the election of directors, classes of directors, the term of office of directors and the filling of director vacancies;
• provisions regarding corporate opportunity;
• removal of directors only for cause and only with the affirmative vote of at least 80% of the then issued and outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote in the election of directors;
• our board of directors to determine the powers, preferences and rights of our preferred stock and to issue such preferred stock without stockholder approval;
• advance notice requirements applicable to stockholders for director nominations and actions to be taken at annual meetings;
• a prohibition will be in our certificate of incorporation that states that directors will be elected by plurality vote, a provision which means that the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock can elect all the directors standing for election;
• a requirement in our bylaws specifically denying the ability of our stockholders to consent in writing to take any action in lieu of taking such action at a duly called annual or special meeting of our stockholders; and
• our Corporation Securities are subject to ownership and transfer restrictions in order to reduce the possibility of an equity ownership shift that could result in limitations on our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Public stockholders who might desire to participate in these types of transactions may not have an opportunity to do so, even if the transaction is considered favorable to stockholders. These anti-takeover provisions could substantially impede the ability of public stockholders to benefit from a change in control or a change in our management and board of directors and, as a result, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and your ability to realize any potential change of control premium.
Our bylaws contain exclusive forum provisions for certain claims, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our bylaws, to the fullest extent permitted by law, provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a duty (including any fiduciary duty) owed by any of our current or former directors, officers or employees to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents arising out of or relating to any provision of the DGCL or our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws; or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, stockholders, employees or agents governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware. As described below, this provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, or rules and regulations thereunder.
Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder and our bylaws will provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Our decision to adopt such a federal forum provision followed a decision by the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware holding that such provisions are facially valid under Delaware law. While there can be no assurance that federal or state courts will follow the holding of the Delaware Supreme Court or determine that our federal forum provision should be enforced in a particular case, application of our federal forum provision means that suits brought by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act must be brought in federal court and cannot be brought in state court.
Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder and our bylaws will provide that the exclusive forum provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act. Accordingly, actions by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder must be brought in federal court. Our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to our exclusive forum provisions, including the federal forum provision; provided, however, that stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Additionally, our stockholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. These provisions may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees and agents. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
While we currently pay regular quarterly dividends to our stockholders, we may change our dividend policy at any time.
Although we currently pay regular quarterly dividends to holders of our common stock, we may change our dividend policy at any time. Our net cash provided by operating activities could be less than the amount of distributions to our stockholders. The declaration and payment of dividends to holders of our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors in accordance with applicable law after taking into account various factors, including actual results of operations, liquidity and financial condition, net cash provided by operating activities, restrictions imposed by applicable law, limitations under our contractual agreements, including the agreements governing certain of our debt financings, our taxable income, our operating expenses and other factors our board of directors deem relevant. There can be no assurance that we will continue to pay dividends in amounts or on a basis consistent with prior distributions to our investors, if at all. Furthermore, our net cash provided by operating activities could be less than the amount of distributions to our stockholders. Because we are a holding company and have no direct operations, we will only be able to pay dividends from our available cash on hand and any funds we receive from our subsidiaries and our ability to receive distributions from our subsidiaries may be limited by the financing agreements to which they are subject.
As a public company, we will incur additional costs and face increased demands on our management.
As an independent public company with shares listed on Nasdaq, we need to comply with an extensive body of regulations that did not apply to us previously, including certain provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, regulations of the SEC and requirements of Nasdaq. These rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, as a result of becoming a public company, we must have independent directors and board committees.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they downgrade their recommendations regarding our common stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If any of the analysts who may cover us downgrades our common stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our common stock price may decline. If analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our common stock price or trading volume to decline and our common stock to be less liquid.
Our determination of how much leverage to use to finance our acquisitions may adversely affect our return on our assets and may reduce funds available for distribution.
We utilize leverage to finance many of our asset acquisitions, which entitles certain lenders to cash flows prior to retaining a return on our assets. While our Manager targets using only what we believe to be reasonable leverage, our strategy does not limit the amount of leverage we may incur with respect to any specific asset. The return we are able to earn on our assets may be significantly reduced due to changes in market conditions, which may cause the cost of our financing to increase relative to the income that can be derived from our assets.
Non-U.S. persons that hold or have held (actually or constructively) more than 5% of our common stock may be subject to U.S. federal income tax upon the disposition of some or all their stock.
If a non-U.S. person has held (actually or constructively) more than 5% of our common stock at any time within the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of a sale, exchange, or other taxable disposition of our stock or the period that such non-U.S. person held our stock, and we were considered a “USRPHC” at any time during such period because of our current or previous ownership of U.S. real property interests above a certain threshold, such non-U.S. person may be subject to U.S. tax on such disposition of such stock (and may have a U.S. tax return filing obligation). A corporation generally is a USRPHC if the fair market value of its U.S. real property interests, as defined in the Code and applicable Treasury regulations, equals or exceeds 50% of the aggregate fair market value of its worldwide real property interests and its other assets used or held for use in a trade or business. We believe that we are and are likely to remain a USRPHC. If a non-U.S. person is subject to U.S. tax as described above, gain recognized on the disposition of our common stock generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-U.S. person were a U.S. person. In addition, if we are a USRPHC and our common stock ceased to be treated as “regularly traded on an established securities market,” a non-U.S. person would generally be subject to tax in the manner described in the preceding sentence regardless of what percentage of our common stock it owned, and the transferee in any disposition would generally be required to withhold 15% of the amount realized on the disposition. Non-U.S. stockholders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in our stock.
Changes to United States federal income tax laws could materially and adversely affect us and our stockholders.
The present United States federal income tax laws may be modified, possibly with retroactive effect, by legislative, judicial, or administrative action at any time, which could affect the United States federal income tax treatment of us or an investment in our common stock. The United States federal income tax rules are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Treasury Department, which results in statutory changes as well as frequent revisions to regulations and interpretations. We cannot predict how changes in the tax laws might affect us and our stockholders.
