Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS

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REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Temporary Equity Disclosure [Abstract]  
REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS
Rockpoint Transactions
2023 Transactions
On April 5, 2023, Veris Residential Trust (“VRT”), the Company’s subsidiary through which the Company conducts its multifamily residential real estate operations, exercised its right to purchase and redeem direct and indirect interests (the “Put/Call Interests”) in preferred units of limited partnership interests in VRLP (the "Preferred Units") from certain affiliates of Rockpoint Group, L.L.C. (Rockpoint Group, L.L.C. and its affiliates, collectively, “Rockpoint”). On April 6, 2023, Rockpoint exercised its right under the Veris Residential Partners, L.P. (“VRLP”) Partnership Agreement to defer the closing of VRT’s purchase and redemption of the Put/Call Interests for one year. The exercise of the call right caused Rockpoint's interests to be reclassified as mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests under the accounting guidance, and included within the Total liabilities on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets. The impact of subsequent change in redemption value at each period end is recorded as interest cost. The carrying amount is not reduced below the initial measurement amount.
On July 25, 2023, VRT and the Operating Partnership entered into the Rockpoint Purchase Agreement with Rockpoint pursuant to which VRT and the Operating Partnership acquired from Rockpoint all of the Preferred Units that constituted the Put/Call Interests for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $520 million. Under the terms of the Rockpoint Purchase Agreement, the Original Investment Agreement and the Add On Investment Agreement have been terminated and are of no further force and effect (other than certain tax and related indemnification rights and obligations), Rockpoint ceased to be, direct or indirect, as applicable, members of VRLP, and all obligations of VRT and VRLP and all rights, title and interest of Rockpoint in and pursuant to the VRLP Partnership Agreement (except for certain tax, confidentiality and indemnification rights and obligations) and all other agreements by and between the General Partner, the Operating Partnership, VRT, VRLP and Rockpoint were terminated, including without limitation all provisions relating to the valuation and repurchase of the Put/Call Interests. As a result of the redemption, the Company recorded the change in redemption value of approximately $34.8 million as Interest cost of mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests on the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Transactions prior to 2023
Previously, on February 27, 2017, the Company, VRT, VRLP, the operating partnership through which VRT conducts all of its operations, and certain other affiliates of the Company entered into a preferred equity investment agreement (the “Original Investment Agreement”) with Rockpoint. Under the Original Investment Agreement, VRT contributed property to VRLP in exchange for common units of limited partnership interests in VRLP (the “Common Units”) and for multiple equity investments by Rockpoint in VRLP for an aggregate of $300 million of Preferred Units. In addition, certain contributions of property to VRLP by VRT subsequent to the execution of the Original Investment Agreement resulted in VRT being issued approximately $46 million of Preferred Units and Common Units in VRLP prior to June 26, 2019. On June 28, 2019, pursuant to the Add On Investment Agreement, Rockpoint invested an additional $100 million in Preferred Units and the Company and VRT agreed to contribute to VRLP two additional properties located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The Company determined the redemption value of these interests by hypothetically liquidating the estimated NAV of the VRT real estate portfolio including debt principal through the applicable waterfall provisions of the transaction with Rockpoint. The estimation of NAV included unobservable inputs that consider assumptions of market participants in pricing the underlying assets of VRLP. For properties under development, the Company applied a discount rate to the estimated future cash flows allocable to the Company during the period under construction and then applies a direct capitalization method to the estimated stabilized cash flows. For operating properties, the direct capitalization method was used by applying a capitalization rate to the projected net operating income. For developable land holdings, an estimated per-unit market value assumption was considered based on development rights or plans for the land. Estimated future cash flows used in such analyses were based on the Company’s business plan for each respective property including capital expenditures, management’s views of market and economic conditions, and considered items such as current and future rental rates, occupancies and market transactions for comparable properties. The estimated future redemption value of the
Preferred Units, including current preferred return payments of $2.0 million, was approximately $487.6 million before the redemption occurred on July 25, 2023.
Preferred Units
The Operating Partnership has issued two classes of Preferred Limited Partnership Units of the Operating Partnership (the “Preferred Units”). The key terms of the Preferred Units are summarized as follows:
Series A Preferred Units Series A-1 Preferred Units
Issuance date February 2017 February and April, 2017
Number of units issued 42,800 9,213
Stated value per unit $1,000 $1,000
Annual dividend rate paid quarterly 3.50  % (a)
Conversion rate 28.15 27.936
Conversion value per unit $35.52 $35.80
Maximum common unit conversion 1,204,820 257,375
(a)Series A-1 Preferred Units pay dividends quarterly at an annual rate equal to the greater of (x) 3.50 percent, or (y) the then-effective annual dividend yield on the General Partner’s common stock.
The Series A-1 Preferred Units are pari passu with the 3.5% Series A Units issued on February 3, 2017. The Preferred Units have a liquidation and dividend preference senior to the common units and include customary anti-dilution protections for stock splits and similar events. The Preferred Units are convertible into common units of limited partnership interests of the Operating Partnership beginning generally five years from the date of issuance. In addition, the Preferred Units are redeemable for cash at their stated value beginning five years from the date of issuance at the option of the holder.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the remaining 15,700 Series A Preferred Units were redeemed for cash at the stated value. At March 31, 2024, there were 9,213 Series A-1 Preferred Units outstanding.
Summary of Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests
The following tables set forth the changes in Redeemable noncontrolling interests within the mezzanine section for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively (dollars in thousands):
Series A and
A-1 Preferred
Units
In VRLP
Rockpoint
Interests
in VRT
Total
Redeemable
Noncontrolling
Interests
Balance at January 1, 2024 $ 24,999 $ $ 24,999
Redemption/Payout (15,700) (15,700)
Income Attributed to Noncontrolling Interests 297 297
Distributions (302) (302)
Balance at March 31, 2024 $ 9,294 $ $ 9,294
Series A and
A-1 Preferred
Units
In VRLP
Rockpoint
Interests
in VRT
Total
Redeemable
Noncontrolling
Interests
Balance at January 1, 2023 $ 40,231 $ 475,000 $ 515,231
Income Attributed to Noncontrolling Interests 350 6,016 6,366
Distributions (350) (6,016) (6,366)
Redemption Value Adjustment 4,977 4,977
Balance at March 31, 2023 $ 40,231 $ 479,977 $ 520,208