UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Filed by the Registrant R
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant £
Check the appropriate box:
£ Preliminary Proxy Statement
£ Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
R Definitive Proxy Statement
£ Definitive Additional Materials
£ Soliciting Material under §240 14a-12
GLADSTONE COMMERCIAL CORPORATION
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
R No fee required
£ Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(4) and 0-11
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Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: |
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Appropriate number of securities to which transaction applies: |
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Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange
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Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: |
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Total fee paid: |
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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. |
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Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange
Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the
offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing
by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the
date of its filing. |
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Amount Previously Paid: |
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Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: |
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Filing Party: |
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Date Filed: |
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GLADSTONE COMMERCIAL CORPORATION
1521 Westbranch Drive, Suite 200
McLean, Virginia 22102
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held On May 24, 2006
To the Stockholders of Gladstone Commercial Corporation:
We are notifying you that the 2006 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders of Gladstone Commercial Corporation will be held on
Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. local time at
the Hilton McLean at 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA
22102 for the following purposes:
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1. To elect three directors to hold office until the
2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and one director to hold
office until the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders; |
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2. To approve an amended and restated investment
advisory agreement with Gladstone Management Corporation and an
administration agreement with Gladstone Administration, LLC; |
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3. To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of
the Board of Directors of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2006; and |
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4. To transact such other business as may properly
come before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement
thereof. |
The foregoing items of business are more fully described in the
Proxy Statement accompanying this Notice.
The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on
March 17, 2006 as the record date for determining the
stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at this Annual
Meeting and at any adjournment or postponement thereof.
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By Order of the Board of Directors |
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Terry Brubaker |
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Secretary |
McLean, Virginia
March 24, 2006
All stockholders are cordially invited to attend the meeting
in person. Whether or not you expect to attend the meeting,
please complete, date, sign and return the enclosed proxy card
as promptly as possible in order to ensure your representation
at the meeting. A return envelope (which is postage prepaid if
mailed in the United States) is enclosed for that purpose. Even
if you have given your proxy, you may still vote in person if
you attend the meeting. Please note, however, that if your
shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee and
you wish to vote at the meeting, you must obtain from the record
holder a proxy issued in your name.
GLADSTONE COMMERCIAL CORPORATION
1521 Westbranch Drive, Suite 200, McLean, Virginia
22102
PROXY STATEMENT
FOR THE 2006 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held On May 24, 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Questions and Answers
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Proposal I
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To elect three directors to hold office until the 2009 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders and one director to hold office until
the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
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Proposal II
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To approve an amended and restated investment advisory
agreement with Gladstone Management Corporation and an
administration agreement with Gladstone Administration, LLC |
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Proposal III
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To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of the Board
of Directors of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2006 |
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Our Management
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Our Board of Directors and Executive Officers
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Committees of the Board of Directors
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Report of the Audit Committee
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Report of the Compensation Committee
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Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers
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Additional Information
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Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and
Management
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Performance Measurement Comparison
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Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
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Other Matters
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Appendix A: Amended and Restated Investment Advisory
Agreement
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A-1 |
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Appendix B: Administration Agreement
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B-1 |
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THIS PROXY MATERIAL AND VOTING
Why am I receiving these materials?
We sent you this proxy statement and the enclosed proxy card
because the Board of Directors of Gladstone Commercial
Corporation (which we may refer to in this proxy statement as
we, us, or the Company) is
soliciting your proxy to vote at the 2006 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders. You are invited to attend the Annual Meeting to
vote on the proposals described in this proxy statement. This
proxy statement summarizes information that we are required to
provide you under applicable U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, or SEC rules, and is designed to provide
information to assist you in your voting. However, you do not
need to attend the meeting to vote your shares. Instead, you may
simply complete, sign and return the enclosed proxy card.
We will mail this proxy statement and accompanying proxy card on
or about March 24, 2006 to all stockholders of record
entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.
When is the annual meeting and where will it be held?
The Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 24, 2006,
at 11:00 a.m. at the Hilton McLean at 7920 Jones Branch
Drive, McLean, VA 22102.
What am I voting on?
There are three proposals scheduled for a vote at the 2006
Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as follows:
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Proposal I: |
To elect three directors to serve until the 2009 Annual Meeting
of Stockholders and one director to serve until the 2008 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders; |
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Proposal II: |
To approve an amended and restated investment advisory agreement
with Gladstone Management Corporation and an administration
agreement with Gladstone Administration, LLC; and |
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Proposal III: |
To approve the selection by the Audit Committee of the Board of
Directors of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2006. |
How does the Board of Directors recommend I vote on the
proposals?
The Board of Directors recommends: (1) a vote
For each of the nominees for election as director
who are named as such in this proxy statement, (2) a vote
For approval of the amended and restated investment
advisory agreement with Gladstone Management Corporation and the
administration agreement with Gladstone Administration, LLC, and
(3) a vote For ratification of selection of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31,
2006.
Who can vote at the annual meeting?
Only stockholders of record at the close of business on
March 17, 2006 will be entitled to vote at the Annual
Meeting. On this record date, there were 7,672,000 shares
of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote.
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Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name |
If on March 17, 2006 your shares were registered directly
in your name with our transfer agent, The Bank of New York, then
you are a stockholder of record. As a stockholder of record, you
may vote in person at the meeting or vote by proxy. Whether or
not you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you to fill out and
return the enclosed proxy card to ensure your vote is counted.
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Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker
or Bank |
If on March 17, 2006 your shares were held, not in your
name, but rather in an account at a brokerage firm, bank,
dealer, or other similar organization, then you are the
beneficial owner of shares held in street name and
these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by that
organization. The organization holding your account is
considered to be the stockholder of record for purposes of
voting at the Annual Meeting. As a beneficial owner, you have
the right to direct your broker or other agent on how to vote
the shares in your account. You are also invited to attend the
Annual Meeting. However, since you are not the stockholder of
record, you may not vote your shares in person at the meeting
unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from your broker or
other agent.
How do I vote?
The procedures for voting are fairly simple:
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Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name |
If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote in person at
the Annual Meeting or vote by proxy using the enclosed proxy
card. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you
to vote by proxy to ensure your vote is counted. You may still
attend the meeting and vote in person if you have already voted
by proxy.
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To vote in person, come to the Annual Meeting and we will give
you a ballot when you arrive. |
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To vote using the proxy card, simply complete, sign and date the
enclosed proxy card and return it promptly in the envelope
provided. If you return your signed proxy card to us before the
Annual Meeting, we will vote your shares as you direct. |
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Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of Broker or
Bank |
If you are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name
of your broker, bank, or other agent, you should have received a
proxy card and voting instructions with these proxy materials
from that organization rather than from us. Simply complete and
mail the proxy card to ensure that your vote is counted. To vote
in person at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a valid proxy
from your broker, bank, or other agent. Follow the instructions
from your broker or bank included with these proxy materials, or
contact your broker or bank to request a proxy form.
What is a proxy?
A proxy is a person who votes the shares of stock of another
person who could not attend a meeting. The term
proxy also refers to the proxy card. When you return
the enclosed proxy card, you are giving us your permission to
vote your shares of common stock at the Annual Meeting. The
people who will vote your shares of common stock at the Annual
Meeting are Harry Brill, our chief financial officer, or George
Stelljes III, our executive vice president. They will vote
your shares of common stock as you instruct, unless you return
the proxy card and give no instructions. In this case, they will
vote For all of the director nominees and in
accordance with the recommendations of the Board of Directors
or, in the absence of such a recommendation, in their
discretion, for any other proposals to be voted upon. They will
not vote your shares of common stock if you do not return the
enclosed proxy card. This is why it is important for you to
return the proxy card to us (or otherwise vote your shares) as
soon as possible whether or not you plan on attending the
meeting in person.
What does it mean if I receive more than one proxy card?
If you receive more than one proxy card, your shares are
registered in more than one name or are registered in different
accounts. Please complete, sign and return each proxy
card to ensure that all of your shares are voted.
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What if I return a proxy card but do not make specific
choices?
If you return a signed and dated proxy card without marking any
voting selections, your shares will be voted For
Proposal I to elect all four nominees for director;
For Proposal II to approve the amended and
restated investment advisory agreement with the Gladstone
Management Corporation and the administration agreement with
Gladstone Administration, LLC; and For
Proposal III to ratify the selection by the Audit Committee
of the Board of Directors of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2006. If any other matter is
properly presented at the meeting, your proxy will vote your
shares using his best judgment.
Can I change my vote after submitting my proxy?
Yes. You can revoke your proxy at any time before the final vote
at the meeting. If you are the record holder of your shares, you
may revoke your proxy in any one of three ways:
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You may submit another properly completed proxy card with a
later date. |
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You may send a written notice that you are revoking your proxy
to Gladstone Commercial Corporations Secretary at
1521 Westbranch Drive, Suite 200, McLean, Virginia
22102. |
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You may attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person. Simply
attending the meeting will not, by itself, revoke your proxy. |
If your shares are held by your broker or bank as a nominee or
agent, you should follow the instructions provided by your
broker or bank.
What is a quorum requirement?
A quorum of stockholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A
quorum will be present if at least a majority of the outstanding
shares are represented by stockholders present at the meeting or
by proxy. On the record date, there were 7,672,000 shares
outstanding and entitled to vote. Thus 3,836,001 shares
must be represented by stockholders present at the meeting or by
proxy to have a quorum.
Your shares will be counted towards the quorum only if you
submit a valid proxy (or one is submitted on your behalf by your
broker, bank or other nominee) or if you vote in person at the
meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted
towards the quorum requirement. If there is no quorum, a
majority of the votes present at the meeting may adjourn the
meeting to another date.
How many votes are needed to approve each proposal?
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Proposal I: |
To elect three directors to hold office until the 2009 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders and one director to serve until the 2008
Annual Meeting of Stockholders, each nominee for election as a
director must receive a For vote from the majority
of shares present and entitled to vote, either in person or by
proxy. Broker non-votes will have no effect. |
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Proposal II: |
To approve an amended and restated investment advisory agreement
with Gladstone Management Corporation and an administration
agreement with Gladstone Administration, LLC we must receive a
For vote from the majority of shares present and
voting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect. |
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Proposal III: |
To ratify the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2006, we must receive a
For vote from the majority of shares present and
voting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect. |
How are votes counted?
Votes will be counted by the inspector of election appointed for
the meeting, who will separately count For and
Withhold and, with respect to proposals other than
the election of directors, Against votes,
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abstentions and broker non-votes. Abstentions will be counted
towards the vote total for each proposal, and will have the same
effect as Against votes. Broker non-votes have no
effect and will not be counted towards the vote total for any
proposal.
If your shares are held by your broker as your nominee (that is,
in street name), you will need to obtain a proxy
form from the institution that holds your shares and follow the
instructions included on that form regarding how to instruct
your broker to vote your shares. If you do not give instructions
to your broker, your broker can vote your shares with respect to
discretionary items, but not with respect to
non-discretionary items. Discretionary items are
proposals considered routine under the rules of the New York
Stock Exchange on which your broker may vote shares held in
street name in the absence of your voting instructions including
the election of directors. On non-discretionary items, if any,
for which you do not give your broker instructions, the shares
will be treated as broker non-votes.
How can I find out the results of the voting at the annual
meeting?
Preliminary voting results will be announced at the Annual
Meeting. Final voting results will be published in our quarterly
report on
Form 10-Q for the
second quarter of 2006.
Who is paying for this proxy solicitation?
We will pay for the entire cost of soliciting proxies. In
addition to these mailed proxy materials, our directors and
employees and Georgeson Shareholder Communications Company may
also solicit proxies in person, by telephone, or by other means
of communication. Directors and employees will not be paid any
additional compensation for soliciting proxies, but Georgeson
will be paid its customary fee of approximately $6,500 plus
out-of-pocket expenses
for its basic solicitation services, which include review of
proxy materials, dissemination of broker search cards,
distribution of proxy materials, solicitation of ADP, brokers,
banks and institutional holders, and delivery of executed
proxies. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other
agents for the cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial
owners.
If I share my residence with another stockholder, how many
copies of the Annual Report and Proxy Statement should I
receive?
The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted a rule
concerning the delivery of disclosure documents. The rule allows
us to send a single set of any annual report, proxy statement,
proxy statement combined with a prospectus, or information
statement to any household at which two or more stockholders
reside if they share the same last name or we reasonably believe
they are members of the same family. This procedure is referred
to as Householding. This rule benefits both you and
us. It reduces the volume of duplicate information received at
your household and helps us reduce expenses. Each stockholder
subject to Householding will continue to receive a separate
proxy card or voting instruction card.
We will deliver promptly, upon written or oral request, a
separate copy of the Annual Report or Proxy Statement, as
applicable, to a stockholder at a shared address to which a
single copy of the document was previously delivered. If you
received a single set of disclosure documents for this year, but
you would prefer to receive your own copy, you may direct
requests for separate copies to our Investor Relations Manager
at 1521 Westbranch Drive, Suite 200, McLean, Virginia,
22102 or call our toll-free investor relations line at
1-866-366-5745. If you
are a stockholder that receives multiple copies of our proxy
materials, you may request Householding by contacting us in the
same manner and requesting a householding consent.
What if I consent to have one set of materials mailed now,
but change my mind later?
Call or write to us to cancel the Householding instructions for
yourself. You will then be sent a separate Annual Report and
Proxy Statement within 30 days of receipt of your
instruction.
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The reason I receive multiple sets of materials is because
some of the stock belongs to my children. What happens when they
move out and no longer live in my household?
When there is an address change for one of the members of the
household, materials will be sent directly to the stockholder at
his or her new address.
When are stockholder proposals due for next years
annual meeting?
To be considered for inclusion in next years proxy
materials, your proposal must be submitted in writing by
November 24, 2006, to our Secretary at the address set
forth on the cover of this proxy statement. If you wish to
submit a proposal that is not to be included in next years
proxy materials or nominate a director, you must do so not later
than the close of business on March 25, 2007 nor earlier
than the close of business on February 23, 2007. You are
also advised to review our Bylaws, which contain additional
requirements about advance notice of stockholder proposals and
director nominations.
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PROPOSAL I
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Our Board of Directors is divided into three classes. Each class
consists, as nearly as possible, of one-third of the total
number of directors, and each class has a three-year term.
Vacancies on our Board of Directors may be filled only by
persons elected by a majority of the remaining directors. A
director elected by our Board of Directors to fill a vacancy in
a class shall serve for the remainder of the full term of that
class, and until the directors successor is elected and
qualified. This includes vacancies created by an increase in the
number of directors.
Our Board of Directors presently has nine members. There are
three directors in the class whose term of office expires in
2006. Mr. Gerard Mead was elected by our Board of Directors
in December 2005, based on the recommendation of the Ethics,
Nominating and Corporate Governance committee of the Board of
Directors, to fill a vacancy created by an increase in the
number of directors whose terms expire in 2008. Although
Mr. Meads directorship is not scheduled to be voted
on by stockholders until the 2008 Annual Meeting, the Board of
Directors deemed it in our best interests and in the best
interests of our stockholders to give our stockholders the
earliest possible opportunity to vote on Mr. Meads
election. Each of the remaining nominees listed below was
recommended to the Board of Directors by our CEO to fill a
vacancy on the Board of Directors in August 2003 immediately
prior to our initial public offering, and is standing for
election by the stockholders for the first time. If elected at
the Annual Meeting, each of these nominees would serve until the
2009 Annual Meeting (in the case of Mr. Mead, the 2008
Annual Meeting) and until his or her successor is elected and
has qualified, or until the directors death, resignation
or removal.
Nominees for Election for a three-year term expiring at the
2009 Annual Meeting
David A.R. Dullum. Mr. Dullum, age 58, has
served as a director since August 2003. From 1995 to the
present, Mr. Dullum has been a partner of New England
Partners, a venture capital firm focused on investments in small
and medium-sized business in the Mid-Atlantic and New England
regions. From 1976 to 1990, Mr. Dullum was the managing
general partner of Frontenac Company, a Chicago-based venture
capital firm. Mr. Dullum is also a director of Gladstone
Capital Corporation and Gladstone Investment Corporation.
Mr. Dullum holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of
Business and a BME from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Maurice W. Coulon. Mr. Coulon, age 63, has
served as a director since August 2003. Since 2000,
Mr. Coulon has been a private investor in real estate. From
1991 through his retirement in 2000, Mr. Coulon served as
director of portfolio management for the Morgan Stanley Real
Estate Fund. From 1980 to 1991, Mr. Coulon served as senior
vice president of asset management for the Boston Company Real
Estate Counsel, Inc. Mr. Coulon was a founder of the
National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers and is a
past president of the National Council of Real Estate Investment
Fiduciaries. Mr. Coulon is also a director of Gladstone
Capital Corporation and Gladstone Investment Corporation.
Mr. Coulon holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BSE
from the University of Missouri.
Terry Lee Brubaker. Mr. Brubaker, age 62, has
served as our chief operating officer, secretary and a director
since our inception, and as president since our inception
through April 2004, when he assumed the duties of vice chairman.
Mr. Brubaker also serves as the vice chairman, chief
operating officer and a director of Gladstone Management
Corporation. Mr. Brubaker has served as the secretary and a
director of Gladstone Capital Corporation since May 2001. He
also served as president of Gladstone Capital Corporation from
May 2001 through April 2004, when he assumed the duties of vice
chairman. In March 1999, Mr. Brubaker founded and, until
May 1, 2003, served as chairman of Heads Up Systems, a
company providing processing industries with leading edge
technology. From 1996 to 1999, Mr. Brubaker served as vice
president of the paper group for the American Forest &
Paper Association. From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Brubaker served
as president of Interstate Resources, a pulp and paper company.
From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Brubaker served as president of IRI,
a radiation measurement equipment manufacturer. From 1981 to
1991, Mr. Brubaker held several management positions at
James River Corporation, a forest and paper company, including
vice president of strategic planning from 1981 to 1982, group
vice president of the Groveton Group and Premium
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Printing Papers from 1982 to 1990 and vice president of human
resources development in 1991. From 1976 to 1981,
Mr. Brubaker was strategic planning manager and marketing
manager of white papers at Boise Cascade. Previously,
Mr. Brubaker was a senior engagement manager at
McKinsey & Company from 1972 to 1976. Prior to 1972,
Mr. Brubaker was a U.S. Navy fighter pilot.
Mr. Brubaker holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School
and a BSE from Princeton University.
Nominee for Election for a two-year term expiring at the 2008
Annual Meeting
Gerard Mead. Mr. Mead, age 62, has served as a
director since December 2005. Mr. Mead is also the founder
and chairman of Gerard Mead Capital Management, a firm which he
founded in 2003 that provides investment management services to
pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, and high net
worth individuals. From 1966 to 2003 Mr. Mead was employed
by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, where he held a series of
engineering, corporate finance and investment positions with
increasing management responsibility. From 1987 to 2003
Mr. Mead served as chairman and pension fund manager of the
Pension Trust of Bethlehem Steel Corporation and Subsidiary
Companies. From 1972 to 1987 he served successively as
investment analyst, director of investment research, and trustee
of the Pension Trust, during which time he was also a corporate
finance analyst and investor relations contact for institutional
investors of Bethlehem Steel. Prior to that time Mr. Mead
was a steel plan engineer. Mr. Mead is also a director of
Gladstone Capital Corporation and Gladstone Investment
Corporation. Mr. Mead holds an MBA from the Harvard
Business School and a BSCE from Lehigh University.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE IN FAVOR OF
EACH NAMED NOMINEE.
PROPOSAL II
APPROVAL OF AMENDED AND RESTATED INVESTMENT
ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT
We are asking our stockholders to approve an amended and
restated investment advisory agreement, or the Proposed
Agreement, between us and Gladstone Management
Corporation, who we refer to throughout this proxy statement as
our Adviser. We desire to enter into the Proposed
Agreement to provide what we consider to be more appropriate
incentives to reward our management than those currently
provided under our existing 2003 Equity Incentive Plan, as
amended, or the 2003 Plan. The Proposed Agreement
provides for an annual base management fee equal to 2% of our
total stockholders equity (less the recorded value of any
preferred stock) and an incentive fee based on our funds from
operations, or FFO, which would reward the Adviser
if our quarterly FFO (before giving effect to any incentive fee)
exceeds 1.75% (7% annualized) of our total stockholders
equity (less the recorded value of any preferred stock). For
additional information concerning the fees under the Proposed
Agreement, see The Proposed Agreement and the
Administration Agreement Advisory, Administrative
and Incentive Fees.
We are also asking our stockholders to approve an administration
agreement, referred to in this proxy statement as the
Administration Agreement, with Gladstone
Administration, LLC, or the Administrator.
Currently, we have an Investment Advisory and Administrative
Agreement with the Adviser, which we refer to in this proxy
statement as the Existing Agreement. Under the
Existing Agreement, the Adviser provides both advisory and
administrative services to us. If Proposal II is approved,
the administrative services currently performed by the Adviser
under the Existing Agreement would be performed by the
Administrator, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under
the terms of the Administration Agreement.
As explained in more detail below under Considerations
of Our Board of Directors, our Board of Directors
believes that the compensation structure under the Proposed
Agreement, which provides for a fixed fee and an incentive fee,
will be more likely to incentivize managers to accomplish
long-term goals consistent with the best interests of our
stockholders than the cost based advisory agreement and equity
incentive structure currently provided under the Existing
Agreement. In addition, a similar incentive structure is
currently being used by our affiliate Gladstone Investment
Corporation, and has been approved by the
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stockholders of our affiliate Gladstone Capital Corporation,
which affiliates are also externally managed by our Adviser. We
believe that the similarity of these fee structures and their
emphasis on increasing earnings and payment of dividends to our
stockholders will lead to greater management efficiency.
Further, as similarly structured base management fees are being
used by other externally managed real estate investment trusts,
or REITs, the base management fee structure will
also be familiar to analysts who evaluate our industry. In
addition, as the use of incentive fees in lieu of equity
incentive plans has become more predominant among our
competitors, we believe that the proposed compensation structure
will likely enable us and the Adviser to compete more
effectively for the services of talented professionals.
If our stockholders approve Proposal II, we will seek the
agreement of the holders of outstanding options to terminate or
exercise their outstanding options. We anticipate that we will
seek such agreement through the delivery of a tender offer to
our officers and directors and to the employees of the Adviser
who hold outstanding options, who we refer to collectively as
the Optionees. Any such tender offer would seek the
agreement of the Optionees to amend the terms of their options
by accelerating the expiration date of the options to
December 31, 2006. In connection with seeking such
agreement from the Optionees, we intend to accelerate the
vesting of all unvested options held by the Optionees in full.
We further expect that any such tender offer would be
conditioned on its acceptance by all Optionees so that the
vesting and termination provisions of all options would be
amended uniformly in accordance with the terms of the offer. In
the case that all of the Optionees accept the terms of such
tender offer, any option holders who choose to exercise would be
able to publicly resell their shares without restriction.
Once all of the outstanding options are either exercised or
terminated, we will terminate the 2003 Plan and would then enter
into the Proposed Agreement with the Adviser and the
Administration Agreement with the Administrator. As described in
greater detail below, the combined fees payable under the
Proposed Agreement (including incentive fees) and the
Administration Agreement may be higher than those payable under
the Existing Agreement. However, because of the termination of
the 2003 Plan and the termination or exercise of all outstanding
options, any future appreciation in our stock price would inure
to our stockholders at large, rather than to the option holders,
and our stockholders would no longer face the dilutive effect of
options under the 2003 Plan.
The same individuals who currently manage our portfolio would
continue to manage our portfolio under the Proposed Agreement.
Although our day-to-day
operations and administration, record keeping and regulatory
compliance functions would be provided separately under the
Administration Agreement with Gladstone Administration, there is
no expectation that our stockholders would notice any change or
diminution in services because of this organizational separation.
The Proposed Agreement and the Administration Agreement are
attached as Appendices A and B, respectively, to this proxy
statement. At a meeting of our Board of Directors held on
January 10, 2006, the Board of Directors unanimously voted
to approve the Proposed Agreement with the Adviser and the
Administration Agreement with the Administrator.
The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the
meeting is required to approve Proposal II. Under our
Bylaws, the vote of the holders of a majority means
the vote of the holders of the more than 50% of the outstanding
shares of our common stock present at the meeting or represented
by proxy, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding
shares of our common stock are present or represented by proxy.
Current Investment Advisory and Administrative
Arrangements
Under the Existing Agreement, the Adviser provides both advisory
and administrative services to us. The Existing Agreement was
approved by our Board of Directors on August 12, 2003,
prior to our initial public offering. Under the Existing
Agreement, we compensate our Adviser through reimbursement of
our portion of the Advisers payroll, benefits and general
overhead expenses, on the following bases:
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Reimbursement on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all expenses
incurred by our Adviser for our direct benefit (including, but
not limited to organizational and offering expenses, legal,
accounting, tax and consulting fees); |
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Reimbursement on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all additional
fees charged by third parties that are directly related to our
business (including, but not limited to real estate brokerage
fees, mortgage placement fees,
lease-up fees and
transaction structuring fees); |
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Reimbursement for our pro rata share of our Advisers
employee payroll and benefits expenses, on an
employee-by-employee basis, based on the percentage of each
employees time devoted to our matters. |
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Reimbursement for our pro rata portion of all other expenses of
our Adviser, or overhead expenses, based on the
percentage of total hours worked by our Advisers personnel
that are spent on our matters. However, under the Existing
Agreement we are only required to reimburse our Adviser for
overhead if the amount of payroll and benefits expenses
reimbursed to our Adviser, as described above, is less than 2.0%
of our average invested assets. In such case, we will only be
required to reimburse our Adviser for our share of its overhead
expenses up to the point that overhead expenses and payroll and
benefits expenses, on a combined basis, equal 2.0% of our
average invested assets. |
Under the Existing Agreement, the Adviser provides the following
services: (A) finds, evaluates, presents and recommends to
us a continuing series of real estate opportunities consistent
with our investment policies and objectives; (B) advises us
and acts on our behalf with respect to the negotiation,
acquisition, financing, refinancing, holding, leasing and
disposition of real estate investments; (C) enters into
contracts to purchase real estate and makes mortgage loans on
our behalf in compliance with our investment procedures,
objectives and policies, subject to approval of our Board of
Directors, where required; and (D) provides us with all
required records, and regular reports to our Board of Directors,
concerning the Advisers efforts on our behalf.
In addition to these advisory services, the Adviser also manages
our day-to-day
operations and administration, record keeping and regulatory
compliance functions. The Adviser pays for all (i) costs
and expenses incurred by it in rendering services to us,
including salaries and other employee benefits of the
Advisers employees who provide services to us, and
(ii) the cost of office space, equipment, services and
similar items required for our
day-to-day operations.
We are required to pay all of our operating expenses, except
those borne by the Adviser. During the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005, we paid total fees of $2,118,040 to the
Adviser under the Existing Agreement.
If our stockholders approve Proposal II, the Proposed and
Administration Agreements will go into effect on the later of:
(i) January 1, 2007; or (ii) the first day of the
first fiscal quarter beginning after the last of our outstanding
stock options is either exercised or terminated. The Existing
Agreement will terminate upon the effective date of the Proposed
and Administration Agreements.
Our 2003 Equity Incentive Plan
As discussed in more detail below, under the 2003 Plan, we have
the ability to grant to our officers, directors and employees
(including the officers, directors and employees of the Adviser)
certain equity incentive awards, such as options to purchase our
common stock. This equity incentive plan provides
performance-based compensation to our officers and directors and
to the employees of the Adviser, and has historically been the
method by which we have sought to provide incentives to those
personnel.
Table 1 below shows certain information regarding all
options granted to the Optionees who have served as our
officers, directors or employees of us and our Adviser from our
inception through December 31, 2005. The table shows the
estimated total value to all individuals that have received
option grants under the 2003 Plan. The values are derived from
the assumptions set out below and are based on the guidelines
prescribed by proxy rules adopted by the SEC for the purpose of
valuing options when calculating executive compensation. These
values are not the values used for financial accounting purposes.
If our stock were to appreciate at the rates prescribed by the
SEC rules for the life of the options, and the Optionees held
their options until their expiration dates, exercised the
options, and sold the acquired shares in the market, then the
total amounts set forth in the table below would inure to the
Optionees. The same result generally would occur if the
Optionees exercised their options and held the underlying stock
until the scheduled expiration dates of the options. To the
extent that Optionees exercise their options and sell the
10
underlying shares prior to the expiration dates of the options,
a portion of this appreciation would inure to our stockholders
at large.
You should note that, as of December 31, 2005, a total of
30,000 of the options included in the table below had already
been exercised by the Optionees, which has the effect of cutting
off the potential future appreciation in the value of these
options. Nevertheless, these Optionees continue to hold the
shares acquired on such exercises and, as a result, continue to
benefit from future appreciation in the value of our stock.
Additionally, a total of 27,500 of the options included in the
table below expired unexercised following the separation of
three Optionees from employment with us, and therefore no value
may be realized by those Optionees with respect to such options.
TABLE 1: OPTION GRANTS SINCE INCEPTION
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Potential Realizable Value at | |
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Number of | |
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Average | |
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Assumed Annual Rates of Stock Price | |
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Securities | |
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Exercise or | |
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Appreciation for Option Term(1) | |
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Underlying | |
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Base Price | |
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Expiration | |
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Calendar Year of Grant |
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Options Granted | |
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($/Share) | |
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Year | |
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5% ($) | |
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10% ($) | |
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2003
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629,000 |
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$ |
15.00 |
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2013 |
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$ |
5,943,242.89 |
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$ |
15,061,344.37 |
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2004
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280,000 |
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$ |
16.22 |
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2014 |
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$ |
2,855,461.46 |
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$ |
7,236,299.98 |
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2005
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64,500 |
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$ |
15.47 |
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2015 |
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$ |
627,501.63 |
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$ |
1,590,212.32 |
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Total
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973,500 |
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$ |
15.40 |
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$ |
9,426,205.98 |
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$ |
23,887,856.68 |
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(1) |
The potential realizable value is based on the term of the
option at the time of its grant (10 years). It is
calculated by assuming that the stock price on the date of the
grant appreciates at the indicated annual rate, compounded
annually for the entire term of the option and that the option
is exercised and the underlying shares sold on the last day of
its term for the appreciated stock price. The amounts represent
certain assumed rates of appreciation only, in accordance with
the rules of the SEC, and do not reflect our estimate or
projection of future stock price performance. Actual gains, if
any, are dependent on the actual future performance of our
common stock and no gain to the Optionee is possible unless the
stock price increases over the option term. |
Table 2 below sets forth certain information regarding all
options exercised since our inception, and options held as of
December 31, 2005, by the Optionees. The table shows the
aggregate value that has been realized upon such exercises by
the Optionees since our inception, and the aggregate value of
in-the-money options
(i.e., options with exercise prices less than the market price)
held by the Optionees as of December 31, 2005.
TABLE 2: AGGREGATE OPTION EXERCISES SINCE INCEPTION
AND AGGREGATE VALUE OF OPTIONS AT DECEMBER 31, 2005
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Number of Securities | |
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Underlying | |
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Value of Unexercised In-the- | |
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Unexercised Options | |
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Money Options at December 31, | |
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at December 31, 2005 | |
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2005 ($)(2) | |
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Value Realized | |
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Shares Acquired on Exercise |
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($)(1) | |
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Vested | |
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Unvested | |
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Vested | |
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Unvested(3) | |
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30,000
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$ |
47,500 |
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744,250 |
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171,750 |
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$ |
893,127.50 |
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$ |
111,892.50 |
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(1) |
Value realized is calculated at the closing market price on the
date of exercise, net of option exercise price, but before any
tax liabilities or transaction costs. |
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(2) |
The value of unexercised options is calculated at the closing
market price on December 31, 2005 less the exercise price.
In-the-money
options are those with an exercise price that is less than the
closing market price on December 31, 2005. |
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(3) |
Unvested options generally may be exercised by the optionholder,
but the shares underlying the options may not be resold until
the shares vest according to the vesting schedule of the
options. If the Proposed |
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Agreement is approved and the 2003 Plan is terminated, we
anticipate that we will seek agreement from the Optionees to
exercise or terminate their options within a limited period of
time, and in conjunction therewith, we intend to accelerate the
vesting period of unvested options. Accordingly, when
stockholders are considering Proposal II, they should be
aware that a substantial number of the unvested
in-the-money options
set forth in the table above could become vested if the Proposed
Agreement is adopted. |
The Proposed Agreement and the Administration Agreement
Advisory, Administrative and Incentive Fees. There are
important differences between the fees payable to the Adviser
and the Administrator under the Proposed and Administration
Agreements, or the Proposed Fees, and the fees that
are currently payable to our Adviser under the Existing
Agreement. Under the Existing Agreement, we currently compensate
the Adviser through reimbursement of our portion of the
Advisers payroll, benefits and general overhead expenses.
This reimbursement is generally subject to a combined annual
management fee limitation of 2.0% of our average invested assets
(which is nearly the same as total assets) for the year, with
certain exceptions described above under Current
Investment Advisory and Administrative Arrangements.
Under the Proposed Agreement, we would pay the Adviser a base
management fee of 2.0% of our total stockholders equity
(less the recorded value of any preferred stock, and adjusted to
exclude the effect of any unrealized gains, losses or other
items that do not affect realized net income). We would pay
separately for administrative services under the Administration
Agreement, which payments would be equal to our allocable
portion of the Administrators overhead expenses in
performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement,
including rent for the space occupied by the Administrator, and
our allocable portion of the salaries and benefits expenses of
our chief financial officer, treasurer, chief compliance officer
and controller and their respective staffs. As a result, the
Proposed Fees (including the incentive fee described below) may
be higher than those payable under the Existing Agreement,
however, we believe that the termination of the 2003 Plan and
its dilutive effect on our stockholders will offset any higher
fees. The differences in the fees payable to our Adviser under
the Existing Agreement and the Proposed Fees are explained in
more detail below under Additional Expense
Information.
The Proposed Agreement also includes incentive fees that we
would pay to our Adviser if our performance reaches certain
benchmarks. These incentive fees are intended to provide an
additional incentive for our Adviser to achieve targeted levels
of FFO and to increase distributions to our stockholders. This
incentive fee compensation to the Adviser is proposed to replace
our current equity incentive plan and outstanding stock options,
which would be terminated if our stockholders approve the
Proposed Agreement. The incentive fee will be calculated and
payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive
fee FFO (as defined below) for the immediately preceding
calendar quarter. For this purpose, pre-incentive fee FFO means
FFO accrued by us during the calendar quarter. FFO is calculated
after taking into account all operating expenses for the
quarter, including the base management fee (less any rebate of
fees received by the Adviser), expenses payable under the
Administration Agreement and any interest expense (but excluding
the incentive fee) and any other operating expenses.
Pre-incentive fee FFO includes, in the case of investments with
a deferred interest feature (such as original issue discount,
debt instruments with payment in kind interest and zero coupon
securities), accrued income and rents that we have not yet
received in cash. Pre-incentive FFO will also include any
realized capital gains and realized capital losses, less any
dividend paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock, but
will not include any unrealized capital appreciation or
depreciation.
FFO is a relative non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles in the United States) supplemental measure of
operating performance of an equity REIT developed by the
National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or
NAREIT, in order to recognize that income-producing
real estate historically has not depreciated on the basis
determined under GAAP. FFO, as defined by NAREIT, is net income
or net loss (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains
or losses from sales of property, plus depreciation and
amortization of real estate assets, and after adjustments for
unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. FFO does not
represent cash flows from operating activities in accordance
with GAAP (which, unlike FFO, generally reflects all cash
effects of transactions and other events in the determination of
net income or net loss), and should not be considered an
alternative to either net income or net loss as an
12
indication of our performance or to cash flow from operations as
a measure of liquidity or ability to make distributions.
Pre-incentive fee FFO, expressed as a rate of return on our
total stockholders equity as reflected on our balance
sheet (less the recorded value of any preferred stock, and
adjusted to exclude the effect of any unrealized gains, losses
or other items that do not affect realized net income) at the
end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, will be
compared to a hurdle rate of 1.75% per quarter
(7% annualized). Because the hurdle rate is fixed and has been
based in relation to current interest rates, if interest rates
rise, it would become easier for our pre-incentive fee FFO to
exceed the hurdle rate and, as a result, more likely that the
Adviser will receive an income incentive fee than if interest
rates on our investments remained constant or decreased. We will
pay the Adviser an incentive fee with respect to our
pre-incentive fee FFO in each calendar quarter as follows:
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no incentive fee in any calendar quarter in which pre-incentive
fee FFO does not exceed the hurdle rate (1.75% per calendar
quarter); |
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100% of our pre-incentive fee FFO with respect to that portion
of such FFO, if any, that exceeds the hurdle rate but is less
than 2.1875% in any calendar quarter (8.75% annualized); and |
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20% of the amount of our pre-incentive fee FFO, if any, that
exceeds 2.1875% in any calendar quarter (8.75% annualized). |
These calculations will be appropriately pro rated for any
period of less than three months and adjusted for any share
issuances or repurchases during the current quarter. We refer to
the portion of the incentive fee payable on 100% of our
pre-incentive fee FFO, if any, that exceeds the hurdle rate but
is less than 2.1875% as the catch up. The
catch up provision is intended to provide the
Adviser with an incentive fee of 20% on all of our pre-incentive
fee FFO that does not exceed 2.1875% once the hurdle rate has
been surpassed.
The base management fee and total stockholders equity will
be calculated using GAAP and FFO will be calculated using the
definition adopted by NAREIT.
Example of Quarterly Incentive Fee
Calculation1
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Total Stockholders Equity less issued and outstanding
preferred stock = 100% |
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FFO (including rents, interest, dividends and fees, after paying
base management fee, administrative fee, interest and other
operating expenses) = 1.5% (6% annualized) |
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Hurdle rate = 1.75% (7% annualized) |
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Pre-incentive fee FFO (FFO less preferred stock
dividends) = 1% (4% annualized) |
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Pre-incentive FFO does not exceed the hurdle rate, therefore
there is no incentive fee. |
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Total Stockholders Equity less issued and outstanding
preferred stock = 100% |
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FFO (including rents, interest, dividends and fees, after paying
base management fee, administrative |
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fee, interest and other operating expenses) = 2.5%
(10% annualized) |
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Hurdle rate = 1.75% (7% annualized) |
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Pre-incentive fee FFO (FFO less preferred stock
dividends) = 2% (8% annualized) |
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Pre-incentive fee FFO exceeds the hurdle rate, therefore there
is an incentive fee payable to the Adviser. |
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Incentive Fee = 100% × Catch
Up + the greater of 0% AND (20% ×
(pre-incentive fee FFO |
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minus 2.1875%) = .25% (1% annualized). |
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= 100% × (2.50% - 0.50%) - 1.75% |
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= 100% × (2.00% - 1.75%) |
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= 100% × 0.25% |
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= 0.25% |
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Total Stockholders Equity less issued and outstanding
preferred stock = 100% |
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FFO (including rents, interest, dividends and fees, after paying
base management fee, administrative |
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fee, interest and other operating expenses) = 3.5%
(14% annualized) |
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Hurdle rate = 1.75% (7% annualized) |
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Pre-incentive fee FFO (FFO less preferred stock
dividends) = 3% (12% annualized) |
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Pre-incentive fee FFO exceeds the hurdle rate, therefore there
is an incentive fee payable to the Adviser. |
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Incentive Fee = 100% × Catch
Up + the greater of 0% AND
(20% × (pre-incentive fee FFO |
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minus 2.1875%) = 0.6% (2.4% annualized) |
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= (100% x 2.1875% - 1.75) + the greater
of 0% and (20% x (3.00% 2.1875%) |
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= (100% × 0.4375%) + (20% × 0.8125%) |
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= (0.4375% + 0.1625%) |
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= 0.6% |
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1 |
The hypothetical amount of pre-incentive fee FFO shown in these
examples is based on a percentage of total stockholders
equity (less the recorded value of preferred stock, and adjusted
to exclude the effect of any unrealized gains, losses or other
items that do not affect realized net income) of
$100 million. |
Additional Expense Information
The table below provides a comparison of the expenses under the
Existing Agreement and the Proposed and Administration
Agreements. The fees and expenses table below is required by SEC
regulations to assist investors in understanding the various
costs and expenses associated with their investments. The fees
and expenses table presents:
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fees and expenses incurred under the Existing Agreement for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005; |
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a pro forma presentation of the fees and expenses under the
Existing Agreement for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2005 if we had elected to account for our stock-based
compensation under the fair value provisions of
SFAS No. 123(R) for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005; and |
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a pro forma presentation of the fees and expenses under the
Proposed and Administration Agreements as if the Proposed and
Administration Agreements had been in effect, and as if the
2003 Plan had not been in effect, for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005. |
The fees and expenses table is intended to assist you in
understanding these fees and expenses, and should not be
considered a representation of past or future expenses or annual
rates of return. Actual expenses or annual rates of return may
be more or less than those used for purposes of the fee table
and example. All information presented below is unaudited and is
based on unaudited financial information as of and for the year
ended December 31, 2005. Further, stockholders should note
that the amount of expense that we would have incurred for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 if we had elected to
account for our stock-based compensation under
SFAS No. 123(R), as shown in the pro forma
presentation below under Pro Forma
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SFAS 123(R), is calculated by a different method and
bears no relationship to the amounts included in Table 1
under Our 2003 Equity Incentive Plan.
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Fees and Expenses |
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Current | |
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Pro Forma | |
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Pro Forma | |
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(Existing | |
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SFAS 123(R) | |
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(Proposed and | |
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Agreement) | |
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Administration | |
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Agreements) | |
Annual Expenses(as a percentage of total
stockholders equity)(1)
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Base Management Fees
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2.14 |
% |
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2.14 |
% |
|
|
2.00 |
% |
|
Administrative Fees(2)
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
0.21 |
% |
|
2003 Equity Incentive Plan(3)
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
0.19 |
% |
|
|
N/A |
|
|
Interest Payments on Borrowed Funds(4)
|
|
|
2.47 |
% |
|
|
2.47 |
% |
|
|
2.47 |
% |
|
Other Expenses(5)
|
|
|
5.28 |
% |
|
|
5.28 |
% |
|
|
5.28 |
% |
Total Annual Expenses (excluding incentive fees)
|
|
|
9.89 |
% |
|
|
10.08 |
% |
|
|
9.96 |
% |
|
Incentive Fee(6)
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
N/A |
|
|
|
1.01 |
% |
Total Annual Expenses (including incentive fees)
|
|
|
9.89 |
% |
|
|
10.08 |
% |
|
|
10.97 |
% |
|
|
(1) |
Total stockholders equity equals total stockholders
equity as reported in the Companys financial statements
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. |
|
(2) |
Pro Forma (Proposed and Administration Agreements)
administrative fees represent the amount of administrative fees
that we would have paid to the Administrator had the
Administration Agreement been in effect for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2005. Pro Forma (Proposed and
Administration Agreements) administrative fees are determined
using the aggregate cost of the salaries and benefits paid to
our chief financial officer, chief compliance officer and
controller and their respective staffs, as well as the rental
expense of our McLean, Virginia office attributable to these
personnel, multiplied by a fraction which is equal to the ratio
of our total assets to the total assets of all companies managed
by the Adviser, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. |
|
(3) |
Under the revised SFAS No. 123(R) approved by the
Financial Accounting Standards Board in December 2004,
Share-Based Payment, we began expensing the value of
stock options granted as compensation expense in January of
2006. The Pro Forma (SFAS 123(R)) amount represents the
compensation expense that we would have incurred had we elected
to account for its stock-based compensation under the fair value
provisions of SFAS No. 123(R) for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2005. If our stockholders approve
Proposal II, our 2003 Plan will be terminated and no new
options will be granted under the plan. We anticipate that we
will seek agreement from the Optionees to exercise or terminate
their options within a limited period of time, and at the
expiration of that period the 2003 Plan and all options
remaining outstanding under the plan will terminate. The
Proposed and Administration Agreements will not become effective
until all stock options are exercised or terminated and the 2003
Plan is terminated. |
|
(4) |
As of December 31, 2005, we had aggregate outstanding
borrowings of $43,560,000 under our revolving credit facilities.
The percentage reflected in the table above is the total amount
of interest paid during the fiscal year ended December 31,
2005 as a percentage of total stockholders equity. |
|
(5) |
Other Expenses are based on amounts incurred for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. |
|
(6) |
The Pro Forma (Proposed and Administration Agreements) Incentive
Fee is calculated pursuant to the formula described above under
The Proposed Agreement and Administration
Agreement Advisory, Administrative and Incentive
Fees as applied to our actual results of operations
during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 as follows: |
|
|
|
|
|
For the quarter ended March 31, 2005, our pre-incentive fee
FFO would have been approximately $1,035,560, resulting in an
incentive fee of $0 for the quarter; |
|
|
|
For the quarter ended June 30, 2005, our pre-incentive fee
FFO would have been approximately $1,824,304, resulting in an
incentive fee of $53,782 for the quarter; and |
15
|
|
|
|
|
For the quarter ended September 30, 2005, our pre-incentive
fee FFO would have been approximately $2,337,327 resulting in an
incentive fee of $467,465 for the quarter; and |
|
|
|
For the quarter ended December 31, 2005, our pre-incentive
fee FFO would have been approximately $2,375,348, resulting in
an incentive fee of $475,070 for the quarter. |
|
|
|
Obligations Under Proposed and Administration Agreements |
Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker and Stelljes will continue to
be primarily responsible for the
day-to-day management
of our portfolio under the Proposed Agreement, and the same
employees of the Adviser who currently assist our officers in
the management of our portfolio will continue to do so if our
stockholders approve the Proposed Agreement. Under the Proposed
Agreement, the Adviser will continue to: (A) find,
evaluate, present and recommend to us a continuing series of
real estate opportunities consistent with our investment
policies and objectives; (B) advise us and act on our
behalf with respect to the negotiation, acquisition, financing,
refinancing, holding, leasing and disposition of real estate
investments; (C) enter into contracts to purchase real
estate and make mortgage loans on our behalf in compliance with
our investment procedures, objectives and policies, subject to
approval of our Board of Directors, where required; and
(D) provide us with all required records, and regular
reports to our Board of Directors, concerning the Advisers
efforts on our behalf.
The administrative services that the Adviser currently performs
for us under the Existing Agreement will be performed separately
by the Administrator under the Administration Agreement. This is
largely an organizational change, and we do not expect that we
or our stockholders would notice any change or diminution in
services because of the separation. The Administrator will
manage our day-to-day
operations and administration, record keeping and regulatory
compliance functions. As with the Existing Agreement, under the
Proposed Agreement the Adviser (or the Administrator) would
continue to pay for all (i) costs and expenses incurred by
it in rendering services to us, including salaries and other
employee benefits of its employees who provide us services, and
(ii) costs of office space, equipment, services and similar
items required for our
day-to-day operations.
If our stockholders approve Proposal II, we anticipate that
we will seek agreement from the Optionees to exercise or
terminate their options within a limited period of time, and at
the expiration of that period the 2003 Plan and all options
remaining outstanding under the plan will terminate. The
Proposed and Administration Agreements will not be implemented
until all stock options are exercised or terminated and the 2003
Plan is terminated. Further, as long as the Proposed Agreement
is in effect, we will not implement any future equity incentive
plans.
Payment of the Advisers and Our expenses. All
investment professionals of the Adviser and its staff, when and
to the extent engaged in providing investment advisory and
management services, and the compensation and routine overhead
expenses of such personnel allocable to such services, will be
provided and paid for by the Adviser. We will bear all other
costs and expenses of our operations and transactions, including
those relating to: calculation of our total stockholders
equity (including the cost and expenses of any independent
valuation firm); expenses incurred by the Adviser or the
Administrator payable to third parties, including agents,
consultants or other advisors (such as independent valuation
firms, accountants and legal counsel), in monitoring our
financial and legal affairs and in monitoring our investments
and performing due diligence on our prospective portfolio
companies; interest payable on debt, if any, and dividends
payable on preferred stock, if any, incurred to finance our
investments; offerings of our debt, our preferred shares, our
common stock and other securities; investment advisory fees;
fees payable to third parties, including agents, consultants or
other advisors, relating to, or associated with, evaluating and
making investments; transfer agent and custodial fees;
registration fees; listing fees; taxes; independent
directors fees and expenses; costs of preparing and filing
reports or other documents of the SEC; the costs of any reports,
proxy statements or other notices to stockholders, including
printing costs; our allocable portion of the fidelity bond,
directors and officers and errors and omissions liability
insurance, and any other insurance premiums; direct costs and
expenses of administration, including auditor and legal costs;
and all other expenses incurred by us, by the Adviser, or by the
Administrator in connection with administering our business,
such as our allocable portion of overhead
16
under the Administration Agreement, including rent, and our
allocable portion of the costs of our chief compliance officer,
chief financial officer and controller and their respective
staffs.
Duration and termination. The Proposed Agreement and the
Administration Agreement were each approved by our Board of
Directors on January 10, 2006. Unless terminated earlier as
described below, these agreements will continue in effect for a
period of two years from their respective effective dates. Each
of these agreements will remain in effect from year to year
thereafter if approved annually by our Board of Directors or by
the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our
outstanding voting securities, including, in either case,
approval by a majority of our independent directors. Neither of
the Proposed or Administration Agreements may be assigned
without our consent and the consent of the Adviser or the
Administrator, as applicable. Each of the Proposed and
Administration Agreements may be terminated by either party
without penalty upon 60 days written notice to the
other.
Indemnification. Each of the Proposed and Administration
Agreements provide that, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith
or gross negligence in the performance of their duties or by
reason of the reckless disregard of their duties and
obligations, the Adviser, the Administrator and their respective
officers, managers, agents, employees, controlling persons,
members and any other person or entity affiliated with them are
entitled to indemnification from us for any damages,
liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable
attorneys fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement)
arising from the rendering of the Advisers or the
Administrators services under the Proposed or
Administration Agreements or otherwise as an investment adviser
of ours.
Considerations of Our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors approved the Proposed and Administration
Agreements at a meeting held on January 10, 2006. In its
consideration of the agreements, the Board of Directors focused
on information it had received relating to, among other things:
the reasonableness of the Proposed Fees (including the incentive
fee under the Proposed Agreement), the experience of the
Advisers personnel, the potential for additional
attractive investments resulting from synergies with other funds
to be managed by the Adviser, and the advantage of terminating
our equity incentive plan in favor of the incentive fee
arrangement under the Proposed Agreement. Our Board of Directors
considered the investment advisory and incentive fees under the
Proposed Agreement and the administrative fees under the
Administration Agreement, and information on fees charged by
other investment advisers and administrators for comparable
services, and determined that the proposed fees were reasonable
in relation to the services to be provided by the Adviser and
the Administrator.
In recommending that we continue to use the Adviser as our
investment adviser, and that we engage the Administrator to
perform our administrative services, our Board of Directors
considered the fact that the advisory and administrative team of
the Adviser and the Administrator are expected to be in all
material respects, for at least the next year, the same as the
current team responsible for our management and administration,
and the fact that our investment objectives are consistent with
the investment selection process employed by the Adviser. In
connection with its final deliberations, our Board of Directors
reviewed and discussed additional materials provided by the
Adviser and the Administrator in response to the Boards
request, including information regarding the services to be
performed; the prior experience of the personnel of the Adviser
in connection with the types of investments we propose to make,
including such personnels extensive network of contacts;
the size of the respective staff of the Adviser and the
Administrator; anticipated changes in the current personnel of
the Adviser and Administrator; the compensation of such
personnel; the written plan for allocating investment
opportunities among the Advisers current and future
clients; the operations of the Adviser and the Administrator;
and the organizational capability and financial condition of the
Adviser, as evidenced by the Advisers level of service to
us and to our affiliates, Gladstone Capital Corporation and
Gladstone Investment Corporation. Our Board of Directors also
relied upon comparisons of the services to be rendered and the
amounts to be paid under the Proposed and Administration
Agreements with those of other REITs that are externally
managed, which are relatively new. The Board also reviewed the
other investment advisory and administrative contracts that the
Adviser has with our affiliates, Gladstone Capital Corporation
and Gladstone Investment Corporation, which have entered into or
anticipate entering
17
into agreements with the Adviser on similar terms and
conditions. When evaluating comparisons, the Board of Directors
considered, among other things:
|
|
|
|
|
the high quality and extensive level of the advisory and other
services that we expect the Advisers team to continue to
provide to us; |
|
|
|
the fact that our projected operating expenses and expense ratio
are equal to or lower than those of other REITs with similar
contracts and similar investment objectives; and |
|
|
|
the difficulty of obtaining similar services from other third
party service providers. |
Because we have a short operating history and owned no real
estate prior to our August 2003, initial public offering, our
Board of Directors was not able to identify a peer group of
other similar triple-net REITs that have recently completed
initial public offerings which the Board believes would provide
a meaningful comparison to our performance. Our Board of
Directors further believes that, because we are essentially a
start-up, comparing our
performance with the performance of the more established
companies in the S&P 500 would likewise not provide a useful
comparison for our stockholders. Therefore, the Board of
Directors did not rely on either of these measures to evaluate
the Advisers performance, but instead relied on the items
described above.
The Board of Directors acknowledged that the Proposed Fees are
expected to exceed the costs incurred by the Adviser and the
Administrator in providing services to us. However, the board
did not attempt to quantify the level of profits of the Adviser
or Administrator because of its high satisfaction with the
Advisers performance to date. The Proposed Agreement does
not provide for any reduction in fees in the event that the
Adviser experiences any economies of scale in the provision of
management services to us, as it is not expected that the
Adviser will realize any economies of scale in buying real
estate as might be realized if the Adviser were purchasing
publicly traded securities. Our Board of Directors also
considered the fact that the Administrator allocates the costs
of providing administrative services to the Advisers
externally managed funds on a pro-rata basis and, therefore, to
the extent the Administrator recognizes economies of scale in
providing administrative services to the Advisers
externally managed funds, those economies of scale will also be
indirectly recognized by us under the Administration Agreement.
Thus, to the extent that the Administrators costs
decrease, those reductions will be passed through indirectly to
us in the form of a reduced administration fee.
In its consideration of the incentive fee included in the
Proposed Agreement, our Board of Directors focused on
information it had received relating to, among other things:
|
|
|
|
|
the fact that the Proposed Agreement provides for a fee
structure similar to those of other REITs with similar contracts
and similar investment objectives, and that the Proposed
Agreement provides for fees that are reasonable in comparison to
other REITs in light of the fact that, under the Proposed
Agreement, we will have no equity incentive plan; |
|
|
|
the fact that an incentive fee arrangement is more appropriate
to an externally managed fund (like us) than is a stock option
program; |
|
|
|
the fact that stockholders increasingly demand strong fund
performance and are willing to reward managers for meeting those
goals; |
|
|
|
the fact that the utility of a stock option plan to reward fund
management has been curtailed by recent regulations that
prohibit executive officers from borrowing from an issuer to
finance the exercise of their stock options; |
|
|
|
the concern that stock options may incentivize managers (and
directors who receive stock options) to manage a fund for
short-run returns rather than long-term goals; |
|
|
|
the fact that incentive fees are the predominant method used by
other externally managed REITs with whom we and the Adviser
compete for talented professionals; |
18
|
|
|
|
|
the fact that the use of incentive fees is now becoming
prevalent among externally managed REITs and is a compensation
structure that is both understood and expected by analysts who
evaluate us and our stock; and |
|
|
|
the expectation that we and our stockholders would benefit from
the removal of the dilutive effects associated with stock
options, and the avoidance of the accounting charges related to
stock options that will soon be required to be recognized as
non-cash expense by us under recently adopted accounting rules. |
Based on the information reviewed by, and the ensuing
discussions of, our Board of Directors, the Board, including a
majority of the independent directors, concluded that the
Proposed Fees, including the incentive fee, were reasonable in
relation to the services to be provided by the Adviser and the
Administrator. Based on its review and discussion, the Board
approved the Proposed Agreement and the Administration Agreement
as being in the best interests of our stockholders. The Board
then directed that the Proposed Agreement and the Administration
Agreement be submitted to stockholders for approval with the
Boards recommendation that our stockholders vote to
approve the Proposed Agreement and the Administration Agreement.
Termination of the Equity Incentive Plan and Exercise of
Existing Stock Options
If our stockholders approve Proposal II, and we are
successful in our efforts to have all outstanding options
exercised or terminated, we will terminate the 2003 Plan and no
further options will be granted under the 2003 Plan. Once the
2003 Plan is terminated, we anticipate that we will seek
agreement from all Optionees to exercise or terminate their
outstanding options within a limited period of time. We
anticipate that we will seek such agreement through the delivery
of a tender offer to Optionees. Any such tender offer would seek
the agreement of the Optionees to amend the terms of their
options by accelerating the expiration date of the options to
December 31, 2006. In connection with seeking such
agreement from the Optionees, we intend to accelerate the
vesting of all unvested options held by the Optionees in full.
We further anticipate that any such tender offer would be
conditioned on its acceptance by all Optionees so that the
vesting and termination provisions of all options would be
amended uniformly in accordance with the terms of the offer. In
the case that all of the Optionees accept the terms of such
tender offer, any option holders who choose to exercise would be
able to publicly resell their shares without restriction.
If this proposal is approved, we will execute the Proposed
Agreement with the Adviser and the Administration Agreement with
the Administrator on the later of (i) January 1, 2007,
or (ii) the first day of the first fiscal quarter following
the date that all existing stock options are exercised or
terminated. The Proposed Agreement and the Administration
Agreement will not become effective as long as the 2003 Plan is
in effect or as long as there are any outstanding stock options.
While it is expected that the Proposed Agreement and the
Administration Agreement will be executed and go into effect on
January 1, 2007, until the Proposed Agreement and the
Administration Agreement are executed and all stock options have
been exercised or terminated, the Existing Agreement will remain
in place. Once the Proposed Agreement and Administration
Agreement are executed, the Existing Agreement will terminate.
Certain Risks Related to Approval of the Proposed and
Administration Agreements
Stockholders voting on Proposal II should give careful
consideration to the following risks when deciding whether or
not to approve the Proposed and Administration Agreements.
|
|
|
If our stockholders approve the Proposed and Administration
Agreements, it could have a material adverse effect on our
results of operations. |
While we expect that the base management fee under the Proposed
Agreement and payments under the Administration Agreement
collectively would approximate the level of payments that we
have historically made to our Adviser under the Existing
Agreement, we believe that, if our performance reaches the
performance benchmarks set forth in the Proposed Agreement, the
incentive fees provided for under the Proposed Agreement will
likely have the effect of increasing our total operating
expenses. The incentive fee compensation to our Adviser is
intended to replace our 2003 Plan, and we believe that our
stockholders will
19
experience benefits as a result of our termination of the
2003 Plan and the associated elimination of outstanding
options, including the removal of the dilutive effects of the
options and the avoidance of non-cash charges related to stock
options under recently adopted accounting rules. Nevertheless,
the benefits experienced by our stockholders as a result of the
termination of the 2003 Plan may be outweighed by the
additional payments that we incur under the Proposed Agreement,
which could have a material adverse impact on our results of
operations and reduce the amount of cash available to make
distributions to our stockholders.
|
|
|
If our stockholders approve the Proposed and Administration
Agreements, it is likely that a significant number of shares of
stock issuable upon exercise of stock options will be sold in
the public market, which could have an adverse impact on the
price of our common stock. |
If our stockholders approve the Proposed and Administration
Agreements, we currently intend to terminate our 2003 Plan.
Additionally, we do not intend to implement the Proposed and
Administration Agreements until all outstanding options under
the 2003 Plan have been terminated or exercised. Therefore, if
our stockholders approve Proposal II, we intend to seek
agreement from the Optionees to exercise or terminate their
outstanding options within a limited period of time. In
connection with seeking such agreement from the Optionees, we
may also accelerate the vesting of all outstanding unvested
stock options. We also intend to file a registration statement
on Form S-8
covering the issuance of shares upon exercise of these options.
If these events occur, a significant number of the shares
currently issuable upon exercise of outstanding options will
become eligible for sale in the public market at or near the
same time. The sale of a substantial number of such shares, or
even the availability of such shares for sale, could have a
material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
Other Information About the Proposed and Administration
Agreements
If approved by our stockholders, the Proposed and Administration
Agreements will remain in full force and effect for two years
from their effective dates, and will automatically renew for
successive annual periods thereafter, but only so long as such
continuance is specifically approved at least annually by both
(i) our Board of Directors or by the vote of a majority of
our outstanding voting securities, and (ii) the vote of a
majority of our independent directors.
The Advisers services under the Proposed Agreement, and
the Administrators services under the Administration
Agreement, will not be exclusive to us. The Adviser currently
provides advisory services to our affiliates, Gladstone
Investment Corporation and Gladstone Capital Corporation, and
the Administrator currently provides administrative services to
Gladstone Investment Corporation. Both the Adviser and the
Administrator will be free to render services to other clients.
Each of the Proposed Agreement and the Administration Agreement
may be terminated at any time and without penalty upon at least
60 days prior written notice.
Information About the Adviser and the Administrator
The Adviser, Gladstone Management Corporation, is a registered
investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as
amended, and is incorporated under the laws of Delaware. Its
principal business address is 1521 Westbranch Drive,
Suite 200, McLean, VA 22102.
The Adviser is controlled by David Gladstone, the chairman of
our Board of Directors and our chief executive officer.
Mr. Gladstone is also the chairman of the board of
directors and chief executive officer of the Adviser. Terry Lee
Brubaker, our vice chairman, secretary, director and chief
operating officer, is a member of the board of directors of the
Adviser and its vice chairman, chief operating officer, and
secretary. George Stelljes III, our president, chief
investment officer and a director, is also a member of the board
of directors of the Adviser and its president and chief
investment officer. Harry Brill, our chief financial officer and
treasurer, is also chief financial officer and treasurer of the
Adviser.
20
The Adviser provides investment advisory services to Gladstone
Investment Corporation and Gladstone Capital Corporation, both
of which are investment companies that have elected to be
treated as business development companies under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended, and for each of which
Mr. Gladstone serves as the chief executive officer and
chairman of the board of directors. In the future, the Adviser
may provide investment advisory and administrative services to
other funds, both public and private, of which it is the sponsor.
The Administrator, Gladstone Administration, LLC, is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser incorporated under the
laws of Delaware. Its principal business address is
1521 Westbranch Drive, Suite 200, McLean, VA 22102.
The Administrator is also controlled by David Gladstone through
his control of the Adviser. Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker and
Stelljes are managers of the Administrator.
The Administrator provides administrative services to Gladstone
Investment Corporation pursuant to an agreement similar to the
Administration Agreement. The Administrator also performs the
administrative obligations of the Adviser under the
Advisers current investment advisory agreement with
Gladstone Capital Corporation. Upon the effectiveness of an
amended and restated investment advisory agreement recently
approved by the stockholders of Gladstone Capital Corporation,
the Administrator will provide administrative services directly
to Gladstone Capital Corporation under an administration
agreement between the Administrator and Gladstone Capital, as
further described in the table below under Relationship
of Our Affiliates with the Adviser and the
Administrator. In the future, the Adviser may provide
investment advisory and administrative services to other funds,
both public and private, of which it is the sponsor.
21
|
|
|
Relationship of Our Affiliates with the Adviser and the
Administrator |
The table below describes the compensation paid to the Adviser
and the Administrator by Gladstone Investment Corporation and
Gladstone Capital Corporation for advisory and administrative
services.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Assets at | |
|
|
Fund |
|
December 31, 2005 | |
|
Rate of Compensation to Gladstone Management Corporation |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
Gladstone Investment Corporation
|
|
$ |
230,956,388 |
|
|
Gladstone Investment pays the Adviser a base management fee and
a two-part incentive fee for investment advisory services. The
base management fee is charged at an annual rate of 2% of
Gladstone Investments gross assets, which is
defined as its total assets, less cash and cash equivalents that
are not invested in debt or equity securities of its portfolio
companies in accordance with its investment objectives. The
incentive fee consists of a quarterly income-based incentive fee
and a capital gains incentive fee. The income-based incentive
fee is calculated on the basis of pre-incentive fee net
investment income, which is interest income, dividend
income, and any other income, including any other fees (other
than fees for providing managerial assistance) such as
commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting
fees, and other fees that Gladstone Investment receives from its
portfolio companies, minus its operating expenses. No incentive
fee is charged for any calendar quarter in which pre-incentive
fee net investment income does not exceed a quarterly hurdle
rate of 1.75% (7% annualized). Gladstone Investment also pays
100% of any pre-incentive fee net investment income that exceeds
the hurdle rate but is less than 2.1875% in any calendar
quarter, and 20% of any pre-incentive fee net investment income
that exceeds 2.1875% in any calendar quarter. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Adviser has agreed to charge the base management fee on a
reduced basis from the effective date of the investment advisory
and management agreement, June 22, 2005, through
March 31, 2006. For this initial period, the annual 2% base
management fee will be charged on the basis of gross
invested assets rather than gross assets. Gross
invested assets is defined as total assets, including
investments made with proceeds of borrowings, less any
uninvested cash or cash equivalents resulting from borrowings. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gladstone Investment also pays Gladstone Administration for its
allocable portion of Gladstone Administrations overhead,
including rent, and its allocable portion of the costs of
Gladstone Investments chief compliance officer, chief
financial officer and controller and their respective staffs. |
22
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Assets at | |
|
|
Fund |
|
December 31, 2005 | |
|
Rate of Compensation to Gladstone Management Corporation |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
During the period from June 22, 2005 (the effective date of
the advisory agreement) through December 31, 2005,
Gladstone Investment made payments to the Adviser of $357,630
and payments of $178,469 to Gladstone Administration for
administrative services. |
|
Gladstone Capital Corporation
|
|
$ |
212,106,143 |
|
|
Gladstone Capital pays the Adviser an annual advisory fee of
1.25% of its total assets (as reduced by cash and cash
equivalents pledged to creditors), payable in quarterly
increments of 0.3125%, and an annual administrative fee of 0.75%
of its total assets (as reduced by cash and cash equivalents
pledged to creditors), payable in quarterly increments of
0.1875%. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
On December 2, 2005, the stockholders of Gladstone Capital
approved an amended and restated investment advisory agreement
between Gladstone Capital and the Adviser. The amended and
restated agreement will become effective on the later of
(i) October 1, 2006; or (ii) the first day of the
first fiscal quarter beginning after the last of Gladstone
Capitals outstanding stock options is either terminated or
exercised. If and when the amended and restated agreement
becomes effective, Gladstone Capital will pay the Adviser a base
management fee and a two-part incentive fee for investment
advisory services. The base management fee will be charged at an
annual rate of 2% of Gladstone Capitals gross
assets, which is defined as its total assets, less cash
and cash equivalents that are not invested in debt or equity
securities of its portfolio companies in accordance with its
investment objectives. The incentive fee consists of a quarterly
income-based incentive fee and a capital gains incentive fee.
The income-based incentive fee will be calculated on the basis
of pre-incentive fee net investment income, which is
interest income, dividend income, and any other income,
including any other fees (other than fees for providing
managerial assistance) such as commitment, origination,
structuring, diligence and consulting fees, and other fees that
Gladstone Capital receives from its portfolio companies, minus
its operating expenses. No incentive fee will be charged for any
calendar quarter in which pre- incentive fee net investment
income does not exceed a quarterly hurdle rate of 1.75% (7%
annualized). Gladstone Capital also pays 100% of any
pre-incentive fee net investment income that exceeds the hurdle
rate but is less than 2.1875% in any calendar quarter, and 20%
of any pre-incentive fee net investment income that exceeds
2.1875% in any calendar quarter. |
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Assets at | |
|
|
Fund |
|
December 31, 2005 | |
|
Rate of Compensation to Gladstone Management Corporation |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited) | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under the amended and restated agreement, Gladstone Capital will
also pay Gladstone Administration for its allocable portion of
Gladstone Administrations overhead, including rent, and
its allocable portion of the costs of Gladstone Capitals
chief compliance officer, chief financial officer and controller
and their respective staffs. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2005, Gladstone
Capital made aggregate payments to the Adviser of $2,694,633
under its existing agreement. |
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE IN FAVOR OF
PROPOSAL II.
PROPOSAL III
RATIFICATION OF SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The audit committee of the Board has selected
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, or PWC, as our principal
accountants to audit our financial statements for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2006 and has further directed that
management submit the selection of the independent registered
public accounting firm for ratification by our stockholders at
the Annual Meeting. PWC has audited our financial statements
since our fiscal period ending December 31, 2003.
Representatives of PWC are expected to be present at the Annual
Meeting, will have an opportunity to make a statement if they so
desire and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.
Neither our bylaws nor our other governing documents or law
require stockholder ratification of the selection of PWC as our
independent registered public accounting firm. However, the
audit committee is submitting the selection of PWC to the
stockholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate
practice. If the stockholders fail to ratify the selection, the
audit committee will reconsider whether or not to retain that
firm. Even if the selection is ratified, the audit committee, in
its discretion, may direct the appointment of a different
independent registered public accounting firm at any time during
the year if it determines that such a change would be in the
best interests of us and our stockholders.
The affirmative vote of the holders of the shares present in
person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the
Annual Meeting will be required to ratify the selection of PWC.
Abstentions and broker non-votes will be considered present and
entitled to vote for the purpose of determining whether a quorum
exists, although they will not be counted for any purpose in
determining whether this matter has been approved.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees
The following table represents aggregate fees billed to us for
the fiscal years ended December 31, 2004 and
December 31, 2005 by PWC, our principal independent
registered public accounting firm.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2004 | |
|
2005 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Audit Fees
|
|
$ |
280,000 |
|
|
$ |
245,422 |
|
Audit-related Fees(1)
|
|
$ |
22,500 |
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
Tax Fees
|
|
$ |
19,214 |
|
|
$ |
63,844 |
|
All Other Fees
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
321,714 |
|
|
$ |
309,266 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
Consists of fees charged for the audit of tenant financial
information related to certain real estate acquisitions during
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004. |
All fees described above were approved by the Audit Committee.
24
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
The audit committee has adopted a policy and procedures for the
pre-approval of audit and non-audit services rendered by our
independent registered public accounting firm, PWC. The policy
generally pre-approves specified services in the defined
categories of audit services, audit-related services, and tax
services up to specified amounts. Pre-approval may also be given
as part of the audit committees approval of the scope of
the engagement of the independent registered public accounting
firm or on an individual explicit case-by-case basis before the
independent registered public accounting firm is engaged to
provide each service. The pre-approval of services may be
delegated to one or more of the audit committees members,
but the decision must be reported to the full audit committee at
its next scheduled meeting.
The audit committee has determined that the rendering of the
services other than audit services by PWC is compatible with
maintaining the principal independent registered public
accounting firms independence.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE IN FAVOR OF
PROPOSAL III.
CERTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT OUR MANAGEMENT
Our Board of Directors and Executive Officers
As stated above, our Board of Directors is divided into three
classes. Each class consists of three directors, and each class
has a three-year term. Vacancies on the Board of Directors may
be filled only by persons elected by a majority of the remaining
directors. A director elected by the Board of Directors to fill
a vacancy in a class shall serve for the remainder of the full
term of that class, and until the directors successor is
elected and qualified. This includes vacancies created by an
increase in the number of directors. We encourage directors and
nominees for director to attend the Annual Meeting. Three of our
directors attended the 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The
Board of Directors presently has nine members. There are three
directors in the class whose term of office expires in 2006 and
one director in the class whose term expires in 2008 being
considered for election.
|
|
|
Nominees for Election for a three-year term expiring at
the 2009 Annual Meeting |
|
|
|
David A.R. Dullum |
Maurice W. Coulon |
Terry Lee Brubaker |
|
|
|
Nominee for Election for a two-year term expiring at the
2008 Annual Meeting |
Gerard Mead
Biographical information for Messrs. Dullum, Coulon,
Brubaker and Mead is detailed on pages 7-8 of this proxy
statement.
|
|
|
Directors Continuing in Office Until the 2007 Annual
Meeting |
David Gladstone. Mr. Gladstone, age 63, is our
founder and has served as our chief executive officer and
chairman of the Board of Directors since our inception. He also
founded and has served as chief executive officer and chairman
of the Board of Directors of Gladstone Capital Corporation,
Gladstone Investment Corporation and of the Adviser. Prior to
founding the Company, Mr. Gladstone served as either
chairman or vice chairman of the Board of Directors of American
Capital Strategies (NASDAQ: ACAS), a publicly traded leveraged
buyout fund and mezzanine debt finance company, from June 1997
to August 2001. From 1974 to February 1997, Mr. Gladstone
held various positions, including chairman and chief executive
officer, with Allied Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ALD), Allied
Capital Corporation II, Allied Capital Lending Corporation
and Allied Capital Advisers, Inc., a registered investment
adviser that managed the Allied companies. The Allied companies
were the largest group of publicly-traded mezzanine debt funds
in the United States and were managers of two private venture
capital limited partnerships. From 1991 to 1997,
Mr. Gladstone served either as chairman of the Board of
Directors or president of Allied Capital Commercial Corporation,
a publicly traded REIT that invested in real estate loans to
small and medium-sized businesses, managed by Allied Capital
Advisors, Inc. He managed the growth of Allied Capital
Commercial from no
25
assets at the time of its initial public offering to
$385 million in assets at the time it merged into Allied
Capital Corporation in 1997. From 1992 to 1997,
Mr. Gladstone served as a director, president and chief
executive officer of Business Mortgage Investors, a privately
held mortgage REIT managed by Allied Capital Advisors, which
invested in loans to small and medium-sized businesses.
Mr. Gladstone is also a past director of Capital Automotive
REIT, a real estate investment trust that purchases and net
leases real estate to automobile dealerships. Mr. Gladstone
served as a director of The Riggs National Corporation (the
parent of Riggs Bank) from 1993 to May 1997 and of Riggs Bank
from 1991 to 1993. He served as a trustee of the George
Washington University and currently is trustee emeritus. He is a
past member of the Listings and Hearings Committee of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
Mr. Gladstone was the founder and managing member of The
Capital Investors, LLC, a group of angel investors, and is
currently a member emeritus. He is also the chairman and owner
of Gladstone Land Corporation, a privately held company that has
substantial farmland holdings in agriculture real estate in
California. Mr. Gladstone holds an MBA from the Harvard
Business School, an MA from American University and a BA from
the University of Virginia. Mr. Gladstone has co-authored
two books on financing for small and medium-sized businesses,
Venture Capital Handbook and Venture Capital Investing.
Paul W. Adelgren. Mr. Adelgren, age 63, has
served us a director since August 2003. From 1997 to the
present, Mr. Adelgren has served as the pastor of
Missionary Alliance Church. From 1991 to 1997, Mr. Adelgren
was pastor of New Life Alliance Church. From 1988 to 1991,
Mr. Adelgren was a vice president for finance and materials
of Williams & Watts, Inc., a logistics management and
procurement business located in Fairfield, NJ. Prior to Joining
Williams & Watts, Mr. Adelgren served in the
United States Navy for 23 years, where he served in a
number of capacities, including as the director of the Strategic
Submarine Support Department at SPCC, as the Executive Officer
at the Naval Supply Center, Charleston, SC, and as the Director
of the Joint Uniform Military Pay System at the Navy Finance
Center. Mr. Adelgren is also a director of Gladstone
Capital Corporation and Gladstone Investment Corporation.
Mr. Adelgren holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BA
from the University of Kansas.
John H. Outland. Mr. Outland, age 60, has
served as a director since December 2003. From March 2004 to
present, he has served as vice president of Genworth Financial.
From 2002 to March 2004, Mr. Outland served as a managing
director for 1789 Capital Advisors, where he provided market and
transaction structure analysis and advice on a consulting basis
for multifamily commercial mortgage purchase programs. From 1999
to 2001, Mr. Outland served as vice president of
mortgage-backed securities at Financial Guaranty Insurance
Company where he was team leader for bond insurance
transactions, responsible for sourcing business, coordinating
credit, loan files, due diligence and legal review processes,
and negotiating structure and business issues. From 1993 to
1999, Mr. Outland was senior vice president for Citicorp
Mortgage Securities, Inc., where he securitized non-conforming
mortgage product. From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Outland was vice
president of real estate and mortgage finance for Nomura
Securities International, Inc., where he performed due diligence
on and negotiated the financing of commercial mortgage packages
in preparation for securitization. Mr. Outland is also a
director of Gladstone Capital Corporation and Gladstone
Investment Corporation. Mr. Outland holds an MBA from
Harvard Business School and a bachelors degree in Chemical
Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
|
|
|
Directors Continuing in Office until the 2008 Annual
Meeting |
Michela A. English. Ms. English, age 56, has
served as a director since August 2003. Ms. English is
currently a private investor. From March 1996 to March 2004,
Ms. English held several positions with Discovery
Communications, Inc., including president of Discovery Consumer
Products, president of Discovery Enterprises Worldwide and
president of Discovery.com. From 1991 to 1996, Ms. English
served as senior vice president of the National Geographic
Society and was a member of the National Geographic
Societys Board of Trustees and Education Foundation Board.
Prior to 1991, Ms. English served as vice president,
corporate planning and business development for Marriott
Corporation and as a senior engagement manager for
McKinsey & Company. Ms. English is a director of
the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a director of D.C.
Preparatory Academy, a member of the Virginia Institute of
Marine Science Council and an emeritus member of the board of
Sweet Briar College. Ms. English is also a director of
Gladstone Capital Corporation
26
and Gladstone Investment Corporation. Ms. English holds a
Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from Sweet Briar
College and a Master of Public and Private Management degree
from Yale Universitys School of Management.
Anthony W. Parker. Mr. Parker, age 60, has
served as a director since August 2003. In 1997, Mr. Parker
founded Medical Funding Corporation, a company which purchases
medical receivables, and has served as its chairman from
inception to the present. In the summer of 2000, Medical Funding
Corporation purchased a Snelling Personnel Agency franchise in
Washington, D.C. which provides full staffing services for
the local business community. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Parker
was chairman of, and a 50 percent stock holder of, Capitol
Resource Funding, Inc., or CRF, a commercial finance
company with offices in Dana Point, California and Arlington,
Virginia. Mr. Parker practiced corporate and tax law for
over 15 years from 1980 to 1983 at Verner,
Liipfert, Bernhard & McPherson, and from 1983 to 1992
in private practice. Mr. Parker is currently the sole
shareholder of Parker & Associates, P.C., a law
firm. From 1973 to 1977 Mr. Parker served as executive
assistant to the administrator of the U.S. Small Business
Administration. Mr. Parker is also a director of Gladstone
Capital Corporation and Gladstone Investment Corporation.
Mr. Parker received his J.D. and Masters in Tax Law from
Georgetown Law Center and his undergraduate degree from Harvard
College.
|
|
|
Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors |
George Stelljes III. Mr. Stelljes, age 44,
has served as our executive vice president and chief investment
officer since our inception. He also served as the executive
vice president and chief investment officer of Gladstone Capital
Corporation since September 2002, and assumed the duties of
president of Gladstone Capital Corporation in April 2004.
Mr. Stelljes was also a director of Gladstone Capital
Corporation from August 2001 to September 2002 and then rejoined
the board of directors in July 2003. Mr. Stelljes has also
served as the president, chief investment officer and a director
of Gladstone Investment Corporation since its inception, and
serves as president, chief investment officer and a director of
the Adviser. Prior to joining us, Mr. Stelljes served as a
managing member of St. Johns Capital, a vehicle used to
make private equity investments. From 1999 to 2001,
Mr. Stelljes was a co-founder and managing member of Camden
Partners, a private equity firm which finances high growth
companies in communications, education, healthcare and business
services sectors. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Stelljes was a
managing director and partner of Columbia Capital, a venture
capital firm focused on investments in communications and
information technology. From 1989 to 1997, Mr. Stelljes
held seven various positions, including executive vice president
and principal, with Allied Capital and its affiliates.
Mr. Stelljes currently serves as a general partner and
investment committee member of Patriot Capital, a private equity
fund and on the board of Intrepid Capital Management, a money
management firm. He is also a former board member and regional
president of the National Association of Small Business
Investment Companies. Mr. Stelljes holds an MBA from the
University of Virginia and a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt
University.
Harry Brill. Mr. Brill, age 59, has been our
treasurer and chief financial officer since our inception in
2003. Mr. Brill has also served as treasurer and chief
financial officer of Gladstone Capital Corporation since May
2001, and as treasurer and chief financial officer of Gladstone
Investment Corporation since June 2005. Mr. Brill is also
the treasurer and chief financial officer of the Adviser. From
1995 to April 2001, Mr. Brill served as a personal
financial advisor. From 1975 to 1995, Mr. Brill held
various positions, including treasurer, chief accounting officer
and controller with Allied Capital Corporation, where
Mr. Brill was responsible for all of the accounting work
for Allied Capital and its family of funds. Mr. Brill
received his degree in accounting from Ben Franklin University.
|
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|
Independence Of The Board Of Directors |
As required under the Nasdaq Stock Market, or
Nasdaq, listing standards, a majority of the members
of a listed companys Board of Directors must qualify as
independent, as affirmatively determined by the
Board of Directors. The Board of Directors consults with our
chief compliance officer and chief financial officer to ensure
that the determinations of the Board of Directors are consistent
with all relevant securities and other laws and regulations
regarding the definition of independent, including
those set forth in pertinent listing standards of the Nasdaq, as
in effect time to time.
27
Consistent with these considerations, after review of all
relevant transactions or relationships between each director, or
any of his or her family members, and us, our senior management
and our independent registered public accounting firm, our Board
of Directors affirmatively has determined that all of our
directors are independent directors within the meaning of the
applicable Nasdaq listing standards except for
Mr. Gladstone, our chief executive officer, and
Mr. Brubaker, our president, chief operating officer and
secretary. As required under applicable Nasdaq listing
standards, in fiscal 2005 our independent directors met one time
in a regularly scheduled executive session at which only
independent directors were present.
Meetings Of The Board Of Directors
Our Board of Directors met four times during the last fiscal
year. Each director attended 75% or more of the aggregate of the
meetings of the Board of Directors and of the committees on
which he or she served, held during the period for which he or
she was a director or committee member.
Stockholder Communications With The Board Of Directors
Our Board has adopted a formal process by which our stockholders
may communicate with the Board or any of its directors. Persons
interested in communicating with the Board of Directors with
their concerns or issues may address correspondence to the Board
of Directors, to a particular director, or to the independent
directors generally, in care of Gladstone Commercial
Corporation, Attention: Investor Relations Manager, at
1521 Westbranch Drive, Suite 200, McLean, Virginia
22102. This information is also contained on our website at
www.GladstoneCommercial.com.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors has four committees: an Executive
Committee, an Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee, an Audit Committee and a Compensation Committee. The
following table shows the current composition of each of the
committees of the Board of Directors:
|
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|
|
Ethics, Nominating and | |
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Executive | |
|
Corporate Governance | |
|
Audit | |
|
Compensation | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Paul W. Adelgren**
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Terry Lee Brubaker
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maurice W. Coulon
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
* |
David A.R. Dullum
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
Michela A. English
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
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|
David Gladstone
|
|
|
X |
* |
|
|
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|
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|
|
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|
John H. Outland
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
Anthony W. Parker
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
* |
|
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|
Gerard Mead
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
X |
|
|
|
** |
Lead Independent Director |
Below is a description of each committee of the Board of
Directors. The Board of Directors has determined that each
member of each committee meets the applicable rules and
regulations regarding independence and that each
member is free of any relationship that would interfere with his
or her individual exercise of independent judgment with regard
to us (other than with respect to the Executive Committee, for
which there are no applicable independence requirements).
The Executive Committee, which is comprised of
Messrs. Gladstone (Chairman), Brubaker and Parker, has the
authority to exercise all powers of our Board of Directors
except for actions that must be taken by the
28
full Board of Directors under Maryland General Corporation Law.
The Executive Committee did not meet during the last fiscal year.
|
|
|
The Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee |
The Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the
Board of Directors is responsible for identifying, reviewing and
evaluating candidates to serve as our directors (consistent with
criteria approved by the Board), reviewing and evaluating
incumbent directors, recommending to the Board for selection
candidates for election to the Board of Directors, making
recommendations to the Board regarding the membership of the
committees of the Board, assessing the performance of the Board,
and developing our corporate governance principles. Our Ethics,
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter can be
found on our website at www.GladstoneCommercial.com. Two
directors comprise the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee: Messrs. Adelgren (Chairman) and
Coulon. All members of the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee are independent (as independence is
currently defined in Rule 4200(a)(15) of the Nasdaq listing
standards). The Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee met four times during the last fiscal year.
|
|
|
Qualifications for Director Candidates |
The Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
believes that candidates for director should have certain
minimum qualifications, including being able to read and
understand basic financial statements, being over 21 years
of age and having the highest personal integrity and ethics. The
Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also
intends to consider such factors as possessing relevant
expertise upon which to be able to offer advice and guidance to
management, having sufficient time to devote to our affairs,
demonstrated excellence in his or her field, having the ability
to exercise sound business judgment and having the commitment to
rigorously represent the long-term interests of our
stockholders. However, the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee retains the right to modify these
qualifications from time to time. Candidates for director
nominees are reviewed in the context of the current composition
of the Board, our operating requirements and the long-term
interests of our stockholders. In conducting this assessment,
the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
considers diversity, age, skills, and such other factors as it
deems appropriate given our current needs and the current needs
of the Board, to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience and
capability. In the case of incumbent directors whose terms of
office are set to expire, the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee reviews such directors overall
service to us during their term, including the number of
meetings attended, level of participation, quality of
performance, and any other relationships and transactions that
might impair such directors independence. In the case of
new director candidates, the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee also determines whether the nominee must be
independent for Nasdaq purposes, which determination is based
upon applicable Nasdaq listing standards, applicable SEC rules
and regulations and the advice of counsel, if necessary. The
Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee then uses
its network of contacts to compile a list of potential
candidates, but may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a
professional search firm. The Ethics, Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee conducts any appropriate and necessary
inquiries into the backgrounds and qualifications of possible
candidates after considering the function and needs of the
Board. The Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
meets to discuss and consider such candidates
qualifications and then selects a nominee for recommendation to
the Board by majority vote. To date, the Ethics, Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee has not paid a fee to any third
party to assist in the process of identifying or evaluating
director candidates. To date, the Ethics, Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee has not rejected a timely
director nominee from a stockholder or stockholders holding more
than 5% of our voting stock.
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|
|
Stockholder Recommendation of Director Candidates to the
Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee |
The Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will
consider director candidates recommended by stockholders. The
Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not
29
intend to alter the manner in which it evaluates candidates,
including the minimum criteria set forth above, based on whether
the candidate was recommended by a stockholder or not.
Stockholders who wish to recommend individuals for consideration
by the Ethics, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to
become nominees for election to the Board may do so by
delivering a written recommendation to the Ethics, Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee at the address set forth on
the cover page of this proxy statement. Recommendations for
individuals to be considered for nomination at the 2007 Annual
Meeting must be received by November 24, 2006.
Recommendations received after November 24, 2006 will be
considered for nomination at the 2008 Annual Meeting.
Submissions must include the full name of the proposed nominee,
a description of the proposed nominees business experience
for at least the previous five years, complete biographical
information, a description of the proposed nominees
qualifications as a director and a representation that the
nominating stockholder is a beneficial or record owner of our
stock. Any such submission must be accompanied by the written
consent of the proposed nominee to be named as a nominee and to
serve as a director if elected.
We have adopted the Gladstone Commercial Corporation Code of
Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our officers
and directors and to the employees of our Adviser. The Ethics,
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews, approves
and recommends to our Board of Directors any changes to the Code
of Ethics. They also review any violations of the Code of Ethics
and make recommendations to the Board of Directors on those
violations. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available
on our website at www.GladstoneCommercial.com. If we make any
substantive amendments to the Code of Business Conduct and
Ethics or grant any waiver from a provision of the Code to any
executive officer or director, we will promptly disclose the
nature of the amendment or waiver on our website.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors oversees our
corporate accounting and financial reporting process. For this
purpose, the Audit Committee performs several functions. The
Audit Committee evaluates the performance of and assesses the
qualifications of the independent registered public accounting
firms; determines and approves the engagement of the independent
registered public accounting firms; determines whether to retain
or terminate the existing independent registered public
accounting firm or to appoint and engage a new independent
registered public accounting firm; reviews and approves the
retention of the independent registered public accounting firm
to perform any proposed permissible non-audit services; monitors
the rotation of partners of the independent registered public
accounting firm on our audit engagement team as required by law;
confers with management and the independent registered public
accounting firm regarding the effectiveness of internal controls
over financial reporting; establishes procedures, as required
under applicable law, for the receipt, retention and treatment
of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal
accounting controls or auditing matters and the confidential and
anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding
questionable accounting or auditing matters; and meets to review
our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial
statements with management and the independent registered public
accounting firm, including reviewing our disclosures under
Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations. During fiscal 2005,
three directors comprised the Audit Committee:
Messrs. Parker (Chairman) and Dullum and Ms. English.
The Audit Committee met seven times during the last fiscal year.
In July 2005, the Board appointed Messrs. Adelgren and
Coulon to serve as alternate members of the Audit Committee.
Alternate members of the Audit Committee serve and participate
in meetings of the Audit Committee only in the event of an
absence of a regular member of the Audit Committee.
Our Board of Directors annually reviews the Nasdaq listing
standards definition of independence for Audit Committee members
and has determined that all members and alternate members of our
Audit Committee are independent (as independence is currently
defined in Rule 4350(d)(2)(A)(i) and (ii) of the
Nasdaq listing standards). No members of the Audit Committee
received any compensation from us during the last fiscal year
other than directors fees. Our Board of Directors has
determined that all members and
30
alternate members of the Audit Committee qualify as audit
committee financial experts, as defined in applicable SEC
rules, and that all Audit Committee members and alternate
members are financially literate under current Nasdaq listing
standards.
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Relationship with Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm |
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has selected
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, or PWC, as our
independent registered public accounting firm to audit our
financial statements for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2006. Representatives of PWC are expected to
be present at the Annual Meeting, will have an opportunity to
make a statement if they so desire and will be available to
respond to appropriate questions.
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Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures |
The Audit Committee has adopted a policy and procedures for the
pre-approval of audit and non-audit services rendered by our
independent registered public accounting firm, PWC. The policy
generally pre-approves specified services in the defined
categories of audit services, audit-related services, and tax
services up to specified amounts. Pre-approval may also be given
as part of the Audit Committees approval of the scope of
the engagement of the independent registered public accounting
firm or on an individual explicit case-by-case basis before the
independent registered public accounting firm is engaged to
provide each service. The pre-approval of services may be
delegated to one or more of the Audit Committees members,
but the decision must be reported to the full Audit Committee at
its next scheduled meeting.
The Audit Committee has determined that the rendering of the
services other than audit services by PWC is compatible with
maintaining the independent registered public accounting
firms independence.
REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS1
The following is the report of the Audit Committee with respect
to the Companys audited financial statements for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005.
The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the
Companys audited financial statements with management and
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Companys independent
registered public accounting firm, with and without management
present. The Audit Committee included in its review results of
the independent registered public accounting firms
examinations, the Companys internal controls, and the
quality of the Companys financial reporting. The Audit
Committee also reviewed the Companys procedures and
internal control processes designed to ensure full, fair and
adequate financial reporting and disclosures, including
procedures for certifications by the Companys chief
executive officer and chief financial officer that are required
in periodic reports filed by the Company with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Audit Committee further reviewed with
the independent registered accounting firm their opinion on
managements assessment of the effectiveness of the
internal control over financial reporting of the Company, and
their opinion on the effectiveness of the internal control over
financial reporting of the Company. The Audit Committee is
satisfied that the Companys internal control system is
adequate and that the Company employs appropriate accounting and
auditing procedures.
The Audit Committee also has discussed with
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP matters relating to the independent
registered public accounting firms judgments about the
quality, as well as the acceptability, of the Companys
accounting principles as applied in its financial reporting as
required by Statement of Auditing Standards No. 61
(Communications with Audit Committees). In addition, the Audit
Committee has discussed with PricewaterhouseCoopers their
independence from management and the Company, as well as the
matters in the written disclosures received from
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and required by Independence
Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence Discussions
with Audit Committees). The Audit Committee received a letter
from PricewaterhouseCoopers confirming their independence and
discussed it with them. The Audit Committee discussed and
reviewed with PricewaterhouseCoopers the Companys critical
accounting policies and practices, internal controls, other
material written communications to management, and the
scope of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPs audits and all fees
paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers
31
LLP during the fiscal year. The Audit Committee adopted
guidelines requiring review and pre-approval by the Audit
Committee of audit and non-audit services performed by
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for the Company. The Audit Committee
has reviewed and considered the compatibility of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPs performance of non-audit
services with the maintenance of PricewaterhouseCoopers
independence as the Companys independent registered public
accounting firm.
Based on the Audit Committees review and discussions
referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board
of Directors that the Companys audited financial
statements be included in the Companys Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 for filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the Audit
Committee has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to serve as the
Companys independent registered public accounting firm for
the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006.
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Submitted by the Audit Committee |
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Anthony Parker, Chairperson |
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Michela English |
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David A. R. Dullum |
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1 |
The material in this report is not soliciting
material, is not deemed filed with the SEC,
and is not to be incorporated by reference into any of our
filings under the 1933 Act or the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended (the 1934 Act), whether
made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any
general incorporation language contained in such filing. |
Compensation Committee
The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors reviews and
approves our overall compensation strategy and policies. During
the past fiscal year, the Compensation Committee reviewed and
approved corporate performance goals and objectives relevant to
the compensation of our executive officers and other senior
management, monitored the performance of the Adviser under the
terms of our advisory agreement with the Adviser, recommended to
the Board for approval the compensation and other terms of
employment of our chief executive officer; recommended to the
Board for approval the compensation and other terms of
employment of the other executive officers; and, during the last
fiscal year, administered our 2003 Plan. During the last fiscal
year, three directors comprised the Compensation Committee:
Messrs. Dullum (Chairman), Parker and Outland. Effective
January 10, 2006, the Compensation Committee consists of
Messrs. Coulon (Chairman), Outland and Mead. All members of
our Compensation Committee are independent (as independence is
currently defined in Rule 4200(a)(15) of the Nasdaq listing
standards). The Compensation Committee met four times during the
last fiscal year.
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Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider
Participation |
During the last fiscal year, the Compensation Committee
consisted of Messrs Parker, Dullum and Outland, each of whom is
an independent director under Nasdaq rules. During the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2005, none of our executive
officers served as members of the compensation committee or as
directors of another entity, one of whose executive officers
served on the Compensation Committee.
REPORT OF THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
ON EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION2
The Compensation Committee (the Committee) is
responsible for the oversight of the Companys executive
compensation program. In this regard, the role of the Committee
is to assess all components of the total compensation of the
Companys executives to ensure that total compensation
reflects the Companys key strategic priorities of
attracting, retaining and rewarding executives who effectively
work to achieve the Companys business and investment
objectives. The Committees charter reflects this
responsibility, and the Committee and the Board of Directors
periodically review and revise the charter. The Committees
membership is determined by the Board of Directors and is
composed entirely of independent directors. The Committee meets
at scheduled times during the year, and it may also consider and
take action by written
32
consent. The Committee Chairman reports on Committee actions and
recommendations at meetings of the Board of Directors. Although
it has not done so to date, the Committee has the authority to
engage the services of outside advisers, experts and others to
assist in fulfilling its responsibilities. The current total
compensation plan for the Companys executive officers
consists of the following elements:
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Base salary paid to executive officers by the Adviser; |
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Bonuses paid to executive officers by the Adviser; and |
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Long-term incentive compensation in the form of stock options
granted by the Company under the Companys 2003 Equity
Incentive Plan (the 2003 Plan). |
The Companys executive officers are salaried employees of
Gladstone Management Corporation (the Adviser).
Pursuant to the terms of the advisory agreement between the
Company and the Adviser, the Company reimburses the Adviser for
its pro rata share of the Advisers payroll and benefits
expenses on an employee-by-employee basis, based on the
percentage of time that its personnel spend on the
Companys matters. The Committee fulfills its
responsibility to assess the base salary and bonus components of
compensation paid to executive officers by periodically
reviewing and approving those portions of the salaries and
bonuses paid by the Adviser to the Companys executive
officers that are borne by the Company.
In addition, the Committee administers the 2003 Plan through
which the Companys executive officers may receive stock
option grants.
Compensation Philosophy
The Company depends on the management and analytical abilities
of the Companys executive officers for the Companys
long-term success and for the enhancement of the Companys
long-term stockholder value. Because of this dependence, the
Committee has a critical oversight role in ensuring that the
Companys compensation, whether paid pursuant to the
Companys advisory agreement, through awards under the 2003
Plan, or otherwise enables the Company and the Adviser to
attract, retain and reward the performance of executive officers
and employees whose substantial experience in investing and
lending will enable the Company to achieve its business and
investment objectives. The Company fulfills this role by:
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ensuring that base salary paid to the Companys executive
officers, a portion of which the Company bears through
reimbursement of the Adviser pursuant to the advisory agreement,
is competitive with other leading financial services companies
with which the Company competes for talented investment
professionals; |
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|
ensuring that bonuses paid to the Companys executive
officers, a portion of which the Company bears through
reimbursement of the Adviser pursuant to the advisory agreement,
are sufficient to provide motivation to achieve the
Companys principal business and investment goals and to
bring total compensation to competitive levels; and |
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providing significant equity-based incentives to ensure that the
Companys executive officers are motivated over the long
term to achieve the Companys business and investment
objectives. |
Base Salary and
Bonuses
Through its periodic review and approval of the Companys
advisory agreement, the Committee approves the portions of the
salaries and bonuses of the Companys executive officers
that are borne by the Company through the reimbursement of
payroll and benefits expenses to the Adviser under the advisory
agreement. The Committees reviews are conducted on at
least an annual basis and with sufficient frequency to determine
that the expenses incurred are in the best interests of the
Companys stockholders. The Committee is also responsible
for reviewing the performance of the Adviser and determining
whether the compensation paid to the Companys executive
officers is reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of
services performed and
33
whether the provisions of the advisory agreement are being
satisfactorily performed. Specifically, the Committee considers
factors such as:
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the pay practices of the Adviser in relation to those of leading
financial services companies with which the Adviser competes to
attract and retain talented investment professionals; |
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the amount of the fees paid to the Adviser in relation to the
Companys size and the composition and performance of the
Companys investments; |
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the Advisers ability to hire, train, supervise and manage
new employees as needed to effectively manage the Companys
future growth; |
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the success of the Adviser in generating appropriate investment
opportunities; |
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rates charged to other investment entities by advisers
performing similar services; |
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additional revenues realized by the Adviser and its affiliates
through their relationship with the Company, whether paid by the
Company or by others with whom the Company does business; |
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the value of the Companys assets each quarter; |
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the quality and extent of service and advice furnished by the
Adviser and the performance of the Companys investment
portfolio; |
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the quality of the Companys portfolio relative to the
investments generated by the Adviser for its other clients; and |
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the extent to which bonus expenses under the advisory agreement
reflect the Advisers achievement of the Companys
principal business and investment objectives of generating
income for the Companys stockholders in the form of
quarterly cash distributions that grow over time and increasing
the value of the Companys common stock. |
Long-Term Incentives
Long-term incentive compensation, to date, has been realized
through the grant of stock options under the Companys 2003
Plan. Awards under the 2003 Plan are generally subject to
time-based vesting to encourage the Companys executive
officers to continue their services to the Company. Grants are
made at 100% of fair market value on the date of grant.
Stock options require price appreciation of the Companys
common stock over the term of the options in order for executive
officers to receive any value, and thus align the interests of
our executive officers with the interests of our stockholders.
The size of option grants to the Companys executive
officers has been determined based on competitive practices at
leading companies in the finance industry and the Companys
philosophy of significantly linking executive compensation with
stockholder interests. In determining the size of the grants,
the Committee has also considered the Companys philosophy
that option grants give our executive officers significant
equity incentives to build long-term stockholder value.
In 2005 the Committee granted a total of 64,500 stock options,
none of which options granted to the employees of our Adviser
were subsequently forfeited upon termination of employment, that
will vest over a one-year period. Of this total, no options were
granted to David Gladstone, Terry Lee Brubaker, George
Stelljes III or Harry Brill. These grants to were intended
to provide the incentive to successfully maximize stockholder
value over the next several years.
The Committee believes that its approach under the 2003 Plan has
created an appropriate focus on longer term objectives and
promoted retention of the Companys executive officers,
however, the Committee believes that the incentive structure
provided for under the Proposed Agreement, as described in
Proposal II, will be a more effective means of creating
longer-term stockholder value and promoting executive retention.
If Proposal II is approved by the Companys stockholders,
the Companys long-term incentive program will consist of
incentive fees payable to the Adviser under the Proposed
Agreement in the event that the Adviser reaches certain
performance benchmarks.
34
Personal Benefits
Policies
Our executive officers are not entitled to operate under
different standards than other employees of the Adviser who work
on our behalf. The Adviser does not have programs for providing
personal benefit perquisites to executive officers, such as
permanent lodging, personal use of company vehicles, or
defraying the cost of personal entertainment or family travel.
The Advisers health care and other insurance programs are
the same for all of its eligible employees, including our
executive officers. We expect our executive officers to be
exemplars under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which
are applicable to all employees of the Adviser who work on our
behalf.
Corporate Performance and Chief Executive Officer
Compensation
The amount of Mr. Gladstones base salary for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 that was paid in
respect of services rendered to the Company through the Adviser
was $70,333, and his total salary paid by the Adviser in respect
of services rendered to all entities managed by the Adviser for
the same period was $200,000. Mr. Gladstone declined to
accept any bonus for the year and insisted that his bonus be
allocated to the other employees of the Adviser. In approving
the reimbursement of the Companys portion of
Mr. Gladstones salary under the advisory agreement,
the Committee took into account (i) the percentage of time
that Mr. Gladstone devoted to the Companys matters;
(ii) revenue growth; (iii) increase in earnings per
share; (iv) Mr. Gladstones leadership in future
growth initiatives; and (v) Mr. Gladstones
insistence that his bonus be allocated to the other employees.
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, the Company
achieved most of the Companys corporate objectives. The
Committee rated Mr. Gladstones individual performance
as above average.
Conclusion
We believe that the elements of our compensation program
individually and in the aggregate strongly support and reflect
the strategic priorities on which we have based our compensation
philosophy. A significant portion of the Companys
executive compensation program, and Mr. Gladstones
compensation, specifically, are contingent on the extent to
which the performance of the Company and the Adviser result in
the realization of the Companys business and investment
objectives, which realization is closely linked to increases in
long-term stockholder value. The Company remains committed to
this philosophy of paying for performance that increases
stockholder value. The Committee will continue its work to
ensure that this commitment is reflected in a total executive
compensation program that enables the Company to remain
competitive in the market for talented executives, recognizing
that the volatility of the Companys business may result in
highly variable compensation in future time periods.
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Submitted by the Compensation Committee |
|
David A. R. Dullum, Chairperson |
|
John H. Outland |
|
Anthony W. Parker |
|
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2 |
The material in this report is not soliciting
material, is not deemed filed with the SEC,
and is not to be incorporated by reference into any of our
filings under the 1933 Act or 1934 Act, whether made
before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general
incorporation language contained in such filing. This report is
submitted by the directors who served as Compensation Committee
members during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005.
Effective January 10, 2006, the Compensation Committee
consists of Messrs. Coulon (Chairman), Outland and Mead. |
35
COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Compensation of Directors
As compensation for serving on our Board of Directors, each of
our independent directors receives an annual fee of $10,000 and
an additional $1,000 for each Board of Directors meeting
attended, and an additional $1,000 for each committee meeting
attended if such committee meeting takes place on a day other
than when the full Board of Directors meets. In addition, we
reimburse our directors for their reasonable
out-of-pocket expenses
incurred in attending Board of Directors and committee meetings.
During the last fiscal year, each of our non-employee directors
was also eligible to receive stock option grants under the 2003
Plan. Each non-employee director, other than Mr. Mead,
received an option to purchase 10,000 shares of our
common stock upon appointment to the Board. In addition, each
incumbent non-employee director received an option to
purchase 10,000 shares of common stock at the time of
our 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. As we are seeking
approval of Proposal II to approve the Proposed Agreement
and Administration Agreement, our Board of Directors has
resolved that these grants will not be provided to the directors
pending a decision by the stockholders on Proposal II. The
Board of Directors is currently evaluating the form and amount
of compensation that would replace the compensation previously
provided to our non-employee directors through stock option
grants in the event that Proposal II is approved by the
stockholders.
We do not pay any compensation to directors who also serve as
our officers, or as officers or directors of the Adviser, in
consideration for their service to us. Our Board of Directors
may change the compensation of our independent directors in its
discretion. None of our independent directors received any
compensation from us during the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005 other than for Board of Directors or
committee fees.
Compensation of Executive Officers
The following table shows, for the period from our inception on
February 14, 2003 to December 31, 2003, for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2004, and for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005, compensation awarded or paid to, or
earned by, our chief executive officer and each of our other
executive officers at December 31, 2005, referred to as our
Named Executive Officers, for all services rendered
to us during these periods. The Named Executive Officers are
employees of the Adviser. Under the terms of the Existing
Agreement, we reimburse the Adviser for our pro rata share of
the Advisers payroll and benefits expenses on an
employee-by-employee basis, based on the percentage of each
employees time devoted to our matters. For additional
information regarding this arrangement, see Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions Advisory
Agreement and Certain Relationships and
Related Transactions Other Transactions with the
Adviser and its Affiliates. The salary amounts set
forth in the table below represent payments made to the Named
Executive Officer in respect of services rendered to us through
the Adviser and do not represent the total salary earned by the
Named Executive Officers during the period (e.g., amounts paid
to the Named Executive Officer for services rendered to
Gladstone Capital, Gladstone Investment, etc.):
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Securities | |
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Name and |
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Other Annual | |
|
Underlying | |
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All Other | |
Principal Position |
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Year | |
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Salary ($) | |
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Bonus ($) | |
|
Compensation ($) | |
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Options | |
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Compensation ($) | |
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David Gladstone
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2005 |
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$ |
70,333 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
2,110 |
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0 |
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Chief Executive Officer(1)
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2004 |
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$ |
88,833 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
0 |
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0 |
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$ |
0 |
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2003 |
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$ |
44,500 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
1,335 |
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200,000 |
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$ |
0 |
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Terry Lee Brubaker
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2005 |
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$ |
34,737 |
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$ |
37,868.00 |
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$ |
921.37 |
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0 |
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$ |
0 |
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President, Chief Operating Officer
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2004 |
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$ |
28,511 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
0 |
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30,000 |
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$ |
0 |
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and Secretary(2)
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2003 |
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$ |
14,234 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
427 |
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100,000 |
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$ |
0 |
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George Stelljes III
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2005 |
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$ |
71,146 |
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$ |
75,712.67 |
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$ |
1,863.65 |
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0 |
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$ |
0 |
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Executive Vice President
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2004 |
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$ |
61,636 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
0 |
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30,000 |
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$ |
0 |
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and Chief Investment Officer(3)
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2003 |
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$ |
17,417 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
522 |
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100,000 |
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$ |
0 |
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36
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Securities | |
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Name and |
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Other Annual | |
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Underlying | |
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All Other | |
Principal Position |
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Year | |
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Salary ($) | |
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Bonus ($) | |
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Compensation ($) | |
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Options | |
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Compensation ($) | |
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Harry Brill
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2005 |
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$ |
34,083 |
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$ |
6,225 |
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$ |
1,209.24 |
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0 |
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$ |
0 |
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Chief Financial Officer(4)
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2004 |
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$ |
37,427 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
0 |
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10,000 |
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$ |
0 |
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2003 |
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$ |
13,937 |
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$ |
0 |
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$ |
416 |
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25,000 |
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$ |
0 |
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(1) |
Represents approximately 35% of Mr. Gladstones total
salary for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 (as
Mr. Gladstone devoted approximately 35% of his time to our
matters during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005);
approximately 44% of Mr. Gladstones total salary for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 (as
Mr. Gladstone devoted approximately 44% of his time to our
matters during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004);
and approximately 45% of Mr. Gladstones total salary
for six months ended December 31, 2003 (as
Mr. Gladstone devoted approximately 45% of his time to our
matters during the six months ended December 31, 2003). No
amounts were paid to Mr. Gladstone in respect of any
services rendered to us prior to July 1, 2003.
Mr. Gladstones current base annual salary from the
Adviser is $200,000. |
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(2) |
Represents approximately 15% of Mr. Brubakers total
salary for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 (as
Mr. Brubaker devoted approximately 15% of his time to our
matters during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005);
approximately 13% of Mr. Brubakers total salary for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 (as
Mr. Brubaker devoted approximately 13% of his time to our
matters during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004);
and approximately 14% of Mr. Brubakers total salary
for the six months ended December 31, 2003 (as
Mr. Brubaker devoted approximately 14% of his time to our
matters during the six months ended December 31, 2003). No
amounts were paid to Mr. Brubaker in respect of services
rendered to us prior to July 1, 2003.
Mr. Brubakers current base annual salary from the
Adviser is $235,000. |
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(3) |
Represents approximately 30% of Mr. Stelljes total
salary for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 (as
Mr. Stelljes devoted approximately 30% of his time to our
matters during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005);
approximately 28% of Mr. Stelljes total salary for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 (as
Mr. Stelljes devoted approximately 28% of his time to our
matters during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004);
and approximately 17% of Mr. Stelljes total salary
for the six months ended December 31, 2003 (as
Mr. Stelljes devoted approximately 17% of his time to our
matters during the six months ended December 31, 2003). No
amounts were paid to Mr. Stelljes in respect of services
rendered to us prior to July 1, 2003.
Mr. Stelljes current base annual salary from the
Adviser is $235,000. |
|
(4) |
Represents approximately 25% of Mr. Brills total
salary for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 (as
Mr. Brill devoted approximately 25% of his time to our
matters during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005);
approximately 29% of Mr. Brills total salary for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 (as Mr. Brill
devoted approximately 29% of his time to our matters during the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2004); and approximately 25%
of Mr. Brills total salary for the six months ended
December 31, 2003 (as Mr. Brill devoted approximately
25% of his time to our matters during the six months ended
December 31, 2003). No amounts were paid to Mr. Brill
in respect of any services rendered to us prior to July 1,
2003. Mr. Brills current base annual salary from the
Adviser is $135,000. |
Stock Option Grants And Exercises
We have granted stock options to our executive officers under
the 2003 Plan during the period from its adoption on
June 10, 2003 through our last fiscal year for the purpose
of attracting and retaining the services of executive officers,
directors and other key employees. As of March 17, 2006,
options to purchase a total of 916,000 shares were
outstanding under the 2003 Plan and options to purchase
14,000 shares remained available for grant under the 2003
Plan. Our Board of Directors has resolved to issue no further
grants under the 2003 Plan in connection with our recommendation
of stockholder approval of Proposal II. If Proposal II
is approved, the 2003 Plan will be terminated and no further
stock options will be issued.
37
Under the 2003 Plan, the Compensation Committee has awarded to
employees, including those of the Adviser, incentive stock
options within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal
Revenue Code, or ISOs, and nonstatutory stock options to
employees, non-employee directors and certain consultants,
including the Adviser and its affiliates. In addition, the 2003
Plan permits the granting of restricted stock.
Options granted under the 2003 Plan may be exercised for a
period of no more than ten years from the date of grant or, in
the case of ISOs granted to any recipient who owns, or is
treated as owning, under Section 424(d) of the Internal
Revenue Code, more than 10% of the total combined voting power
of our stock, no more than five years from the date of grant. No
awards may be granted under the 2003 Plan to any person who,
assuming exercise or settlement of all options and rights held
by such person, would own or be deemed to own more than 9.8% of
the outstanding shares of our capital stock without approval of
the Board of Directors. Unless sooner terminated by the Board of
Directors, the 2003 Plan will terminate on June 9, 2013,
and no additional awards may be made under the 2003 Plan after
that date.
Options granted under the 2003 Plan will entitle the optionee,
upon exercise, to purchase shares of common stock from us at a
specified exercise price per share. ISOs must have a per share
exercise price of no less than the fair market value of a share
of common stock on the date of the grant or, if the optionee
owns or is treated as owning, under Section 424(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code, more than 10% of the total combined
voting power of all classes of our stock, no less than 110% of
the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of
the grant. Nonstatutory stock options granted under the 2003
Plan must have a per share exercise price of no less than 85% of
the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of
the grant. Options will not be transferable other than by laws
of descent, distribution and, in the case of nonstatutory stock
options, assignment or grant to a trust, individual retirement
account or pension plan that is for the benefit of the optionee.
The Compensation Committee administers the 2003 Plan and has the
authority, subject to the provisions of the 2003 Plan, to
determine who will receive awards under the 2003 Plan and the
terms of such awards. The Compensation Committee has the
authority to adjust the number of shares available for options,
the number of shares subject to outstanding options and the
exercise price for options following the occurrence of events
such as stock splits, cash or stock dividends, distributions and
recapitalizations.
If authorized by the Compensation Committee, the exercise price
of an option may be paid in the form of shares of common stock
that are already owned by a participant. In addition, the
Compensation Committee may permit, when appropriate, a
cashless exercise arrangement whereby an optionee
may exercise a portion of his or her option by surrendering a
portion of the shares subject to his or her option having a fair
value equal to the aggregate exercise price of the portion of
the option being exercised. If an optionee elects to make a
cashless exercise of a portion of his or her option, he or she
will receive upon such exercise shares having an aggregate fair
market value equal to the product of (1) the excess of the
fair market value of a share of common stock on the exercise
date over the exercise price and (2) the number of shares
covered by the portion of the option being exercised. The 2003
Plan provides that if a stock option is not exercised and the
option expires for any reason, then the shares of common stock
subject to the option will be available for reissuance under the
2003 Plan.
Participants in the 2003 Plan are eligible to receive grants of
restricted stock. These shares may be subject to a time-based
vesting schedule or the attainment of performance goals
established by the Compensation Committee. Restricted stock may
be sold or may be issued for no cash consideration as determined
by the Compensation Committee. Upon a participants
termination of service with us, we may have the option to
repurchase or reclaim the unvested shares of stock at the
original purchase price paid by a participant for such shares,
if any. The specific terms and conditions of the restricted
stock purchases shall be governed by the 2003 Plan and
individual agreements in a form approved by the Compensation
Committee. Restricted stock acquired under the 2003 Plan is
transferable if so determined by the Compensation Committee in
its discretion. As of March 17, 2005, we have not issued
any shares of restricted stock.
Upon specified corporate transactions, as defined in the 2003
Plan, all outstanding stock options and restricted stock under
the 2003 Plan may either be assumed or new awards may be
substituted by the successor or surviving entity. If the
surviving entity does not assume or substitute similar awards,
the vesting of
38
awards held by the participants whose continuous service has not
terminated prior to the closing date of the corporate
transaction will be accelerated in full and then terminated to
the extent not exercised, if appropriate, prior to the closing
date of the corporate transaction. With respect to any other
awards which are not assumed or substituted and which are held
by participants whose continuous service has terminated on or
prior to the closing date of the corporate transaction, such
awards will not be accelerated unless otherwise provided in a
written agreement between us and the participant and approved by
the Compensation Committee.
Upon a corporate transaction that constitutes a change in
control, as defined in the 2003 Plan, awards of stock options
and restricted stock held by participants whose continuous
service has not terminated prior to the date of the change in
control will be entitled to additional acceleration of vesting,
but only to the extent as provided in any written agreement
between us and the participant and approved by the Compensation
Committee.
The following tables show for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005, certain information regarding options
granted to, exercised by, and held at year end by, the Named
Executive Officers:
OPTION GRANTS IN LAST FISCAL YEAR
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Potential Realizable | |
|
|
Individual Grants | |
|
|
|
|
|
Value at Assumed | |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Annual Rates of Stock | |
|
|
Number of | |
|
% of Total Options | |
|
|
|
|
|
Price Appreciation for | |
|
|
Securities | |
|
Granted to | |
|
|
|
|
|
Option Term(1) | |
|
|
Underlying Options | |
|
Employees in Fiscal | |
|
Exercise Or Base | |
|
Expiration | |
|
| |
Name |
|
Granted (#) | |
|
Year | |
|
Price ($/Sh) | |
|
Date | |
|
5% ($) | |
|
10% ($) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Mr. Gladstone
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
Mr. Brubaker
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
Mr. Stelljes
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
Mr. Brill
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
AGGREGATED OPTION EXERCISES IN LAST FISCAL YEAR
AND YEAR-END OPTION VALUES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Securities | |
|
Value of | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Underlying | |
|
Unexercised | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unexercised | |
|
In-the-Money | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options/ SARs at | |
|
Options/ SARs at | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FY-End (#) | |
|
FY-End ($) | |
|
|
Shares Acquired | |
|
Value | |
|
Exercisable/ | |
|
Exercisable/ | |
Name |
|
on Exercise (#) | |
|
Realized ($)(1) | |
|
Unexercisable | |
|
Unexercisable(2) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Mr. Gladstone
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
200,000/0 |
|
|
|
$300,000/$0 |
|
Mr. Brubaker
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
100,000/30,000 |
|
|
|
$156,000/$6,000 |
|
Mr. Stelljes
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
100,000/30,000 |
|
|
|
$156,000/$6000 |
|
Mr. Brill
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
25,000/10,000 |
|
|
|
$39,500/$2,000 |
|
|
|
(1) |
Value realized is calculated as the closing market price on the
date of exercise, net of option exercise price, but before any
tax liabilities or transaction costs. |
|
(2) |
The value of unexercised options is calculated as the closing
market price on December 31, 2005, less the exercise price.
In-the-money options are those with an exercise
price that is less than the closing market price on
December 31, 2005. |
39
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table provides certain information with respect to
the 2003 Plan, which is our only equity compensation plan, as of
December 31, 2005.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of securities | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
remaining available | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
for issuance under | |
|
|
Number of securities to | |
|
Weighted-average | |
|
equity compensation | |
|
|
be issued upon exercise | |
|
exercise price of | |
|
plans (excluding | |
|
|
of outstanding options, | |
|
outstanding options, | |
|
securities reflected | |
|
|
warrants and rights | |
|
warrants and rights | |
|
in column (a)) | |
Plan Category |
|
(a) | |
|
(b) | |
|
(c) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
|
|
|
916,000 |
|
|
$ |
15.39 |
|
|
|
14,000 |
|
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
|
|
n/a |
|
Total
|
|
|
916,000 |
|
|
$ |
15.39 |
|
|
|
14,000 |
|
Employment Agreements
Because our executive officers are employees of the Adviser, we
do not pay cash compensation to them directly in return for
their services to us. However, our executive officers and other
officers, employees and personnel of the Adviser who spend time
on our matters continue to be eligible to receive awards under
the 2003 Plan. Pursuant to the terms of the Existing Agreement,
we reimburse the Adviser for our pro rata share of the
Advisers employee payroll and benefits expenses on an
employee-by-employee basis, based on the percentage of each
employees time devoted to our matters. For additional
information regarding this arrangement, see Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions Advisory
Agreement, and Certain Relationships and
Related Transactions Other Transactions with the
Adviser and its Affiliates.
Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker and Stelljes have entered into
employment agreements with the Adviser as senior executive
officers of the Adviser. Summarized below are certain material
terms of Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker and Stelljes
current employment agreements.
Each of the employment agreements of Messrs. Gladstone,
Brubaker and Stelljes provides for a term through April 22,
2007, that will be extended for successive periods of one year
unless the Adviser gives the senior executive officer three
months prior written notice of its intention to terminate
the agreement without cause. Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker
and Stelljes each have the right to terminate their respective
employment agreement at any time by giving the Adviser three
months prior written notice.
The employment agreements of Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker
and Stelljes provide for a base salary of $200,000. The
Advisers board of directors has the right to increase
their base salaries and also, generally, to decrease them, but
not below $200,000. Currently, the base salary of
Mr. Gladstone is $200,000, and the base salaries of
Messrs. Brubaker and Stelljes have been set at $235,000.
The employment agreements provide that each of
Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker and Stelljes is entitled to
receive a cash bonus of up to 100% of his base salary based upon
a determination by the Advisers Board of Directors. Each
of Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker and Stelljes is also
entitled to participate in the 2003 Plan. However,
Mr. Gladstone has voluntarily agreed not to accept any
additional options from us.
If the Adviser should terminate the employment of
Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker or Stelljes each would be
subject to certain non-compete covenants. These covenants would
generally apply for one year. During periods when
Messrs. Gladstone, Brubaker or Stelljes are entitled to
receive severance payments from the Adviser, they may terminate
these covenants prohibiting competition by forgoing such
severance payments.
The employment agreement of Mr. Stelljes provides for his
nomination to serve as our executive vice president and chief
investment officer.
Each of the employment agreements also provides that the officer
will maintain the confidentiality of our confidential
information during and after the period of his employment.
Pursuant to the terms of the Existing Agreement, our Board of
Directors has the exclusive right to: (i) grant stock
compensation to the senior executive officers; (ii) hire,
fire and control the activities of the
40
senior executive officers in connection with and to the extent
of their services to us; (iii) determine the economic value
of the services performed by our senior executive officers; and
(iv) remit funds to cover the complete compensation of our
senior executive officers.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The following table sets forth certain information regarding the
ownership of our common stock as of February 28, 2006 by:
(i) all of our executive officers and directors as a group;
and (ii) all those known by the Company to be beneficial
owners of more than five percent of its common stock. Except as
otherwise noted, the address of the individuals below is c/ o
Gladstone Commercial Corporation, 1521 Westbranch Drive,
Suite 200, McLean, VA 22102.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beneficial Ownership(1) | |
|
|
| |
|
|
Number of | |
|
Percent of | |
Name and Address |
|
Shares | |
|
Total | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Compensated Persons and Directors:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
David Gladstone(2)
|
|
|
359,698 |
|
|
|
4.57 |
% |
Terry Lee Brubaker(3)
|
|
|
154,363 |
|
|
|
1.98 |
% |
George Stelljes III(4)
|
|
|
123,051 |
|
|
|
1.58 |
% |
Harry Brill(5)
|
|
|
30,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
Anthony W. Parker(6)
|
|
|
18,662 |
|
|
|
* |
|
David A.R. Dullum(7)
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
Michela A. English(8)
|
|
|
16,104 |
|
|
|
* |
|
Paul Adelgren(9)
|
|
|
15,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
Maurice Coulon(10)
|
|
|
16,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
John H. Outland(11)
|
|
|
15,000 |
|
|
|
* |
|
Gerard Mead
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
* |
|
All executive officers and directors as a group
(11 persons)(12)
|
|
|
767,878 |
|
|
|
9.34 |
% |
Other Stockholders:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Avenir Corporation(13)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1725 K Street, NW Suite 401
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Washington, DC 20006.
|
|
|
889,146 |
|
|
|
11.59 |
% |
Prudential Financial, Inc.(14)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
715 Broad Street
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Newark, NJ 07102.
|
|
|
540,800 |
|
|
|
7.05 |
% |
Persons associated with CF Advisors, LLC(15)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
666 5th Avenue 34th Floor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New York, NY 10103.
|
|
|
486,113 |
|
|
|
6.34 |
% |
|
|
|
|
(1) |
This table is based upon information supplied by officers,
directors and principal stockholders. Unless otherwise indicated
in the footnotes to this table and subject to community property
laws where applicable, the Company believes that each of the
stockholders named in this table has sole voting and sole
investment power with respect to the shares indicated as
beneficially owned. Applicable percentages are based on
7,672,000 shares of common stock outstanding on
February 28, 2006, adjusted as required by rules
promulgated by the SEC. |
|
|
(2) |
Includes 200,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
|
(3) |
Includes 115,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006, and
12,500 shares owned by Mr. Brubakers spouse with
respect to which Mr. Brubaker disclaims beneficial
ownership. |
|
|
(4) |
Includes 115,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
|
(5) |
Includes 30,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
41
|
|
|
|
(6) |
Includes 15,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
|
(7) |
Includes 15,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
|
(8) |
Includes 15,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
|
(9) |
Includes 15,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
|
(10) |
Includes 15,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
(11) |
Includes 15,000 shares underlying options that are exercisable
within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
(12) |
Includes an aggregate of 550,000 shares underlying options that
are exercisable within 60 days of February 28, 2006. |
|
(13) |
This information has been obtained from a Schedule 13G
filed by Avenir Corporation on February 13, 2006. |
|
(14) |
This information has been obtained from a Schedule 13G
filed by Prudential Financial, Inc. on February 10, 2006,
according to which it has sole voting and shared investment
power over these shares that it holds for its own benefit or for
the benefit of its clients by its separate accounts, externally
managed accounts, registered investment companies or other
affiliates. However, on a Schedule 13G filed by Jennison
Associates, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Prudential Financial,
Inc., on February 14, 2006, Jennison Associates disclosed
that it has sole voting and indirect investment power with
respect to 175,300 of these shares, and shared voting and
investment power with respect to the remaining 365,500 shares. |
|
(15) |
This information has been obtained from a Schedule 13G
filed jointly by CF Advisors, LLC, A. Alex Porter, Paul Orlin,
Geoffrey Hulme and Jonathan W. Friedland on February 10,
2006, according to which CF Advisors, LLC shares voting and
investment power with Messrs. Porter, Orlin, Hulme and
Friedland with respect to these shares. |
Section 16(A) Beneficial Ownership Reporting
Compliance
Section 16(a) of the 1934 Act requires our directors
and executive officers, and persons who own more than ten
percent of a registered class of our equity securities, to file
with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes
in ownership of our common stock and other equity securities.
Officers, directors and greater than ten percent stockholders
are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all
Section 16(a) forms they file.
To our knowledge, based solely on a review of the copies of such
reports furnished to us and written representations that no
other reports were required, during the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005, all Section 16(a) filing
requirements applicable to our officers, directors and greater
than ten percent beneficial owners were complied with, except
that each of Messrs. Parker, Dullum, Coulon, Adelgren and
Outland and Ms. English filed a late Form 4 in June
2005 to report a May 2005 option grant.
42
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
COMPARISON3
The following graph shows the total stockholder return of an
investment of $100 in cash on August 13, 2003, the first
day of trading of our common stock for (i) our common
stock, (ii) the Standards & Poors 500 Index
(the S&P 500) and (iii) the NAREIT
Composite Index (the NAREIT Index). All values
assume reinvestment of the full amount of all dividends:
Comparison Cumulative Total Return on Investment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
August 13, 2003 |
|
|
December 31, 2003 |
|
|
December 31, 2004 |
|
|
December 31, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gladstone Commercial Corporation
|
|
|
$ |
100.00 |
|
|
|
$ |
108.18 |
|
|
|
$ |
112.97 |
|
|
|
$ |
118.14 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S&P 500
|
|
|
$ |
100.00 |
|
|
|
$ |
116.30 |
|
|
|
$ |
115.67 |
|
|
|
$ |
164.24 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NAREIT Index
|
|
|
$ |
100.00 |
|
|
|
$ |
113.00 |
|
|
|
$ |
123.16 |
|
|
|
$ |
126.85 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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This section is not soliciting material, is not
deemed filed with the SEC, and is not to be
incorporated by reference in any of our filings under the
1933 Act or the 1934 Act, whether made before or after
the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation
language contained in any such filing. |
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Advisory Agreement
Under our Existing Agreement, the Adviser is responsible for our
day-to-day operations
and administration, record keeping and regulatory compliance
functions. Specifically, these responsibilities include
identifying, evaluating, negotiating and consummating all
investment transactions consistent with our investment
objectives and criteria; providing us with all required records
and regular reports to our Board of Directors concerning the
Advisers efforts on our behalf; and maintaining compliance
with all regulatory requirements applicable to us. In return for
providing such services, we pay the Adviser through
reimbursement of our portion of the Advisers payroll,
benefits and general overhead expenses, on the following bases:
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Reimbursement on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all expenses
incurred by our Adviser for our direct benefit (including, but
not limited to organizational and offering expenses, legal,
accounting, tax and consulting fees); |
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Reimbursement on a dollar-for-dollar basis for all additional
fees charged by third parties that are directly related to our
business (including, but not limited to real estate brokerage
fees, mortgage placement fees,
lease-up fees and
transaction structuring fees); |
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Reimbursement for our pro rata share of our Advisers
employee payroll and benefits expenses, on an
employee-by-employee basis, based on the percentage of each
employees time devoted to our matters. |
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Reimbursement for our pro rata portion of all other overhead
expenses of our Adviser, based on the percentage of total hours
worked by our Advisers personnel that are spent on our
matters. However, under the Existing Agreement we are only
required to reimburse our Adviser for overhead if the amount of
payroll and benefits expenses reimbursed to our Adviser, as
described above, is less than 2.0% of our average invested
assets. In such case, we will only be required to reimburse our
Adviser for our share of its overhead expenses up to the point
that overhead expenses and payroll and benefits expenses, on a
combined basis, equal 2.0% of our average invested assets. |
We are asking our stockholders to approve the Proposed Agreement
and the Administration Agreement, as further described in
Proposal II. If Proposal II is approved, the Proposed
Agreement and the Administration Agreement will go into effect
on the later of: (i) January 1, 2007; or (ii) the
first day of the first fiscal quarter beginning after the last
of our outstanding stock options is either exercised or
terminated. The Existing Agreement will terminate upon the
effective date of the Proposed Agreement.
David Gladstone, Terry Lee Brubaker, George Stelljes III
and Harry Brill are all officers and directors of the Adviser
and managers of the Administrator, and David Gladstone is the
controlling stockholder of the Adviser, which is the sole member
of the Administrator. Although we believe that the terms of the
Existing Agreement, the Proposed Agreement, and the
Administration Agreement are no less favorable to us than those
that could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties in
arms length transactions, the Adviser, the Administrator
and its officers, directors and managers have a material
interest in the terms of these agreements.
Other Transactions with the Adviser and its Affiliates
From time to time we may enter into transactions with the
Adviser or one or more of its affiliates. A majority of our
independent directors and a majority of our directors not
otherwise interested in a transaction with the Adviser must
approve all such transactions with the Adviser or its affiliates.
It is our current policy that we will not purchase any property
from or co-invest with the Adviser, any of its affiliates or any
business in which the Adviser or any of its affiliates have
invested except that we may make leases to existing and
prospective portfolio companies of entities advised by the
Adviser as long as the portfolio company is not controlled by
that entity, and that if we decide to change this policy on
co-investments with the Adviser or its affiliates, we will seek
approval of this decision from our stockholders.
Indemnification
In our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, we have agreed to
indemnify certain officers and directors by providing, among
other things, that we will indemnify such officer or director,
under the circumstances and to the extent provided for therein,
for expenses, damages, judgments, fines and settlements he or
she may be required to pay in actions or proceedings which he or
she is or may be made a party by reason of his or her position
as a director, officer or other agent of ours, and otherwise to
the fullest extent permitted under Maryland law and our Bylaws.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the indemnification provisions
shall not protect any officer or director from liability to us
or our stockholders as a result of any action that would
constitute willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in
the performance of such officers or directors
duties, or reckless disregard of his or her obligations and
duties.
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OTHER MATTERS
The Board of Directors knows of no other matters that will be
presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other
matters are properly brought before the meeting, it is the
intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote
on such matters in accordance with their best judgment.
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By Order of the Board of Directors |
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Terry Brubaker |
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Secretary |
March 24, 2006
A copy of our Annual Report to the Securities and Exchange
Commission on
Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 will be mailed to
stockholders with this proxy statement. Copies of the Annual
Report on
Form 10-K will
also be made available without charge upon written request to
our Investor Relations Manager, Kelly Sargent, at the following
address: Gladstone Commercial Corporation, 1521 Westbranch
Drive, Suite 200, McLean, Virginia 22102. You may also
request a copy free of charge by calling our toll-free Investor
Relations line at 1-866-366-5745.
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APPENDIX A
AMENDED AND RESTATED INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
GLADSTONE COMMERCIAL CORPORATION
AND
GLADSTONE MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
Agreement made
this day
of ,
2007, by and between Gladstone Commercial Corporation, a
Maryland corporation (the Company),
and Gladstone Management Corporation, a Delaware
corporation (the Adviser).
Whereas, the Company is a real estate investment trust
organized primarily for the purpose of investing in and owning
net leased industrial and commercial rental property and
selectively making long-term mortgage loans collateralized by
industrial and commercial property;
Whereas, the Adviser is an investment adviser that has
registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the
Advisers Act); and
Whereas, the Company desires to retain the Adviser to
furnish investment advisory services to the Company on the terms
and conditions hereinafter set forth, and the Adviser wishes to
be retained to provide such services.
Now, Therefore, in consideration of the premises and for
other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereby agree
as follows:
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Duties of the Adviser. |
(a) The Company hereby employs the Adviser to act as the
investment adviser to the Company and to manage the investment
and reinvestment of the assets of the Company, subject to the
supervision of the Board of Directors of the Company, for the
period and upon the terms herein set forth, (i) in
accordance with the investment objective, policies and
restrictions that are set forth in the Companys
Registration Statement on
Form S-11, filed
June 11, 2003, as amended from time to time (as amended,
the Registration Statement) and
(ii) during the term of this Agreement in accordance with
all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations,
and the Companys charter and by-laws. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, the Adviser shall, during the term
and subject to the provisions of this Agreement,
(i) determine the composition of the portfolio of the
Company, the nature and timing of the changes therein and the
manner of implementing such changes; (ii) identify,
evaluate and negotiate the structure of the investments made by
the Company; (iii) close and monitor the Companys
investments; (iv) determine the real property, securities
and other assets that the Company will purchase, retain, or
sell; (v) perform due diligence on prospective portfolio
companies; and (vi) provide the Company with such other
investment advisory, research and related services as the
Company may, from time to time, reasonably require for the
investment of its funds. The Adviser shall have the discretion,
power and authority on behalf of the Company to effectuate its
investment decisions for the Company, including the execution
and delivery of all documents relating to the Companys
investments and the placing of orders for other purchase or sale
transactions on behalf of the Company. In the event that the
Company determines to acquire debt financing, the Adviser will
arrange for such financing on the Companys behalf, subject
to the oversight and approval of the Companys Board of
Directors. If it is necessary for the Adviser to make
investments on behalf of the Company through a special purpose
vehicle, the Adviser shall have authority to create or arrange
for the creation of such special purpose vehicle and to make
such investments through such special purpose vehicle.
(b) The Adviser hereby accepts such employment and agrees
during the term hereof to render the services described herein
for the compensation provided herein.
(c) The Adviser is hereby authorized to enter into one or
more sub-advisory agreements with other advisers (each, a
Sub-Adviser)
pursuant to which the Adviser may obtain the services of the
A-1
Sub-Adviser(s) to
assist the Adviser in fulfilling its responsibilities hereunder.
Specifically, the Adviser may retain a
Sub-Adviser to
recommend specific investments based upon the Companys
investment objective and policies, and work, along with the
Adviser, in structuring, negotiating, arranging or effecting the
acquisition or disposition of such investments and monitoring
investments on behalf of the Company, subject to the oversight
of the Adviser and the Company. The Adviser, and not the
Company, shall be responsible for any compensation payable to
any Sub-Adviser. Any
sub-advisory agreement entered into by the Adviser shall be in
accordance with the requirements of applicable federal and state
law.
(d) The Adviser shall for all purposes herein provided be
deemed to be an independent contractor and, except as expressly
provided or authorized herein, shall have no authority to act
for or represent the Company in any way or otherwise be deemed
an agent of the Company.
(e) The Adviser shall keep and preserve for a reasonable
period any books and records relevant to the provision of its
investment advisory services to the Company and shall
specifically maintain all books and records with respect to the
Companys portfolio transactions and shall render to the
Companys Board of Directors such periodic and special
reports as the Board may reasonably request. The Adviser agrees
that all records that it maintains for the Company are the
property of the Company and will surrender promptly to the
Company any such records upon the Companys request,
provided that the Adviser may retain a copy of such records.
(f) The Adviser has adopted and implemented written
policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation
of the Federal Securities laws by the Adviser. The Adviser has
provided the Company, and shall provide the Company at such
times in the future as the Company shall reasonably request,
with a copy of such policies and procedures.
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Companys Responsibilities and Expenses Payable by the
Company. |
All investment professionals of the Adviser and their respective
staffs, when and to the extent engaged in providing investment
advisory and management services hereunder, and the compensation
and routine overhead expenses of such personnel allocable to
such services, will be provided and paid for by the Adviser and
not by the Company. The Company will bear all other costs and
expenses of its operations and transactions, including (without
limitation) those relating to: organization and offering;
expenses incurred by the Adviser payable to third parties,
including agents, consultants or other advisors (such as
independent valuation firms, accountants and legal counsel), in
monitoring financial and legal affairs for the Company and in
monitoring the Companys investments and performing due
diligence on its real estate or prospective portfolio companies;
interest payable on debt, if any, incurred to finance the
Companys investments; offerings of the Companys
common or preferred stock and other securities; investment
advisory and management fees; administration fees, if any,
payable under the Administration Agreement between the Company
and Gladstone Administration, LLC (the
Administrator), the Companys
administrator; fees payable to third parties, including agents,
consultants or other advisors, relating to, or associated with,
evaluating and making investments; transfer agent and custodial
fees; federal and state registration fees; all costs of
registration and listing the Companys shares on any
securities exchange; federal, state and local taxes; independent
Directors fees and expenses; costs of preparing and filing
reports or other documents required by the Securities and
Exchange Commission; costs of any reports, proxy statements or
other notices to stockholders, including printing costs; the
Companys allocable portion of the fidelity bond, directors
and officers and errors and omissions liability insurance, and
any other insurance premiums; direct costs and expenses of
administration, including printing, mailing, long distance
telephone, copying, secretarial and other staff, independent
auditors and outside legal costs; and all other expenses
incurred by the Company or the Administrator in connection with
administering the Companys business, including payments
under the Administration Agreement between the Company and the
Administrator based upon the Companys allocable portion of
the Administrators overhead in performing its obligations
under the Administration Agreement, including rent and the
allocable portion of the cost of the Companys chief
compliance officer, treasurer and chief financial officer and
their respective staffs.
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Compensation of the Adviser. |
The Company agrees to pay, and the Adviser agrees to accept, as
compensation for the services provided by the Adviser hereunder,
a base management fee (Base Management
Fee) and an incentive fee (Incentive
Fee) as hereinafter set forth. The Company shall
make any payments due hereunder to the Adviser or to the
Advisers designee as the Adviser may otherwise direct.
The Base Management Fee shall be payable quarterly in arrears,
and shall be calculated at an annual rate of 2.00%
(.50% per quarter) of the quarter-end stated amount of the
Companys Total Stockholders Equity as reflected on
the Companys balance sheet at the end of each calendar
quarter (less the recorded value of any preferred stock, and
adjusted to exclude the effect of any unrealized gains, losses
or other items that do not affect realized net income). The Base
Management Fees payable for any partial quarter will be
appropriately prorated.
The Incentive Fee will be calculated and payable quarterly in
arrears based on the Companys Funds From Operations
(FFO). For this purpose, Funds From
Operations means Net Income excluding gains (or
losses) from debt restructuring and the sale of real property
plus depreciation and amortization on real estate assets, and
after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint
ventures. Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From
Operations means Funds From Operations accrued by
the Company during the calendar quarter, which is after the
Companys operating expenses for the quarter. Operating
expenses include the Base Management Fee (less any rebate of
fees received from the Adviser), expenses payable under the
Administration Agreement and any interest expense but excluding
the Incentive Fee) and operating expenses. Pre-Incentive Fee
Funds From Operations includes, in the case of investments with
a deferred interest feature (such as original issue discount,
debt instruments with payment in kind interest and zero coupon
securities), accrued income and rents that the Company has not
yet received in cash. Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From Operations
also includes realized capital gains, realized capital losses
less dividend paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock
but does not include any unrealized capital appreciation or
depreciation. For purposes of calculating the Incentive Fee,
Funds From Operations may be adjusted by a unanimous vote of the
independent directors to exclude special one-time events such as
changes in GAAP pronouncements or other significant non-cash
items. Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From Operations, expressed as a
rate of return on the Companys Total Stockholders
Equity (less the recorded value of any preferred stock, and
adjusted to exclude the effect of any unrealized gains, losses
or other items that do not affect realized net income) as
reflected on the Companys financial statements at the end
of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, will be compared
to a hurdle rate of 1.75% per quarter (7%
annualized). The Company will pay the Adviser an Incentive Fee
with respect to the Companys Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From
Operations in each calendar quarter as follows: (1) no
Incentive Fee in any calendar quarter in which the
Companys Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From Operations does not
exceed the hurdle rate; (2) 100% of the Companys
Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From Operations with respect to that
portion of such Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From Operations, if any,
that exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 2.1875% in any
calendar quarter (8.75% annualized); and (3) 20% of the
amount of the Companys Pre-Incentive Fee Funds From
Operations, if any, that exceeds 2.1875% in any calendar quarter
(8.75% annualized). Incentive Fees payable for any partial
quarter will be appropriately prorated.
(c.) The Base Management Fee and Total Stockholders Equity
will be computed using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
in the United States (GAAP) and Funds From
Operations (FFO) will use the definition established
by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts
(NAREIT)
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Limitations on the Employment of the Adviser. |
The services of the Adviser to the Company are not exclusive,
and the Adviser may engage in any other business or render
similar or different services to others including, without
limitation, the direct or indirect
A-3
sponsorship or management of other investment based accounts or
commingled pools of capital, however structured, having
investment objectives similar to those of the Company, so long
as its services to the Company hereunder are not impaired
thereby, and nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict
the right of any manager, partner, officer or employee of the
Adviser to engage in any other business or to devote his or her
time and attention in part to any other business, whether of a
similar or dissimilar nature, or to receive any fees or
compensation in connection therewith (including fees for serving
as a director of, or providing consulting services to, one or
more of the Companys portfolio companies, subject to
applicable law). So long as this Agreement or any extension,
renewal or amendment remains in effect, the Adviser shall be the
only investment adviser for the Company, subject to the
Advisers right to enter into sub-advisory agreements. The
Adviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other
than to render the services called for hereunder. It is
understood that directors, officers, employees and stockholders
of the Company are or may become interested in the Adviser and
its affiliates, as directors, officers, employees, partners,
stockholders, members, managers or otherwise, and that the
Adviser and directors, officers, employees, partners,
stockholders, members and managers of the Adviser and its
affiliates are or may become similarly interested in the Company
as stockholders or otherwise.
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Responsibility of Dual Directors, Officers or Employees. |
If any person who is a manager, partner, officer or employee of
the Adviser or the Administrator is or becomes a director,
officer or employee of the Company and acts as such in any
business of the Company, then such manager, partner, officer or
employee of the Adviser or the Administrator shall be deemed to
be acting in such capacity solely for the Company, and not as a
manager, partner, officer or employee of the Adviser or the
Administrator or under the control or direction of the Adviser
or the Administrator, even if paid by the Adviser or the
Administrator.
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Limitation of Liability of the Adviser: Indemnification. |
The Adviser (and its officers, managers, partners, agents,
employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or
entity affiliated with the Adviser, including without limitation
the Administrator) shall not be liable to the Company for any
action taken or omitted to be taken by the Adviser in connection
with the performance of any of its duties or obligations under
this Agreement or otherwise as an investment adviser of the
Company, and the Company shall indemnify, defend and protect the
Adviser (and its officers, managers, partners, agents,
employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or
entity affiliated with the Adviser, including without limitation
its general partner and the Administrator, each of whom shall be
deemed a third party beneficiary hereof) (collectively, the
Indemnified Parties) and hold them
harmless from and against all damages, liabilities, costs and
expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees and amounts
reasonably paid in settlement) incurred by the Indemnified
Parties in or by reason of any pending, threatened or completed
action, suit, investigation or other proceeding (including an
action or suit by or in the right of the Company or its security
holders) arising out of or otherwise based upon the performance
of any of the Advisers duties or obligations under this
Agreement or otherwise as an investment adviser of the Company.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence of this Paragraph 6
to the contrary, nothing contained herein shall protect or be
deemed to protect the Indemnified Parties against or entitle or
be deemed to entitle the Indemnified Parties to indemnification
in respect of, any liability to the Company or its security
holders to which the Indemnified Parties would otherwise be
subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross
negligence in the performance of the Advisers duties or by
reason of the reckless disregard of the Advisers duties
and obligations under this Agreement.
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Effectiveness, Duration and Termination of Agreement. |
This Agreement shall become effective as of the first date above
written. This Agreement shall remain in effect for two years,
and thereafter shall continue automatically for successive
annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically
approved at least annually by (a) the vote of the
Companys Board of Directors, or by the vote of a majority
of the outstanding voting securities of the Company, and
(b) the vote of a majority of the Companys directors,
including a majority of the independent directors,
as such term is
A-4
defined under the rules of the Nasdaq National Market or such
other securities market on which the securities of the Company
are traded. This Agreement may be terminated at any time,
without the payment of any penalty, upon 60 days
written notice, by the vote of a majority of the outstanding
voting securities of the Company, or by the vote of a majority
of the Companys directors or by the Adviser. The
provisions of Paragraph 6 of this Agreement shall remain in
full force and effect, and the Adviser and its representatives
shall remain entitled to the benefits thereof, notwithstanding
any termination or expiration of this Agreement. Further,
notwithstanding the termination or expiration of this Agreement
as aforesaid, the Adviser shall be entitled to any amounts owed
under Section 3 through the date of termination or
expiration.
This agreement is not assignable or transferable by either party
hereto without the prior written consent of the other party.
This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent.
Any notice under this Agreement shall be given in writing,
addressed and delivered or mailed, postage prepaid, to the other
party at its principal office.
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Entire Agreement; Governing Law. |
This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties and
supersedes all prior agreements, understandings and arrangements
with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement shall
be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of
Delaware.
In Witness Whereof, the parties hereto have caused this
Agreement to be duly executed on the date above written.
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Gladstone Commercial Corporation |
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Terry L. Brubaker |
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Chief Operating Officer |
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Gladstone Management Corporation |
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David Gladstone |
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Chief Executive Officer |
A-5
APPENDIX B
ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
GLADSTONE COMMERCIAL CORPORATION
AND
GLADSTONE ADMINISTRATION, LLC
This Administration
Agreement (this Agreement)
is made as
of ,
2007 by and between Gladstone Commercial Corporation, a Delaware
corporation (hereinafter referred to as the
Company), and Gladstone
Administration, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
(hereinafter referred to as the
Administrator) a wholly owned
subsidiary of Gladstone Management Corporation.
PREAMBLE
The Company is a real estate investment trust organized
primarily for the purpose of investing in and owning net leased
industrial and commercial rental property and selectively making
long-term mortgage loans collateralized by industrial and
commercial property.
The Administrator is an investment adviser that has registered
under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the
Advisers Act).
The Company desires to retain the Administrator to provide
administrative services to the Company in the manner and on the
terms hereinafter set forth. The Companys investment
adviser is the Administrators sole member. The
Administrator is willing to provide administrative services to
the Company on the terms and conditions hereafter set forth.
AGREEMENT
Now,
Therefore, in consideration of the premises and the
covenants hereinafter contained and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby
acknowledged, the Company and the Administrator hereby agree as
set forth below:
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Duties of the
Administrator. |
(a) Engagement of Administrator. The Company hereby
engages the Administrator to act as administrator of the
Company, and to furnish, or arrange for others to furnish, the
administrative services, personnel and facilities described
below, subject to review by and the overall control of the Board
of Directors of the Company, for the period and on the terms and
conditions set forth in this Agreement. The Administrator hereby
accepts such employment and agrees during such period to render,
or arrange for the rendering of, such services and to assume the
obligations herein set forth subject to the reimbursement of
costs and expenses provided for below. The Administrator and
such others shall for all purposes herein be deemed to be
independent contractors and shall, unless otherwise expressly
provided or authorized herein, have no authority to act for or
represent the Company in any way or otherwise be deemed agents
of the Company.
(b) Services. The Administrator shall perform (or
oversee, or arrange for, the performance of) the administrative
services necessary for the operation of the Company. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrator
shall provide the Company with office facilities, equipment,
clerical, bookkeeping, compliance, treasury and record keeping
services at such facilities and such other services as the
Administrator, subject to review by the Board of Directors of
the Company, shall from time to time determine to be necessary
or useful to perform its obligations under this Agreement. The
Administrator shall also, on behalf of the Company, conduct
relations with custodians, depositories, transfer agents,
dividend disbursing agents, other stockholder servicing agents,
accountants, attorneys, underwriters, brokers and dealers,
corporate fiduciaries, insurers, banks and such other persons in
any such other capacity deemed to be necessary or desirable. The
Administrator shall make reports to the Companys Board of
Directors of its performance of
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obligations hereunder and furnish advice and recommendations
with respect to such other aspects of the business and affairs
of the Company as it shall determine to be desirable; provided
that nothing herein shall be construed to require the
Administrator to, and the Administrator shall not, provide any
advice or recommendation relating to the securities and other
assets that the Company should purchase, retain or sell or any
other investment advisory services to the Company. The
Administrator shall be responsible for the financial and other
records that the Company is required to maintain and shall
prepare reports to stockholders, and reports and other materials
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
SEC). In addition, the Administrator
will assist the Company in determining and publishing the
Companys Total Stockholders Equity, overseeing the
preparation and filing of the Companys tax returns, and
the printing and dissemination of reports to stockholders of the
Company, and generally overseeing the payment of the
Companys expenses and the performance of administrative
and professional services rendered to the Company by others.
(c) The Administrator is hereby authorized to enter
into one or more sub-administration agreements with other
service providers (each a
Sub-Administrator)
pursuant to which the Administrator may obtain the services of
the service providers in fulfilling its responsibilities
hereunder. Any such sub-administration agreements shall be in
accordance with the requirements of applicable federal and state
law and shall contain a provision requiring the
Sub-Administrator to
comply with Sections 2 and 3 below as if it were the
Administrator.
The Administrator agrees to maintain and keep all books,
accounts and other records of the Company that relate to
activities performed by the administrator hereunder. The
Administrator agrees that all records which it maintains for the
Company shall at all times remain the property of the Company,
shall be readily accessible during normal business hours, and
shall be promptly surrendered upon the termination of the
Agreement or otherwise on written request. Records shall be
surrendered in usable machine-readable form. The Administrator
shall have the right to retain copies of such records subject to
observance of its confidentiality obligations under this
Agreement.
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Policies and
Procedures. |
The Administrator has adopted and implemented written policies
and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation of the
Federal Securities laws by the Administrator. The Administrator
shall provide the Company, at such times as the Company shall
reasonably request, with a copy of such policies and procedures
and a report of such policies and procedures.
The parties hereto agree that each shall treat confidentially
the terms and conditions of this Agreement and all information
provided by each party to the other regarding its business and
operations. All confidential information provided by a party
hereto, including nonpublic personal information pursuant to
Regulation S-P of
the Securities & Exchange Commission
(SEC), shall be used by any other
party hereto solely for the purpose of rendering services
pursuant to this Agreement and, except as may be required in
carrying out this Agreement, shall not be disclosed to any third
party, without the prior consent of such providing party. The
foregoing shall not be applicable to any information that is
publicly available when provided or thereafter becomes publicly
available other than through a breach of this Agreement, or that
is required to be disclosed by any regulatory authority, any
authority or legal counsel of the parties hereto, by judicial or
administrative process or otherwise by applicable law or
regulation.
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Compensation:
Allocation of Costs and Expenses. |
In full consideration of the provision of the services of the
Administrator, the Company shall reimburse the Administrator for
the costs and expenses incurred by the Administrator in
performing its obligations and providing personnel and
facilities hereunder.
B-2
The Company will bear all costs and expenses that are incurred
in its operation and transactions that are not specifically
assumed by the Companys investment adviser (the
Adviser), pursuant to that certain
Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement, dated as
of ,
2007 by and between the Company and the Adviser. Costs and
expenses to be borne by the Company include, but are not limited
to, those relating to: organization and offering; expenses
incurred by the Adviser payable to third parties, including
agents, consultants or other advisors (such as independent
valuation firms, accountants and legal counsel), in monitoring
financial and legal affairs for the Company and in monitoring
the Companys investments and performing due diligence on
its prospective portfolio companies; interest and fees payable
on debt, if any, incurred to finance the Companys
investments; offerings of the Companys common stock,
preferred stock and other securities; investment advisory and
management fees; administration fees, if any, payable under this
Agreement; fees payable to third parties, including agents,
consultants or other advisors, relating to, or associated with,
evaluating and making investments; transfer agent and custodial
fees; federal and state registration fees; all costs of
registration and listing the Companys shares on any
securities exchange; federal, state and local taxes; independent
directors fees and expenses; costs of preparing and filing
reports or other documents required by the SEC; costs of any
reports, proxy statements or other notices to stockholders,
including printing costs; the Companys allocable portion
of the fidelity bond, directors and officers and errors and
omissions liability insurance, and any other insurance premiums;
direct costs and expenses of administration, including printing,
mailing, long distance telephone, copying, secretarial and other
staff, independent auditors and outside legal costs; and all
other expenses incurred by the Company or the Administrator in
connection with administering the Companys business,
including payments under this Agreement based upon the
Companys allocable portion of the Administrators
overhead in performing its obligations under this Agreement,
including rent, and the allocable portion of the salaries and
benefits expenses of the Companys chief compliance
officer, treasurer, chief financial officer and controller and
their respective staffs.
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6. |
Limitation of Liability
of the Administrator: Indemnification. |
The Administrator (and its officers, managers, partners, agents,
employees, controlling persons, members, and any other person or
entity affiliated with the Administrator, including without
limitation its sole member, the Adviser) shall not be liable to
the Company for any action taken or omitted to be taken by the
Administrator in connection with the performance of any of its
duties or obligations under this Agreement or otherwise as
administrator for the Company, and the Company shall indemnify,
defend and protect the Administrator (and its officers,
managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons,
members, and any other person or entity affiliated with the
Administrator, including without limitation the Adviser, each of
whom shall be deemed a third party beneficiary hereof)
(collectively, the Indemnified
Parties) and hold them harmless from and against
all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including
reasonable attorneys fees and amounts reasonably paid in
settlement) incurred by the Indemnified Parties in or by reason
of any pending, threatened or completed action, suit,
investigation or other proceeding (including an action or suit
by or in the right of the Company or its security holders)
arising out of or otherwise based upon the performance of any of
the Administrators duties or obligations under this
Agreement or otherwise as administrator for the Company.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence of this Paragraph 6
to the contrary, nothing contained herein shall protect or be
deemed to protect the Indemnified Parties against or entitle or
be deemed to entitle the Indemnified Parties to indemnification
in respect of, any liability to the Company or its security
holders to which the Indemnified Parties would otherwise be
subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or
negligence in the performance of the Administrators duties
or by reason of the reckless disregard of the
Administrators duties and obligations under this Agreement.
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7. |
Activities of the
Administrator. |
The services of the Administrator to the Company are not to be
deemed to be exclusive, and the Administrator and each affiliate
is free to render services to others. It is understood that
directors, officers, employees and stockholders of the Company
are or may become interested in the Administrator and its
affiliates, as directors, officers, members, managers,
employees, partners, stockholders or otherwise, and that the
Administrator and directors, officers, members, managers,
employees, partners and stockholders of the
B-3
Administrator and its affiliates are or may become similarly
interested in the Company as stockholders or otherwise.
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8. |
Duration and
Termination of this Agreement. |
This Agreement shall become effective as of the date hereof, and
shall remain in force with respect to the Company for two years
thereafter, and thereafter continue from year to year, but only
so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least
annually by (i) the Board of Directors of the Company and
(ii) a majority of those Directors who are not parties to
this Agreement and are independent directors, as
such term is defined under the rules of the Nasdaq National
Market or such other securities market on which the securities
of the Company are traded. This Agreement may be terminated at
any time, without the payment of any penalty, by vote of the
Directors of the Company, or by the Administrator, upon
60 days written notice to the other party. This
Agreement may not be assigned by a party without the consent of
the other party.
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9. |
Amendments of this
Agreement. |
This Agreement may be amended pursuant to a written instrument
by mutual consent of the parties.
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with laws of the
State of Delaware.
This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties and
supersedes all prior agreements, understandings and arrangements
with respect to the subject matter hereof.
Any notice under this Agreement shall be given in writing,
addressed and delivered or mailed, postage prepaid, to the other
party at its principal office.
In Witness
Whereof, the parties hereto have executed and
delivered this Agreement as of the date first above written.
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Gladstone Commercial
Corporation |
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Gladstone
Administration, LLC |
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By: |
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Terry L. Brubaker
President and Chief Operating Officer |
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By: |
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David Gladstone
Manager |
B-4
GLADSTONE COMMERCIAL CORPORATION
PROXY SOLICITED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FOR THE 2006 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON MAY 24, 2006
The undersigned hereby appoints Harry Brill and George Stelljes III, and each of them acting
individually, as attorneys and proxies of the undersigned, with full power of substitution, to vote
all of the shares of stock of Gladstone Commercial Corporation which the undersigned may be
entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Gladstone Commercial Corporation to be
held at the Hilton McLean at 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102, on Wednesday, May 24, 2006
at 11:00 a.m. (local time), and at any and all postponements, continuations and adjournments
thereof, with all powers that the undersigned would possess if personally present, upon and in
respect of the following matters and in accordance with the following instructions, with
discretionary authority as to any and all other matters that may properly come before the meeting.
Unless a contrary direction is indicated, this proxy will be voted in favor of each of the
nominees listed in Proposal I; For Proposal II to approve an amended and restated investment
advisory agreement with Gladstone Management Corporation and an administration agreement with
Gladstone Administration, LLC; and For Proposal III to ratify the selection by the Audit
Committee of the Board of Directors of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered
public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, each as more specifically
described in the proxy statement. If specific instructions are indicated, this proxy will be voted
in accordance therewith.
(Continued and to be signed on reverse side)
GLADSTONE COMMERCIAL
CORPORATION
P.O. BOX 11046
NEW YORK, NY 10203-0046
To change your address, please mark this box o
DETACH PROXY CARD HERE
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Please vote, date and
promptly return this proxy
in the enclosed return
envelope which is postage
prepaid if mailed in the
United States.
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x
Vote must be indicated (x) in Black or Blue Ink |
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR EACH NOMINEE FOR DIRECTOR LISTED BELOW.
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Proposal I: |
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To elect three directors to hold office until the 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
and one director to hold office until the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. |
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FOR all nominees
listed
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o
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WITHHOLD AUTHORITY
to vote for all nominees listed
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*FOR all except
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o |
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Nominee (2009): David A.R. Dullum
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Nominee (2009): Terry Lee Brubaker
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Nominee (2009): Maurice W. Coulon
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Nominee (2008): Gerard Mead |
To withhold authority to vote in favor of any nominee, mark FOR all except and write the name of the nominee below:
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THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL II. |
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Proposal II:
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To approve an amended
and restated
investment advisory
agreement with
Gladstone Management
Corporation and an
administration
agreement with
Gladstone
Administration, LLC.
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FOR
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AGAINST
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ABSTAIN |
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o
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o
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THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL III. |
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Proposal III:
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To ratify the
selection by the
Audit Committee of
the Board of
Directors of
PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP as our
independent
registered public
accounting firm for
the fiscal year
ending December 31,
2006.
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FOR
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AGAINST
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ABSTAIN |
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o
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In their discretion, the proxies are authorized to vote on any other business as may properly come
before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.
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Please sign exactly as your name or names appear hereon. If the stock is registered in the names of
two or more persons, each should sign. Executor, administrator, trustee, guardian and
attorneys-in-fact should add their titles. If signer is a corporation, please give full corporate
name and have a duly authorized officer sign, stating title. If signer is a partnership, please
sign in partnership name by authorized person.
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Date
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Share Owner sign here
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Co-Owner sign here |