Note 10 - Related Party Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Related Party Transactions Disclosure [Text Block]

10. Related Party Transactions

Domestic Related Party Transactions 

Change of Control, Voting and Restricted Stock Agreement

The Change of Control, Voting and Restricted Stock Agreement (the "CIC Agreement") became effective on January 28, 2022, when signed by the Company and Robert G. Brown, ("Mr. Brown"), William H. Bartels, ("Mr. Bartels"), SPAR Administrative Services, Inc., a corporation ("SAS"), and collectively with Mr. Brown, Mr. Bartels and SAS, the ("Majority Stockholders"). Mr. Bartels and Mr. Brown are Directors of the Corporation. Mr. Brown was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SGRP (the "Board"), but ceased holding that position when the 2022 By-Laws (as defined below) became effective on January 25, 2022.

The execution of the CIC Agreement was conditional upon making the changes to and restatement of the Corporation's 2022 By-Laws, which were approved by the Board and became effective on January 25, 2022 (the "2022 By-Laws").

The financial terms of the CIC Agreement to the Majority Stockholders, totaled $4,477,585, consisting of the following:

a. The Corporation issued to the Majority Stockholders 2,000,000 restricted shares of Series B Preferred Stock, which are convertible into 3,000,000 SGRP Shares pursuant to the 1:1.5 conversion ratio set forth in the Preferred Designation and the CIC Agreement, subject to adjustment for a forward or reverse share split, share dividend, or similar transactions. These shares will vest over time upon execution of the CIC Agreement in 5 phases through November 10, 2023, assuming the Majority Stockholders' ongoing compliance with the terms and conditions of the CIC Agreement. Series B Preferred Shares may only be transferred to affiliates and certain related parties of the Majority Stockholders if those affiliates and certain related parties execute a joinder to the CIC Agreement. The Series B Preferred Stock shares was valued at $3,690,000 in total, based on the SGRP stock price on December 31, 2021 of $1.23 per share for the 3,000,000 conversion SGRP shares

b. The Corporation made a $250,000 cash payment to Mr. Brown and agreed to reimburse up to $35,000 of the legal expenses of the Majority Stockholders that were incurred after January 1, 2021, in connection with the negotiation and execution of the CIC Agreement.

c. The Corporation assumed financial responsibility for, and paid directly to Affinity Insurance Company, Ltd., $502,585 to settle SAS obligations and the related claim for the 2014-2015 plan year.

James R. Brown, Sr. Advisor Agreement

On January 25, 2022, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Mr. James R. Brown, Sr., effective January 26, 2022, following his retirement as a director of SGRP on January 25, 2022, pursuant to which Mr. Brown will serve as a Board advisor to SGRP from time to time for a term of one (1) year (the "Brown Advisor Agreement"). As compensation for his services, Mr. Brown was entitled to receive compensation at a rate of $55,000 for the term of the Brown Advisor Agreement. Payments will be made in equal quarterly installments and will be pro-rated for partial quarters.  The agreement expired in the year ended December 31, 2022. 

Panagiotis Lazaretos Consulting Agreement

On January 27, 2022, the Corporation entered into a consulting agreement with Thenablers, Ltd. effective February 1, 2022 (the " Lazaretos Consulting Agreement"). Thenablers, Ltd. is wholly owned by Mr. Panagiotis Lazaretos, a retired director of the Corporation. Following Mr. Lazaretos' retirement as a director on January 25, 2022, Thenablers, Ltd. agreed to provide the consulting services of Mr. Lazaretos to the Corporation regarding global sales and new markets' expansion. The Lazaretos Consulting Agreement cannot be terminated by the consent of either party for the first twelve (12) months, and automatically expires on January 31, 2024. As compensation for its services, Thenablers, Ltd. is entitled to receive: (i) base compensation at a rate of $10,000 per month for the term of the Consulting Agreement; (ii) incentive based compensation as calculated in Exhibit A of the Lazaretos Consulting Agreement; and (iii) the outstanding options granted to Mr. Panagiotis ("Panos") N. Lazaretos on February 4, 2022 will continue to be outstanding and vest according to their terms under the agreement. As permitted by that agreement, on February 2, 2023, the Corporation gave notice that it was terminating that agreement effective July 31, 2023.

Other Domestic Related Party Transactions

Resource Plus, is a consolidated domestic subsidiary of the Company and is owned jointly by the Company and by Mr. Richard Justus. Mr. Justus has an ownership interest in RJ Holdings which owns the buildings where Resource Plus is headquartered and operates. Both buildings are subleased to Resource Plus.

On  December 1, 2021, the Corporation entered into the Agreement for Marketing and Advertising Services (the "WB Agreement") with WB Marketing, Inc. (the "Agent", and together with the Company, the "Parties"). The Agent is an entity owned and controlled by Mrs. Jean Matacunas who is the wife of President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael R. Matacunas. Mr. Matacunas is also a minority owner of the Agent. The service fees paid to WB Marketing for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, were $103,000 and $189,000, respectively.

Prior to December 31, 2023, National Merchandising Services, LLC ("NMS"), was a consolidated domestic subsidiary of the Company owned jointly by SGRP and by National Merchandising of America, Inc. ("NMA"). Mr. Edward Burdekin was the Chief Executive Officer and President and a director of NMS and also an executive officer and director of NMA. Ms. Andrea Burdekin, Mr. Burdekin's wife, was the sole stockholder and also a director of both NMA and NMS. NMA was a related party of the Company but is not under the control of or consolidated with the Company. Mr. Burdekin's wife also owns National Remodel & Setup Services, LLC ("NRSS"). During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, NRSS provided substantially all of the domestic merchandising specialist field force used by NMS. For those services, NMS reimbursed NRSS certain costs for providing those services plus a premium ranging from 4.0% to 10.0% of certain costs. NMS also leased office space from Mr. Burdekin's personal property. In December 2023, the Company sold its ownership interest in NMS.

On December 22, 2023, the Company entered into an agreement with National Retail Remodel Services (the "Buyer") to sell its 51% ownership interest in National Merchandising Services, LLC ("NMS") to the Buyer for total consideration of $1,441,004.  The transaction closed on December 31, 2023. Per the agreement, the purchase price is due from the Buyer as follows: (1) a payment of $700,000 due immediately to the escrow agent upon closing, releasable to the Company in January 2024; (2) $523,000 in the form of the Buyer's promissory note due and payable on  January 31, 2024; and (3) a payment of up to $209,004 contingent upon collection of an outstanding receivable.  The $700,000 and $523,000 portions of consideration for this transaction are recorded in "Other Receivables" at December 31, 2023. The Company’s December 31, 2023 financial results include a loss on this sale of approximately $427,000, primarily reflecting the write-off of remaining goodwill related to NMS. The Company has not included the contingent purchase price payment in the determination of the amount of the loss as collection of that receivable is not known as of filing date.

International Related Party Services

The Company's principal Brazilian subsidiary, SPAR BSMT, is owned 51% by the Company. Mr. Jonathan Dagues Martins, ("JDM") is the Chief Executive Officer and President of each SPAR Brazil subsidiary pursuant to a Management Agreement between JDM and SPAR BSMT dated September 13, 2016. JDM also is a director of SPAR BSMT. Accordingly, JDM is a related party of the Company. EILLC is owned by Mr. Peter W. Brown, a director of SPAR BSMT and the Corporation.

Prior to December 31, 2023, SPARFACTS was a consolidated international subsidiary of the Company owned 51% by SGRP. Ms. Lydna Chapman was a director of SPARFACTS. Her various companies provide office lease, accounting and consultant services to SPARFACTS. In December 2023, the Company sold its ownership interest in SPARFACTS.

On December 22, 2023, the Company entered into an agreement with Sabizz Pty Ltd CAN (the buyer) to sell its 51 percent interest in SPARfacts Pty Limited CAN for (1) one dollar; (2) assumption of all liabilities and obligations related to ownership of the shares; and (3) $75 thousand AUD for the rights to use the SPARfacts brand and name for up to 6 months following the closing date.  The transaction closed on December 31, 2023.  The Company’s 2023 year end financial results include a $19,000 gain on the sale.

Summary of Certain Related Party Transactions

The following costs of affiliates were charged to the Company (in thousands): 

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023		2022
Services provided by affiliates:
National Remodel & Setup Services (NRSS) (1)	$	5,173	$	8,565
Consulting and administrative services (RJ Holdings) (2)		472		477
Office lease expenses (RJ Holdings) (2)		8		248
Consulting and administrative fees (SPARFACTS) (2)		112		431
Other (2)		178		157
Total services provided by affiliates	$	5,943	$	9,878

Due to affiliates consists of the following (in thousands):	December 31,
	2023		2022
Loans from local investors:(3)
China	$	2,316	$	1,382
Mexico		623		623
Australia		-		693
Resource Plus		266		266
Total due to affiliates	$	3,205	$	2,964

(1)     Represent loans from the local investors into the Company's subsidiaries (representing their proportionate share of working capital loans). The loans have no payment terms and are due on demand.

(2)     These expenses are reflected in "Selling, general, and administrative expense" expense in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income.

(3)     Represent loans from the local investors into the Company's subsidiaries (representing their proportionate share of working capital loans).  The loans have no payment terms and are due on demand.

Bartels' Retirement and Director Compensation

William H. Bartels retired as an employee of the Company as of January 1, 2020. However, he continues to serve as a member of SPAR's Board. Mr. Bartels is also one of the founders and a significant stockholder of SGRP.

Effective as of January 18, 2020, SPAR's Governance Committee proposed and unanimously approved retirement benefits for the five-year period commencing January 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2024 (the "Five-Year Period"), for Mr. Bartels. The aggregate value of benefits payable to Mr. Bartels is approximately $220,558 per year and a total of $1,102,790 for the Five-Year Period. The Company recognized $700,000 of retirement benefits during the year ended December 31, 2020, representing the present value of the future Retirement Compensation, Supplemental Fees and Medical Benefits payments due Mr. Bartels. As of December 31, 2023 $200,923 of retirement benefits remains outstanding and is included within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. 

2022 Deferred Compensation Agreement

The Corporation prepared a 2022 Stock Compensation Plan that would have included Awards for NQSOs and RSUs (as defined below), but that plan was never submitted to its shareholders for approval. However, the Board had previously approved, for certain key executives, incentive stock based awards for 2022 using RSUs or cash. Since there were no plan based RSUs available, those executives instead received deferred compensation. 

On and effective as of March 24, 2022, the Corporation issued an award of 111,111 Phantom Stock Units to each of its executives: Kori G. Belzer; William Linnane; and Ron Lutz. Each Phantom Stock Unit represents the right of the grantee to receive cash payments based on the fair market value of SGRP's Common Stock at the time of vesting. Vesting will occur in three tranches of one-third each over the three (3) year period following the Grant Date, provided that (i) the Grantee is an employee of the Company at the time and (ii) the Corporation has achieved 90% of the agreed upon the applicable financial target for the year commencing with 2022 (which was EBITDA for 2022), but tranches will rollover to the following year and be payable upon achievement of 120% of the agreed upon the applicable financial target for such following year. The Phantom Stock Units do not possess the rights of common stockholders of the Corporation, including any voting or dividend rights, and cannot be exercised or traded for the SGRP's Common Stock. Due to the cash settlement feature, the Phantom Stock Units are classified as liabilities in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. Accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet included $555 thousand and $0 related to Phantom Stock Units as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

Other Related Party Transactions and Arrangements

SPAR Business Services, Inc. ("SBS"), and SPAR InfoTech, Inc. ("Infotech"), are related parties and affiliates of SGRP, but are not under the control or part of the consolidated Company. SBS is an affiliate and related party because it is owned by SBS LLC, which in turn is beneficially owned by Robert G. Brown, Director and significant shareholder of SGRP. Infotech is an affiliate and related party because it is owned principally by Robert G. Brown. SPAR Administrative Services, Inc. ("SAS"), is a related party and affiliate of SGRP, but is not under the control or part of the consolidated Company. SAS is an affiliate and related party because it is beneficially owned by William H Bartels (a Director and significant stockholder of SGRP) and family members of Robert G. Brown. See Change of Controls, Voting and Restricted Stock Agreement, above.

In July 1999 SMF, SBS and Infotech entered into a perpetual software ownership agreement providing that each party independently owned an undivided share of, and has the right to unilaterally license and exploit, certain portions of the Company's proprietary scheduling, tracking, coordination, reporting and expense software and each of SBS and Infotech entered into non-exclusive royalty-free licenses from the Company to use certain "SPAR" trademarks in the United States. SAS uses the "SPAR name through the SBS License.