Convertible Preferred Shares

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Convertible Preferred Shares [Abstract]

CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED SHARES

NOTE 16—CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED SHARES

Series A Senior Convertible Preferred Shares

On September 30, 2020, the Company executed a share designation, which was amended on November 20, 2020, March 26, 2021 and September 29, 2021, to designate 4,450,460 of its shares as series A senior convertible preferred shares. Following is a description of the rights of the series A senior convertible preferred shares.

Ranking. The series A senior convertible preferred shares rank, with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets upon liquidation, (i) senior to all common shares, allocation shares, and each other class or series that is not expressly made senior to or on parity with the series A senior convertible preferred shares; (ii) on parity with the series B senior convertible preferred shares and each other class or series that is not expressly subordinated or made senior to the series A senior convertible preferred shares; and (iii) junior to all indebtedness and other liabilities with respect to assets available to satisfy claims against the Company and each other class or series that is expressly made senior to the series A senior convertible preferred shares.

Dividend Rights. Holders of series A senior convertible preferred shares are entitled to dividends at a rate per annum of 14.0% of the stated value ($2.00 per share, subject to adjustment). Dividends shall accrue from day to day, whether or not declared, and shall be cumulative. Dividends shall be payable quarterly in arrears on each dividend payment date in cash or common shares at the Company’s discretion. Dividends payable in common shares shall be calculated based on a price equal to eighty percent (80%) of the volume weighted average price for the common shares on the Company’s principal trading market (the “VWAP”) during the five (5) trading days immediately prior to the applicable dividend payment date; provided, however, that if the common shares are not registered, and Rule 144 rulemaking referred to below is effective on the payment date, the dividends payable in common shares shall be calculated based upon the fixed price of $1.57; provided further, that the Company may only elect to pay dividends in common shares based upon such fixed price if the VWAP for the five (5) trading days immediately prior to the applicable dividend payment date is $1.57 or higher.

Liquidation Rights. Subject to the rights of creditors and the holders of any senior securities or parity securities (in each case, as defined in the share designation), upon any liquidation of the Company or its subsidiaries, before any payment or distribution of the assets of the Company (whether capital or surplus) shall be made to or set apart for the holders of securities that are junior to the series A senior convertible preferred shares as to the distribution of assets on any liquidation of the Company, including the common shares and allocation shares, each holder of outstanding series A senior convertible preferred shares shall be entitled to receive an amount of cash equal to 115% of the stated value plus an amount of cash equal to all accumulated accrued and unpaid dividends thereon (whether or not declared) to, but not including the date of final distribution to such holders. If, upon any liquidation, the assets, or proceeds thereof, distributable among the holders of the series A senior convertible preferred shares shall be insufficient to pay in full the preferential amount payable to the holders of the series A senior convertible preferred shares and liquidating payments on any other shares of any class or series of parity securities as to the distribution of assets on any liquidation, then such assets, or the proceeds thereof, shall be distributed among the holders of series A senior convertible preferred shares and any such other parity securities ratably in accordance with the respective amounts that would be payable on such series A senior convertible preferred shares and any such other parity securities if all amounts payable thereon were paid in full.

Voting Rights. The series A senior convertible preferred shares do not have any voting rights; provided that, so long as any series A senior convertible preferred shares are outstanding, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of series A senior convertible preferred shares, which majority must include Leonite Capital LLC so long as it holds any series A senior convertible preferred shares (the “Requisite Holders”), voting as a separate class, shall be necessary for approving, effecting or validating any amendment, alteration or repeal of any of the provisions of the share designation. In addition, so long as any series A senior convertible preferred shares are outstanding, the affirmative vote of the Requisite Holders shall be required prior to the creation or issuance by the Company or by its subsidiaries Kyle’s and Wolo of (i) any parity securities; (ii) any senior securities; and (iii) any new indebtedness other than (A) intercompany indebtedness by Kyle’s or Wolo in favor of the Company, (B) indebtedness incurred in favor of the sellers of Kyle’s or Wolo in connection with the acquisition of Kyle’s or Wolo, or (C) indebtedness (or the refinancing of such indebtedness) the proceeds of which are used to complete the acquisition of Kyle’s or Wolo related expenses or working capital to operate the business of Kyle’s or Wolo. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this shall not apply to any financing transaction the use of proceeds of which will be used to redeem the series A senior convertible preferred shares and the warrants issued in connection therewith.

Conversion Rights. Each series A senior convertible preferred share, plus all accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, shall be convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, at any time and from time to time, into such number of fully paid and nonassessable common shares determined by dividing the stated value ($2.00 per share), plus the value of the accrued, but unpaid, dividends thereon, by a conversion price of $7.00 per share (subject to adjustment); provided that in no event shall the holder of any series A senior convertible preferred shares be entitled to convert any number of series A senior convertible preferred shares that upon conversion the sum of (i) the number of common shares beneficially owned by the holder and its affiliates and (ii) the number of common shares issuable upon the conversion of the series A senior convertible preferred shares with respect to which the determination of this proviso is being made, would result in beneficial ownership by the holder and its affiliates of more than 4.99% of the then outstanding common shares. This limitation may be waived (up to a maximum of 9.99%) by the holder and in its sole discretion, upon not less than sixty-one (61) days’ prior notice to the Company.

Redemption Rights. The Company may redeem in whole, or upon the written consent of the Requisite Holders and in the manner provided for in such written consent, in part, the series A senior convertible preferred shares by paying in cash therefore a sum equal to 115% of the stated value plus the amount of accrued and unpaid plus any other amounts due pursuant to the terms of the series A senior convertible preferred shares.

Adjustments. The share designation contains standard adjustments to the conversion price in the event of any share splits, share combinations, share reclassifications, dividends paid in common shares, sales of substantially all of the Company’s assets, mergers, consolidations or similar transactions. In addition, the share designation provides that if, but only if, the Requisite Holders provide the Company with at least ten (10) business day’s prior written notice, then, from and after the date of such notice, the stated dividend rate, the stated value and the conversion price shall automatically adjust as follows:

● On the first day of the 12th month following the issuance date of any series A senior convertible preferred shares, the stated dividend rate shall automatically increase by five percent (5.0%) per annum and the conversion price shall automatically adjust to the lower of the (i) initial conversion price and (ii) the price equal to the lowest VWAP of the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding such date.

● On the first day of the 24th month following the issuance date of any series A senior convertible preferred shares, the stated dividend rate shall automatically increase by an additional five percent (5.0%) per annum, the stated value shall automatically increase by ten percent (10%) and the conversion price shall automatically adjust to the lower of the (i) initial conversion price and (ii) the price equal to the lowest VWAP of the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding such date.

● On the first day of the 36th month following the issuance date of any series A senior convertible preferred shares, the stated dividend rate shall automatically increase by an additional five percent (5.0%) per annum, the stated value shall automatically increase by ten percent (10%) and the conversion price shall automatically adjust to the lower of the (i) initial conversion price and (ii) the price equal to the lowest VWAP of the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding the third adjustment date.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the conversion price for purposes of the adjustments above shall not be adjusted to a number that is below $0.03. In addition, if any legislation or rules are adopted whereby the holding period of securities for purposes of Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for convertible securities that convert at market-adjusted rates is increased resulting in a longer holding period for convertible securities like the series A senior convertible preferred shares and the unavailability at the time of conversion of Rule 144, the pricing provisions that are based upon the lowest VWAP of the previous ten (10) trading days immediately preceding the relevant adjustment date shall be removed unless the common shares issuable upon conversion are then registered under an effective registration statement.

Additional Equity Interest. On the third adjustment date set forth above, the Company is required to cause Kyle’s and Wolo to issue to the holders of series A senior convertible preferred shares, on a pro rata basis, a ten percent (10%) equity stake Kyle’s and/or Wolo. The holders of series A senior convertible preferred shares issued in connection with the financing to complete the acquisition of Kyle’s shall receive the equity stake in Kyle’s and the holders of series A senior convertible preferred shares issued in connection with the financing to complete the acquisition of Wolo shall receive the equity stake in Wolo. The Company is required to cause Kyle’s and Wolo to grant to the holders of the series A senior convertible preferred shares upon the issuance to them of such equity interest a right to receive an additional number of shares of common stock of Kyle’s or Wolo if Kyle’s or Wolo issues to any third-party equity securities at a price below the acquisition price (as defined below). Such additional number of shares of common stock of Kyle’s or Wolo to be issued in such instance shall be equal to a number of shares of common stock of Kyle’s or Wolo which, when added to the number of shares of common stock of Kyle’s or Wolo constituting the initial additional equity interest, would be equal to the total number of shares of common stock which would have been issued to a holder of series A senior convertible preferred shares if the price per share of common stock of Kyle’s or Wolo was equivalent to the price per equity security paid by such third-party in Kyle’s or Wolo. For purposes of this provision, “acquisition price” means the price per share of Kyle’s and Wolo that was paid by the Company upon the acquisition of Kyle’s and Wolo, respectively.

On March 26, 2021, the Company sold an aggregate of 1,818,182 units, at a price of $1.65 per unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of $3,000,000. Each unit consists of one (1) series A senior convertible preferred share and a three-year warrant to purchase one (1) common share at an exercise price of $10.00 per common share (subject to adjustments), which such exercise price was adjusted to $4.20 following the adjustments (see Note 17), and may be exercised on a cashless basis under certain circumstances. The embedded conversion options of the series A senior convertible preferred shares and warrants were clearly and closely related to the equity host and did not require bifurcation. The $3,000,000 of proceeds were allocated on a relative fair value basis of $1,527,086 to the series A preferred shares and $1,472,914 to the warrants. The series A preferred shares fair value was derived using an Option Pricing Method and the warrants fair value was derived using a Monte Carlo Simulation Model.

On October 12, 2021, the Company redeemed 2,632,278 series A senior convertible preferred shares for a total redemption price, including dividends through such date, of $6,395,645.

On February 16, 2022, 133,333 shares of series A senior convertible preferred shares were converted into 38,096 common shares. On August 12, 2022, the Company redeemed 90,909 series A senior convertible preferred shares for a total redemption price of $209,091.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company accrued dividends attributable to the series A senior convertible preferred shares in the amount of $590,162 and paid prior period accrued dividends of $615,593. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company accrued dividends attributable to the series A senior convertible preferred shares in the amount of $984,176 and paid prior period accrued dividends of $1,032,806.

As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had 1,593,940 and 1,818,182 series A senior convertible preferred shares issued and outstanding, respectively.

Series B Senior Convertible Preferred Shares

On February 17, 2022, the Company executed a share designation to designate 583,334 of its shares as series B senior convertible preferred shares. Following is a description of the rights of the series B senior convertible preferred shares.

Ranking. The series B senior convertible preferred shares rank, with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets upon liquidation, (i) senior to all common shares, allocation shares, and each other class or series that is not expressly made senior to or on parity with the series B senior convertible preferred shares; (ii) on parity with the series A senior convertible preferred shares and each other class or series that is not expressly subordinated or made senior to the series A senior convertible preferred shares; and (iii) junior to all indebtedness and other liabilities with respect to assets available to satisfy claims against the Company and each other class or series that is expressly made senior to the series B senior convertible preferred shares.

Dividend Rights. Holders of series B senior convertible preferred shares are entitled to dividends at a rate per annum of 14.0% of the stated value ($3.00 per share, subject to adjustment). Dividends shall accrue from day to day, whether or not declared, and shall be cumulative. Dividends shall be payable quarterly in arrears on each dividend payment date in cash or common shares at the Company’s discretion. Dividends payable in common shares shall be calculated based on a price equal to eighty percent (80%) of the VWAP during the five (5) trading days immediately prior to the applicable dividend payment date; provided, however, that if the common shares are not registered, and rulemaking regarding the Rule 144 holding period referred to below is effective on the payment date, the dividends payable in common shares shall be calculated based upon the fixed price of $2.70; provided further, that the Company may only elect to pay dividends in common shares based upon such fixed price if the VWAP for the five (5) trading days immediately prior to the applicable dividend payment date is $2.70 or higher.

Liquidation Rights. Subject to the rights of creditors and the holders of any senior securities or parity securities (in each case, as defined in the share designation), upon any liquidation of the Company or its subsidiaries, before any payment or distribution of the assets of the Company (whether capital or surplus) shall be made to or set apart for the holders of securities that are junior to the series B senior convertible preferred shares as to the distribution of assets on any liquidation of the Company, including the common shares and allocation shares, each holder of outstanding series B senior convertible preferred shares shall be entitled to receive an amount of cash equal to 115% of the stated value plus an amount of cash equal to all accumulated accrued and unpaid dividends thereon (whether or not declared) to, but not including the date of final distribution to such holders. If, upon any liquidation, the assets, or proceeds thereof, distributable among the holders of the series B senior convertible preferred shares shall be insufficient to pay in full the preferential amount payable to the holders of the series B senior convertible preferred shares and liquidating payments on any other shares of any class or series of parity securities as to the distribution of assets on any liquidation, then such assets, or the proceeds thereof, shall be distributed among the holders of series B senior convertible preferred shares and any such other parity securities ratably in accordance with the respective amounts that would be payable on such series B senior convertible preferred shares and any such other parity securities if all amounts payable thereon were paid in full.

Voting Rights. The series B senior convertible preferred shares do not have any voting rights; provided that, so long as any series B senior convertible preferred shares are outstanding, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of series B senior convertible preferred shares, voting as a separate class, shall be necessary for approving, effecting or validating (i) any amendment, alteration or repeal of any of the provisions of the share designation or (ii) the Company’s creation or issuance of any parity securities or any senior securities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such vote of the holders shall not be required in connection with the issuance of parity securities or senior securities if, and so long as, the proceeds resulting from the issuance of such securities are used to redeem in full the outstanding series B senior convertible preferred shares.

Conversion Rights. Each series B senior convertible preferred share, plus all accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, shall be convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, at any time and from time to time, into such number of fully paid and nonassessable common shares determined by dividing the stated value ($3.00 per share), plus the value of the accrued, but unpaid, dividends thereon, by the conversion price of $12.00 per share (subject to adjustments); provided that in no event shall the holder of any series B senior convertible preferred shares be entitled to convert any number of series B senior convertible preferred shares that upon conversion the sum of (i) the number of common shares beneficially owned by the holder and its affiliates and (ii) the number of common shares issuable upon the conversion of the series B senior convertible preferred shares with respect to which the determination of this proviso is being made, would result in beneficial ownership by the holder and its affiliates of more than 4.99% of the then outstanding common shares. This limitation may be waived (up to a maximum of 9.99%) by the holder and in its sole discretion, upon not less than sixty-one (61) days’ prior notice to the Company.

Redemption Rights. The Company may redeem in whole (but not in part) the series B senior convertible preferred shares by paying in cash therefore a sum equal to 115% of the stated value plus the amount of accrued and unpaid dividends and any other amounts due pursuant to the terms of the series B senior convertible preferred shares.

Adjustments. The share designation contains standard adjustments to the conversion price in the event of any share splits, share combinations, share reclassifications, dividends paid in common shares, sales of substantially all of the Company’s assets, mergers, consolidations or similar transactions. In addition, the share designation provides that the stated dividend rate, the stated value and the conversion price shall automatically adjust as follows:

● On the first day of the 12th month following the issuance of the first series B senior convertible preferred share, the stated dividend rate shall automatically increase by five percent (5.0%) per annum and the conversion price shall automatically adjust to the lower of the (i) initial conversion price and (ii) the price equal to the lowest VWAP of the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding such date.

● On the first day of the 24th month following the issuance of the first series B senior convertible preferred share, the stated dividend rate shall automatically increase by an additional five percent (5.0%) per annum, the stated value shall automatically increase by ten percent (10%) and the conversion price shall automatically adjust to the lower of the (i) initial conversion price and (ii) the price equal to the lowest VWAP of the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding such date.

● On the first day of the 36th month following the issuance of the first series B senior convertible preferred share, the stated dividend rate shall automatically increase by an additional five percent (5.0%) per annum, the stated value shall automatically increase by ten percent (10%) and the conversion price shall automatically adjust to the lower of the (i) initial conversion price and (ii) the price equal to the lowest VWAP of the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding such date.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the conversion price for purposes of the adjustments above shall not be adjusted to a number that is below $0.03 per share (subject to adjustment for splits or dividends of the common shares). In addition, if any legislation or rules are adopted whereby the holding period of securities for purposes of Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for convertible securities that convert at market-adjusted rates is increased resulting in a longer holding period for convertible securities like the series B senior convertible preferred shares and the unavailability at the time of conversion of Rule 144, the pricing provisions that are based upon the lowest VWAP of the previous ten (10) trading days immediately preceding the relevant adjustment date shall be removed unless the common shares issuable upon conversion are then registered under an effective registration statement.

From February 24, 2022 to March 24, 2022, the Company sold an aggregate of 426,999 units, at a price of $3.00 per unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,281,000. From April 20, 2022 to May 19, 2022, the Company sold an aggregate of 54,567 units to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Ellery W. Roberts, for aggregate gross proceeds of $163,700. The Company had total issuance costs relating to these offerings of approximately $15,000, resulting in net proceeds of $1,429,700.

Each unit consists of one (1) series B senior convertible preferred share and a three-year warrant to purchase one (1) common share at an exercise price of $12.00 per common share (subject to adjustments), which such exercise price was adjusted to $4.20 following the adjustments (see Note 17), and may be exercised on a cashless basis under certain circumstances. The embedded conversion options of the series B senior convertible preferred shares and warrants were clearly and closely related to the equity host and did not require bifurcation. The $1,429,700 of net proceeds were allocated on a relative fair value basis of $1,257,650 to the series B preferred shares and $172,050 to the warrants. The series B preferred shares fair value was derived using an Option Pricing Method and the warrants fair value was derived using a Monte Carlo Simulation Model.

On August 26, 2022, the Company redeemed 16,667 series B senior convertible preferred shares for a total redemption price of $57,501.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company accrued dividends attributable to the series B senior convertible preferred shares in the amount of $162,268 and paid prior period accrued dividends of $129,103.

As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had 464,899 and 0 series B senior convertible preferred shares issued and outstanding, respectively.

Mezzanine (Temporary) Equity Classification

The Company applied the guidance in ASC Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity and ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, in order to determine the appropriate classification for both the series A senior convertible preferred shares and the series B senior convertible preferred shares (see above for series A and B senior convertible preferred shares rights).

ASC 480 requires equity instruments to be evaluated on an ongoing basis for mezzanine equity (temporary equity) vs permanent equity classification. As a result of the maximum number of common shares that may be issuable (upon conversion of the preferred securities) exceeding the number of authorized but unissued common shares available, temporary equity classification is required. As of December 31, 2021, there were 1,818,182 series A senior convertible preferred shares presented in mezzanine equity.

As a result of the 1-for-4 reverse split of the outstanding common shares on August 2, 2022 (as described in Note 1), the maximum number of common shares that may be issuable (upon conversion of the preferred securities) no longer exceeded the number of unissued common shares available, resulting in the reclassification of 1,684,849 series A senior convertible preferred shares and 481,566 series B senior convertible preferred shares from mezzanine equity to permanent equity.