UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported):
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
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Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging
growth company
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. ¨
In this Current Report on Form 8-K, the terms “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to Service Properties Trust and its subsidiaries, unless otherwise noted.
Item 4.01. Changes in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant.
On June 12, 2020, the Audit Committee, or the Committee, of our Board of Trustees approved the engagement of Deloitte & Touche LLP, or Deloitte, as our independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately. During the years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019, and the subsequent interim period through June 12, 2020, we did not, nor did anyone on our behalf, consult with Deloitte with respect to (a) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our consolidated financial statements, and no written report or oral advice was provided to us that Deloitte concluded was an important factor considered by us in reaching a decision as to any accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue or (b) any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement (as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions) or a reportable event (as described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K).
Contemporaneous with the Committee’s determination to engage Deloitte, the Committee dismissed Ernst & Young LLP, or Ernst & Young, as our independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately. The reports of Ernst & Young on our financial statements for each of the two years ended December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2019, did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. In connection with the audits of our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2019, and during the subsequent interim period through June 12, 2020, there were no “disagreements” (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and related instructions) between us and Ernst & Young on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedures which, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Ernst & Young would have caused Ernst & Young to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in their report. During the years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019 and the subsequent interim period through June 12, 2020, there were no “reportable events” (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K).
We provided Ernst & Young with a copy of the disclosures contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K and requested that Ernst & Young furnish us with a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether it agrees with the statements contained herein. A copy of Ernst & Young’s letter, dated June 15, 2020, is filed as Exhibit 16.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
Exhibit | Description | |
16.1 | Letter of Ernst & Young LLP, dated June 15, 2020, to the Securities and Exchange Commission. | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File. (Embedded within the Inline XBRL document.) |
2
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
SERVICE PROPERTIES TRUST | ||
By: | /s/ Brian E. Donley | |
Name: | Brian E. Donley | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
Dated: June 15, 2020