Noncontrolling Interest

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Noncontrolling interest represents the portion of the OP Units not beneficially owned by the Company. The ownership of an OP Unit and a common share of beneficial interest have essentially the same economic characteristics. Distributions with respect to OP Units will generally mirror distributions with respect to the Company’s common shares. Unitholders (other than the Company) generally have the right, commencing six months from the date of issuance of such OP Units, to cause the Operating Trust to redeem their OP Units in exchange for cash or, at the option of the Company, common shares of the Company on a one-for-one basis. As sole trustee, the Company has the sole discretion to elect whether the redemption right will be satisfied by the Company in cash or the Company’s common shares. As a result, the Noncontrolling interest is classified as permanent equity. As of September 30, 2020, the portion of the Operating Trust not beneficially owned by the Company is in the form of OP Units and LTIP Units (see Note 8 for a description of LTIP Units). LTIP Units may be subject to additional vesting requirements.

The following table presents the changes in Equity Commonwealth’s issued and outstanding common shares and units for the nine months ended September 30, 2020:


	Common Shares	OP Units and LTIP Units	Total
Outstanding at January 1, 2020	121,924,199	48,660	121,972,859
Repurchase of shares	(894,992)	—	(894,992)
OP Unit redemption	—	(1,000)	(1,000)
Share-based compensation grants and vesting, net of forfeitures	495,303	195,856	691,159
Outstanding at September 30, 2020	121,524,510	243,516	121,768,026
Noncontrolling ownership interest in the Operating Trust			0.20	%

The carrying value of the Noncontrolling interest is allocated based on the number of OP Units and LTIP Units in proportion to the number of OP Units and LTIP Units plus the number of common shares. We adjust the Noncontrolling interest balance at the end of each period to reflect the noncontrolling partners’ interest in the net assets of the Operating Trust. Net income is allocated to the Noncontrolling interest in the Operating Trust based on the weighted average ownership percentage during the period. Equity Commonwealth’s weighted average ownership interest in the Operating Trust was 99.80% and 99.82% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.