10-Q 1 v409741_10q.htm FORM 10-Q

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

 

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

 

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2015

 

OR

 

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

 

For the transition period from                      to

 

Commission file number 333-195292

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Maryland   46-1140492

(State or Other Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or Organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

1985 Cedar Bridge Avenue, Suite 1    
Lakewood, New Jersey   08701
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

 

(732) 367-0129

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. 

Yes   þ No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  

Yes  þ      No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer   ¨   Accelerated filer   ¨   Non-accelerated filer   ¨          Smaller reporting company  þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes  ¨  No þ

 

As of May 10, 2015, there were approximately 1.1 million outstanding shares of common stock of Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc., including shares issued pursuant to the dividend reinvestment plan.  

 

 
 

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

INDEX

 

        Page
PART I   FINANCIAL INFORMATION    
         
Item 1.   Financial Statements   3
     
    Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2015 (unaudited) and December 31, 2014   3
     
    Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited) for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2015  and 2014   4
         
    Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (unaudited) for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2015   5
         
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited) for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2015 and 2014   6
     
    Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)   7
     
Item 2.   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations   12
     
Item 3.   Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk   20
     
Item 4.   Controls and Procedures   21
     
PART II   OTHER INFORMATION    
     
Item 1.   Legal Proceedings   22
     
Item 1A.   Risk Factors   22
     
Item 2.   Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds   22
     
Item 3.   Defaults Upon Senior Securities   22
     
Item 4.   Mine Safety Disclosures   22
     
Item 5.   Other Information   22
     
Item 6.   Exhibits   23

 

2
 

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION, CONTINUED:

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, CONTINUED:

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

   March 31, 2015   December 31, 2014 
   (Unaudited)     
Assets          
           
Investment property:          
Land and improvements  $1,178,845   $- 
Building and improvements   9,201,155    - 
Furniture and fixtures   521,875    - 
           
Gross investment property   10,901,875    - 
Less accumulated depreciation   (55,853)   - 
Net investment property   10,846,022    - 
           
           
Cash   2,742,398    1,738,026 
Deposits   -    500,000 
Prepaid expenses and other assets   394,388    182,078 
           
Total Assets  $13,982,808   $2,420,104 
           
           
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity          
           
Accounts payable and other accrued expenses  $686,575   $169,608 
Revolving promissory note - related party   7,000,000    - 
Due to affiliate   1,831,978    1,934,970 
Distributions payable   36,987    - 
           
Total liabilities   9,555,540    2,104,578 
           
Commitments and Contingencies          
           
Stockholders' Equity:          
           
Company's stockholders' equity:          
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding   -    - 
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized,  838,946 and 286,674 shares issued and outstanding, respectively   8,389    2,867 
Additional paid-in-capital   5,027,780    455,880 
Subscription receivable   (161,500)   - 
Accumulated deficit   (449,316)   (145,196)
           
Total Company stockholders' equity   4,425,353    313,551 
           
Noncontrolling interests   1,915    1,975 
           
           
Total Stockholders' Equity   4,427,268    315,526 
           
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity  $13,982,808   $2,420,104 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

3
 

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION, CONTINUED:  

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, CONTINUED:

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)  

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31, 
   2015   2014 
         
Revenues  $553,422   $- 
           
Expenses:          
Property operating expenses   313,255    - 
Real estate taxes   31,734    - 
General and administrative costs   270,948    1,267 
Depreciation and amortization   57,445    - 
           
Total operating expenses   673,382    1,267 
           
           
Operating loss   (119,960)   (1,267)
           
Interest expense   (96,293)   - 
Other expense, net   (375)   - 
           
Net loss   (216,628)   (1,267)
           
Less: net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests   34    - 
           
Net loss applicable to Company's common shares  $(216,594)  $(1,267)
           
           
Net loss per Company's common shares, basic and diluted  $(0.41)  $(0.06)
           
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted   528,564    20,000 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

4
 

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION:    

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(Unaudited)

 

   Common Shares                     
                             
   Common Shares   Amount   Additional Paid-In Capital   Subscription Receivable   Accumulated Deficit   Total Noncontrolling Interests   Total Equity 
                             
BALANCE, December 31, 2014   286,674   $2,867   $455,880   $-   $(145,196)  $1,975   $315,526 
                                    
Net loss   -    -    -    -    (216,594)   (34)   (216,628)
Distributions declared   -    -    -    -    (87,526)   -    (87,526)
Distributions paid to noncontrolling interests   -    -    -    -    -    (26)   (26)
Proceeds from offering   551,400    5,514    5,469,385    (161,500)   -    -    5,313,399 
Selling commissions and dealer manager fees   -    -    (511,107)   -    -    -    (511,107)
Other offering costs   -    -    (394,656)   -    -    -    (394,656)
Shares issued from distribution reinvestment program872    8    8,278    -    -    -    8,286 
                                    
BALANCE, March 31, 2015   838,946   $8,389   $5,027,780   $(161,500)  $(449,316)  $1,915   $4,427,268 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

5
 

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION, CONTINUED:

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, CONTINUED:

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31, 
   2015   2014 
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:          
Net loss  $(216,628)  $(1,267)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:          
Depreciation and amortization   57,445    - 
Amortization of deferred financing costs   16,667    - 
Other non-cash adjustments   66    - 
Changes in assets and liabilities:          
Increase in prepaid expenses and other assets   (130,635)   - 
Increase in accounts payable and other accrued expenses   147,240    250 
Increase in due to affiliate   19,536    - 
           
Net cash used in operating activities   (106,309)   (1,017)
           
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:          
Purchase of investment property   (10,192,950)   - 
           
Net cash used in investing activities   (10,192,950)   - 
           
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:          
Proceeds from revolving promissory note - related party   8,200,000    - 
Payment on revolving promissory note - related party   (1,200,000)   - 
Payment of loan fees and expenses   (100,000)   - 
Proceeds from issuance of common stock   5,313,399    - 
Payment of commissions and offering costs   (867,489)   - 
Distributions to noncontrolling interests   (26)   - 
Distributions to common stockholders   (42,253)   - 
           
Net cash provided by financing activities   11,303,631    - 
           
Net change in cash    1,004,372    (1,017)
Cash, beginning of year   1,738,026    198,726 
           
Cash, end of period  $2,742,398   $197,709 
           
           
Supplemental cash flow information for the periods indicated is as follows:          
Cash paid for interest  $78,408   $- 
Distributions declared, but not paid  $36,987   $- 
Commissions and other offering costs accrued but not paid  $296,122   $- 
Subscription receivable  $161,500   $- 
Value of shares issued from distribution reinvestment program  $8,286   $- 
Application of deposit to acquisition of investment property  $500,000   $- 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

6
 

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

 

1.Organization

 

Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc. (‘‘Lightstone REIT III’’), incorporated on October 5, 2012, in Maryland, intends to elect to qualify and be taxed as a real estate investment trust (‘‘REIT’’) for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning with the taxable year ended December 31, 2015. The Company will seek to acquire hotels and other commercial real estate assets primarily located in the United States. All such properties may be acquired and operated by the Company alone or jointly with another party. The Company may also originate or acquire mortgage loans secured by real estate.

 

The Lightstone REIT III is structured as an umbrella partnership REIT, or UPREIT, and substantially all of its current and future business will be conducted through Lightstone Value Plus REIT III LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the ‘‘Operating Partnership’’).

 

Lightstone REIT III and the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries are collectively referred to as the “Company” and the use of “we,” “our,” “us” or similar pronouns refers to Lightstone REIT III, its Operating Partnership or the Company as required by the context in such pronoun used.

 

Lightstone REIT III sold 20,000 Common Shares to Lightstone Value Plus REIT III LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the ‘‘Advisor’’), an entity majority owned by David Lichtenstein, on December 24, 2012, for $10.00 per share. Mr. Lichtenstein also is a majority owner of the equity interests of Lightstone REIT III’s sponsor, The Lightstone Group, LLC (the ‘‘Sponsor’’). Subject to the oversight of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board of Directors”), the Advisor has primary responsibility for making investment decisions and managing the Company’s day-to-day operations. Through his ownership and control of The Lightstone Group, Mr. Lichtenstein is the indirect owner of the Advisor and the indirect owner and manager of Lightstone SLP III LLC, which has subordinated participation interests in the Operating Partnership. Mr. Lichtenstein also acts as the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. As a result, he exerts influence over but does not control Lightstone REIT III or the Operating Partnership.

 

Lightstone REIT III invested the proceeds received from the Advisor in the Operating Partnership, and as a result, held a 99% general partnership interest as of March 31, 2015 in the Operating Partnership’s partner units.

 

The Company’s registration statement on Form S-11 (the “Offering”), pursuant to which it is offering to sell up to 30,000,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share (which may be referred to herein as ‘‘shares of common stock’’ or as ‘‘Common Shares’’) for $10.00 per share, subject to certain volume and other discounts (exclusive of 10,000,000 shares available pursuant to its distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) at an initial purchase price of $9.50 per share) was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Securities Act of 1933 on July 15, 2014. As of March 31, 2015, the Company had received gross proceeds of $8.1 million from the sale of 0.8 million shares of its common stock (including $2.0 million in Common Shares at a purchase price of $9.00 per Common Share to an entity 100% owned by David Lichtenstein, who also owns a majority interest in the Company’s Sponsor). The Company intends to sell shares of its common stock under the Offering until the earlier of the date on which all the shares are sold, or July 15, 2016, two years from the date the Offering was declared effective by the SEC. The Company reserves the right to reallocate the shares of common stock it is offering between the primary offering and the DRIP. Additionally, the Offering may be terminated at any time.

 

The Company has no employees. The Company has retained the Advisor to manage its affairs on a day-to-day basis. Beacon Property Management Limited Liability Company and Paragon Retail Property Management LLC (the ‘‘Property Managers’’) may serve as property managers. Orchard Securities, LLC (the ‘‘Dealer Manager’’), a third party not affiliated with the Company, the Sponsor or the Advisor, will serve as the dealer manager of the Company’s public offering. The Advisor and Property Managers are affiliates of the Sponsor. These related parties will receive compensation and fees for services related to the investment and management of the Company’s assets. These entities will receive fees during the Company’s offering, acquisition, operational and liquidation stages. (See Note 6 for a summary of related-party fees.)

 

Noncontrolling Interests

 

Partners of Operating Partnership

 

On July 16, 2014, the Advisor contributed $2,000 to the Operating Partnership in exchange for 200 limited partner units in the Operating Partnership. The limited partner has the right to convert operating partnership units into cash or, at the option of the Company, an equal number of common shares of the Company, as allowed by the limited partnership agreement.

 

7
 

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

 

Lightstone SLP III LLC (the ‘‘Special Limited Partner’’), a Delaware limited liability company of which Mr. Lichtenstein is the majority owner, will be a special limited partner in the Operating Partnership and has committed to purchase subordinated profits interests in the Operating Partnership (the “Subordinated Participation Interests”) at a cost of $50,000 per unit for each $1.0 million in subscriptions accepted for the Offering or any follow-on offering on a semi-annual basis beginning with the quarter ended June 30, 2015. The Special Limited Partner may elect to purchase the Subordinated Participation Interests for cash or may contribute interests in real property of equivalent value. The Subordinated Participation Interests may be entitled to receive liquidation distributions upon the liquidation of Lightstone REIT III. (See Note 6 for a summary of related-party fees).

   

2.Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company and related notes as contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. The unaudited interim financial statements include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) and accruals necessary in the judgment of management for a fair statement of the results for the periods presented. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust II, Inc. and its Subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 8-03 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements.

 

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during a reporting period. The most significant assumptions and estimates relate to the valuation of real estate, depreciable lives, and revenue recognition. Application of these assumptions requires the exercise of judgment as to future uncertainties and, as a result, actual results could differ from these estimates.

 

The unaudited consolidated statements of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year or any other period.

 

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Lightstone REIT III and the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries (over which the Company exercises financial and operating control). As of March 31, 2015, the Lightstone REIT III had a 99% general partnership interest in the common units of the Operating Partnership. All inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In determining whether the Company has a controlling financial interest in a joint venture and the requirement to consolidate the accounts of that entity, management considers factors such as ownership interest, authority to make decisions and contractual and substantive participating rights of the other partners or members as well as whether the entity is a variable interest entity for which the Company is the primary beneficiary.

 

New Accounting Pronouncements

 

In May 2014, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that completes the joint effort by the FASB and International Accounting Standards Board to improve financial reporting by creating common revenue recognition guidance for GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The update applies to all companies that enter into contracts with customers to transfer goods or services and is effective for us for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is not permitted and companies have the choice to apply the update either retrospectively to each reporting period presented or by recognizing the cumulative effect of applying the update at the date of initial application (January 1, 2017) and not adjusting comparative information. The Company is currently evaluating the requirements and impact of this update on its consolidated financial statements.

 

In April 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update to simplify the presentation of debt issuance costs. This update requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. This new guidance will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on our consolidated financial statements.

 

3. Acquisitions

 

On February 4, 2015, the Company completed the acquisition of a 120-room select service hotel located in Des Moines, Iowa (the “Hampton Inn – Des Moines”) from an unrelated third party, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $10.9 million less adjustments, paid in cash, excluding closing and other related transaction costs. In connection with the acquisition, the Company’s Advisor received an acquisition fee equal to 1.0% of the contractual purchase price, approximately $0.1 million. The acquisition was funded with approximately $2.7 million of offering proceeds and approximately $8.2 million of proceeds from a $10.0 million Revolving Promissory Note (the “Revolving Promissory Note”) from the operating partnership of Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust II, Inc. (“Lightstone II”), a real estate investment trust also sponsored by the Company’s sponsor.

 

8
 

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

 

The Revolving Promissory Note was entered into on February 4, 2015, has a term of one year, bears interest at a floating rate of three-month Libor plus 6.0% (6.3% as of March 31, 2015) and requires quarterly interest payments through its stated maturity with the entire unpaid balance due upon maturity. The Company paid an origination fee of $100,000 to Lightstone II in connection with the Revolving Promissory Note and pledged its ownership interest in the Hampton Inn – Des Moines as collateral for the Revolving Promissory Note.

 

The acquisition of the Hampton Inn – Des Moines was accounted for under the purchase method of accounting with the Company treated as the acquiring entity. Accordingly, the consideration paid by the Company to complete the acquisition of the Hampton Inn – Des Moines has been allocated to the assets acquired based upon their fair values as of the date of the acquisition. Approximately $1.2 million was allocated to land and improvements, $9.2 million was allocated to building and improvements, and $0.5 million was allocated to furniture and fixtures and other assets.

 

The capitalization rate for the acquisition of the Hampton Inn — Des Moines is approximately 11.3%. We calculate the capitalization rate for a real property by dividing net operating income of the property by the purchase price of the property, excluding costs. For purposes of this calculation, net operating income is based upon the twelve-month period ended July 31, 2014. Additionally, net operating income is all gross revenues from the property less all operating expenses, including property taxes and management fees but excluding depreciation.

 

Financial Information

 

The following table provides the total amount of rental revenue and net income included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations from the Hampton Inn — Des Moines since its date of acquisition for the period indicated:

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2015 
     
Rental revenue  $553,422 
Net loss  $(167,689)

 

The following table provides unaudited pro forma results of operations for the period indicated, as if Hampton Inn — Des Moines had been acquired at the beginning of each period. Such pro forma results are not necessarily indicative of the results that actually would have occurred had these acquisitions been completed on the date indicated, nor are they indicative of the future operating results of the combined company.

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31,  
   2015   2014 
         
Pro forma rental revenue  $912,684   $923,818 
Pro forma net (loss)/income  $(181,475)  $89,039 
Pro forma net (loss)/income per Company's common share, basic and diluted  $(0.34)  $4.45 

   

9
 

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

 

4.Selling Commissions, Dealer Manager Fees and Other Offering Costs

 

Selling commissions and dealer manager fees are paid to the Dealer Manager, pursuant to various agreements, and other third-party offering expenses such as registration fees, due diligence fees, marketing costs, and professional fees are accounted for as a reduction against additional paid-in capital (“APIC”) as costs are incurred. Organizational costs are expensed as general and administrative costs. The following table represents the selling commissions and dealer manager and other offering costs for the periods indicated:

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31, 
   2015   2014 
Selling commissions and dealer manager fees  $511,107   $- 
Other offering costs  $394,656   $- 

 

Since the Company’s inception through March 31, 2015, it has incurred approximately $0.6 million in selling commissions and dealer manager fees and $2.5 million of other offering costs in connection with the public offering of shares of its common stock.

 

  5. Earnings per Share

 

The Company had no potentially dilutive securities outstanding during the periods presented. Accordingly, basic and diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing earnings attributable to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the applicable period.

 

  6. Related Party Transactions

 

The Company has agreements with the Advisor and the Property Managers to pay certain fees in exchange for services performed by these entities and other affiliated entities. The Company’s ability to secure financing and subsequent real estate operations are dependent upon its Advisor, Property Manager and their affiliates to perform such services as provided in these agreements.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2015, the only amount that the Company paid to the Advisor was an acquisition fee of $109,000. No amounts were paid to the Advisor for the three months ended March 31, 2014.

 

The Advisor will advance the organization and offering expenses to the extent that the Company does not have the funds to pay such expenses. The related liability of approximately $1.8 million as of March 31, 2015 for these organization and offering costs is included in Due to affiliate in the consolidated balance sheets.

 

  7. Financial Instruments

 

The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for cash, restricted escrows, accounts receivable (included in other assets), accounts payable and accrued expenses approximated their fair values because of the short maturity of these instruments.

 

As of March 31, 2015, the estimated fair value of the Revolving Promissory Note approximated its carrying value because of its floating interest rate.

 

8.Commitments and Contingencies

 

Legal Proceedings

 

From time to time in the ordinary course of business, the Company may become subject to legal proceedings, claims or disputes. As of the date hereof, we are not a party to any material pending legal proceedings.

 

  9.

Subsequent Events

 

Distribution Payment

 

On April 15, 2015, the Company paid the distribution for the month ending March 31, 2015 of approximately $36,987. The aggregate distributions for the period from December 11, 2014 (date of breaking escrow) through March 31, 2015 of $87,526 was paid in full using a combination of cash and 2,046 shares of the Company’s common stock issued pursuant to the Company’s Distribution Reinvestment Program (“DRIP”), at a discounted price of $9.50 per share. The distribution was paid from offering proceeds (approximately $68,088 or 78%) and excess cash proceeds from the issuance of common stock through the Company’s DRIP (approximately $19,438 or 22%).

 

10
 

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

 

Distribution Declaration

 

On May 13, 2015, the Board of Directors authorized and the Company declared a distribution for each month during the three-month period ending September 30, 2015. The distribution will be calculated based on shareholders of record each day during this three-month period at a rate of $0.00164383 per day, and will equal a daily amount that, if paid each day for a 365-day period, would equal a 6.0% annualized rate based on a share price of $10.00 payable on by the 15th day following each month end to stockholders of record at the close of business each day during the prior month.

 

11
 

 

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

 

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements of Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc. and Subsidiaries and the notes thereto. As used herein, the terms “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc., a Maryland corporation, and, as required by context, Lightstone Value Plus REIT III, L.P., which we collectively refer to as the “Operating Partnership”.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

Certain information included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains, and other materials filed or to be filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), contain or will contain, forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, including, among others, statements regarding our possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives, are forward-looking statements. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc. and members of our management team, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based, and generally are identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “seeks,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “should” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements.

 

Such statements are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy and some of which might not even be anticipated. Future events and actual results, financial and otherwise, may differ from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.

 

Risks and other factors that might cause differences, some of which could be material, include, but are not limited to, economic and market conditions, competition, tenant or joint venture partner(s) bankruptcies, our lack of operating history, the availability of cash flows from operations to pay distributions, changes in governmental, tax, real estate and zoning laws and regulations, failure to increase tenant occupancy and operating income, rejection of leases by tenants in bankruptcy, financing and development risks, construction and lease-up delays, cost overruns, the level and volatility of interest rates, the rate of revenue increases versus expense increases, the financial stability of various tenants and industries, the failure of the Company to make additional investments in real estate properties, the failure to upgrade our tenant mix, restrictions in current financing arrangements, the failure to fully recover tenant obligations for common area maintenance, insurance, taxes and other property expenses, the failure of the Company to continue to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), the failure to refinance debt at favorable terms and conditions, an increase in impairment charges, loss of key personnel, failure to achieve earnings/funds from operations targets or estimates, conflicts of interest with the Advisor and the Sponsor and their affiliates, failure of joint venture relationships, significant costs related to environmental issues as well as other risks listed from time to time in this Form 10-Q, our form 10-K, our Registration Statements on Form S-11, as the same may be amended and supplemented from time to time, and in the Company’s other reports filed with the SEC.

 

We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time unless required by law.

 

Overview

 

Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc. (the “Lightstone REIT III”) and Lightstone Value Plus REIT III, LP, (the “Operating Partnership”) are collectively referred to as the ‘‘Company’’ and the use of ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘our,’’ ‘‘us’’ or similar pronouns refers to the Lightstone REIT III, its Operating Partnership or the Company as required by the context in which such pronoun is used.

 

Lightstone REIT III intends to continue to acquire and operate commercial, residential and hospitality properties, principally in North America. Principally through the Operating Partnership, our future acquisitions may include both portfolios and individual properties. We expect that our commercial holdings will consist of retail (primarily multi-tenanted shopping centers), lodging, industrial and office properties and that our residential properties will be located either in or near major metropolitan areas.

 

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Capital required for the future purchases of real estate and/or real estate related investments is expected to be obtained from public offerings of shares of our common stock and from any indebtedness that we may incur either in connection with the acquisition of any real estate and real estate related investments or thereafter. We are dependent upon the net proceeds from public offerings of our common stock to conduct our proposed activities.

 

We sold 20,000 Common Shares to Lightstone Value Plus REIT III LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the ‘‘Advisor’’), an entity majority owned by David Lichtenstein, on December 24, 2012, for $10.00 per share. Mr. Lichtenstein also is a majority owner of the equity interests of our sponsor, The Lightstone Group, LLC (the ‘‘Sponsor’’).

 

Our registration statement on Form S-11(the “Offering”), pursuant to which we are offering to sell up to 30,000,000 shares of our common stock (which may be referred to herein as ‘‘shares of common stock’’ or as ‘‘Common Shares’’) for $10.00 per share, subject to certain volume and other discounts (exclusive of 10,000,000 shares available pursuant to its distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) at an initial purchase price of $9.50 per share) was declared effective by SEC under the Securities Act of 1933 on July 15, 2014. As of March 31, 2015, we had received gross proceeds of $8.1 million from the sale of 0.8 million shares of our common stock (including $2.0 million in Common Shares at a purchase price of $9.00 per Common Share to an entity 100% owned by David Lichtenstein, who also owns a majority interest in the Company’s Sponsor).

 

We have no employees. We have retained the Advisor to manage our affairs on a day-to-day basis. Beacon Property Management Limited Liability Company and Paragon Retail Property Management LLC (the ‘‘Property Managers’’) may serve as property managers. Orchard Securities, LLC (the ‘‘Dealer Manager’’) will serve as the dealer manager of our public offering. The Advisor and Property Managers are affiliates of the Sponsor. These related parties will receive compensation and fees for services related to the investment and management of our assets. These entities will receive fees during our offering, acquisition, operational and liquidation stages.

 

To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we may engage in certain activities through wholly-owned taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”). As such, we will be subject to U.S. federal and state income and franchise taxes from these activities.

 

Current Environment

 

Our operating results as well as our investment opportunities are impacted by the health of the North American economies.  Our business and financial performance may be adversely affected by current and future economic conditions, such as availability of credit, financial markets volatility, and recession.

 

Our business may be affected by market and economic challenges experienced by the U.S. and global economies. These conditions may materially affect the value and performance of our properties, and may affect our ability to pay distributions, the availability or the terms of financing that we have or may anticipate utilizing, and our ability to make principal and interest payments on, or refinance, any outstanding debt when due.

 

We are not aware of any other material trends or uncertainties, favorable or unfavorable, other than national economic conditions affecting real estate generally, that may be reasonably anticipated to have a material impact on either capital resources or the revenues or income to be derived from the acquisition and operation of real estate and real estate related investments, other than those referred to in this Form 10-Q.

 

Portfolio Summary –

 

          Year to Date   Percentage Occupied
for the Three Months Ended
   Revenue per Available Room for the Three Months Ended   Average Daily Rate For the Three Months Ended 
   Location  Year Built   Available Rooms   March 31, 2015   March 31, 2015   March 31, 2015 
                             
Hampton Inn – Des Moines  Des Moines, Iowa   1987    6,720    72%  $82.04   $113.49 
(Acquired February 4, 2015)                            

 

Annualized base rent is defined as the minimum monthly base rent due as of March 31, 2015 annualized, excluding periodic contractual fixed increases and rents calculated based on a percentage of tenants’ sales. The annualized base rent disclosed in the table above includes all concessions, abatements and reimbursements of rent to tenants.

 

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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

There were no material changes during the three months ended March 31, 2015 to our critical accounting policies as reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

 

Results of Operations

 

The Company’s primary financial measure for evaluating its properties is net operating income (“NOI”). NOI represents revenues less property operating expenses, real estate taxes and general and administrative expenses. The Company believes that NOI is helpful to investors as a supplemental measure of the operating performance of a real estate company because it is a direct measure of the actual operating results of the Company’s properties.

 

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2015 vs. March 31, 2014

 

Consolidated

 

The Company had no investment property with operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2014. The rental revenue, property operating expenses, real estate taxes, general and administrative costs, depreciation and amortization and the resulting operating loss for the three months ended March 31, 2015 is primarily attributable to the Hampton Inn – Des Moines, which was acquired on February 4, 2015.  

 

Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Overview:

 

For the year three months ended March 31, 2015, our primary source of funds were (i) $5.3 million of proceeds from our sale of shares of common stock under our Offering and $7.0 million in net proceeds from our Revolving Promissory Note. The primary source of capital required to fund our future purchases of real estate and/or real estate related investments will principally come from the proceeds related to our public offering of shares of our common stock and from any indebtedness that we may incur in connection with the acquisition and operations of any real estate investments thereafter.

 

We intend to utilize leverage either in connection with acquiring our properties or subsequent to their acquisition. The number of different properties we will acquire will be affected by numerous factors, including, the amount of funds available to us. When interest rates on mortgage loans are high or financing is otherwise unavailable on terms that are satisfactory to us, we may purchase certain properties for cash with the intention of obtaining a mortgage loan for a portion of the purchase price at a later time.

 

Our future sources of funds will primarily consist of (i) proceeds from our sale of shares of common stock under our Offering, (ii) cash flows from our operations, (iii) proceeds from our borrowings and (iv) our DRIP. We currently believe that these cash resources will be sufficient to satisfy our cash requirements for the foreseeable future, and we do not anticipate a need to raise funds from other than these sources within the next twelve months.

 

We currently have a $10.0 million Revolving Promissory Note (the “Revolving Promissory Note”) with an outstanding principal balance of $7.0 million as of March 31, 2015. We intend to limit our aggregate long-term permanent borrowings to 75% of the aggregate fair market value of all properties unless any excess borrowing is approved by a majority of the independent directors and is disclosed to our stockholders. Market conditions will dictate our overall leverage limit; as such our aggregate long-term permanent borrowings may be less than 75% of aggregate fair market value of all properties. We may also incur short-term indebtedness, having a maturity of two years or less.

 

Our charter provides that the aggregate amount of our borrowing, both secured and unsecured, may not exceed 300% of net assets in the absence of a satisfactory showing that a higher level is appropriate, the approval of our Board of Directors and disclosure to stockholders. Net assets means our total assets, other than intangibles, at cost before deducting depreciation or other non-cash reserves less our total liabilities, calculated at least quarterly on a basis consistently applied. Any excess in borrowing over such 300% of net assets level must be approved by a majority of our independent directors and disclosed to our stockholders in our next quarterly report to stockholders, along with justification for such excess. Market conditions will dictate our overall leverage limit; as such our aggregate borrowings may be less than 300% of net assets. As of March 31, 2015, our total borrowings were $7.0 million which represented 161% of our net assets.

 

Our future borrowings may consist of single-property mortgages as well as mortgages cross-collateralized by a pool of properties. Such mortgages may be put in place either at the time we acquire a property or subsequent to our purchasing a property for cash. In addition, we may acquire properties that are subject to existing indebtedness where we choose to assume the existing mortgages. Generally, though not exclusively, we intend to seek to encumber our properties with non-recourse debt. This means that a lender’s rights on default will generally be limited to foreclosing on the property. However, we may, at our discretion, secure recourse financing or provide a guarantee to lenders if we believe this may result in more favorable terms. When we give a guaranty for a property owning entity, we will be responsible to the lender for the satisfaction of the indebtedness if it is not paid by the property owning entity.

 

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In general the type of future financing executed by us to a large extent will be dictated by the nature of the investment and current market conditions. For long-term real estate investments, it is our intent to finance future acquisitions using long-term fixed rate debt. However there may be certain types of investments and market circumstances which may result in variable rate debt being the more appropriate choice of financing. To the extent floating rate debt is used to finance the purchase of real estate, management will evaluate a number of protections against significant increases in interest rates, including the purchase of interest rate cap instruments.

 

We may also obtain lines of credit to be used to acquire properties. If obtained, these lines of credit will be at prevailing market terms and will be repaid from offering proceeds, proceeds from the sale or refinancing of properties, working capital and/or permanent financing. Our Sponsor and/or its affiliates may guarantee our lines of credit although they are not obligated to do so. We may draw upon lines of credit to acquire properties pending our receipt of proceeds from our public offerings. We expect that such properties may be purchased by our Sponsor’s affiliates on our behalf, in our name, in order to minimize the imposition of a transfer tax upon a transfer of such properties to us.

 

In addition to making investments in accordance with our investment objectives, we have used and expect to continue use our capital resources to make certain payments to our Advisor, our Dealer Manager, and our Property Manager during the various phases of our organization and operation. During our organizational and offering stage, these payments include payments to our Dealer Manager for selling commissions and the dealer manager fee, and payments to our Advisor for the reimbursement of organization and other offering costs.

 

Selling commissions and dealer manager fees are paid to the Dealer Manager or soliciting dealers, as applicable, pursuant to various agreements, and other third-party offering expenses such as registration fees, due diligence fees, marketing costs, and professional fees are accounted for as a reduction against additional paid-in capital as costs are incurred. Any organizational costs are accounted for as general and administrative costs. The following table represents the selling commissions and dealer manager fees and other offering costs for the periods indicated:

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31, 
   2015   2014 
Selling commissions and dealer manager fees  $511,107   $- 
Other offering costs  $394,656   $- 

 

Since the Company’s inception through March 31, 2015, it has incurred approximately $0.6 million in selling commissions and dealer manager fees and $2.5 million of other offering costs in connection with the public offering of shares of its common stock. The Advisor will advance the organization and offering expenses to the extent that the Company does not have the funds to pay such expenses. The related liability of approximately $1.8 million as of March 31, 2015 for these organization and offering expenses is included in Due to affiliate in the consolidated balance sheets.

 

The Company expects that organization and offering expenses, other than selling commissions and dealer manager fees, will amount to approximately 2.0% of gross offering proceeds. In no event will organization and offering expenses exceed 15.0% of gross offering proceeds. During the initial stage of our Offering, the organization and offering expenses may exceed 15.0% of gross offering proceeds since many of the expenses incurred in relation to the Offering are incurred prior to the sale of shares of our common stock.

 

During the acquisition and development stage, payments may include asset acquisition fees and financing coordination fees, and the reimbursement of acquisition related expenses to our Advisor. During the operational stage, we will pay our Property Managers and/or other third party property managers a property management fee and our Advisor an asset management fee or asset management participation or construction management fees. We will also reimburse our Advisor and its affiliates for actual expenses it incurs for administrative and other services provided to us. Upon liquidation of assets, we may pay our Advisor or its affiliates a real estate disposition commission. Additionally, our Operating Partnership may be required to make distributions to Lightstone SLP III LLC, an affiliate of the Advisor.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2015, the only amount that the Company paid to the Advisor was an acquisition fee of $109,000. No amounts were paid to the Advisor for the three months ended March 31, 2014.

 

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Summary of Cash Flows

 

The following summary discussion of our cash flows is based on the consolidated statements of cash flows and is not meant to be an all-inclusive discussion of the changes in our cash flows for the periods presented below:

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31, 
   2015   2014 
         
Net cash used in operating activities  $(106,309)  $(1,017)
Net cash used in investing activities   (10,192,950)     
Net cash provided by financing activities   11,303,631    - 
Net change in cash   1,004,372    (1,017)
Cash, beginning of year   1,738,026    198,726 
Cash, end of the period  $2,742,398   $197,709 

 

Our principal source of cash flow was derived from proceeds received from our Offering and our Revolving Promissory Note. In the future, we expect to acquire properties which should provide a relatively consistent stream of cash flow to provide us with resources to fund our operating expenses, any scheduled debt service and any quarterly distributions authorized by our Board of Directors.

 

Our principal demands for liquidity currently are expected to be acquisition and development activities, scheduled debt service and costs associated with our public offerings. The principal sources of funding for our operations are currently expected to be proceeds from the issuance of equity securities.

 

Operating activities

 

The net cash used in operating activities of $106,309 during the 2015 period primarily related to our loss of $216,628 offset by non-cash items of $74,178 and by changes in assets and liabilities of $36,141.

 

Investing activities

 

The net cash used in investing activities of $10.2 million during the 2015 period consisted of approximately $10.7 million of net cash used for the purchase of the Hampton Inn –Des Moines which included a deposit of $500,000 paid prior to the 2015 period.

 

Financing activities

 

The net cash provided by financing activities of $11.3 million during the 2015 consisted of $7.0 million in net proceeds from our Revolving Promissory Note and $5.3 million of offering proceeds offset by approximately $0.9 million of commissions and offering costs and $0.1 million of loan fees and expenses.

 

We believe that these cash resources will be sufficient to satisfy our cash requirements for the foreseeable future, and we do not anticipate a need to raise funds from other than these sources within the next twelve months.

 

Distribution Reinvestment Plan and Share Repurchase Program

 

Our DRIP provides our stockholders with an opportunity to purchase additional shares of our common stock at a discount by reinvesting distributions. The offering provides for 10.0 million shares available for issuance under our DRIP and our initial DRIP price per share of common stock is $9.50.

 

Our share repurchase program may provide our stockholders with limited, interim liquidity by enabling them to sell their shares of common stock back to us, subject to certain restrictions.

 

As of March 31, 2015 no shares have been repurchased under our share repurchase program.

 

Our Board of Directors reserves the right to terminate either program for any reason without cause by providing written notice of termination of the DRIP to all participants or written notice of termination of the share repurchase program to all stockholders.

 

Contractual Obligations

 

The Revolving Promissory Note bears interest at a floating rate of three-month Libor plus 6.0% (6.3% as of March 31, 2015) and requires quarterly interest payments through its stated maturity with the entire unpaid balance ($7.0 million as of March 31, 2015) due upon maturity (February 4, 2016). We estimate that approximately $0.4 million in interest will be paid for the remainder of 2015 and approximately $43,000 in 2016 through maturity.

 

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Funds from Operations and Modified Funds from Operations

 

Due to certain unique operating characteristics of real estate companies, as discussed below, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inc., or NAREIT, an industry trade group, has promulgated a measure known as funds from operations, or FFO, which we believe to be an appropriate supplemental measure to reflect the operating performance of a REIT. The use of FFO is recommended by the REIT industry as a supplemental performance measure. FFO is not equivalent to net income or loss as determined under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP.

 

We define FFO, a non-GAAP measure, consistent with the standards established by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of NAREIT, as revised in February 2004, or the White Paper. The White Paper defines FFO as net income or loss computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding gains or losses from sales of property and asset impairment write-downs, plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures are calculated to reflect FFO. Our FFO calculation complies with NAREIT’s policy described above.

 

The historical accounting convention used for real estate assets requires depreciation of buildings and improvements, which implies that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time, especially if such assets are not adequately maintained or repaired and renovated as required by relevant circumstances or as requested or required by lessees for operational purposes in order to maintain the value disclosed. We believe that, since real estate values historically rise and fall with market conditions, including inflation, interest rates, the business cycle, unemployment and consumer spending, presentations of operating results for a REIT using historical accounting for depreciation may be less informative. Additionally, we believe it is appropriate to disregard impairment charges, as this is a fair value adjustment that is largely based on market fluctuations and assessments regarding general market conditions which can change over time. An asset will only be evaluated for impairment if certain impairment indicators exist and if the carrying, or book value, exceeds the total estimated undiscounted future cash flows (including net rental and lease revenues, net proceeds on the sale of the property, and any other ancillary cash flows at a property or group level under GAAP) from such asset. Investors should note, however, that determinations of whether impairment charges have been incurred are based partly on anticipated operating performance, because estimated undiscounted future cash flows from a property, including estimated future net rental and lease revenues, net proceeds on the sale of the property, and certain other ancillary cash flows, are taken into account in determining whether an impairment charge has been incurred. While impairment charges are excluded from the calculation of FFO as described above, investors are cautioned that due to the fact that impairments are based on estimated undiscounted future cash flows and the relatively limited term of our operations, it could be difficult to recover any impairment charges. Historical accounting for real estate involves the use of GAAP. Any other method of accounting for real estate such as the fair value method cannot be construed to be any more accurate or relevant than the comparable methodologies of real estate valuation found in GAAP. Nevertheless, we believe that the use of FFO, which excludes the impact of real estate-related depreciation and amortization and impairments, provides a more complete understanding of our performance to investors and to management, and when compared year over year, reflects the impact on our operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates, operating costs, general and administrative expenses, and interest costs, which may not be immediately apparent from net income. However, FFO and MFFO, as described below, should not be construed to be more relevant or accurate than the current GAAP methodology in calculating net income or in its applicability in evaluating our operating performance. The method utilized to evaluate the value and performance of real estate under GAAP should be construed as a more relevant measure of operational performance and considered more prominently than the non-GAAP FFO and MFFO measures and the adjustments to GAAP in calculating FFO and MFFO.

 

Changes in the accounting and reporting promulgations under GAAP (for acquisition fees and expenses from a capitalization/depreciation model to an expensed-as-incurred model) that were put into effect in 2009 and other changes to GAAP accounting for real estate subsequent to the establishment of NAREIT’s definition of FFO have prompted an increase in cash-settled expenses, specifically acquisition fees and expenses for all industries as items that are expensed under GAAP, that are typically accounted for as operating expenses.

 

Management believes these fees and expenses do not affect our overall long-term operating performance. Publicly registered, non-listed REITs typically have a significant amount of acquisition activity and are substantially more dynamic during their initial years of investment and operation. While other start up entities may also experience significant acquisition activity during their initial years, we believe that non-listed REITs are unique in that they have a limited life with targeted exit strategies within a relatively limited time frame after the acquisition activity ceases. We will use the proceeds raised in our offering to acquire properties, and we intend to begin the process of achieving a liquidity event (i.e., listing of our common stock on a national exchange, a merger or sale of the company or another similar transaction) within seven to ten years after the proceeds from the primary offering are fully invested. Thus, we will not continuously purchase assets and will have a limited life. Due to the above factors and other unique features of publicly registered, non-listed REITs, the Investment Program Association, or IPA, an industry trade group, has standardized a measure known as modified funds from operations, or MFFO, which the IPA has recommended as a supplemental measure for publicly registered non-listed REITs and which we believe to be another appropriate supplemental measure to reflect the operating performance of a non-listed REIT having the characteristics described above. MFFO is not equivalent to our net income or loss as determined under GAAP, and MFFO may not be a useful measure of the impact of long-term operating performance on value if we do not continue to operate with a limited life and targeted exit strategy, as currently intended. We believe that, because MFFO excludes costs that we consider more reflective of investing activities and other non-operating items included in FFO and also excludes acquisition fees and expenses that affect our operations only in periods in which properties are acquired, MFFO can provide, on a going forward basis, an indication of the sustainability (that is, the capacity to continue to be maintained) of our operating performance after the period in which we are acquiring our properties and once our portfolio is in place. By providing MFFO, we believe we are presenting useful information that assists investors and analysts to better assess the sustainability of our operating performance after our offering has been completed and our properties have been acquired. We also believe that MFFO is a recognized measure of sustainable operating performance by the non-listed REIT industry. Further, we believe MFFO is useful in comparing the sustainability of our operating performance after our offering and acquisitions are completed with the sustainability of the operating performance of other real estate companies that are not as involved in acquisition activities. Investors are cautioned that MFFO should only be used to assess the sustainability of our operating performance after our offering has been completed and properties have been acquired, as it excludes acquisition costs that have a negative effect on our operating performance during the periods in which properties are acquired.

 

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We define MFFO, a non-GAAP measure, consistent with the IPA’s Guideline 2010-01, Supplemental Performance Measure for Publicly Registered, Non-Listed REITs: Modified Funds from Operations, or the Practice Guideline, issued by the IPA in November 2010. The Practice Guideline defines MFFO as FFO further adjusted for the following items, as applicable, included in the determination of GAAP net income: acquisition fees and expenses; amounts relating to deferred rent receivables and amortization of above and below market leases and liabilities (which are adjusted in order to reflect such payments from a GAAP accrual basis to a cash basis of disclosing the rent and lease payments); accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums on debt investments; mark-to-market adjustments included in net income; gains or losses included in net income from the extinguishment or sale of debt, hedges, foreign exchange, derivatives or securities holdings where trading of such holdings is not a fundamental attribute of the business plan, unrealized gains or losses resulting from consolidation from, or deconsolidation to, equity accounting, and after adjustments for consolidated and unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures, with such adjustments calculated to reflect MFFO on the same basis. The accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums on debt investments, unrealized gains and losses on hedges, foreign exchange, derivatives or securities holdings, unrealized gains and losses resulting from consolidations, as well as other listed cash flow adjustments are adjustments made to net income in calculating the cash flows provided by operating activities and, in some cases, reflect gains or losses which are unrealized and may not ultimately be realized. While we are responsible for managing interest rate, hedge and foreign exchange risk, we do retain an outside consultant to review all our hedging agreements. Inasmuch as interest rate hedges are not a fundamental part of our operations, we believe it is appropriate to exclude such gains and losses in calculating MFFO, as such gains and losses are not reflective of ongoing operations.

 

Our MFFO calculation complies with the IPA’s Practice Guideline described above. In calculating MFFO, we exclude acquisition related expenses, amortization of above and below market leases, fair value adjustments of derivative financial instruments, deferred rent receivables and the adjustments of such items related to noncontrolling interests. Under GAAP, acquisition fees and expenses are characterized as operating expenses in determining operating net income. These expenses are paid in cash by us, and therefore such funds will not be available to distribute to investors. All paid and accrued acquisition fees and expenses negatively impact our operating performance during the period in which properties are acquired and will have negative effects on returns to investors, the potential for future distributions, and cash flows generated by us, unless earnings from operations or net sales proceeds from the disposition of other properties are generated to cover the purchase price of the property, these fees and expenses and other costs related to such property. Therefore, MFFO may not be an accurate indicator of our operating performance, especially during periods in which properties are being acquired. MFFO that excludes such costs and expenses would only be comparable to that of non-listed REITs that have completed their acquisition activities and have similar operating characteristics as us. Further, under GAAP, certain contemplated non-cash fair value and other non-cash adjustments are considered operating non-cash adjustments to net income in determining cash flow from operating activities. In addition, we view fair value adjustments of derivatives as items which are unrealized and may not ultimately be realized. We view both gains and losses from dispositions of assets and fair value adjustments of derivatives as items which are not reflective of ongoing operations and are therefore typically adjusted for when assessing operating performance. The purchase of properties, and the corresponding expenses associated with that process, is a key operational feature of our business plan to generate operational income and cash flows in order to make distributions to investors. Acquisition fees and expenses will not be reimbursed by the advisor if there are no further proceeds from the sale of shares in our offering, and therefore such fees and expenses will need to be paid from either additional debt, operational earnings or cash flows, net proceeds from the sale of properties or from ancillary cash flows.

 

Our management uses MFFO and the adjustments used to calculate it in order to evaluate our performance against other non-listed REITs which have limited lives with short and defined acquisition periods and targeted exit strategies shortly thereafter. As noted above, MFFO may not be a useful measure of the impact of long-term operating performance on value if we do not continue to operate in this manner. We believe that our use of MFFO and the adjustments used to calculate it allow us to present our performance in a manner that reflects certain characteristics that are unique to non-listed REITs, such as their limited life, limited and defined acquisition period and targeted exit strategy, and hence that the use of such measures is useful to investors. For example, acquisition costs are funded from the proceeds of our offering and other financing sources and not from operations. By excluding expensed acquisition costs, the use of MFFO provides information consistent with management’s analysis of the operating performance of the properties. Additionally, fair value adjustments, which are based on the impact of current market fluctuations and underlying assessments of general market conditions, but can also result from operational factors such as rental and occupancy rates, may not be directly related or attributable to our current operating performance. By excluding such changes that may reflect anticipated and unrealized gains or losses, we believe MFFO provides useful supplemental information.

 

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Presentation of this information is intended to provide useful information to investors as they compare the operating performance of different REITs, although it should be noted that not all REITs calculate FFO and MFFO the same way. Accordingly, comparisons with other REITs may not be meaningful. Furthermore, FFO and MFFO are not necessarily indicative of cash flow available to fund cash needs and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or income (loss) from continuing operations as an indication of our performance, as an alternative to cash flows from operations as an indication of our liquidity, or indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs including our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. FFO and MFFO should be reviewed in conjunction with GAAP measurements as an indication of our performance. MFFO has limitations as a performance measure in an offering such as ours where the price of a share of common stock is a stated value and there is no net asset value determination during the offering stage and for a period thereafter. MFFO is useful in assisting management and investors in assessing the sustainability of operating performance in future operating periods, and in particular, after the offering and acquisition stages are complete and net asset value is disclosed. FFO and MFFO are not useful measures in evaluating net asset value because impairments are taken into account in determining net asset value but not in determining FFO or MFFO.

 

Neither the SEC, NAREIT nor any other regulatory body has passed judgment on the acceptability of the adjustments that we use to calculate FFO or MFFO. In the future, the SEC, NAREIT or another regulatory body may decide to standardize the allowable adjustments across the non-listed REIT industry and we would have to adjust our calculation and characterization of FFO or MFFO.

 

The below table illustrates the items deducted from or added to net loss in the calculation of FFO and MFFO during the periods presented. The table discloses MFFO in the IPA recommended format and MFFO without the straight-line rent adjustment which management also uses as a performance measure.

 

   For the Three Months Ended March 31, 
   2015   2014 
Net loss  $(216,628)  $(1,267)
FFO adjustments:          
Depreciation and amortization of real estate assets   57,445    - 
FFO   (159,183)   (1,267)
MFFO adjustments:          
           
           
Acquisition and other transaction related costs expensed   192,616    - 
MFFO   33,433    (1,267)
Straight-line rent(1)   -    - 
MFFO - IPA recommended format  $33,433   $(1,267)
           
Net loss  $(216,628)  $(1,267)
Less: net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests   34    - 
Net loss applicable to Company's common shares  $(216,594)  $(1,267)
Net loss per common share, basic and diluted  $(0.41)  $(0.06)
           
FFO  $(159,183)  $(1,267)
Less: FFO attributable to noncontrolling interests   20    - 
FFO attributable to Company's common shares  $(159,163)  $(1,267)
FFO per common share, basic and diluted  $(0.30)  $(0.06)
           
MFFO - IPA recommended format  $33,433   $(1,267)
Less: MFFO attributable to noncontrolling interests   (26)   - 
MFFO attributable to Company's common shares  $33,407   $(1,267)
           
Weighted average number of common shares          
outstanding, basic and diluted   528,564    20,000 

 

(1)Under GAAP, rental receipts are allocated to periods using various methodologies. This may result in income recognition that is significantly different than underlying contract terms. By adjusting for these items (to reflect such payments from a GAAP accrual basis to a cash basis of disclosing the rent and lease payments), MFFO provides useful supplemental information on the realized economic impact of lease terms and debt investments, providing insight on the contractual cash flows of such lease terms and debt investments, and aligns results with management’s analysis of operating performance.

 

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Distributions Declared by our Board of Directors and Source of Distributions

 

The following table provides a summary of our quarterly distributions declared during the periods presented. The amount of distributions paid to our stockholders in the future will be determined by our Board of Directors and is dependent on a number of factors, including funds available for payment of dividends, our financial condition, capital expenditure requirements and annual distribution requirements needed to maintain our status as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. Additionally, our stockholders have the option to elect the receipt of shares in lieu of cash under our DRIP.

 

   Three Months Ended March 31, 2015 
Distribution period:  Q1 2015   Percentage of Distributions 
         
         
Date distributions declared   January 14, 2015      
           
           
Date distributions paid   March 15, 2015      
    April 15, 2015      
           
Distributions paid  $68,088      
Distributions reinvested   19,438      
Total Distributions  $87,526      
           
Source of distributions:          
Cash flows provided by operations  $-    0%
Offering proceeds   68,088    78%
Proceeds from issuance of common          
stock through DRIP   19,438    22%
Total Sources  $87,526    100%
           
Cash flows provided by/(used in)          
operations (GAAP basis)  $(106,309)     
           
Number of shares (in thousands)          
of common stock issued pursuant          
to the Company's DRIP   2,046      

 

The table below presents our cumulative FFO attributable to the Company's common shares:

 

   For the period
October 5, 2012
 
   (date of inception) through 
   March 31, 2015 
FFO attributable to Company's common shares  $(304,359)
Distributions Paid  $42,253 

 

New Accounting Pronouncements  

 

See Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information of certain accounting standards that have been issued or adopted during 2015 and certain accounting standards that we have not yet been required to implement and may be applicable to our future operations.

 

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

 

Market risk includes risks that arise from changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, equity prices and other market changes that affect market sensitive instruments. The primary market risk to which we are currently and expect to continue to be exposed is interest rate risk.

 

We are currently and expect to continue to be exposed to the effects of interest rate changes primarily as a result of borrowings used to maintain liquidity and fund the expansion and refinancing of our real estate investment portfolio and operations. Our interest rate risk management objectives have been and will continue to be to limit the impact of interest rate changes on our earnings, prepayment penalties and cash flows and to lower overall borrowing costs while taking into account variable interest rate risk. To achieve our objectives, we may borrow at fixed rates or variable rates. We may also enter into derivative financial instruments such as interest rate swaps and caps in order to mitigate our interest rate risk on a related financial instrument. We will not enter into derivative or interest rate transactions for speculative purposes. As of March 31, 2015, we did not have any derivative agreements outstanding.

 

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The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for cash, accounts receivable (included in other assets) and accounts payable and accrued expenses approximated their fair values as of March 31, 2015 because of the short maturity of these instruments.

 

As of March 31, 2015, the estimated fair value of the Revolving Promissory Note approximated its carrying value ($7.0 million). The fair value of our Revolving Promissory Note was determined by discounting the future contractual interest and principal payments by market interest rates. The balance of the Revolving Promissory Note is due on February 4, 2016.

 

 In addition to changes in interest rates, the value of our real estate and real estate related investments is subject to fluctuations based on changes in local and regional economic conditions and changes in the creditworthiness of tenants, which may affect our ability to obtain or refinance debt in the future. As of March 31, 2015, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.

 

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

 

As of the end of the period covered by this report, management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon, and as of the date of, the evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file and submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported as and when required.

 

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended March 31, 2015 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. There were no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses identified in the evaluation, and therefore, no corrective actions were taken.

 

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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION:

 

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

 

From time to time in the ordinary course of business, the Company may become subject to legal proceedings, claims or disputes.

 

As of the date hereof, the Company is not a party to any material pending legal proceedings of which the outcome is probable or reasonably possible to have a material adverse effect on its results of operations or financial condition, which would require accrual or disclosure of the contingency and possible range of loss. Additionally, the Company has not recorded any loss contingencies related to legal proceedings in which the potential loss is deemed to be remote.

 

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

 

We discuss in our Annual Report on Form 10-K various risks that may materially affect our business. We use this section to update this discussion to reflect material developments since our Form 10-K was filed. For the quarter ended March 31, 2015, there were no such material developments.

 

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

During the period covered by this Form 10-Q, we did not sell any unregistered securities.

 

Use of Offering Proceeds

 

The Company’s sponsor is David Lichtenstein (“Lichtenstein”), who does business as The Lightstone Group, LLC (the “Sponsor”) and is the majority owner of the limited liability company of that name. The Company’s advisor is Lightstone Value Plus REIT III LLC (the “Advisor”), which is wholly owned by our Sponsor.

 

The Company’s registration statement on Form S-11 (File No. 333-195292), pursuant to which it is offering to sell up to 30,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $10.00 per share, subject to certain volume discounts, (exclusive of 10,000,000 shares which are available pursuant to its distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) at an initial purchase price of $9.50 per share, was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Securities Act of 1933 on July 15, 2014.

 

On December 24, 2012, the Company sold 20,000 Common Shares to the Advisor for $10.00 per share.

 

On July 16, 2014, the Advisor contributed $2,000 to the Operating Partnership in exchange for 200 limited partner units in the Operating Partnership. The limited partner has the right to convert operating partnership units into cash or, at the option of the Company, an equal number of common shares of the Company, as allowed by the limited partnership agreement.

 

Lightstone SLP III LLC (‘‘Special Limited Partner’’), a Delaware limited liability company of which Mr. Lichtenstein is the majority owner, will be a special limited partner in the Operating Partnership and has committed to purchase subordinated profits interests in the Operating Partnership (“Subordinated Participation Interests”) at a cost of $50,000 per unit for each $1.0 million in subscriptions accepted for the Offering or any follow-on offering. The Special Limited Partner may elect to purchase the Subordinated Participation Interests for cash or may contribute interests in real property of equivalent value. The Subordinated Participation Interests may be entitled to receive liquidation distributions upon the liquidation of Lightstone REIT III. (See Note 6for a summary of related-party fees).

 

As of March 31, 2015, we have not entered into any arrangements to acquire any specific property or to make or invest in any specific loan to make any other permitted investment.

 

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

None.

 

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

None.

 

ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION

None.

 

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ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit

Number

 

 

Description

     
31.1*   Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended.
31.2*   Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended.
32.1*   Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Pursuant to SEC Release 34-47551 this Exhibit is furnished to the SEC and shall not be deemed to be “filed.”
32.2*   Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Pursuant to SEC Release 34-47551 this Exhibit is furnished to the SEC and shall not be deemed to be “filed.”
101*  

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language).The following financial information from Lightstone Value Plus Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc. on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, filed with the SEC on May 13, 2015, formatted in XBRL includes: (1) Consolidated Balance Sheets, (2) Consolidated Statements of Operations, (3) Consolidated Statements of StockholdersEquity, (4) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, and (5) the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statement.

 

*Filed herewith

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

LIGHTSTONE VALUE PLUS REAL ESTATE

INVESTMENT TRUST III, INC.

 

 

   
Date: May 13, 2015 By:   /s / David Lichtenstein
  David Lichtenstein
 

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

 

Date: May 13, 2015 By:   /s/ Donna Brandin
  Donna Brandin
 

Chief Financial Officer

(Duly Authorized Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

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