The Company and Financial Statement Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

The Company and Financial Statement Presentation

The Company and Financial Statement Presentation

Lexington Realty Trust (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, except when the context only applies to the parent entity, the “Company”) is a Maryland real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that owns a diversified portfolio of equity investments in single-tenant commercial properties.

As of June 30, 2019, the Company had ownership interests in approximately 140 consolidated real estate properties, located in 33 states. The properties in which the Company has an interest are primarily net leased to tenants in various industries.

The Company believes that it continues to be operated in a manner that enables it to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Accordingly, the Company will not be subject to federal income tax, provided that distributions to its shareholders equal at least the amount of its REIT taxable income as defined under the Code. The Company is permitted to participate in certain activities from which it was previously precluded in order to maintain its qualification as a REIT, so long as these activities are conducted in entities which elect to be treated as taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”) under the Code. As such, the TRS are subject to federal income taxes on the income from these activities.

The Company conducts its operations either directly or indirectly through (1) property owner subsidiaries, which are single-purpose entities, (2) an operating partnership, Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P. (“LCIF”), in which the Company is the sole unitholder of the general partner and the sole unitholder of the limited partner that holds a majority of the limited partner interests, (3) a wholly-owned TRS, and (4) investments in joint ventures. References to “OP units” refer to units of limited partner interests in LCIF. Property owner subsidiaries are landlords under leases for properties in which the Company has an interest and/or borrowers under loan agreements secured by properties in which the Company has an interest. Each property owner subsidiary is a separate and distinct legal entity that maintains separate books and records. The assets and credit of each property owner subsidiary with a property subject to a mortgage loan are not available to creditors to satisfy the debt and other obligations of any other person, including any other property owner subsidiary or any other affiliate. Consolidated entities that are not property owner subsidiaries do not directly own any of the assets of a property owner subsidiary (or the general partner, member or managing member of such property owner subsidiary), but merely hold partnership, membership or beneficial interests therein, which interests are subordinate to the claims of such property owner subsidiary's (or its general partner's, member's or managing member's) creditors.

The financial statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Quarterly Report”) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 have been prepared by the Company in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, they do not include all information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. However, in the opinion of management, the interim financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the results of the periods presented. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the SEC on March 13, 2019 (“Annual Report”).

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation. The Company's unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with GAAP. The financial statements reflect the accounts of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. The Company consolidates the wholly-owned subsidiaries, partnerships and joint ventures which it controls (i) through voting rights or similar rights or (ii) by means other than voting rights if the Company is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity ("VIE"). Entities which the Company does not control and entities which are VIEs in which the Company is not a primary beneficiary are accounted for under appropriate GAAP.

The Company is the primary beneficiary of certain VIEs as it has a controlling financial interest in these entities. LCIF, which is consolidated and in which the Company has an approximate 96% interest, is a VIE.

The assets of each VIE are only available to satisfy such VIE's respective liabilities. As of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the VIEs' mortgages and notes payable were non-recourse to the Company. Below is a summary of selected financial data of consolidated VIEs for which the Company is the primary beneficiary included in the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

	June 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
Real estate, net	$	474,667	$	509,916
Total assets	$	671,826	$	607,963
Mortgages and notes payable, net	$	83,117	$	192,791
Total liabilities	$	205,201	$	203,322

In addition, the Company acquires, from time to time, properties using a reverse like-kind exchange structure pursuant to Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code (a "reverse 1031 exchange") and, as such, the properties are in the possession of an Exchange Accommodation Titleholder ("EAT") until the reverse 1031 exchange is completed. The EAT is classified as a VIE as it is a “thinly capitalized” entity. The Company consolidates the EAT because it is the primary beneficiary as it has the ability to control the activities that most significantly impact the EAT's economic performance and can collapse the 1031 exchange structure at any time. The assets of the EAT primarily consist of leased property (net real estate and intangibles).

Use of Estimates. Management has made a number of significant estimates and assumptions to prepare these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP, including, among others, those relating to the reporting of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. These estimates and assumptions are based on management's best estimates and judgment. Management evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors. Management adjusts such estimates when facts and circumstances dictate. The most significant estimates made include the recoverability of accounts receivable, the allocation of property purchase price to tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, the determination of VIEs and which entities should be consolidated, the determination of impairment of long-lived assets, loans receivable and equity method investments, the valuation of derivative financial instruments, the valuation of compensation plans and the useful lives of long-lived assets. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Fair Value Measurements. The Company follows the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, as amended (“Topic 820”), to determine the fair value of financial and non-financial instruments. Topic 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in GAAP and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. Topic 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes observable and unobservable inputs used to measure fair value into three levels: Level 1 - quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for assets or liabilities; Level 2 - observable prices that are based on inputs not quoted in active markets, but corroborated by market data; and Level 3 - unobservable inputs, which are used when little or no market data is available. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to Level 1 inputs and the lowest priority to Level 3 inputs. In determining fair value, the Company utilizes valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs to the extent possible, as well as considering counterparty credit risk. The Company has formally elected to apply the portfolio exception within Topic 820 with respect to measuring counterparty risk for all of its derivative transactions subject to master netting arrangements.

Reclassifications. Certain amounts included in the 2018 unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the 2019 presentation.

New Accounting Standards Adopted in 2019. In June 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which aligns the measurement and classification guidance for share-based payments to nonemployees with the guidance for share-based payments to employees, with certain exceptions. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis. The Company's adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on its financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities, which amends the hedge accounting recognition and presentation requirements in Topic 815. The ASU is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis. The Company's adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on its financial statements.

Additionally, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) effective January 1, 2019. Topic 842 requires lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases previously classified as operating leases. The Company adopted Topic 842 using the modified retrospective transition approach with January 1, 2019 as the Company's date of initial application, thus periods prior to January 1, 2019 conform to ASC Topic 840. The Company has elected other practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance including:

• a package of practical expedients that allows the Company to carryforward its assessment of whether a contract is or contains a lease, whether costs incurred qualify as initial direct costs, and historical lease classification for any leases that existed prior to the adoption;

• to account for lease and non-lease components as a single component if the (i) timing and patterns of transfer are the same for the lease and non-lease component and (ii) related lease component and the combined single lease component would be classified as an operating lease;

• to exclude from the consideration in the contract and variable lease payments not included in the consideration in the contract all taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific lease revenue-producing transaction and collected by the lessor from the lessee. Taxes assessed on the Company’s total gross receipts are excluded from this accounting policy election;

• to not assess if existing land easements in place prior to adoption meet the definition of a lease; and

• not recognizing leases with a term of 12 months or less on the balance sheet.

The Company did not elect the hindsight practical expedient to determine lease term. The adoption of this guidance required the Company to record right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet. The Company did not recognize a cumulative adjustment to equity upon adoption. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations and unaudited condensed consolidated statement of cash flows. See note 9, “Lease Accounting” for further disclosures.

Recently Issued Accounting Guidance. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which requires that entities use a new forward-looking “expected loss” model that generally will result in the earlier recognition of allowance for credit losses. The measurement of expected credit losses is based upon historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. ASU No. 2016-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company is continuing to assess this guidance and does not expect the adoption of ASU No. 2016-13 to have a material impact on its financial statements.