10-K

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from ___________ to ___________

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes  No 

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  No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files). Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes  No 

The aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2021, was approximately $72.3 million. As of March 1, 2022, there were 36,599,262 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Report”) contains certain “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management’s exercise of business judgment as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. When used in this document, the words “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” and words of similar import, are intended to identify any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current view of future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including those noted under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” below. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Although we believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will materialize.

Heritage Global Inc. is an asset services company specializing in financial and industrial asset transactions. We provide a full suite of services including market making, acquisitions, dispositions, valuations and secured lending. We focus on identifying, valuing, acquiring and monetizing underlying tangible and intangible assets across more than twenty-five global sectors. We act as an advisor, as well as a principal, acquiring or brokering turnkey manufacturing facilities, surplus industrial machinery and equipment, industrial inventories, accounts receivable portfolios, intellectual property, and entire business enterprises.

Our asset liquidation business began operations in 2009 with the establishment of Heritage Global LLC (“HG LLC”).

In 2012, we increased our in-house asset liquidation expertise with our acquisition of 100% of the outstanding equity of Heritage Global Partners, Inc. (“HGP”), a global full-service auction, appraisal and asset advisory firm. HGP now also operates the business of acquiring turnkey manufacturing facilities and used industrial machinery and equipment, which was historically operated by HG LLC.

In 2014, we again expanded our asset liquidation operations with the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding equity of National Loan Exchange, Inc. (“NLEX”). NLEX is the largest volume broker of charged-off receivables in the United States and Canada, and its offerings include national, state and regional portfolios on behalf of many of the world’s top financial institutions. The NLEX acquisition is consistent with our strategy to expand and diversify the services provided by our asset liquidation business.

In 2019, the Company formed Heritage Global Capital LLC (“HGC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of HGI, in order to provide specialty financing solutions to investors in charged-off and nonperforming asset portfolios.

On August 23, 2021, the Company acquired certain assets and liabilities of American Laboratory Trading (ALT). ALT is a supplier of refurbished lab equipment and a provider of surplus asset services for the life sciences.

As a result of the events and acquisitions outlined above, management believes that our expanded platform will allow us to achieve our long-term industry leadership goals.

HGI was incorporated in Florida in 1983 under the name “MedCross, Inc.” Our name was changed to “I-Link Incorporated” in 1997, to “Acceris Communications Inc.” in 2003, to “C2 Global Technologies Inc.” in 2005, to

“Counsel RB Capital Inc.” in 2011, and to Heritage Global Inc. in 2013. The most recent name change more closely identifies HGI with its core industrial auction business, HGP.

Our corporate headquarters are located at 12625 High Bluff Drive, Suite 305, San Diego, CA 92130. Our telephone number is (858) 847-0659 and our corporate website is www.hginc.com.

The organization chart below outlines our basic domestic corporate structure as of December 31, 2021.

The novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic had a negative impact on our performance during 2021 due to evolving travel and work restrictions, stimulus payments and credit policies impacting debt sales by financial institutions, and a delay in the typical process for the sale of certain industrial assets by manufacturing companies.

Going forward, and subject to the caveat below, we do not believe the COVID-19 pandemic will have material negative impacts on our financial performance, as we expect that the supply of surplus industrial assets will return to pre-pandemic levels and the continuing disruptions to the global supply chain, particularly those involving industrial assets, will further increase demand for U.S.-based surplus assets. Further, as stimulus payments conclude, we expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will have the following positive impacts:

Further surges in COVID-19 infection rates could result in the continuation of stimulus payments and the implementation of additional credit policies impacting debt sales that may result in delayed revenues depending on the scope and magnitude of such policies.

As of December 31, 2021, we had 63 total and full-time employees: 28 are employed by HGP, 14 by NLEX, 17 by ALT and four by HGC.

Our asset liquidation business consists primarily of the auction, appraisal and asset advisory services provided by our Industrial Assets division and the accounts receivable brokerage and specialty financing services provided by our Financials Assets division, each of which is further described below. Our asset liquidation business also includes the purchase and sale, including at auction, of industrial machinery and equipment, real estate, inventories, accounts receivable and distressed debt. The market for these services and assets is highly fragmented. To acquire auction or appraisal contracts, or assets for resale, we compete with other liquidators, auction companies, dealers and brokers. We also compete with them for potential purchasers. Some competitors have significantly greater financial and marketing resources and name recognition.

We believe that our business is positioned to grow in all economic cycles. As the economy encounters situations of recession, flattening yield curves and rising credit costs, the asset liquidation business may experience wider margins on principal asset sales, a favorable lending cycle for charged-off and nonperforming asset portfolios, higher volumes of nonperforming assets and building surplus inventories and bankruptcies. In times of economic growth, our asset liquidation business has demonstrated its ability to experience growth based on our competitive advantages in the industry, including our domain expertise related to deal sourcing and execution capabilities, our diversification of integrated service platforms and our experience across underserved markets. We intend to continue to leverage our competitive advantages to grow within each service line and across platforms through increasing synergies, maintaining high incremental margins, improving earnings predictability, strengthening financial metrics reflected on our balance sheet and managing expenses.

Our business strategy includes the option of partnering with one or more additional purchasers, pursuant to a partnership, joint venture or limited liability company agreement (collectively, “Joint Ventures”). These Joint Ventures give us access to more opportunities, helping to mitigate some of the competition from the market’s larger participants and contribute to our objective to be the leading resource for clients requiring financial and industrial asset solutions.

We believe we have attributes that differentiate us from our competitors and provide us with significant competitive advantages. Our key competitive strengths are described below.

Differentiated Business Model. We believe we have diversified business lines serving the financial and industrial asset liquidation market. We have multiple revenue streams in our brokerage and principal based auction services, advisory services and secured lending services. Further, our business is event-driven and we have repeat, forward-flow contracts in place with industry leading customers. We expect to drive growth in our revenue streams by taking different roles, and using partners as needed.

Compelling Macro Growth Drivers. Historically, recessions drive an increased supply of surplus assets and increased demand for liquidation services, which we believe we are well-positioned to provide. Further, consumer lending and resulting charge-offs are expected to continue their upward trend to meet, and possibly exceed, pre-pandemic levels which we believe will drive an increased supply of non-performing consumer loans. Additionally, we believe an active market for mergers and acquisitions in manufacturing industries drives demand for industrial asset liquidations and our services. The market in which we operate is highly fragmented, presenting a continued opportunity for the Company to increase market share and drive consolidation.

High Return on Invested Capital. We believe we have an opportunity to drive improved auction economics by serving more frequently in the role of principal rather than the lower margin role of broker. Further, we believe we have a strong growth opportunity in providing secured loans to our financial asset debt buyers, a service we are providing through HGC.

Strong Management Team. We have built an experienced executive-level management team with deep domain expertise. Our President and Chief Executive Officer, Ross Dove, is a third-generation auctioneer and a pioneering innovator in applying technology to the asset liquidation industry. Mr. Dove began his career in the auction business over thirty years ago, beginning with a small family-owned auction house and helping to expand it into a global firm, DoveBid, which was sold to a third party in 2008. In addition, our senior management team has deep domain expertise in both industrial asset and financial asset transactions. On September 17, 2020, we entered into an Employment Agreement with Kirk Dove, the former President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Upon his resignation, Kirk Dove continued his employment with us in an advisory capacity, and is expected to do so until December 31, 2024. Also, during 2020, Nick Dove was appointed as President, Industrial Assets Division, and David Ludwig was appointed as President, Financial Assets Division. Nick Dove previously served as Executive Vice President of Sales of Heritage Global Partners since August 2017. David Ludwig previously served as President of NLEX, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and has served in such capacity since the Company acquired NLEX in 2014.

Our Financial Assets division provides liquidity to issuers of consumer credit that are looking to monetize nonperforming and charged-off loans — loans that creditors have written off as uncollectable. Nonperforming and charged-off loans typically originate from banks that issue unsecured consumer credit.

Through NLEX, we act as an advisor for sales of charged-off and nonperforming asset portfolios via an electronic auction exchange platform for banks, the U.S. government, and other debt holders throughout the United States and Canada. Since the 1980s, NLEX has sold over $150 billion face value of performing, nonperforming and charged-off assets. NLEX sales are concentrated in online, automotive, consumer credit card, student loan and real estate charge-offs. The typical credit we broker sells at a deep discount to face value, and we typically receive a commission for these services from both buyers and sellers. We have existing relationships with high quality, top-tier and mid-tier debt buyers. NLEX is in the process of expanding into the FinTech lenders, peer-to-peer lending and Buy Now Pay Later sectors, where we believe NLEX has opportunity for significant growth. In addition, we plan to add post-sale initiatives, making our services more attractive to our customers as compared to our competitors.

Through HGC, we provide specialty financing solutions to investors in charged-off and nonperforming asset portfolios. Since the inception of HGC in 2019, we have issued $36.1 million in total loans to investors by both self-funded loans and in partnership with senior lenders. Our portion of the total loans funded since inception is $14.2 million. Our income from secured lending consists of upfront fees, interest income, monthly monitoring fees and backend profit share. In general, we expect to earn an annual rate of return on our share of notes receivable outstanding of approximately 20% or more based on established terms of the loans funded and performance of collections.

Our management team has decades of domain expertise with the ability to leverage extensive funding activity and widespread industry relationships. We believe we have the opportunity for growth through increased penetration of the underserved market of mid-tier buyers of charged-off receivables, providing more economic financing options and a greater variety of funding solutions to our customers.

Our Industrial Assets division advises enterprise and financial customers on the sale of industrial assets mostly from surplus and sometimes distressed circumstances while acting as an agent, guarantor or principal in the sale. The fees for our services typically range from 15–50%, depending on our role and the transaction. This division predominantly targets sellers of surplus or distressed “inside the building” assets. Our buyers consist of both

end-users and dealers. The acquisition of ALT further strengthens our service offering in the biotech and pharma sectors, which have been key verticals over the past decade.

Our management team has decades of domain expertise with the ability to leverage extensive industry relationships, real time access to databases of buyers and sales, as well as a deep understanding of the underlying asset value across the more than 25 industrial sectors in which we operate. We believe we have the opportunity for growth in our auction services through our ability to secure ongoing contracts with large multinational sellers, to be a first mover in emerging sectors, and to gain market share in sectors in which we are currently less active. Our extensive network and ability to find and source new opportunities are key factors for expansion. We believe we have the opportunity for growth in our valuation services through the addition of incremental bank-approved vendor lists, geographic expansion and through deeper penetration with our existing bank relationships.

We are subject to federal, state and local consumer protection laws, including laws protecting the privacy of customer non-public information and regulations prohibiting unfair and deceptive trade practices. Many jurisdictions also regulate “auctions” and “auctioneers” and may regulate online auction services. These consumer protection laws and regulations could result in substantial compliance costs and could interfere with the conduct of our business.

Legislation in the United States has increased public companies’ regulatory and compliance costs as well as the scope and cost of work provided by independent registered public accountants and legal advisors. As regulatory and compliance guidelines continue to evolve, we may incur additional costs in the future, which may or may not be material, in order to comply with legislative requirements or rules, pronouncements and guidelines by regulatory bodies.

We file certain reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports. The SEC maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains the reports and information statements and other information we file electronically. Our website address is www.hginc.com. Through our website, we make available, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file or furnish such materials to the SEC. Please note that our website address is provided as an inactive textual reference only. The information provided on our website is not part of this report, and is therefore not incorporated by reference unless such information is specifically referenced elsewhere in this report.

In connection with the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we are including the following cautionary statements identifying important factors that could significantly and adversely affect the Company and cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. The risks and uncertainties described below should be considered carefully, and with all the other information contained in this Report, in evaluating the Company and its business. You should carefully consider and evaluate these risk factors, as any of them could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, which, in turn, can adversely affect the price of our securities.

Our asset liquidation business depends on our ability to successfully obtain a continuous supply of auction or appraisal contracts, or distressed and surplus assets for profitable resale to third parties. In this regard, we compete with numerous other organizations, some of which are much larger and better-capitalized, with greater resources available for both asset acquisition and associated marketing to potential customers. Additionally, some competitors have a longer history of activity in the asset liquidation business and may have advantages with respect to accessing both deals and capital.

Under our business model, when not acting solely as an auctioneer, we assume the general and physical inventory and credit risks associated with purchasing assets for subsequent resale. Although we do enter into transactions for which a subsequent purchaser has already been identified, in most cases we purchase assets and assume the risk that they may sell for less than our forecasted price. Further, we may miscalculate demand or resale value and subsequently sell the assets for less than their original purchase price. Either situation could have a material adverse effect upon our use of working capital and our results of operations.

Our revenue and operating results are subject to fluctuation from quarter to quarter and from year to year due to the nature of the asset liquidation business, which involves discrete deals of varying size that are very difficult to predict. The timing of revenue recognition related to significant transactions can materially affect quarterly and annual operating results. Despite the accompanying variability of direct asset liquidation costs, quarterly fixed costs that are largely composed of salaries and benefits could exceed our gross profit. There can therefore be no assurance that we can sustain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. The adverse effect of these issues could be increased due to concentration of our revenue, at times, with one or more major customers. This concentration of customers and revenue affects our overall risk profile, since a significant portion of our customers would be similarly affected by changes in economic, political, regulatory, and other industry conditions. An abrupt or unforeseen change in conditions in these industries could adversely affect demand for our services, which could negatively impact our results of operations.

Since the establishment of our asset liquidation business in 2009, we have experienced significant growth including through acquisitive transactions and organic expansion. This growth requires an increased investment in personnel, systems and facilities. In the absence of continued revenue growth, our operating margins could decline from current levels. Additional acquisitions will be accompanied by such risks as exposure to unknown liabilities of acquired businesses, unexpected acquisition expenses, greater than anticipated investments in personnel, systems and facilities, the expense of integrating new and existing operations, diversion of senior management resources, and

dilution to existing stockholders. Failure to anticipate and manage these risks could have a material adverse effect upon our business and results of operations.

A portion of our asset liquidation business is conducted through Joint Ventures.

Conducting business through Joint Ventures, as described above under “Industry and Competition,” allows us to participate in significantly larger deals than those we could fund independently. If we ceased entering into Joint Ventures, or our Joint Venture partners decide not to partner with us, the pool of potential transactions would be reduced. Further, upon entering into Joint Ventures, we become exposed to the uncertainties of the activities of our partners. This could negatively impact our ability to obtain a continuous supply of assets for resale, and could have a material adverse effect upon our use of working capital and our results of operations.

Our operations are substantially dependent on the knowledge, skills and performance of several of our executive officers, particularly our Chief Executive Officer and President, President of Financial Assets and President of Industrial Assets. The loss of any of these officers could damage key relationships and result in the loss of essential information and expertise. As our operations expand, we will be required to hire additional employees and may face competition for them. Therefore, either the loss of the services of the above existing officers, or the inability to attract and retain appropriately skilled new employees, could have a material adverse effect upon our business and results of operations.

Disruptions to information systems and those of certain third-party service providers utilized by us could adversely impact our operations, reputation and brand.

The protection of client, employee and company data is extremely important to us. The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is becoming increasingly demanding and frequently changing in the jurisdictions in which we do business. Clients and employees have expectations that we will protect their information from cyber-attacks and other security breaches. We have implemented systems and processes that are designed to protect personal and company information and to prevent data losses, however, these measures cannot provide absolute security, and our systems may be vulnerable to cyber-security breaches such as viruses, hacking, and similar disruptions from unauthorized intrusions. As part of our information systems infrastructure, we rely increasingly upon third-party service providers to perform services related to our asset liquidation services. Any failure on our part or by these third-party service providers to maintain the security of our confidential data and our client and employee personal information could result in business disruption, damage to reputation, financial obligations, lawsuits, sizable fines and costs, and loss of employee and client confidence in our Company, and thus could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition, and adversely affect our results of operations. A significant security breach could require future expenditures to implement additional security measures to protect against new privacy threats or to comply with state, federal and international laws aimed at addressing those threats.

The auction portion of our asset liquidation business may be subject to a variety of additional costly government regulations.

Many states and other jurisdictions have regulations governing the conduct of traditional “auctions” and the liability of traditional “auctioneers” in conducting auctions, which may also apply to online auction services. In addition, certain states have laws or regulations that expressly apply to online auction services. We may incur additional costs in the future to comply with these laws and could be subject to fines or other penalties for any failure to comply with these laws. We may be required to make changes in our business to comply with these laws, which could increase our costs, reduce our revenue, and cause us to prohibit the listing of certain items, or otherwise adversely affect our financial condition or operating results.

Certain categories of merchandise that we sell are subject to government restrictions.

We sell merchandise, such as scientific instruments, that is subject to export control and economic sanctions laws, among other laws, imposed by the United States and other governments. Such restrictions include the U.S. Export Administration regulations, the International Traffic in Arms regulations, and economic sanctions and embargo laws administered by the Office of the Foreign Assets Control regulations. These restrictions prohibit us from, among other things, selling property to (1) persons or entities that appear on lists of restricted or prohibited parties maintained by the United States or other governments or (2) countries, regimes, or nationals that are the target of applicable economic sanctions or other embargoes.

We may incur significant costs or be required to modify our business to comply with these requirements. If we are alleged to have violated any of these laws or regulations we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines, and suspension or prohibition from doing business with U.S. federal government agencies. In addition, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation if allegations of impropriety are made against us, whether or not true.

We are subject to the FCPA, which generally prohibits U.S. companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Failure to comply with the FCPA could subject us to, among other things, penalties and legal expenses that could harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our asset liquidation business at times includes the purchase and resale of buildings and land. Although our purchase process includes due diligence to determine that there are no material adverse environmental issues, it is possible that such issues could be discovered subsequent to a completed purchase. Any remediation and related costs could have a material adverse effect upon our business and results of operations.

Changes in tax laws or their interpretations, or becoming subject to additional foreign, U.S. federal, state or local taxes, could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to extensive tax liabilities, including U.S. federal and state taxes. Changes in tax laws or their interpretations could decrease the amount of earnings we retain, the value of any tax loss carry forwards and tax credits recorded on our balance sheet and the amount of our cash flow, and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Some of our tax liabilities are subject to periodic audits by the respective taxing authority which could increase our tax liabilities. If we are required to pay additional taxes, our costs would increase and our net income would be reduced, which could have a material adverse effect on our effective tax rate, business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.

Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), or any subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.

We may require additional financing in the future, which may not be available, or may not be available on favorable terms.

We may need additional funds to finance the operations of our asset liquidation business, to make additional investments, to expand our specialty financing division, or to acquire complementary businesses or assets. We may be unable to generate these funds from our operations. If funds are not available, or not available on acceptable terms, we could experience a material adverse effect upon our business.

Provisions in our organizational documents and Florida or certain other state laws could delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could adversely affect the price of our common stock.

Provisions in our Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the “Articles”), and Restated Bylaws and anti-takeover provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act (“FBCA”), could discourage, delay or prevent an unsolicited change in control of the Company, which could adversely affect the price of our common stock. These provisions may also have the effect of making it more difficult for third parties to replace our current management without the consent of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”). Provisions in our Articles and Restated Bylaws that could delay or prevent an unsolicited change in control include:

• limitations on persons authorized to call a special meeting of stockholders; and

• the authorization of undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval.

The Company is a Florida corporation and is therefore subject to certain anti-takeover provisions that apply to public corporations under Florida law. Pursuant to Section 607.0901 of the FBCA, a publicly held Florida corporation may not engage in a broad range of extraordinary corporate transactions with an interested shareholder within three years of when the shareholder became an interested shareholder without the approval of the holders of two-thirds of the voting shares of the corporation (excluding shares held by the interested shareholder), unless, among other exceptions:

• the interested shareholder has owned at least 80% of the corporation’s outstanding voting shares for at least three years preceding the announcement date of any such extraordinary corporate transaction;

• the interested shareholder is the beneficial owner of at least 90% of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation, exclusive of shares acquired directly from the corporation in a transaction not approved by a majority of the disinterested directors; or

• the consideration paid to the holders of the corporation’s voting stock is at least equal to certain fair price criteria.

Subject to certain exceptions, an interested shareholder is defined as a person who beneficially owns more than 15% of a corporation’s outstanding voting shares. Although permitted by the FBCA, we have not elected in our Articles to opt out of the terms of Section 607.0901. This statutory provision may prevent takeover attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for shares of our common stock.

Our Board of Directors may issue additional shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval.

Our Articles authorize the issuance of up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $10.00 par value per share. Of the 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock authorized under our Articles, the Company has designated 20,000 shares as Series N Preferred Stock. There are 565 shares of Series N Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. Our Board is authorized to determine the rights and preferences of any additional series or class of preferred stock. Our Board may, without stockholder approval, issue shares of preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights that are senior to our shares of common stock or that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the existing holders of outstanding shares of preferred stock or common stock. The issuance of

additional shares of preferred stock may also hamper or discourage an acquisition or change in control of the Company.

We may conduct future offerings of our common stock and preferred stock that may diminish our investors’ pro rata ownership and depress our stock price.

Our Articles authorize us to issue shares of our preferred stock, common stock or securities convertible into common stock for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our Board of Directors in its sole discretion, including at prices differing from the price of the common stock previously issued. We could issue a significant number of shares of common stock in the future in connection with investments or acquisitions. Any of these issuances could dilute our existing stockholders, and such dilution could be significant. Moreover, such dilution could have a material adverse effect on the market price for the shares of our common stock.

The future issuance of shares of preferred stock with voting rights may adversely affect the voting power of the holders of shares of our common stock, either by diluting the voting power of our common stock if the preferred stock votes together with the common stock as a single class, or by giving the holders of any such preferred stock the right to block an action on which they have a separate class vote, even if the action were approved by the holders of our shares of our common stock.

The future issuance of shares of additional preferred stock with dividend or conversion rights, liquidation preferences or other economic terms favorable to the holders of preferred stock could adversely affect the market price for our common stock by making an investment in the common stock less attractive. For example, investors in common stock may not wish to purchase common stock at a price above the conversion price of a series of convertible preferred stock because the holders of the preferred stock would effectively be entitled to purchase common stock at the lower conversion price, causing economic dilution to the holders of common stock.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile and this may adversely affect our stockholders.

The price at which our common stock trades may be volatile. The stock market has recently experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices of all securities, including securities of companies like us. The market price of our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:

• we have a relatively small base of registered shares of common stock that could result in significant stock price movements upward or downward based on low levels of trading volume in our common stock;

• future sales of common stock or debt or the perception that sales could occur;

• developments relating to the occurrence of risks impacting our company, including any of the risk factors set forth herein; or

In addition, the stock market in general has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies in our industry. These broad market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, securities class-action litigation has often been brought against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their respective securities. We may become involved in this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type is often expensive to defend and may divert our management team’s attention as well as resources from the operation of our business.

We have a material amount of goodwill which, if it becomes impaired, would result in a reduction in our net income.

Goodwill represents the amount by which the cost of an acquisition accounted for using the purchase method exceeds the fair value of the net assets acquired. Current accounting standards require that goodwill be periodically evaluated for impairment based on the fair value of the reporting unit. As of December 31, 2021 approximately 15% of our total assets represents goodwill. Declines in our profitability or the value of comparable companies may impact the fair value of our reporting units, which could result in a write-down of goodwill and a reduction in net income.

Restrictions in our ability to utilize income tax loss carry forwards have occurred in the past due to the application of certain changes in ownership tax rules in the United States. There is no certainty that the application of these rules may not recur. In addition, further restrictions of, reductions in, or expiration of net operating loss and net capital loss carry forwards may occur through future merger, acquisition and/or disposition transactions or through failure to continue a significant level of business activities. Any such additional limitations could require us to pay income taxes in the future and record an income tax expense to the extent of such liability. We could be liable for income taxes on an overall basis while having unutilized tax loss carry forwards since these losses may be applicable to one jurisdiction and/or particular line of business while earnings may be applicable to a different jurisdiction and/or line of business. Additionally, income tax loss carry forwards may expire before we have the ability to utilize such losses in a particular jurisdiction and there is no certainty that current income tax rates will remain in effect at the time when we have the opportunity to utilize reported tax loss carry forwards. Thus, any net operating loss arising in a taxable year ending before January 1, 2018 may only be carried forward for 20 taxable years following the taxable year of such loss. Any net operating loss arising in a taxable year ending on or after January 1, 2018 can be carried forward indefinitely. In addition, any net operating loss deduction with respect to a net operating loss arising in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017 is limited to 80% of our taxable income in the year in which deduction is taken.

We have not declared any dividends on our common stock to date and have no expectation of doing so in the foreseeable future.

The payment of cash dividends on our common stock rests within the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend, among other things, upon our earnings, unencumbered cash, capital requirements and our financial condition, as well as other relevant factors. To date, we have not paid dividends on our common stock nor do we anticipate that we will pay dividends in the foreseeable future. As of December 31, 2021, we do not have any preferred stock outstanding that has any preferential dividends.

Our executive officers, directors and their affiliates hold a large percentage of our common stock and their interests may differ from other stockholders.

Our executive officers, directors and their affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, 11.3% of our common stock as of March 1, 2022. If they were to act together, these stockholders would have significant influence over most matters requiring approval by stockholders, including the election of directors, any amendments to our Articles of Incorporation and certain significant corporate transactions, including potential merger or acquisition transactions. In addition, without the consent of these stockholders, we could be delayed or prevented from entering into transactions that could be beneficial to us or our other investors. These stockholders may take these actions even if they are opposed by our other investors.

There is a limited public trading market for our common stock. Our stock price could be extremely volatile and may decline substantially from the public offering price. As a result, you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you paid for them.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) and has a limited public trading market in the United States. Without an active trading market, there can be no assurance regarding the liquidity or resale value of the common stock. In addition, the market price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be,

volatile. Such price fluctuations may be affected by general market price movements or by reasons unrelated to our operating performance or prospects such as, among other things, announcements concerning us or our competitors, technological innovations, government regulations, and litigation concerning proprietary rights or other matters. Volatility in the market price of our common stock, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, may prevent a holder of our common stock from being able to sell their shares at or above the price paid for the shares and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock. Holders of our common stock may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of their stock, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance or prospects, and a holder of our common stock could lose part or all of their investment. The price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors.

We could be delisted from Nasdaq, which could seriously harm the liquidity of our stock and our ability to raise capital.

Our common stock is currently listed on Nasdaq, which has qualitative and quantitative listing criteria. However, we cannot assure you that our common stock will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future. In order to continue listing our common stock on Nasdaq, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity and a minimum number of holders of our common stock.

• We may have to pursue trading on a less recognized or accepted market, such as the OTC Bulletin Board or the “pink sheets.”

• The trading price of our common stock could suffer, including an increased spread between the “bid” and “asked” prices quoted by market makers.

• Shares of our common stock could be less liquid and marketable, thereby reducing the ability of stockholders to purchase or sell our shares as quickly and as inexpensively as they have done historically. If our stock is traded as a “penny stock,” transactions in our stock would be more difficult and cumbersome.

• We may be unable to access capital on favorable terms or at all, as companies trading on alternative markets may be viewed as less attractive investments with higher associated risks, such that existing or prospective institutional investors may be less interested in, or prohibited from, investing in our common stock. This may also cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

The financial reporting obligations of being a public company in the United States are expensive and time consuming and place significant additional demands on our management.

The obligations of being a public company in the United States place additional demands on our management and require significant expenditures, including costs resulting from public company reporting obligations under the Exchange Act; the rules and regulations regarding corporate governance practices, including those under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; and the listing requirements for Nasdaq. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to ensure that we comply with these requirements. Moreover, despite reforms made possible by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, the reporting requirements, rules, and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly, particularly if we were No longer to qualify as a smaller reporting company. Any changes that we make to comply with these obligations may not be sufficient to allow us to satisfy our obligations as a public company on a timely basis, or at all.

These rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These factors also could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors, particularly to serve on our Audit Committee and Compensation Committee, or as executive officers.

We lease or rent office space in several locations in the United States. The principal locations are San Diego, CA and Hayward, CA, which are related to HGP’s operations, and Edwardsville, IL, which is related to NLEX’s operations. The Edwardsville office is leased from a related party, as discussed in Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements. On August 23, 2021, in connection with the ALT acquisition we acquired the warehouse and office space used in ALT’s business located in East Lyme, CT, as discussed in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements.

We are involved in various legal matters arising out of our operations in the normal course of business, none of which are expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Shares of our common stock, $0.01 par value per share, are quoted under the symbol “HGBL” on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

As of March 1, 2022, we had approximately 340 holders of common stock of record.

To date, we have not paid dividends on our common stock nor do we anticipate that we will pay dividends in the foreseeable future. As of December 31, 2021, we do not have any preferred stock outstanding which has any preferential dividends.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities.

On March 10, 2021, the Company issued 12,019 shares of common stock to certain accredited personnel pursuant to the exercise of stock options. We issued an additional 10,347 shares of common stock on May 17, 2021 to certain accredited personnel pursuant to the exercise of stock options. These securities were issued in reliance on the exemptions set forth in Rule 506(b) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Act”), as amended and Section 4(a)(2) of the Act, respectively.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto, included in “Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules” of this Report. Our accounting policies have the potential to significantly impact our financial statements, either because of the significance of the financial statement item to which they relate, or because they require judgment and estimation due to the uncertainty involved in measuring, at a specific point in time, events that are continuous in nature.

Please see “Item 1. Business” of this Report for an overview of our business and recent developments. Please see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Report for a discussion of the risk factors that may impact our current and future operations, and financial condition.

At December 31, 2021, we had working capital of $9.1 million, as compared to working capital of $13.0 million at December 31, 2020, a decrease of $3.9 million.

On October 6, 2020, we completed a public offering (the “2020 Public Offering”) of 5,462,500 shares of our common stock, at a public offering price of $1.75 per share, which included a full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 712,500 additional shares of common stock from us. We received approximately $8.7 million of net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, but before offering expenses. During 2021, we deployed proceeds to fund the ALT acquisition, as well as various principal transactions in both our Financial Assets and Industrial Assets Divisions.

Our current assets decreased to $23.3 million at December 31, 2021 compared to $27.0 million at December 31, 2020. The most significant change was a decrease in cash of $9.8 million offset primarily by an increase in inventory of $3.0 million, and further offset by an aggregate increase in receivables and other current assets of $3.1 million.

Our current liabilities increased to $14.2 million at December 31, 2021 as compared to $14.0 million at December 31, 2020. The increase of $0.2 million is primarily due to an increase in the current portion of third party debt of $2.5 million offset by a decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $2.4 million.

We believe we can fund our operations and our debt service obligations during 2022 and beyond through a combination of cash flows from our on-going asset liquidation operations, proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock completed in October 2020, and accessing financing from our existing line of credit.

Our indebtedness consists of a promissory note dated August 23, 2021 (the “ALT Note”) issued in the amount of $2.0 million as part of the aggregate purchase price paid to acquire certain assets and liabilities of American Laboratory Trading, as well as any amounts borrowed under our Credit Facility. We are required to pay off the ALT Note in 48 equal installments of approximately $44,000 with an interest rate of 3% per annum and a maturity date of August 23, 2025. On May 5, 2021, we entered into a secured promissory note, business loan agreement, commercial security agreement and agreement to provide insurance (the “Credit Facility”) with C3bank, National Association for a $10.0 million revolving line of credit. The Credit Facility matures on May 7, 2023 and replaces our previous credit facility with C3bank of $5.0 million, which matured on April 5, 2021. We are permitted to use the proceeds of the loan solely for our business operations. As of December 31, 2021, we had an outstanding balance of $1.9 million on the Credit Facility.

During 2021, our primary sources of cash were the operations of our asset liquidation business and proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock completed in October 2020. Cash disbursements during 2020 consisted primarily of settlement of auction proceeds, lending activity under our new specialty finance unit of HGC, debt repayment, purchases of inventory and payment of operating expenses.

We expect that our asset liquidation business will continue to be the primary source of cash required for ongoing operations for the foreseeable future.

At December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had stockholders’ equity of $32.6 million and $29.9 million, respectively.

We determine our future capital and operating requirements based upon our current and projected operating performance and contractual commitments. We expect to be able to finance our future operations through a combination of our asset liquidation business, our Credit Facility and securing additional debt financing if needed. Our contractual requirements are limited to the outstanding debt and lease commitments with related and unrelated parties. Capital requirements are generally limited to our purchases of surplus and distressed assets and our lending activity under our specialty finance unit of HGC. We believe that our current capital resources, including available borrowing capacity from our Credit Facility, are sufficient for these requirements. In the event additional capital is needed, we believe we can obtain additional debt financing through either capital partners or a new credit facility.

Cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2021 were $13.6 million compared to $23.4 million at December 31, 2020.

Cash (used in) provided by operating activities. Cash used in operations was $2.6 million during 2021 as compared to cash provided by operating activities of $9.1 million during 2020. The approximate $11.8 million change was primarily attributable to a change of $13.3 million in operating assets and liabilities during 2021 as compared to 2020. The amount was further attributable to a change in net income adjusted for noncash items, which was $1.5 million higher during 2021 as compared to 2020.

The significant changes in operating assets and liabilities during 2021 as compared to 2020 are primarily due to the nature of our operations. We earn revenue from discrete asset liquidation deals that vary considerably with respect to their magnitude and timing, and that can consist of fees, commissions, asset sale proceeds, or a combination of all. The operating assets and liabilities associated with such transactions are therefore subject to the same variability and can be different at the end of any given period.

Cash (used in) provided by investing activities. Cash used in investing activities during 2021 was $10.2 million, as compared to cash provided by investing activities of $4.5 million during 2020. The approximate $14.7 million change was in part attributable to the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of American Laboratory Trading for $4.3 million, and real estate used in American Laboratory Trading’s business for $1.4 million in 2021. The remaining change of $9.0 million is primarily attributable to a decrease in cash distributions from our equity method investments of $5.1 million, as compared to distributions in 2020, and an increase of lending activity in our specialty financing division in 2021 of approximately $3.9 million.

Cash provided by financing activities. Cash provided by financing activities was $3.1 million during 2021, as compared to cash provided by financing activities of $7.0 million during 2020. The 2021 activity consisted primarily of $2.0 million in proceeds from the issuance of the ALT Note as part of the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of American Laboratory Trading, and draws on our Credit Facility of $3.2 million, offset by aggregate repayments of debt payable to third parties of $1.4 million and payments of tax withholdings related to cashless exercises of stock option awards of $1.0 million. Financing activities during 2020 consisted of draws on our previous credit facility with C3bank of $5.6 million, offset by aggregate repayments of debt payable to third parties of $6.1 million, and $7.5 million in net proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock completed in October 2020.

The following table summarizes our consolidated results of operations for 2021 and 2020 (in thousands).

Our asset liquidation revenue has several components: (1) traditional fee based asset disposition services, such as commissions from on-line and webcast auctions, liquidations and negotiated sales, and commissions from the NLEX charged-off receivables business, (2) the acquisition and subsequent disposition of distressed and surplus assets, including industrial machinery and equipment and real estate, and (3) fees earned for appraisal, management advisory services and specialty financing services.

The Company reports segment information based on the “management” approach. The management approach designates the internal reporting used by management for making decisions and assessing performance as the source of the Company’s reportable segments. The Company manages its business primarily on differentiated revenue streams for services offered. The Company’s reportable segments consist of the Industrial Asset Division and Financial Assets Division. Our Industrial Assets division advises enterprise and financial customers on the sale of industrial assets mostly from surplus and sometimes distressed circumstances while acting as an agent, guarantor or principal in the sale. Our Financial Assets division provides liquidity to issuers of consumer credit that are looking to monetize nonperforming and charged-off loans — loans that creditors have written off as uncollectable. Nonperforming and charged-off loans typically originate from banks that issue unsecured consumer credit.

The Company evaluates the performance of its reportable segments based primarily on net operating income. Further, the Company does not utilize segmented asset information to evaluate the performance of its reportable segments and does not include intercompany transfers between segments for management reporting purposes.

The following table sets forth certain financial information for the Company's reportable segments (in thousands):

Revenues and cost of revenues – Revenues were $25.8 million in 2021 as compared to $26.2 million in 2020 and costs of services revenue and asset sales were $7.4 million in 2021 compared to $9.1 million in 2020. The gross profits were therefore $18.4 million in 2021 compared to $17.1 million in 2020, an increase of approximately $1.3 million or approximately 8%. The increased gross profit in the current year reflects the vagaries of the timing and magnitude of asset liquidation transactions.

Selling, general and administrative expense – Selling, general and administrative expense was $14.8 million in 2021 as compared to $14.4 million in 2020, an increase of $0.4 million or 3%. The overall increase was primarily due to additional expenses of $1.1 million related to the acquisition of ALT and an increase of $0.3 in compensation related to the Separation Agreement. These increases were offset by the employee retention credit, ("ERC") of $0.6 million and decreased compensation expense of $0.4 million based on declined performance in our NLEX division.

Significant components of selling, general and administrative expense were as shown below (dollars in thousands):

Depreciation and amortization expense – Depreciation and amortization expense in the years ended 2021 and 2020 was $0.5 million and $0.4 million respectively, and consisted almost entirely of amortization expense related to intangible assets. In both years the depreciation of property, plant and equipment was not material.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements – We had no off-balance sheet arrangements during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

We monitor a number of financial and non-financial measures on a regular basis in order to track our underlying operational performance and trends. Other than the operating income of our liquidation business (a GAAP financial measure as shown in our consolidated income statements), which we believe is the most important measure of our operational performance and trends, we believe that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP financial measures) are key performance indicators (“KPIs”) for our business. These KPIs may not be defined or calculated in the same way as similar KPIs used by other companies.

We prepared our audited consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. We define EBITDA as net income plus depreciation and amortization, interest and other expense, and provision for income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA reflects EBITDA adjusted further to eliminate the effects of stock-based compensation and impairment of goodwill. Management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in assessing the Company’s results, evaluating the Company’s performance and in reaching operating and strategic decisions. Management believes that the presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, when considered together with our GAAP financial statements and the reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, is useful in providing investors a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting the underlying performance of the Company on a historical and ongoing basis. Our use of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is not meant to be, and should not be, considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, any GAAP financial measure. You should carefully

evaluate the financial information below, which reconciles our GAAP reported net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented (in thousands).

In 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”), which simplifies the accounting for income taxes. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. ASU 2019-12 became effective January 1, 2021 and did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (“ASU 2016-13”), which applies a current expected credit loss model which is a new impairment model based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. The expected credit losses, and subsequent adjustments to such losses, will be recorded through an allowance account that is deducted from, or added to, the amortized cost basis of the financial asset, with the net carrying value of the financial asset presented on the consolidated balance sheet at the amount expected to be collected. ASU 2016-13 eliminates the current accounting model for loans and debt securities acquired with deteriorated credit quality under ASC Topic 310-30, Receivables – Loans and Debt Securities Acquired with Deteriorated Credit Quality, which provides authoritative guidance for the accounting of our notes receivable. With respect to smaller reporting companies, the amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We are currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Management bases its estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Significant estimates include the assessment of collectability of revenue recognized, and the valuation of accounts receivable and notes receivable, inventory, investments, goodwill and intangible assets, liabilities, deferred income tax assets and liabilities including projecting future years’ taxable income, and stock-based compensation. These estimates have the potential to significantly impact our consolidated financial statements, either because of the significance of the financial statement item to which they relate, or because they require judgment and

estimation due to the uncertainty involved in measuring, at a specific point in time, events that are continuous in nature.

In 2018, we adopted the accounting standard ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) to all contracts using the modified retrospective method.

Services revenue generally consists of commissions and fees from providing auction services, appraisals, brokering of sales transactions, secured lending and providing merger and acquisition advisory services. Asset sales revenue generally consists of proceeds obtained through sales of purchased assets. Revenue is recognized for both services revenue and asset sales revenue based on the ASC 606 standard recognition model, which consists of the following: (1) an agreement exists between two or more parties that creates enforceable rights and obligations, (2) the performance obligations are clearly identified, (3) the transaction price has been determined, (4) the transaction price has been properly allocated to each performance obligation, and (5) the entity satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a promised good or service to a customer for each of the entities.

All services and asset sales revenue from contracts with customers is considered to be within the asset liquidation business, which consists of two reportable segments, the Industrial Assets Division and the Financial Assets Division. Generally, revenue is recognized in the asset liquidation business at the point in time in which the performance obligation has been satisfied and full consideration is received. The exception to recognition at this point in time occurs when certain contracts provide for advance payments recognized over a period of time. Services revenue recognized over a period of time is not material in comparison to total revenues (less than 1% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021), and therefore not reported on a disaggregated basis. Further, as certain contracts stipulate that the customer make advance payments, amounts not recognized within the reporting period are considered deferred revenue and our “contract liability”. As of December 31, 2021, the deferred revenue balance was $0.5 million. The deferred revenue balance is primarily related to customer deposits on ALT asset sales. We record receivables related to asset liquidation in certain situations based on timing of payments for asset liquidation transactions held at the end of the reporting period; however, revenue is generally recognized in the period that we satisfy the performance obligation and cash is collected. We do not record a “contract asset” for partially satisfied performance obligations.

We evaluate revenue from asset liquidation transactions in accordance with the accounting guidance to determine whether to report such revenue on a gross or net basis. We have determined that we act as an agent for our fee based asset liquidation transactions and therefore we report the revenue from transactions in which we act as an agent on a net basis.

We also earn asset liquidation income through asset liquidation transactions that involve us acting jointly with one or more additional purchasers, pursuant to a partnership, joint venture or limited liability company agreement (collectively, “Joint Ventures”). For these transactions, in which our ownership share meets the criteria for the equity method investments under ASC Topic 323 – Equity Method and Joint Ventures (“ASC 323”), we do not record asset liquidation revenue or expense. Instead, our proportionate share of the net income (loss) is reported as earnings of equity method investments. In general, the Joint Ventures apply the same revenue recognition and other accounting policies as the Company.

In 2019, we began providing specialty financing solutions to investors in charged-off and nonperforming asset portfolios. Fees collected in relation to the issuance of loans includes loan origination fees, interest income, portfolio monitoring fees, and a backend profit share percentage related to the underlying asset portfolio.

The loan origination fees are offset with any direct origination costs and are deferred upon issuance of the loan and amortized over the lives of the related loans, as an adjustment to interest income. The interest method is used to arrive at a periodic interest cost (including amortization) that will represent a level effective rate on the sum of the face amount of the debt and (plus or minus) the unamortized premium or discount and expense at the beginning of each period.

The monitoring fees and the backend profit share are considered a separate earnings process as compared to the origination fees and interest income. Monitoring fees are recorded at the agreed upon rate, and at the moment in which payments are made by the borrower. The backend profit share is recognized in accordance with the agreed upon rate at the time in which the amount is realizable and earned. The recognition policy was established due to the uncertainty of timing of the amount of backend profit share which will be realized, and the lack of historical precedence as we started in this business in 2019.

During 2021 and 2020 we generated revenues specific to one customer representing 8% and 10% of total revenues respectively.

Cost of services revenue generally includes the direct costs associated with generating commissions and fees from our auction and appraisal services, merger and acquisition advisory services, and brokering of charged-off receivable portfolios. We generally recognize these expenses in the period in which the revenue they relate to is recorded. Cost of asset sales generally includes the cost of purchased inventory and the related direct costs of selling inventory. We recognize these expenses in the period in which title to the inventory passes to the buyer and the buyer assumes the risk and reward of the inventory.

Our accounts receivable primarily relate to the operations of our asset liquidation business. They generally consist of three major categories: fees, commissions and retainers relating to appraisals and auctions, receivables from asset sales, and receivables from Joint Venture partners. The initial value of an account receivable corresponds to the fair value of the underlying goods or services. To date, a majority of the receivables have been classified as current and, due to their short-term nature, any decline in fair value would be due to issues involving collectability. At each financial statement date the collectability of each outstanding account receivable is evaluated, and an allowance is recorded if the book value exceeds the amount that is deemed collectable. See Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements for more detail regarding our accounts receivable.

Our notes receivable balance consists of loans to buyers of charged-off receivable portfolios, which is considered the only loan category or segment to be reported under the applicable accounting guidance. These loans are measured at historical costs and reported at their outstanding principal balances net of any unamortized deferred fees and costs on originated loans. Loan origination fees and certain direct origination costs are deferred and recognized as adjustments to interest income over the lives of the related loans.

As of December 31, 2021, we have not recorded an allowance for credit losses related to notes receivable outstanding. In order to evaluate the need for an adjustment to the receivable balance related to credit losses, or impairment, we perform a review of all outstanding loan receivables on a quarterly basis to determine if any indicators exist that suggest the loan will not be fully recoverable.

Our inventory consists of assets acquired for resale. Machinery and equipment inventory is classified as current, and historically is sold within a one-year operating cycle. Real estate inventory is generally classified as non-current due to uncertainties relating to the timing of resale. All inventory is recorded at the lower of cost or net realizable value. There is a risk that assets acquired for resale may be subsequently sold for less than their cost, or may remain unsold. Historically, the assets’ selling prices have generally been in excess of their cost.

credit against certain employment taxes. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 extended and expanded the availability of the ERC.

As an employer that carried on a trade or business during calendar year 2020 and whose gross receipts were less than 80% in relation to comparable periods in 2019, we are eligible for the refundable ERC under the Cares Act for the quarters ended June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

As we have incurred certain employment taxes during 2021 and have yet to receive the refundable ERC, we have accounted for the credit as a loss recovery under ASC Topic 410, Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations (by analogy), which indicates that a claim for recovery should be recognized only when the claim is probable as it is defined in ASC Topic 450, Contingencies. We have determined that the claim is in alignment with applicable regulatory criteria, the amounts are known and realizable, and refundable ERC is probable. Accordingly, and for the year ended December 31, 2021, we have recorded a $0.6 million receivable classified in other current assets on our consolidated balance sheet and a corresponding reduction to payroll tax expense within Selling, general and administrative expense on our consolidated statement of income.

As noted above, we conduct a portion of our asset liquidation business through Joint Ventures. Transactions in which our ownership share meets the criteria for the equity method investments under ASC 323 are accounted for using the equity method of accounting whereby our proportionate share of the Joint Venture’s net income (loss) is reported in the consolidated income statement as earnings of equity method investments. At the balance sheet date, our investments in these Joint Ventures are reported in the consolidated balance sheet as equity method investments. We monitor the value of each Joint Ventures’ underlying assets and liabilities, and record a write down of our investments should we conclude that there has been a decline in the value of the net assets. Given that the underlying transactions are identical, in all material aspects, to asset liquidation transactions that we undertake independently, the net assets are similarly expected to be sold within a one-year operating cycle. However, these investments have historically been classified as non-current in our consolidated financial statements due to the uncertainties relating to the timing of resale of the underlying assets as a result of the Joint Venture relationship. See Note 2 and Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements for further detail.

Acquisitions are accounted for under ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations (“ASC 805”), which requires that assets acquired and liabilities assumed that are deemed to be a business are recorded based on their respective acquisition date fair values. ASC 805 further requires that separately identifiable intangible assets be recorded at their acquisition date fair values and that the excess of consideration paid over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed (including identifiable intangible assets) should be recorded as goodwill. In August 2021 we acquired American Laboratory Trading ("ALT") for approximately $5.6 million. Our purchase price allocation was based on an evaluation of the appropriate fair values and represents management's best estimate. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements for further detail.

Intangible assets are recorded at fair value upon acquisition. Those with an estimated useful life are amortized, and those with an indefinite useful life are unamortized. Subsequent to acquisition, we monitor events and changes in circumstances that require an assessment of intangible asset recoverability. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are assessed at least annually to determine both if they remain indefinite-lived and if they are impaired. We assess whether or not there have been any events or changes in circumstances that suggest the value of the asset may not be recoverable. Amortized intangible assets are not tested annually, but are assessed when events and changes in circumstances suggest the assets may be impaired. If an assessment determines that the carrying amount of any intangible asset is not recoverable, an impairment loss is recognized in the income statement, determined by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to its fair value. All of our identifiable intangible assets at December 31, 2021 have been acquired as part of the acquisitions of HGP in 2012, NLEX in 2014 and ALT in 2021, and are discussed in more detail in Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements. No impairment charges were necessary during 2021.

Goodwill, which results from the difference between the purchase price and the fair value of net identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired in a business combination, is not amortized, but is tested at least annually for impairment. We perform our annual impairment test on October 1. In testing goodwill, we initially use a qualitative approach and analyze relevant factors to determine if events and circumstances have affected the value of the goodwill. If the result of this qualitative analysis indicates that the value has been impaired, we then apply a quantitative approach to calculate the difference between the goodwill’s recorded value and its fair value. An impairment loss is recognized to the extent that the recorded value exceeds its fair value. Goodwill, in addition to being tested for impairment annually, is tested for impairment at interim periods if an event occurs or circumstances change such that it is more likely than not that the carrying amount of goodwill may be impaired.

All of our goodwill relates to our acquisitions of HGP in 2012, NLEX in 2014 and ALT in 2021, and is discussed in more detail in Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements.

Future impairment of our intangible assets and goodwill could result from changes in assumptions, estimates or circumstances, some of which are beyond our control. The most significant items that could impact our business and result in an impairment charge are outlined in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Report.

We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the amounts at which they are carried in the financial statements, based upon the enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. We periodically assess the value of our deferred tax assets, which have been generated by a history of net operating and net capital losses, and determine the necessity for a valuation allowance that will reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. We evaluate which portion of the deferred tax assets, if any, will more likely than not be realized by offsetting future taxable income, taking into consideration any limitations that may exist on our use of our net operating and net capital loss carryforwards. In 2020 we recorded a reduction to the valuation allowance resulting in a net deferred tax asset balance of approximately $4.4 million as we believe that it is more likely than not that some of our net operating loss carryforwards will be utilized. For further discussion of our income taxes, see Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements.

We are involved from time to time in various legal matters arising out of our operations in the normal course of business. On a case by case basis, we evaluate the likelihood of possible outcomes for these contingent matters. Based on this evaluation, we determine whether a loss accrual is appropriate. If the likelihood of a negative outcome is probable, and the amount can be estimated, we accrue the estimated loss in the current period. Refer to Note 16 to our consolidated financial statements for further detail.

Our stock-based compensation is primarily in the form of options to purchase common shares. The fair value of stock options is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The determination of the fair value of our stock options is based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the price of our common stock, the expected volatility of the stock price over the expected life of the award and expected exercise behavior. The fair value of the awards is subsequently expensed over the vesting period, net of estimated forfeitures. The provisions of our stock-based compensation plans do not require that we settle any options by transferring cash or other assets, and therefore we classify the option awards as equity. See Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our stock-based compensation.

As a Smaller Reporting Company, we are electing scaled reporting obligations and therefore are not required to provide the information requested by this Item.

Our consolidated financial statements required by this Item are included herein, commencing on page F-1.

Item 9. Changes In and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, we had no disagreements with our auditors and no reportable events.

As of the end of the period covered by this Report, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer (the “Certifying Officers”), we conducted an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures. As defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act, the term “disclosure controls and procedures” means controls and other procedures of an issuer that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer’s management, including the Certifying Officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on this evaluation, the Certifying Officers have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2021.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, in accordance with Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the Certifying Officers, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures are being made by us only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Based on its assessment using these criteria, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

The information required by this Item regarding the identity and business experience of our directors and executive officers is set forth under the heading “Election of Class I Directors” in the definitive proxy materials of Heritage Global Inc. to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders with respect to our directors and is set forth under the heading “Information About Our Executive Officers” in the definitive proxy materials to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as well as in Item 1 of Part I of this Report with respect to our executive officers. The information required by this Item contained in such definitive proxy materials is incorporated herein by reference.

Information on the beneficial ownership reporting for our directors and executive officers required by this Item is contained under the caption “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” in the definitive proxy materials to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.

Information on our Audit and Corporate Governance Committee and Audit Committee Financial Experts required by this Item is contained under the caption “Corporate Governance” in the definitive proxy materials to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.

HGI has adopted a code of ethics that applies to our employees, including its principal executive, financial and accounting officers or persons performing similar functions. The HGI Code of Conduct (the “Code”) can be found on our website at http://www. hginc.com/governance-documents/, or a copy of the Code can be requested, free of charge, by writing to the following address: Heritage Global Inc., 12625 High Bluff Drive, Suite 305, San Diego, California 92130, Attention: Investor Relations. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirements under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding any amendments to, or waivers from, a provision of the Code that applies to our principal executive, financial and accounting officers or persons performing similar functions by posting such information on its website at the website address set forth above. The information provided on our website is not part of this report, and is therefore not incorporated by reference unless such information is specifically referenced elsewhere in this report.

The information required by this Item is set forth under the headings “Executive Compensation” and “Compensation Committee” in the definitive proxy materials to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

Information about security ownership of certain beneficial owners required by this Item is set forth under the heading “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in the definitive proxy materials to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

The information required by this Item is set forth under the headings “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” and “Corporate Governance” in the definitive proxy materials to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this Item is set forth under the heading “Ratification of Appointment of Independent Auditor” in the definitive proxy materials to be filed in connection with our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

Report of Baker Tilly US, LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 23)

Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

These schedules are omitted because they are not required, or are not applicable, or the required information is shown in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

* Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan required to be filed as an exhibit.

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Heritage Global, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the years then ended, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (collectively, the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

As described in Notes 2 and 14 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the amounts at which they are carried in the financial statements, based upon the enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company establishes a valuation allowance when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.We identified the deferred tax assets as a critical audit matter due to the valuation allowance assessment which represents a significant estimate with a high degree of subjectivity.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:

As described in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company accounted for the American Laboratory Trading acquisition as a business combination and allocated the purchase price amongst the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Auditing the accounting for the acquisition was complex due to the significant estimation uncertainty in determining the fair values of identified intangible assets and liabilities.

We identified the valuation of intangible assets recorded in connection with the acquisition as a critical audit matter. The fair value estimates were based on underlying assumptions about future performance of the acquired business which involves significant estimation uncertainty.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:

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

Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Use of estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Management bases its estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Significant estimates include the assessment of collectability of revenue recognized and the valuation of accounts receivable and notes receivable, inventory, investments, goodwill and intangible assets, liabilities, deferred income tax assets and liabilities including projecting future years’ taxable income, and stock-based compensation. These estimates have the potential to significantly impact our consolidated financial statements, either because of the significance of the financial statement item to which they relate, or because they require judgment and estimation due to the uncertainty involved in measuring, at a specific point in time, events that are continuous in nature.

Foreign Currency

The functional currency of foreign operations is deemed to be the local country’s currency. Assets and liabilities of operations outside of the United States are generally translated into U.S. dollars, and the effects of foreign currency translation adjustments are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income.

Reclassifications

Certain prior year balances within the consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.

Nature of Business

The Company earns revenue both from commission or fee-based services, and from the sale of distressed or surplus assets. With respect to the former, revenue is recognized as the services are provided. With respect to the latter, the majority of the asset sale transactions are conducted directly by the Company and the revenue is recognized in the period in which the asset is sold. Fee based revenue is reported as services revenue, and the associated direct costs are reported as cost of services revenue. At the balance sheet date, any unsold assets which the Company owns are reported as inventory, any outstanding accounts receivable are included in the Company’s accounts receivable, and any associated liabilities are included in the Company’s accrued liabilities. Equipment inventory is expected to be sold within a year and is therefore classified as a current asset.

The remaining asset sale transactions involve the Company acting jointly with one or more additional purchasers, pursuant to a partnership, joint venture or limited liability company agreement (collectively, “Joint Ventures”). Transactions in which the Company’s ownership share meets the criteria for the equity method investments under ASC Topic 323 – Equity Method and Joint Ventures (“ASC 323”), are accounted for as equity method investments, and, accordingly, the Company’s proportionate share of the net income (loss) is reported as earnings of equity method investments. At each balance sheet date, the Company’s investments in these Joint Ventures are reported in the consolidated balance sheet as equity method investments. Although the Company generally expects to exit each of its investments in Joint Ventures in less than one year, they are classified on the balance sheet as non-current assets due to the uncertainties relating to the timing of resale of the underlying assets as a result of the Joint Venture relationship. The Company monitors the value of the Joint Ventures’ underlying assets and liabilities and records a write down of its investments if the Company concludes that there has been a decline in the value of the net assets. As the activity of the Joint Ventures involves asset purchase/resale transactions, which is similar in nature to the Company’s other asset liquidation activities, the earnings (losses) of the Joint Ventures are included in the operating income in the accompanying consolidated income statements.

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Cash and cash equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalents with financial institutions in the United States. These accounts may from time to time exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on such accounts.

Accounts receivable, net

The Company’s accounts receivable primarily relate to the operations of its asset liquidation business. They generally consist of three major categories: (1) fees, commissions and retainers relating to appraisals and auctions, (2) receivables from asset sales, and (3) receivables from Joint Venture partners. The initial value of an account receivable corresponds to the fair value of the underlying goods or services. To date, a majority of the receivables have been classified as current and, due to their short-term nature, any decline in fair value would be due to issues involving collectability. At each financial statement date the collectability of each outstanding account receivable is evaluated, and an allowance is recorded if the book value exceeds the amount that is deemed collectable. See Note 11 for more detail regarding the Company’s accounts receivable.

Notes receivable, net

The Company’s notes receivable balance consists of loans to buyers of charged-off and nonperforming receivable portfolios, which is considered the only loan category or segment to be reported under the applicable accounting guidance. These loans are measured at historical costs and reported at their outstanding principal balances net of any unamortized deferred fees and costs on originated loans. Loan origination fees and certain direct origination costs are deferred and recognized as adjustments to interest income over the lives of the related loans.

As of December 31, 2021, the Company has not recorded an allowance for credit losses related to notes receivable outstanding. In order to evaluate the need for an adjustment to the receivable balance related to credit losses, or impairment, the Company performs a review of all outstanding loan receivables on a quarterly basis to determine if any indicators exist that suggest the loan will not be fully recoverable.

Inventory

The Company’s inventory consists of assets acquired for resale, which are normally expected to be sold within a one-year operating cycle. All inventory is recorded at the lower of cost or net realizable value.

Employee Retention Credit

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was signed into law providing numerous tax provisions and other stimulus measures, including the ERC, which is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 extended and expanded the availability of the ERC.

As an employer that carried on a trade or business during calendar year 2020 and whose gross receipts were less than 80% in relation to comparable periods in 2019, the Company is eligible for the refundable ERC under the Cares Act for the quarters ended June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

As the Company has incurred certain employment taxes during 2021 and have yet to receive the refundable ERC, the Company has accounted for the credit as a loss recovery under ASC Topic 410, Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations (by analogy), which indicates that a claim for recovery should be recognized only when the claim is probable as it is defined in ASC Topic 450, Contingencies. The Company has determined that the claim is in alignment with applicable regulatory criteria, the amounts are known and realizable, and refundable ERC is probable. Accordingly, and for the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded a $0.6 million receivable classified in other current assets on its consolidated balance sheet and a corresponding reduction to payroll tax expense within selling, general and administrative expense on its consolidated statement of income.

F-10

Equity Method Investments

As noted above, we conduct a portion of our asset liquidation business through Joint Ventures. Transactions in which the Company’s ownership share meets the criteria for the equity method investments under ASC Topic 323 are accounted for using the equity method of accounting whereby our proportionate share of the Joint Venture’s net income (loss) is reported in the consolidated income statement as earnings of equity method investments. At the balance sheet date, our investments in these Joint Ventures are reported in the consolidated balance sheet as equity method investments. We monitor the value of each Joint Ventures’ underlying assets and liabilities and record a write down of our investments should we conclude that there has been a decline in the value of the net assets. Given that the underlying transactions are identical, in all material aspects, to asset liquidation transactions that we undertake independently, the net assets are similarly expected to be sold within a one-year operating cycle. However, these investments have historically been classified as non-current in our consolidated financial statements due to the uncertainties relating to the timing of resale of the underlying assets as a result of the Joint Venture relationship. See Note 6 for further detail.

Fair value of financial instruments

The fair value of financial instruments is the amount at which the instruments could be exchanged in a current transaction between willing parties, other than in a forced sale or liquidation. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the carrying values of the Company’s cash, accounts receivable, other assets, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value given the short term nature of these instruments. The Company’s notes receivable and debt obligations approximate fair value as a result of the interest rate on the receivable or debt obligation approximating prevailing market rates.

There are three levels within the fair value hierarchy: Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2 – significant other observable inputs; and Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had no material financial instruments requiring fair value measurement.

Business combinations

Acquisitions are accounted for under ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations (“ASC 805”), which requires that assets acquired and liabilities assumed that are deemed to be a business are recorded based on their respective acquisition date fair values. ASC 805 further requires that separately identifiable intangible assets be recorded at their acquisition date fair values and that the excess of consideration paid over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed (including identifiable intangible assets) should be recorded as goodwill. In August 2021 the Company acquired American Laboratory Trading ("ALT") for approximately $5.6 million. The Company's purchase price allocation was based on an evaluation of the appropriate fair values and represents management's best estimate. See Note 3 for further detail.

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are recorded at fair value upon acquisition. Those with an estimated useful life are amortized, and those with an indefinite useful life are unamortized. Subsequent to acquisition, the Company monitors events and changes in circumstances that require an assessment of intangible asset recoverability. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are assessed at least annually to determine both if they remain indefinite-lived and if they are impaired. The Company assesses whether or not there have been any events or changes in circumstances that suggest the value of the asset may not be recoverable. Amortized intangible assets are not tested annually, but are assessed when events and changes in circumstances suggest the assets may be impaired. If an assessment determines that the carrying amount of any intangible asset is not recoverable, an impairment loss is recognized in the income statement, determined by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to its fair value. All of the Company’s identifiable intangible assets at December 31, 2021 have been acquired as part of the acquisitions of HGP in 2012, NLEX in 2014 and ALT in 2021, and are discussed in more detail in Note 10. No impairment charges were necessary during 2021.

Goodwill

F-11

tested at least annually for impairment. The Company performs its annual impairment test as of October 1. In testing goodwill, the Company initially uses a qualitative approach and analyzes relevant factors to determine if events and circumstances have affected the value of the goodwill. If the result of this qualitative analysis indicates that the value has been impaired, the Company then applies a quantitative approach to calculate the difference between the goodwill’s recorded value and its fair value. An impairment loss is recognized to the extent that the recorded value exceeds its fair value. Goodwill, in addition to being tested for impairment annually, is tested for impairment at interim periods if an event occurs or circumstances change such that it is more likely than not that the carrying amount of goodwill may be impaired.

All of the Company’s goodwill relates to its acquisitions of HGP in 2012, NLEX in 2014 and ALT in 2021, and is discussed in more detail in Note 10.

Deferred income taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the amounts at which they are carried in the financial statements, based upon the enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company establishes a valuation allowance when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. In 2014, as a result of incurring losses in previous years, the Company recorded a valuation allowance against all of its net deferred tax assets. In 2020 the Company recorded a reduction to the valuation allowance resulting in a net deferred tax asset balance of approximately $4.4 million as it is more likely than not that some of our net operating loss carryforwards will be utilized. For further discussion of our income taxes, see Note 14.

Liabilities and contingencies

The Company is involved from time to time in various legal matters arising out of its operations in the normal course of business. On a case by case basis, the Company evaluates the likelihood of possible outcomes for this litigation. Based on this evaluation, the Company determines whether a loss accrual is appropriate. If the likelihood of a negative outcome is probable, and the amount can be reasonably estimated, the Company accounts for the estimated loss in the current period. See Note 16 for further discussion.

Revenue recognition

In 2018, the Company adopted the accounting standard ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) to all contracts using the modified retrospective method.

All services and asset sales revenue from contracts with customers is considered to be within the asset liquidation business, which consists of two reportable segments, the Industrial Assets Division and the Financial Assets Division. Generally, revenue is recognized in the asset liquidation business at the point in time in which the performance obligation has been satisfied and full consideration is received. The exception to recognition at a point in time occurs when certain contracts provide for advance payments recognized over a period of time. Services revenue recognized over a period of time is not material in comparison to total revenues (less than 1% of total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021), and therefore not reported on a disaggregated basis. Further, as certain contracts stipulate that the customer make advance payments, amounts not recognized within the reporting period are considered deferred revenue and the Company’s “contract liability”. As of December 31, 2021, the deferred revenue balance was approximately $0.5 million. The deferred revenue balance is primarily related to customer deposits on ALT asset sales. The Company records receivables related to asset liquidation in certain situations based on timing of payments for asset liquidation transactions held at the end of the reporting period;

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however, revenue is generally recognized in the period that the Company satisfies the performance obligation and cash is collected. The Company does not record a “contract asset” for partially satisfied performance obligations.

The Company evaluates revenue from asset liquidation transactions in accordance with the accounting guidance to determine whether to report such revenue on a gross or net basis. The Company has determined that it acts as an agent for its fee based asset liquidation transactions and therefore reports the revenue from transactions in which the Company acts as an agent on a net basis.

The Company also earns asset liquidation income through asset liquidation transactions that involve the Company acting jointly with one or more additional purchasers, pursuant to a partnership, joint venture or limited liability company (“LLC”) agreement (collectively, “Joint Ventures”). For these transactions, in which the Company’s ownership share meets the criteria for the equity method investments under ASC 323, the Company does not record asset liquidation revenue or expense. Instead, the Company’s proportionate share of the net income (loss) is reported as earnings of equity method investments. In general, the Joint Ventures apply the same revenue recognition and other accounting policies as the Company.

In 2019, the Company began providing specialty financing solutions to investors in charged-off and nonperforming asset portfolios. Fees collected in relation to the issuance of loans includes loan origination fees, interest income, portfolio monitoring fees, and a backend profit share percentage related to the underlying asset portfolio.

During 2021 and 2020 the Company generated revenues specific to one customer representing 8% and 10% of total revenues respectively.

Cost of services revenue and asset sales

Cost of services revenue generally includes the direct costs associated with generating commissions and fees from the Company’s auction and appraisal services, merger and acquisition advisory services, and brokering of charged-off receivable portfolios. The Company recognizes these expenses in the period in which the revenue they relate to is recorded. Cost of asset sales generally includes the cost of purchased inventory and the related direct costs of selling inventory. The Company recognizes these expenses in the period in which title to the inventory passes to the buyer, and the buyer assumes the risk and reward of the inventory.

Stock-based compensation

The Company’s stock-based compensation is primarily in the form of options to purchase common shares. The grant date fair value of stock options is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The determination of the fair value of the Company’s stock options is based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the price of the Company’s common stock, the expected volatility of the stock price over the expected life of the award, and expected exercise behavior. The grant date fair value of the awards is subsequently expensed over the vesting period, net of estimated forfeitures. The provisions of the Company’s stock-based compensation plans do not require the Company to settle any options by transferring cash or other assets, and therefore the Company

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classifies the option awards as equity. See Note 17 for further discussion of the Company’s stock-based compensation.

Advertising

The Company expenses advertising costs in the period in which they are incurred. Advertising and promotion expense included in selling, general and administrative expense for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, was $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

Future accounting pronouncements

In 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (“ASU 2016-13”), which applies a current expected credit loss model which is a new impairment model based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. The expected credit losses, and subsequent adjustments to such losses, will be recorded through an allowance account that is deducted from, or added to, the amortized cost basis of the financial asset, with the net carrying value of the financial asset presented on the consolidated balance sheet at the amount expected to be collected. ASU 2016-13 eliminates the current accounting model for loans and debt securities acquired with deteriorated credit quality under ASC Topic 310-30, Receivables – Loans and Debt Securities Acquired with Deteriorated Credit Quality, which provides authoritative guidance for the accounting of the Company’s notes receivable. With respect to smaller reporting companies, the amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

Note 3 – Business Combinations

The Company has determined that the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of American Laboratory Trading, ("ALT") constitutes a business acquisition as defined by ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations ("ASC 805"). Accordingly, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction were recorded at their estimated acquisition fair values, while transaction costs associated with the acquisition were expensed as incurred pursuant to the purchase method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805. The Company’s purchase price allocation was based on an evaluation of the appropriate fair values and represents management’s best estimate based on available data. Fair values are determined based on the requirements of ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”).

On August 23, 2021, the Company acquired (the “Transaction”) certain assets and liabilities of American Laboratory Trading pursuant to the terms and conditions of an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Asset Purchase Agreement”), dated August 18, 2021, among the Company, American Laboratory Trading and certain individuals named therein. The aggregate purchase price paid to American Laboratory Trading was approximately $5.6 million, consisting of $2.3 million in cash, as adjusted for American Laboratory Trading's working capital, the $2.0 million ALT Note and acquired real property of $1.3 million. The Asset Purchase Agreement contains customary representations and warranties and covenants by each party. The Company and ALT are obligated, subject to certain limitations, to indemnify the other under the Asset Purchase Agreement for losses arising from certain breaches of the Asset Purchase Agreement and for certain other liabilities, subject to applicable limitations set forth in the Asset Purchase Agreement. HGI has guaranteed the obligations of ALT under the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement and the ALT Note.

On August 23, 2021, in connection with the Transaction, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HGI (“RE Purchaser”), acquired the real property used in ALT’s business (the “Property”) pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Real Estate Purchase Agreement” and together with the Purchase Agreement, the “Agreements”),

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dated August 18, 2021, between 12 Colton Road, LLC and RE Purchaser. The purchase price for the Property was $1.3 million. The Real Estate Purchase Agreement contains customary representations and warranties and covenants by each party. The parties to the Real Estate Purchase Agreement are obligated, subject to certain limitations, to indemnify the other under the Real Estate Purchase Agreement for losses arising from certain breaches of the Real Estate Purchase Agreement and other liabilities, subject to applicable limitations set forth in the Real Estate Purchase Agreement.

ALT is a supplier of refurbished lab equipment and a provider of surplus asset services for the life sciences industry. The acquisition enhances the Company’s position in the biotech sector. Acquisition-related costs consisted of external fees for advisory, legal, and other professional services and totaled approximately $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, respectively.

The major classes of assets and liabilities to which the Company has allocated the purchase price were as follows (in thousands):


Accounts receivable	$	410
Inventory - equipment		498
Property, plant and equipment		1,315
Intangible assets		1,800
Goodwill		1,861
Other assets		8
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		(274	)
Purchase price	$	5,618

The $1.8 million of intangible assets are attributable to $1.2 million of vendor relationships that will be amortized over a period of five years and $0.7 million for the American Laboratory Trading trade name, which will be amortized over a period of 20 years. The Company made certain adjustments to the purchase price allocation during the fourth quarter of 2021, which primarily include an increase to separately identifiable intangible assets of $0.4 million and a decrease to the fair value of acquired inventory of $0.6 million.

The excess of the consideration transferred over the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed was recorded as goodwill, which was primarily attributed to increased synergies that are expected to be achieved from the acquisition. Goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes.

The financial results of ALT have been included in the Company's consolidated financial statements since the date of the acquisition and have been reported as part of the Company's Industrial Assets Division.

Unaudited Pro Forma Financial Information

The unaudited pro forma financial information presented in the table below (in thousands) is provided for illustrative purposes only and summarizes the combined results of operations of the Company and ALT. For purposes of this pro forma presentation, the acquisition of ALT is assumed to have occurred on January 1, 2020. The pro forma financial information for all periods presented also includes the estimated business combination accounting effects resulting from this acquisition, notably amortization expense from the acquired intangible assets, interest expense from the ALT Note, and certain other integration related impacts.

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This unaudited pro forma financial information should not be relied upon as being indicative of the historical results that would have been obtained if the acquisition had actually occurred on January 1, 2020, nor of the results of operations that may be obtained in the future.


	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2021		2020
Pro forma revenues	$	29,788	$	32,082
Pro forma net income	$	3,285	$	10,296

Pro forma net income per share - basic	$	0.09	$	0.34
Pro forma net income per share - diluted	$	0.09	$	0.31

Note 6 – Equity Method Investments

In November 2018, CPFH LLC was formed to purchase certain real estate assets among partners in a Joint Venture. The Company’s share of the Joint Venture is 25%. In March 2019, Oak Grove Asset Acquisitions LP was formed for the execution of auction deals with Napier Park, of which the Company holds a 50% share. In March 2020 HGC Origination I LLC and HGC Funding I LLC were formed as joint ventures with a partner for purposes of conducting business relating to the sourcing, origination and funding of loans to debt purchasing clients. The table below details the Company’s Joint Venture revenues and earnings during 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):


	2021			2020
Revenues:
Oak Grove Asset Acquisitions LP	$	5		$	1,129
CPFH LLC		473			15,538
HGC Funding I LLC and Origination I LLC		238			761
Total Revenues	$	716		$	17,428

Operating income:
Oak Grove Asset Acquisitions LP	$	4		$	237
CPFH LLC		(548	)		13,930
HGC Funding I LLC and Origination I LLC		212			689
Total operating (loss) income	$	(332	)	$	14,856

The table below details the summarized components of assets and liabilities, as at December 31, 2021 and 2020, of the Company’s Joint Ventures at those dates (in thousands):


	2021		2020
Assets:
Oak Grove Asset Acquisitions LP	$	—	$	—
CPFH LLC		11,789		10,791
HGC Funding I LLC and Origination I LLC		10,476		—
Total assets	$	22,265	$	10,791

Liabilities:
Oak Grove Asset Acquisitions LP	$	—	$	1
CPFH LLC		6,099		5,374
HGC Funding I LLC and Origination I LLC		—		—
Total liabilities	$	6,099	$	5,375

Note 8 – Leases

The Company leases office and warehouse space primarily in three locations: Del Mar, CA; Hayward, CA; and Edwardsville, IL. In connection with the Burlingame lease termination, which took effect on April 30, 2021, the Company executed a new warehouse lease in Hayward, CA with an effective date of April 1, 2021. As each contract does not meet any of the four criteria of ASC Topic 842, Leases, for financing lease classification, the Company has determined that each lease arrangement should be classified as an operating lease. The right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for each location are as follows (in thousands):


Right-of-use assets:	December 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
Del Mar, CA	$	477	$	613
Hayward, CA		2,064		—
Burlingame, CA		—		99
Edwardsville, IL		153		251
	$	2,694	$	963

Lease liabilities:	December 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
Del Mar, CA	$	506	$	641
Hayward, CA		2,089		—
Burlingame, CA		—		109
Edwardsville, IL		155		253
	$	2,750	$	1,003

The Company’s leases generally do not provide an implicit rate, and, therefore, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rate when measuring operating lease liabilities. The incremental borrowing rate represents an estimate of the interest rate the Company would incur at lease commencement to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments on a collateralized basis over the term of a lease within a particular

F-18

currency environment. The Company used its incremental borrowing rate as of January 1, 2019 for operating leases that commenced prior to that date. As of January 1, 2019, the Company’s incremental borrowing rate was 5.25%. For leases commencing after January 1, 2019, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate at time of commencement. As of April 1, 2021, the Company’s incremental borrowing rate was 4.95%.

Lease expense for these leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. For 2021 and 2020, lease expense was approximately $0.5 million and $0.6 million, respectively. Undiscounted future minimum lease commitments as of December 31, 2021 that have initial or remaining lease terms in excess of one year are as follows (in thousands):


2022	$	612
2023		563
2024		532
2025		396
2026		377
Thereafter		687
Total undiscounted future minimum lease payments		3,167
Less: imputed interest		(417	)
Present value of lease liabilities	$	2,750

Note 10 – Intangible Assets and Goodwill

Intangible assets

The details of identifiable intangible assets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 are shown below (in thousands except for lives):


Amortized Intangible Assets	Original Life (years)		Remaining Life (years)		Carrying Value December 31, 2020		Intangible Assets Acquired		Amortization			Carrying Value December 31, 2021
Customer Relationships (HGP)		12		1.0	$	62	$	—	$	(32	)	$	30
Trade Name (HGP)		14		3.0		513		—		(128	)		386
Customer Relationships (NLEX)		7.6		—		111		—		(110	)		—
Vendor Relationships (ALT)		5		4.7		—		1,150		(77	)		1,073
Trade Name (ALT)		20		19.7		—		650		(11	)		639
Total						686		1,800		(358	)		2,128

Unamortized Intangible Assets
Trade Name (NLEX)	N/A		N/A			2,437		—		—			2,437
Total					$	3,123	$	1,800	$	(358	)	$	4,565

Amortized Intangible Assets	Original Life (years)		Remaining Life (years)		Carrying Value December 31, 2019		Intangible Assets Acquired		Amortization			Carrying Value December 31, 2020
Customer Relationships (HGP)		12		2.0	$	92	$	—	$	(30	)	$	62
Trade Name (HGP)		14		4.0		642		—		(129	)		513
Customer Relationships (NLEX)		7.6		1		221		—		(110	)		111
Total						955		—		(269	)		686

Unamortized Intangible Assets
Trade Name (NLEX)	N/A		N/A			2,437		—		—			2,437
Total					$	3,392	$	—	$	(269	)	$	3,123

Amortization expense during each of 2021 and 2020 was $0.4 million and $0.3 million, respectively. No significant residual value is estimated for these intangible assets.

The Company performed its annual impairment test for the year ended December 31, 2021, in the fourth quarter, and determined that no impairment charges were necessary.

The estimated amortization expense during future years is shown below (in thousands):


Year	Amount
2022	$	421
2023		391
2024		391
2025		262
2026		186
Thereafter		477
Total	$	2,128

Goodwill

As part of its acquisitions, the Company recognized goodwill of $2.0 million related to HGP in 2012, $3.5 million related to NLEX in 2014, and $1.9 million related to ALT in 2021.

F-20

Goodwill consisted of the following at December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):


Acquisition	December 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
HGP		2,040		2,040
NLEX		3,545		3,545
ALT		1,861		—
Total goodwill	$	7,446	$	5,585

The Company performed its annual impairment test for the year ended December 31, 2021, in the fourth quarter, and determined that no additional impairment charges were necessary.

Note 12 – Debt

Outstanding debt is summarized as follows (in thousands):


	December 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
Current
Third party debt	$	2,479	$	—
Non-current:
Third party debt		1,352		—
Total debt	$	3,831	$	—

F-21

On February 10, 2020, the Company entered into a secured promissory note, business loan agreement, commercial security agreement and agreement to provide insurance (the “2020 Credit Facility”) with C3bank, National Association for a $5.0 million revolving line of credit. The 2020 Credit Facility matured on April 5, 2021. Under the terms of the 2020 Credit Facility, the Company was permitted to use the proceeds of the loan solely for its business operations. The 2020 Credit Facility accrued at a variable interest rate, which was equal to the rate of interest last quoted by The Wall Street Journal as the “prime rate,” not to be less than 5.50% per annum. The Company paid interest on the 2020 Credit Facility in regular monthly payments, beginning on March 5, 2020. The Company could prepay the 2020 Credit Facility without penalty. The 2020 Credit Facility was secured by a first priority security interest in certain of the Company’s and its certain subsidiaries’ current and future tangible and intangible assets, inventory, chattel paper, accounts, equipment and general intangibles. The availability of additional draws under the 2020 Credit Facility was conditioned, among other things, on the compliance with certain customary representations and warranties, including default, insolvency or bankruptcy, material adverse change in financial condition and any guarantor’s attempt to revise its guarantee. The agreement governing the 2020 Credit Facility also contained customary affirmative covenants regarding, among other things, the maintenance of records, maintenance of certain insurance coverage, compliance with governmental requirements and maintenance of a debt to equity ratio. The 2020 Credit Facility contained certain customary financial covenants and negative covenants that, among other things, include restrictions on the Company’s ability to create, incur or assume indebtedness for borrowed money, including capital leases or to sell, transfer, mortgage, assign, pledge, lease, grant a security interest in, or encumber any of the Company’s assets. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company drew on the line of credit for a total of $5.6 million and made repayments of principal totaling $5.6 million resulting in a zero balance as of December 31, 2020.

On May 11, 2021, the Company entered into a promissory note, business loan agreement, commercial security agreement and pledge agreement (the “2021 Credit Facility”) with C3bank, National Association for a $10.0 million revolving line of credit. The 2021 Credit Facility matures on May 11, 2023 and replaces the 2020 Credit Facility. The Company is permitted to use the proceeds of the loan solely for its business operations. The 2021 Credit Facility accrues at a variable interest rate, which is based on the rate of interest last quoted by The Wall Street Journal as the “prime rate,” plus a margin of 1.70% (such rate not to be less than 4.950% per annum). The Company pays interest on the 2021 Credit Facility in regular monthly payments, which began on June 11, 2021. The 2021 Credit Facility also provides for a minimum fee, which is offset by interest payments. The Company may prepay the 2021 Credit Facility without penalty and may convert up to $5.0 million of revolving debt into term debt. The Company is the borrower under the 2021 Credit Facility. The 2021 Credit Facility is secured by a security interest in certain of the Company’s and its certain subsidiaries’ current and future tangible and intangible assets, inventory, chattel paper, accounts, equipment and general intangibles and a pledge of the equity of the direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company. The availability of additional draws under the 2021 Credit Facility is conditioned, among other things, on the compliance with certain customary representations and warranties, including default, insolvency or bankruptcy, material adverse change in financial condition and any guarantor’s attempt to revise its guarantee. The agreement governing the 2021 Credit Facility also contains customary affirmative covenants regarding, among other things, the maintenance of records, maintenance of certain insurance coverage, compliance with governmental requirements and maintenance of several financial covenants. The 2021 Credit Facility contains certain customary financial covenants and negative covenants that, among other things, include restrictions on the Company’s ability to create, incur or assume indebtedness for borrowed money, including capital leases or to sell, transfer, mortgage, assign, pledge, lease, grant a security interest in, or encumber any of the Company’s assets. On May 11, 2021, the Company terminated the 2020 Credit Facility as a result of entry into the 2021 Credit Facility. During 2021, the Company drew on the line of credit for a total of $3.2 million and made repayments of principal totaling $1.3 million resulting in a balance of $1.9 million as of December 31, 2021.

On August 23, 2021, the Company entered into a $2.0 million subordinated promissory note with an interest rate of 3% per annum and a maturity date of August 23, 2025 (the “ALT Note”) as part of the aggregate purchase price paid to acquire certain assets and liabilities of American Laboratory Trading. The ALT Note requires 48 equal installments of approximately $44,000 on the first day of each month, beginning the next month succeeding the closing date of August 23, 2021 with the final payment due on August 23, 2025. The outstanding balance of the ALT Note as of December 31, 2021, was $1.9 million.

Note 14 – Income Taxes

In 2014 the Company recorded a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets, reducing the carrying value of those assets to zero as a result of historical losses. The following table summarizes the change in the valuation allowance during 2020 and 2021 (in thousands):


Balance at December 31, 2019	$	17,639
Change during 2020		(4,542	)
Balance at December 31, 2020		13,097
Change during 2021		(855	)
Balance at December 31, 2021	$	12,242

As of each reporting date, management considers new evidence, both positive and negative, that could affect its view of the future realization of deferred tax assets. At December 31, 2020, the Company recorded a reduction to the valuation allowance based on the potential utilization of net operating loss carryforwards in future periods. At December 31, 2021, no additional reduction of the valuation allowance was determined necessary related to the potential utilization of net operating loss carryforwards in future periods, however a reduction of the valuation allowance was made related to the potential realization of certain state net operating loss carryforwards.

At December 31, 2021 the Company has aggregate tax net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $77.8 million ($62.2 million of unrestricted net operating tax losses and approximately $15.6 million of restricted net operating tax losses). Substantially all of the net operating loss carry forwards and unused minimum tax credit carry forwards expire between 2024 and 2037.

The reported tax expense varies from the amount that would be provided by applying the statutory U.S. Federal income tax rate to the income before income tax expense for the following reasons in each of the years ended December 31 (in thousands):


	2021			2020
Expected federal statutory tax expense	$	628		$	1,263
Increase (reduction) in taxes resulting from:
State income taxes recoverable		43			388
Non-deductible expenses (permanent differences)		(707	)		(193	)
Change in valuation allowance		(855	)		(4,542	)
Tax rate changes		876			(599	)
Other		(46	)		39
Income tax benefit	$	(61	)	$	(3,644	)

The Company’s utilization of restricted net operating tax loss carry forwards against future income for tax purposes is restricted pursuant to the “change in ownership” rules in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. These rules, in general, provide that an ownership change occurs when the percentage shareholdings of 5% direct or indirect stockholders of a loss corporation have, in aggregate, increased by more than 50 percentage points during the immediately preceding three years.

Restrictions in net operating loss carry forwards occurred in 2001 as a result of the acquisition of the Company by Street Capital. Pursuant to Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, the annual usage of the Company’s net operating loss carry forwards was limited to approximately $2.5 million per annum until 2008 and $1.7 million per annum thereafter. There is no certainty that the application of these “change in ownership” rules may not recur, resulting in further restrictions on the Company’s income tax loss carry forwards existing at a

F-23

particular time. In addition, further restrictions, reductions in, or expiration of net operating loss and net capital loss carry forwards may occur through future merger, acquisition and/or disposition transactions or failure to continue a significant level of business activities. Any such additional limitations could require the Company to pay income taxes on its future earnings and record an income tax expense to the extent of such liability, despite the existence of such tax loss carry forwards.

All loss taxation years remain open for audit pending the application of the respective tax losses against income in a subsequent taxation year. In general, the statute of limitations expires three years from the date that a company files a tax return applying prior year tax loss carry forwards against income for tax purposes in the later year. The 2018 through 2020 taxation years remain open for audit.

The Company is subject to state income tax in multiple jurisdictions. In most states, the Company does not have tax loss carry forwards available to shield income attributable to a particular state from being subject to tax in that particular state.

The components of the net deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows in (thousands):


	2021			2020
Net operating loss carry forwards	$	16,824		$	17,623
Stock based compensation		1,095			1,007
Trade names and customer relationships		(741	)		(805	)
Equity method investments		(477	)		(478	)
Other		29			152
Gross deferred tax assets		16,730			17,499
Less: valuation allowance		(12,242	)		(13,097	)
Deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	$	4,488		$	4,402

As a result of the acquisition of NLEX in 2014, and the recognition of an indefinite-lived intangible asset in the amount of $2.4 million related to the NLEX trade name, the Company is required to record a non-current deferred tax liability in the amount of $0.6 million.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was enacted on March 27, 2020 in the United States. There have been no significant impacts to the Corporation's provision for income taxes in 2021 as a result of the CARES Act legislation.

Uncertain Tax Positions

The accounting for uncertainty in income taxes requires a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. Upon adoption of this principle in 2007, the Company derecognized certain tax positions that, upon examination, more likely than not would not have been sustained as a recognized tax benefit. As a result of derecognizing uncertain tax positions, the Company has recorded a cumulative reduction in its deferred tax assets of approximately $4.4 million associated with prior years’ tax benefits, which are not expected to be available primarily due to change of control usage restrictions, and a reduction in the rate of the tax benefit associated with all of its tax attributes.

Due to the Company’s historic policy of applying a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets, the effect of the above was an offsetting reduction in the Company’s valuation allowance. Accordingly, the above reduction had no net impact on the Company’s financial position, operations or cash flow. As of December 31, 2021, the total unrecognized tax benefit has been determined to be $4.5 million.

In the unlikely event that these tax benefits are recognized in the future, the amount recognized at that time should result in a reduction in the Company’s effective tax rate.

F-24

The Company’s policy is to recognize accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. Because the Company has tax loss carry forwards in excess of the unrecognized tax benefits, the Company did not accrue for interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits either upon the initial derecognition of uncertain tax positions or in the current period.

It is possible that the total amount of the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease within the next 12 months. These changes may be the result of future audits, the application of “change in ownership” rules leading to further restrictions in tax losses arising from changes in the capital structure of the Company, reductions in available tax loss carry forwards through future merger, acquisition and/or disposition transactions, failure to continue a significant level of business activities, or other circumstances not known to management at this time. At this time, an estimate of the range of reasonably possible outcomes cannot be made.

Note 17 – Stockholders’ Equity

Capital Stock

The Company’s authorized capital stock consists of 300,000,000 common shares with a par value of $0.01 per share and 10,000,000 preferred shares with a par value of $10.00 per share.

On October 6, 2020, the Company completed a public offering (the “2020 Public Offering”) of 5,462,500 shares of its common stock, at a public offering price of $1.75 per share, which included a full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 712,500 additional shares of common stock from the Company. The Company received approximately $8.7 million of net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, but before offering expenses. During 2021, the Company deployed proceeds to fund the ALT acquisition, as well as various principal transactions in both its Financial Assets and Industrial Assets Divisions.

During 2021 and 2020 the Company issued 1,268,399 and 274,582 shares of common stock, respectively, pursuant to the exercise of stock options. In connection with an agreement entered on November 25, 2019, the Company issued 205,000 common shares to Maxim Group LLC for services rendered during 2020.

On March 30, 2021, the Company and Scott West entered into a Separation Agreement and General Release (the “Separation Agreement”). Under the terms of the Separation Agreement, Mr. West’s separation from the Company was effective on March 31, 2021. On April 8, 2021, the Company granted 25,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock, which will be forfeited to the Company during the two years following the effective date of the Separation Agreement in the event Mr. West breaches the terms of the Separation Agreement. In addition, the Separation Agreement provides for customary mutual releases by the Company and Mr. West, and the Separation Agreement includes confidentiality, non-disparagement and other obligations. The full amount of the restricted common stock was expensed as of March 31, 2021 and there was no remaining unrecognized stock-based compensation expense as of December 31, 2021.

F-25

Each share of Series N preferred stock has a voting entitlement equal to 40 common shares, votes with the common stock on an as-converted basis and is senior to all other preferred stock of the Company. Dividends, if any, will be paid on an as-converted basis equal to common stock dividends. The conversion value of each share of Series N preferred stock is $1,000, and each share is convertible to 40 common shares at the rate of $25.00 per common share. The holders of shares of Series N preferred stock are entitled to liquidation preference over common stockholders equivalent to $1,000 per share. During 2021, three shares of the Company’s Series N preferred stock were converted into 120 shares of the Company’s common stock. During 2020, no shares of the Company’s Series N preferred stock were converted into shares of the Company’s common stock.

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

At December 31, 2021, the Company had four stock-based compensation plans which are described below. The fourth of these plans was adopted on May 5, 2016, and received approval from the Company’s stockholders at the special meeting of stockholders held on September 14, 2016.

2003 Stock Option and Appreciation Rights Plan

In 2003, the stockholders of the Company approved the 2003 Stock Option and Appreciation Rights Plan (the “2003 Plan”) which provided for the issuance of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options and Stock Appreciation Rights (“SARs”) up to an aggregate of 2,000,000 shares of common stock (subject to adjustment in the event of stock dividends, stock splits, and other similar events). The plan had a ten-year term, and therefore after 2013 no options have been issued. The price at which shares of common stock covered by the option can be purchased was determined by the Company’s Board or a committee thereof; however, in the case of incentive stock options the exercise price was never less than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date the option was granted.


2003 Plan	2021		2020
Options outstanding, beginning of year		—		20,000
Options expired		—		(20,000	)
Options outstanding, end of year		—		—

No SARs were issued under the 2003 Plan.

2010 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan

In 2010, the Company’s Board approved the 2010 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan (the “2010 Plan”) to induce certain key employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries who are in a position to contribute materially to the Company’s prosperity to remain with the Company, to offer such persons incentives and rewards in recognition of their contributions to the Company’s progress, and to encourage such persons to continue to promote the best interests of the Company. The Company reserved 1,250,000 shares of common stock (subject to adjustment under certain circumstances) for issuance or transfer upon exercise of options granted under the 2010 Plan. Options may be issued under the 2010 Plan to any key employees or consultants selected by the Company’s Board (or an appropriately qualified committee). Options may not be granted with an exercise price less than the fair market value of the common stock of the Company as of the day of the grant. Options granted pursuant to the plan are subject to limitations on transfer and execution and may be issued subject to vesting conditions. Options may also be forfeited in certain circumstances. During 2021 and 2020 options to purchase 50,000 and 60,000 shares respectively were granted to the Company’s independent directors as part of their annual compensation. During 2020, options to purchase 50,000 shares were granted to newly appointed independent directors. Also during 2020, the Company issued options to purchase 15,000 shares of common stock to an outside consultant.


2010 Plan	2021			2020
Options outstanding, beginning of year		1,100,000			975,000
Options granted		50,000			125,000
Options exercised		(793,750	)		—
Options forfeited		(25,000	)		—
Options outstanding, end of year		331,250			1,100,000

F-26

The outstanding options vest over four years at exercise prices ranging from $0.24 to $2.85 per share.

Other Options Issued

In 2012, the Company’s Board approved the issuance of options for 625,000 shares of common stock. The options expired during 2019. In 2021, the Company’s Board approved the issuance of options to purchase 150,000 shares at an exercise price of $1.78 to certain accredited personnel. In 2020, the Company’s Board approved the issuance of options to purchase 90,000 shares at an exercise price of $1.41 to certain accredited personnel.


Other Options	2021			2020
Options outstanding, beginning of year		344,375			265,000
Options issued		150,000			90,000
Options exercised		(22,500	)		(10,625	)
Options forfeited		(67,500	)		—
Options outstanding, end of year		404,375			344,375

Heritage Global Inc. 2016 Stock Option Plan

In 2016, the Company adopted the Heritage Global Inc. 2016 Stock Option Plan (the “2016 Plan”) which provided for the issuance of incentive stock options and non-qualified stock options up to an aggregate of 3,150,000 shares of common stock (subject to adjustment in the event of stock dividends, stock splits, and other similar events). Options may not be granted with an exercise price less than the fair market value of the common stock of the Company as of the day of the grant. Options granted pursuant to the plan are subject to limitations on transfer and execution and may be issued subject to vesting conditions. Options may also be forfeited in certain circumstances. During 2016 options to purchase 2,539,200 shares of common stock were granted to the Company’s employees. During 2021 and 2020, options to purchase a total of 522,500 and 259,750 shares, respectively, were granted to the Company’s employees under the 2016 Plan.


2016 Plan	2021			2020
Options outstanding, beginning of year		2,071,850			2,351,850
Options granted		522,500			259,750
Options exercised		(1,079,187	)		(372,725	)
Options forfeited		(57,500	)		(167,025	)
Options outstanding, end of year		1,457,663			2,071,850

The outstanding options under the 2016 Plan vest over four years at exercise prices ranging from $0.45 to $3.33 per share.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

Total compensation cost related to stock options in both 2021 and 2020 was $0.4 million. These amounts were recorded in selling, general and administrative expense in both years. During 2021 and 2020, options to purchase 1,895,437 and 383,350 shares were exercised, respectively. The tax benefit recognized by the Company related to these option exercises was approximately $1.0 million in 2021, as compared to $0.2 million recognized in 2020.

In connection with the stock option grants during 2021 and 2020, the fair value of each option grant was estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions:


	2021	2020
Risk-free interest rate	0% - 1%	0% - 2%
Expected life (years)	6.6	6.8
Expected volatility	80%	74%
Expected dividend yield	Zero	Zero

F-27

The risk-free interest rates are those for U.S. Treasury constant maturities for terms matching the expected term of the option. The expected life of the options is calculated according to the simplified method for estimating the expected term of the options, based on the vesting period and contractual term of each option grant. Expected volatility is based on the Company’s historical volatility. The Company has never paid a dividend on its common stock and therefore the expected dividend yield is zero.

The following summarizes the changes in common stock options for 2021 and 2020:


	2021					2020
	Options			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Options			Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at beginning of year		3,516,225		$	0.63		3,611,850		$	0.51
Granted		722,500		$	2.28		474,750		$	1.62
Exercised		(1,895,437	)	$	0.48		(383,350	)	$	0.46
Expired		—		$	—		(20,000	)	$	0.83
Forfeited		(150,000	)	$	1.61		(167,025	)	$	1.15
Outstanding at end of year		2,193,288		$	1.23		3,516,225		$	0.63

Options exercisable at year end		978,350		$	0.60		2,566,100		$	0.47

Weighted-average fair value of options granted during the year				$	1.59				$	1.64

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had unvested options for the purchase of 1,214,938 shares with a weighted average grant date fair value of $0.96 per share. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had unvested options for the purchase of 950,125 shares with a weighted average grant date fair value of $0.71 per share.

As of December 31, 2021, the total unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested stock options was $1.2 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.1 years.

The total fair value of options vesting during both 2021 and 2020 was $0.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively. The unvested options have no associated performance conditions. In general, the Company’s employee turnover is low, and the Company expects that the majority of the unvested options will vest according to the standard four-year timetable.

The following table summarizes information about all stock options outstanding at December 31, 2021:


Exercise price	Options Outstanding		Weighted Average Remaining Life (years)		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Number Exercisable		Weighted Average Remaining Life (years)		Weighted Average Exercise Price
$ 0.24 to $ 0.48		742,225		5.0	$	0.44		700,600		4.9	$	0.44
$ 0.53 to $ 0.95		501,063		7.7	$	0.76		212,750		7.6	$	0.76
$ 1.41 to $ 1.90		612,500		9.3	$	1.47		47,500		8.5	$	1.47
$ 2.77 to $ 3.33		337,500		9.2	$	2.77		17,500		8.6	$	2.77
		2,193,288						978,350

At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the aggregate intrinsic value of exercisable options was $1.3 million and $6.3 million, respectively.

F-28

Restricted Stock

Restricted stock awards represent a right to receive shares of common stock at a future date determined in accordance with the participant’s award agreement. There is no exercise price and no monetary payment required for receipt of restricted stock awards or the shares issued in settlement of the award. Instead, consideration is furnished in the form of the participant’s services to the Company. Compensation cost for these awards is based on the fair value on the date of grant and recognized as compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.

In June 2018, the Company granted 600,000 shares of Company restricted common stock in connection with the Addendum to the Employment Agreements of David Ludwig and Tom Ludwig. The shares are subject to certain restrictions on transfer and a right of repurchase over five years, ending May 31, 2023, and require a continued term of service to the Company. Stock-based compensation expense related to the restricted stock awards, calculated by using the grant date fair value of $0.43 per share, was $52,000 for both 2020 and 2021. The unrecognized stock-based compensation expense as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $73,000 and $125,000, respectively.

Under the terms of the Separation Agreement, the Company granted 25,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock on April 8, 2021. The shares of restricted common stock will be forfeited to the Company during the two years following the effective date of the Separation Agreement in the event Mr. West breaches the terms of the Separation Agreement. The full amount of the restricted common stock was expensed in the first quarter of 2021 and there was no remaining unrecognized stock-based compensation expense as of December 31, 2021.


Florida	59-2291344
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

12625 High Bluff Drive, Suite 305, San Diego, CA	92130
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)


Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, $0.01 par value	HGBL	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC


Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	
		Emerging growth company	☐


		PAGE
PART I
Item 1.	Business.		3
Item 1A.	Risk Factors.		8
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments.		15
Item 2.	Properties.		15
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings.		15
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures.		15

PART II
Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.		16
Item 6.	[Reserved].		16
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.		17
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.		26
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.		27
Item 9.	Changes In and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.		27
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures.		27
Item 9B.	Other Information.		28

PART III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.		29
Item 11.	Executive Compensation.		29
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.		29
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.		29
Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services.		30

PART IV
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.		30
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary		34


	Year ended December 31,
	2021			2020
Revenues:
Services revenue	$	19,954		$	21,806
Asset sales		5,838			4,377
Total revenues		25,792			26,183
Operating costs and expenses:
Cost of services revenue		4,499			6,320
Cost of asset sales		2,929			2,789
Selling, general and administrative		14,811			14,449
Depreciation and amortization		460			362
Total operating costs and expenses		22,699			23,920
Earnings of equity method investments		(79	)		3,796
Operating income		3,014			6,059
Interest and other expense, net		(22	)		(45	)
Income before income tax benefit		2,992			6,014
Income tax benefit		(61	)		(3,644	)
Net income	$	3,053		$	9,658



		Heritage Global Inc.
		(Florida) (1)

	100%		100%		100%		100%
Heritage Global Partners, Inc. (California) (2)		Heritage Global LLC (Delaware) (3)		National Loan Exchange, Inc. (Illinois) (5)		Heritage Global Capital LLC (Delaware)(6)

			100%
		Heritage ALT LLC (Delaware) (4)


	Year ended December 31,
	2021			2020		% change
Compensation:
HGP	$	5,473		$	5,179		6	%
ALT		436			—		100	%
NLEX		3,166			3,571		(11	)%
HGI		999			1,119		(11	)%
HGC		446			442		1	%
Employee retention tax credit		(602	)		—		100	%
Stock-based compensation		408			353		16	%

Consulting		75			94		(20	)%
Board of Directors fees		260			258		1	%
Accounting, tax and legal professional fees		1,183			802		48	%
Insurance		543			453		20	%
Occupancy		964			886		9	%
Travel and entertainment		368			277		33	%
Advertising and promotion		357			444		(20	)%
Information technology support		326			288		13	%
Other		409			283		45	%
Total selling, general and administrative expense	$	14,811		$	14,449		3	%


Exhibit Number		Title of Exhibit

3.1		Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (restated for filing purposes only) (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 9, 2020 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

3.2		Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-39471) filed on September 30, 2020).

4.1		Warrant Agreement by and between Heritage Global Inc. and Napier Park Industrial Asset Acquisition, LP effective as of March 19, 2019 (filed as Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 25, 2019 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

4.2		Description of Securities (filed as Exhibit 4.2 to the Company's Annual Report on form 10-K filed on March 8, 2021 (File No. 001-39471), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.1*		2003 Stock Option and Appreciation Rights Plan (filed as Appendix E to the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement filed on October 31, 2003 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.2*		2010 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 24, 2011 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.3*		Form of Option Grant for Options Granted Under 2003 Stock Option and Appreciation Rights Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.4*		Form of Option Grant for Options Granted Under 2010 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.29 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 31, 2011 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).


10.5*		Stock option grant notice to Ross Dove effective February 29, 2012 (filed as Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.6*		Stock option grant notice to Kirk Dove effective February 29, 2012 (filed as Exhibit 10.10 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.7*		Management Services Agreement between Heritage Global Inc. and Street Capital, effective as of May 1, 2014 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 1, 2014 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.8		Stock Purchase Agreement between Heritage Global Inc., National Loan Exchange, Inc., and David Ludwig, signed on June 2, 2014 and effective as of May 31, 2014 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 6, 2014 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.9		Promissory Note by and between Heritage Global Inc. and Harvey Frisch, effective as of June 19, 2014 (filed as Exhibit 10.15 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.10		Renewed Note to the Promissory Note by and between Heritage Global Inc. and Harvey Frisch dated June 19, 2014, effective as of December 31, 2014 (filed as Exhibit 10.16 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.11		Second Renewed Note to the Promissory Note by and between Heritage Global Inc. and Harvey Frisch dated June 19, 2014, effective as of January 15, 2016 (filed as Exhibit 10.17 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.12*		Employment Agreement between Ross Dove and Heritage Global Partners, Inc. effective as of February 29, 2012 (filed as Exhibit 10.19 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.13*		Employment Agreement between Kirk Dove and Heritage Global Partners, Inc. effective as of February 29, 2012. (filed as Exhibit 10.20 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.14*		Employment Agreement between James Sklar and Heritage Global Partners, Inc. effective as of June 23, 2013 (filed as Exhibit 10.21 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.15*		Employment Agreement between David Ludwig and National Loan Exchange, Inc. effective as of May 31, 2014 (filed as Exhibit 10.23 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 17, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.16		Secured Promissory Note by and between Heritage Global Inc. and The Dove Holdings Corporations, effective as of December 23, 2016 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 27, 2016 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.17*		Form of Option Grant for Options Granted Under Heritage Global Inc. 2016 Stock Option Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.26 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 13, 2018 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.18*		2016 Stock Option Plan (filed as Exhibit 10.27 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 13, 2018 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).


10.19*		Addendum to Employment Agreements, effective June 1, 2018, by and between Heritage Global Inc., National Loan Exchange, Inc., Tom Ludwig and David Ludwig (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 24, 2018 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.20		Secured Promissory Note by and between Heritage Global Inc. and First Choice Bank, effective as of September 27, 2018 (filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 3, 2018 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.21		Business Loan Agreement by and between Heritage Global Inc. and First Choice Bank, effective as of September 27, 2018 (filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 3, 2018 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.22		Change in Terms Agreement by and between Heritage Global Inc. and First Choice Bank, effective as of March 29, 2019 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 3, 2019 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.23		First Amendment to Business Loan Agreement by and between Heritage Global Inc. and First Choice Bank, effective as of March 29, 2019 (filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 3, 2019 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.24		Amendment to Employment Agreement by and between Equity Partners HG LLC f/k/a Equity Partners CRB, LLC and Kenneth Mann, effective as of September 13, 2019 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 8, 2019 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.25		Promissory Note by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association, effective as of February 5, 2020 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 14, 2020 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.26		Business Loan Agreement by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association, effective as of February 5, 2020 (filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 14, 2020 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.27		Commercial Security Agreement by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association, effective as of February 5, 2020 (filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 14, 2020 (File No. 000-17973), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.28*		Employment Agreement, by and between Heritage Global, Inc. and Kirk Dove, effective as of September 17, 2020 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 21, 2020 (File No. 001-39471), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.29*		Amendment to Stock Option Award, by and between Heritage Global, Inc. and Kirk Dove, effective as of September 20, 2020 (filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 21, 2020 (File No. 001-39471), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.30*		Separation Agreement, dated March 30, 2021, by and between Heritage Global Inc. and Scott West (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 13, 2021, and incorporated herein by reference).

10.31		Business Loan Agreement, dated May 11, 2021, by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 12, 2021, and incorporated herein by reference).

10.32		Promissory Note, dated May 11, 2021, by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association (filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 12, 2021, and incorporated herein by reference).

10.33		Commercial Security Agreement, dated May 11, 2014, by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association (filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 12, 2021, and incorporated herein by reference).



10.34		Pledge and Security Agreement, dated May 11, 2021, by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association (filed as Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 12, 2021, and incorporated herein by reference).

10.35		Side Letter, dated May 5, 2021, by and between Heritage Global Inc. and C3bank, National Association ((filed as Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 12, 2021, and incorporated herein by reference).

10.36		Asset Purchase Agreement, dated August 18, 2021, by and among Heritage ALT LLC, American Laboratory Trading, Inc., Dante LaTerra and Heritage Global Inc. (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K on August 24, 2021 (File No. 001-39471), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.37		Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated August 18, 2021, between 12 Colton Road, LLC and HG ALT LLC (filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 24, 2021 (File No. 001-39471), and incorporated herein by reference).

10.38		Subordinated Promissory Note, dated August 23, 2021, by and among Heritage ALT LLC, American Laboratory Trading, Inc., and Heritage Global Inc. (filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 24, 2021 (File No. 001-39471), and incorporated herein by reference).

21		List of subsidiaries.

23.1		Consent of Baker Tilly US, LLP.

31.1		Certification of the Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.2		Certification of the Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

32.1		Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350 as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.

32.2		Certification pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350 as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.

101.INS		Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CAL		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
101.DEF		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
101.LAB		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
101.PRE		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)


	HERITAGE GLOBAL INC.
	(Registrant)

Dated: March 17, 2022	By:	/s/ Ross Dove
	Ross Dove, Chief Executive Officer
	(Principal Executive Officer)

	By:	/s/ Brian J. Cobb
	Brian J. Cobb, Vice President of Finance
	(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)


Signature	Title	Date

/s/ Ross Dove	Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)	March 17, 2022
Ross Dove

/s/ David Ludwig	Director	March 17, 2022
David Ludwig

/s/ Michael Hexner	Director	March 17, 2022
Michael Hexner

/s/ Shirley Cho	Director	March 17, 2022
Shirley Cho

/s/ Barbara Sinsley	Director	March 17, 2022
Barbara Sinsley

/s/ Kelly Sharpe	Director	March 17, 2022
Kelly Sharpe

/s/ Samuel L. Shimer	Chairman of the Board of Directors	March 17, 2022
Samuel L. Shimer


	Page
Report of Baker Tilly US, LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	F-2
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020	F-4
Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020	F-5
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020	F-6
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020	F-7
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements	F-8


	December 31,
	2021			2020
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	13,622		$	23,385
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $122 in 2021; $0 in 2020)		2,732			1,496
Current portion of notes receivable, net		2,254			1,338
Inventory – equipment		3,220			235
Other current assets		1,456			498
Total current assets		23,284			26,952
Non-current portion of notes receivable, net		1,784			748
Equity method investments		4,683			2,402
Right-of-use asset		2,694			963
Property, plant and equipment, net		1,471			130
Intangible assets, net		4,565			3,123
Goodwill		7,446			5,585
Deferred tax assets		4,488			4,402
Other assets		49			250
Total assets	$	50,464		$	44,555

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	11,244		$	13,609
Current portion of third party debt		2,479			—
Current portion of lease liabilities		501			380
Total current liabilities		14,224			13,989
Non-current portion of third party debt		1,352			—
Non-current portion of lease liabilities		2,249			623
Total liabilities		17,825			14,612

Commitments and contingencies (Note 13)

Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $10.00 par value, authorized 10,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 565 Series N shares at December 31, 2021 and 568 shares at December 31, 2020		6			6
Common stock, $0.01 par value, authorized 300,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 36,574,702 shares at December 31, 2021 and 35,281,183 shares at December 31, 2020		366			353
Additional paid-in capital		293,030			293,400
Accumulated deficit		(260,763	)		(263,816	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		—			—
Total stockholders’ equity		32,639			29,943
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	50,464		$	44,555


	Preferred stock					Common stock				Additional paid-in			Accumulated			Accumulated other comprehensive
	Shares			Amount		Shares		Amount		capital			deficit			loss			Total
Balance at December 31, 2019		568		$	6		29,339,101	$	293	$	285,099		$	(273,474	)	$	(77	)	$	11,847
Issuance of common stock from stock option awards		—			—		274,582		4		(107	)		—			—			(103	)
Issuance of common stock for services rendered		—			—		205,000		2		568			—			—			570
Issuance of common stock in public offering, net		—			—		5,462,500		54		7,487			—			—			7,541
Stock-based compensation expense		—			—		—		—		353			—			—			353
Net income		—			—		—		—		—			9,658			—			9,658
Foreign currency translation adjustments		—			—		—		—		—			—			77			77
Balance at December 31, 2020		568			6		35,281,183		353		293,400			(263,816	)		—			29,943
Issuance of common stock from stock option awards		—			—		1,268,399		13		(778	)		—			—			(765	)
Issuance of restricted common stock		—			—		25,000		—		76			—			—			76
Issuance of common stock due to conversion of Series N Preferred stock		(3	)		—		120		—		—			—			—			—
Stock-based compensation expense		—			—		—		—		332			—			—			332
Net income		—			—		—		—					3,053			—			3,053
Balance at December 31, 2021		565		$	6		36,574,702	$	366	$	293,030		$	(260,763	)	$	—		$	32,639


Supplemental cash flow information:
Cash paid for income taxes	$	116	$	143
Cash paid for interest		22		43
Issuance of common stock for services rendered		—		570
Noncash change in Right-of-use assets		2,263		—
Noncash change in Lease liabilities		2,263		—


	2021			2020
Notes receivable, beginning of year	$	2,079		$	2,685
Loan originations		8,039			6,081
Transfer of notes		(1,961	)		(4,951	)
Principal repayments		(3,985	)		(1,736	)
Notes receivable, end of year		4,172			2,079
Deferred financing fees and costs, net		(134	)		7
Notes receivable, net, end of year	$	4,038		$	2,086


	December 31,		December 31,
Weighted Average Shares Calculation:	2021		2020
Basic weighted average shares outstanding		35,458,938		30,200,053
Treasury stock effect of common stock options and restricted stock awards		1,442,452		2,508,182
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding		36,901,390		32,708,235


	December 31, 2021			December 31, 2020
Building	$	985		$	—
Land		397			—
Furniture, fixtures and office equipment		97			203
Software and technology assets		84			340
Vehicles		11			—
		1,574			543
Accumulated depreciation		(103	)		(413	)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	1,471		$	130


	2021		2020
Due to auction clients	$	6,433	$	8,026
Remuneration and benefits		1,909		2,498
Due to Joint Venture partners		402		1,349
Sales and other taxes		226		831
Accrued asset liquidation expenses		1,340		346
Accounting, auditing and tax consulting		184		166
Customer deposits		407		—
Other		343		393
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	11,244	$	13,609