Item 1. Business.

Our Company

Boston Omaha Corporation, which we refer to as “the Company,” “our Company,” “we,” “us” or “our,” commenced its current business operations in June 2015 and currently operates three separate lines of business: outdoor billboard advertising, surety insurance and related brokerage activities and broadband services. In addition, we hold minority investments in commercial real estate management and brokerage services, a bank focused on servicing the automotive loan market, and a homebuilding company with operations located primarily in the Southeast United States.

Outdoor Billboards

In June 2015, we commenced our billboard business operations through acquisitions by our wholly-owned subsidiary Link Media Holdings, LLC, which we refer to as "Link," of smaller billboard companies located in the Southeast United States and Wisconsin. During July and August 2018, we acquired the membership interest or assets of three larger billboard companies which increased our overall billboard count to approximately 2,900 billboards. These transactions include our acquisition on July 31, 2018 of Tammy Lynn Outdoor, LLC, which we refer to as "Tammy Lynn," for cash and stock consideration of approximately $16 million, our acquisition on August 22, 2018 of substantially all of the assets of Key Outdoor, Inc., which we refer to as "Key," for approximately $38 million, and our acquisition on August 31, 2018 of Waitt Outdoor, LLC, which we refer to as "Waitt," for approximately $84 million. We believe that the acquisitions of Waitt and Key, with over 1,600 and 700 billboard structures, respectively, make us a leading outdoor billboard advertising company in the markets we serve in the Midwest. As of March 12, 2020, we operate approximately 3,000 billboards with approximately 5,600 advertising faces. One of our principal business objectives is to continue to acquire additional billboard assets through acquisitions of existing billboard businesses in the United States when they can be made at what we believe to be attractive prices relative to other opportunities generally available to us.

We are attracted to the outdoor display market due to a number of factors, including high regulatory barriers to building new billboards in some states, growing demand, low maintenance capital expenditures for static billboards, low cost per impression for customers, and the potential opportunity to employ more capital in existing assets at reasonable returns in the form of perpetual easements and digital conversions. In addition, unlike other advertising industries, the internet has not had a material adverse impact on outdoor advertising revenues. Revenues for out-of-home advertising have continued to rise over the past several years, in contrast to print and other non-internet based advertising. The billboard industry’s three largest companies are estimated to account for more than 50% of the industry’s total revenues, and several industry sources and our experience suggest that there are a large number of other companies serving the remainder of the market, providing a potentially significant source of billboards which may be acquired in the future.

Surety Insurance

In September 2015, we established an insurance subsidiary, General Indemnity Group, LLC, which we refer to as “GIG,” designed to own and operate insurance businesses generally handling high volume, lower policy limit commercial lines of property and casualty insurance. In April 2016, our surety insurance business commenced with the acquisition of a surety insurance brokerage business with a national internet-based presence. In December 2016, we completed the acquisition of United Casualty and Surety Insurance Company, which we refer to as “UCS,” a surety insurance company, which at that time was licensed to issue surety bonds in only nine states. Since that time, we have expanded the licensing of the UCS business to all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, over the last three years, we have also acquired additional surety insurance brokerage businesses located in various regions of the United States. We may in the future expand the reach of our insurance activities to other forms of insurance which may have similar characteristics to surety, such as high volume and low average policy premium insurance businesses which historically have similar economics.

Broadband Services

On March 10, 2020, our subsidiary FIF AireBeam LLC, which we refer to as “AireBeam,” acquired substantially all the business assets of FibAire Communications, LLC, which we refer to as "FibAire," a rural broadband internet provider. AireBeam provides over 7,000 subscribers in communities in southern Arizona with a high-speed fixed wireless internet service and is building an all fiber-to-the-home network in select Arizona markets. AireBeam operates in underserved communities in Arizona that need higher speed and greater internet capacity.

Minority Investments

Since 2015, we have made minority investments in several different industries.

● Since September 2015, we have made a series of investments in commercial real estate, a commercial real estate management, brokerage and related services business as well as an asset management business. We currently own 30% of Logic Real Estate Companies LLC, which we refer to as "Logic," and approximately 49.9% of 24th Street Holding Company, LLC, both directly and indirectly through our ownership in Logic.

● In December 2017, we invested $10 million in common stock of Dream Finders Holdings LLC, which we refer to as "DFH," the parent company of Dream Finders Homes, LLC, a national home builder with operations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas and northern Virginia. In addition to its homebuilding operations, DFH's subsidiaries provide mortgage loan origination and title insurance services to homebuyers. In May 2019, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an additional $12 million in DFH through the purchase of preferred units. DFH is required to pay us a mandatory preferred return of at least 14% per annum on such preferred units and 25% of our preferred units are convertible, at our option, into non-voting common units until May 30, 2020 and the remaining preferred units are convertible, at our option, into non-voting common units after May 29, 2021, if not redeemed. The mandatory 14% preferred return increases if the preferred units purchased are not redeemed or converted within one year of purchase. Also, we obtain additional beneficial conversion terms if the preferred units are not redeemed by May 29, 2021. On January 13, 2020, DFH redeemed $6 million of the preferred units.

● In May 2018, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, approximately $19 million through the purchase of common stock of CB&T Holding Corporation, which we refer to as "CB&T," the privately-held parent company of Crescent Bank & Trust, Inc., which we refer to as “Crescent.” Crescent is located in New Orleans and generates the majority of its revenues from indirect subprime automobile lending across the United States.

Additional Opportunities for Growth

In addition to our activities in outdoor billboards, surety insurance, broadband services and the various industries in which we have made minority investments, we will also consider other industries which offer the potential for predictable and attractive returns on invested capital. We expect to continue to be opportunistic in exploring other opportunities which meet our investment criteria.

Our objective is to grow intrinsic value per share at an attractive rate by retaining capital to reinvest in the productive capabilities of our current subsidiaries, make opportunistic investments, and/or invest in new, anticipated durable earnings streams. Each of these options for capital will be compared to one another on a regular basis, and capital will be deployed according to our management’s judgment as to where it believes allocated capital has the potential to achieve the best long-term return.

Our History

Boston Omaha Corporation was originally incorporated as REO Plus, Inc., which we refer to as “REO,” on August 10, 2009 under the laws of the State of Texas. On March 16, 2015, we reincorporated as a Delaware corporation, adopted new bylaws and changed our name to Boston Omaha Corporation. Our principal business address is 1411 Harney Street, Suite 200, Omaha, Nebraska 68102, and our telephone number is 857-256-0079. We became a publicly held corporation in November 2012 when Akashic Ventures, Inc., our prior principal stockholder, distributed to certain of its stockholders a total of 132,992 shares of the Company’s common stock held by it. We registered as a reporting company under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the “Exchange Act,” on November 9, 2016. In 2016, we were listed for trading on the OTCQX under the trading symbol “BOMN,” and in June 2017, in connection with our 2017 public offering, we transferred and uplisted to the NASDAQ Capital Market under the trading symbol “BOMN.”

On February 13, 2015, Magnolia Capital Fund, L.P., which we refer to as “MCF,” and Boulderado Partners, LLC, which we refer to as “BP,” acquired shares of the Company’s common stock representing approximately 95% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares at the time. MCF is managed by The Magnolia Group, LLC, which we refer to as “Magnolia,” and BP is managed by Boulderado Capital, LLC and Boulderado Group, LLC, which we collectively refer to as “Boulderado.” Magnolia is managed by Adam K. Peterson, one of our Co-Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers. Boulderado is managed by Alex B. Rozek, one of our Co-Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers.

On June 18, 2015, we amended and restated our certificate of incorporation. As part of this amendment and restatement, we effected a 7:1 reverse stock split of our Class A common stock. We also created an additional series of our stock now named Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the renaming of our classes of stock was accomplished through a charter amendment on May 25, 2017). Each share of Class B common stock is identical to the Class A common stock in liquidation, dividend and similar rights. The only differences between our Class B common stock and our Class A common stock is that each share of Class B common stock has 10 votes for each share held, while the Class A common stock has a single vote per share, and certain actions cannot be taken without the approval of the holders of the Class B common stock. There are currently 1,055,560 shares of our Class B common stock outstanding, which shares are owned in equal amounts by each of MCF and BP.

Between February 2015 and May 2017, we raised $66,872,500 in equity financing, of which $43,305,577 and $11,305,595 were invested by MCF and BP, respectively. We raised these funds primarily in three separate rounds of financing, each of which coincided with pending or anticipated acquisitions.

In June 2017, pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-216040) declared effective on June 15, 2017, we commenced a public offering for 6,538,462 shares of our Class A common stock at $13.00 per share, which we refer to as the “2017 public offering,” that raised gross proceeds of $97,049,446. Cowen and Company, LLC, which we refer to as “Cowen,” acted as the sole underwriter. In the 2017 public offering, MCF and BP invested $44,999,994 and $2,500,004, respectively. We received aggregate net proceeds from the offering of approximately $91,432,110 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.

On February 22, 2018, the Company entered into a Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement, which we refer to as the “2018 private placement,” pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue and sell to Magnolia BOC I, LP, which we refer to as “MBOC I,” Magnolia BOC II, LP, which we refer to as “MBOC II,” and Boulderado BOC, LP, which we refer to as “BBOC,” $150,000,000 in unregistered shares of Class A common stock at a price of $23.30, a slight premium to the closing price of shares of Class A common stock of $23.29 on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as reported by NASDAQ on the date of the Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement. MBOC I and MBOC II are entities managed by Magnolia, and BBOC, which has distributed all of its shares of Class A common stock, was an entity managed by Boulderado Group, LLC. The Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement was approved by an independent special committee of our Board of Directors with the advice of independent legal counsel and an independent investment banking firm which provided a fairness opinion to the special committee. The closing of the first tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on March 6, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,300,000 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of $76,890,000. The closing of the second tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on May 15, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,137,768 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $73,110,000.

In February 2018, we filed a shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) that was declared effective on February 9, 2018, relating to the offering of Class A common stock, preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, which we refer to as “preferred stock,” debt securities and warrants of the Company for up to $200,000,000. On March 2, 2018, the Company entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen, pursuant to which the Company sold from time to time in an “at the market” offering, a total of $49,999,625 of shares of Class A common stock through Cowen as sales agent. Sales under the “at the market” offering were made pursuant to a prospectus supplement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we refer to as the “SEC” or the “Commission,” on March 2, 2018, to our shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3. Cowen received a commission equal to 3.0% of the gross sales proceeds of the shares sold through Cowen under the Sales Agreement, and we provided Cowen with customary indemnification and contribution rights.

On August 13, 2019, we entered into a second Sales Agreement with Cowen, relating to the sale of additional shares of our Class A common stock to be offered. In accordance with the terms of the second Sales Agreement, we may offer and sell from time to time up to $75,000,000 of shares of our Class A common stock through Cowen acting as our agent. Cowen is not required to sell any specific amount of securities, but will act as our sales agent using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between Cowen and us. The compensation to Cowen for sales of Class A common stock sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement will be an amount equal to 3% of the gross proceeds of any shares of Class A common stock sold under the Sales Agreement. From August 21, 2019 through December 31, 2019, we sold through Cowen 448,880 shares of our Class A common stock under the second “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $9,450,789 and net proceeds of $9,122,227, after offering costs of $328,562. As of the date of this report, we have not sold any shares of our Class A common stock under this "at the market" offering in 2020.

In connection with sales of Class A common stock on our behalf, Cowen will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the “Securities Act,” and the compensation payable to Cowen will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We are not obligated to make any sales of Class A common stock under the Sales Agreement. The offering of the shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all shares subject to the Sales Agreement, or (ii) termination of the Sales Agreement in accordance with its terms.

Our Relationship with Magnolia and Boulderado

In their roles as general partners of MCF, MBOC I, MBOC II, and BP, Magnolia and Boulderado, through their ownership of Class A common stock and all of our Class B common stock, control a majority vote on all matters and will for the foreseeable future continue to be able to control the election of our directors, determine our corporate and management policies and determine, without the consent of our other stockholders, the outcome of any corporate transaction or other matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including potential mergers or acquisitions, asset sales and other significant corporate transactions. Adam K. Peterson, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and one of our directors, is a principal in Magnolia and Alex B. Rozek, our other Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company, is a principal in Boulderado.

The interests of these funds managed by Magnolia and Boulderado may not coincide with the interests of other holders of our Class A common stock. Mr. Peterson and Mr. Rozek also receive compensation from Magnolia and Boulderado for their roles as managers of Magnolia and Boulderado, respectively. Additionally, these funds are in the business of making investments in companies and may, from time to time, acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us.

MCF is a private investment partnership in Omaha, Nebraska, which commenced operations in August 2014. MBOC I and MBOC II are private investment partnerships in Omaha, Nebraska, which commenced operations in February 2018. Adam K. Peterson is the sole manager of Magnolia, an investment adviser registered with the SEC. Magnolia is the general partner and the manager of MCF, MBOC I and MBOC II. BP is a private investment partnership in Boston, Massachusetts, formed in June 2007. BBOC is a private investment partnership in Boston, Massachusetts, which commenced operations in February 2018. Alex B. Rozek is the Managing Member of Boulderado Group, LLC, the management company of Boulderado Partners, LLC and BBOC. On February 6, 2019, Alex B. Rozek and entities managed by Boulderado filed a Schedule 13D/A stating that BP has returned all outside capital and is continuing operations to manage family investments only. As a result of these distributions, BBOC distributed all of its shares of Class A common stock and was subsequently dissolved.

Our Acquisitions and Equity Investments

Since June 2015, we have expended over $250 million in the acquisition of businesses in outdoor billboard advertising, surety insurance and brokerage operations, broadband services, and in the purchase of minority equity interests in various businesses. We anticipate seeking further acquisitions in these business areas and possibly expanding into other businesses that we believe have the potential for durable profitability in a very competitive world.

Link Media Holdings. Since June 2015, through 17 acquisitions, several asset purchases, and one exchange, we have acquired numerous billboard structures, many with multiple faces, related easements, and rights in some instances to construct additional billboards. These billboards are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. We paid a combined purchase price of over $182 million for these billboards and related assets. As of March 12, 2020, we operated approximately 3,000 billboard structures containing approximately 5,600 advertising faces, of which 63 are digital displays.

General Indemnity. Since September 2015, through five acquisitions, we have acquired one insurance company, UCS, three insurance brokerage firms, and a majority stake in a fourth insurance brokerage firm. We paid a combined purchase price of approximately $18 million. Additionally, we have contributed approximately $16.25 million in statutory capital to UCS. UCS is authorized to issue surety insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, approved by the United States Department of Treasury, and rated "A-" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company.

AireBeam. On March 10, 2020, AireBeam acquired substantially all the business assets of FibAire, a rural broadband internet provider. AireBeam provides over 7,000 subscribers in communities in southern Arizona with a high speed fixed wireless internet service and is building an all fiber-to-the-home network in select Arizona markets. AireBeam currently operates in certain underserved Arizona communities that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. We acquired AireBeam for cash and issued to Gregory Friedman, FibAire’s co-founder and chief executive, 10% of the equity in the newly formed entity. Mr. Friedman will continue to serve as President of AireBeam.

Minority Investments. Since 2015, we have made minority investments in several different industries.

● Since September 2015, we have made a series of investments in commercial real estate, a commercial real estate management, brokerage and related services business as well as an asset management business. We currently own 30% of Logic and approximately 49.9% of 24th Street Holding Company, LLC, both directly and indirectly through our ownership in Logic.

● In late December 2017, we invested $10 million in common stock of Dream Finders Holdings LLC, the parent company of Dream Finders Homes, LLC, a national home builder with operations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas and northern Virginia. In addition to its homebuilding operations, DFH’s subsidiaries provide mortgage loan origination and title insurance services to homebuyers. In May 2019, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, an additional $12 million in DFH through the purchase of preferred units. DFH is required to pay us a mandatory preferred return of at least 14% per annum on such preferred units and 25% of our preferred units are convertible, at our option, into non-voting common units until May 30, 2020 and the remaining preferred units are convertible, at our option, into non-voting common units after May 29, 2021, if not redeemed. The mandatory 14% preferred return increases if the preferred units purchased are not redeemed or converted within one year of purchase. Also, we obtain additional beneficial conversion terms if the preferred units are not redeemed by May 29, 2021. On January 13, 2020, DFH redeemed $6 million of the preferred units.

● In May 2018, we invested, through one of our subsidiaries, approximately $19 million through the purchase of common stock of CB&T Holding Corporation, the privately-held parent company of Crescent Bank & Trust, Inc. Crescent is located in New Orleans and generates the majority of its revenues from indirect subprime automobile lending across the United States.

Industry Background

We currently operate outdoor billboard advertising services and sell surety insurance products and have made minority investments in several commercial real estate management and brokerage companies, a homebuilding company and a bank holding company focused on servicing the automotive loan market.

Outdoor Billboard Advertising. We currently own and operate approximately 3,000 billboard structures in the Southeast and Midwest United States containing approximately 5,600 advertising faces, of which 63 are digital displays. In addition, we hold options to build additional billboards in a few of these states. Over 95% of our billboards reside on leased parcels of property. The site lease terms generally range from one to 20 years and often come with renewal options. Many of our leases contain options to extend the lease so as to allow continuous operation for many years or exist in areas where we believe that regulations make it probable a new lease will be signed prior to expiration on similar economic terms to existing leases. Bulletins are large, advertising structures consisting of panels on which advertising copy is displayed. On traditional billboards, the customer’s advertising copy is printed with computer-generated graphics on a single sheet of vinyl and wrapped around the billboard structure. Bulletins are usually located on major highways and target vehicular traffic. Advertising contracts are typically short-term to medium-term (e.g., one month to three years). We generally lease individually-selected bulletin space to advertisers for the duration of the contract. In addition to the traditional displays described above, we also have digital ad displays which generally come with shorter term ad contracts (one to twelve months). Outdoor billboards were estimated as a $5.1 billion market in the U.S. in 2019 based on industry trade journals. Other outdoor advertising solutions, including street furniture (for example, bus shelters and benches), transit and other new alternative advertising signs at sports stadiums, malls, airports and other locations account for approximately an additional estimated $3.4 billion in revenues in 2019 according to industry sources. There is no concentration of industries to which we lease billboard space.

Insurance Services. Suretyship insurance occurs when one party guarantees payment or performance by another party for an obligation or undertaking. Many obligations are guaranteed through surety bonds. Common types of surety bonds include commercial surety bonds and contract surety bonds. Suretyship is an integral part of the functioning of government and commerce. In many complex endeavors involving risk, a need exists to have a third party assure the performance or obligations of one party to another party. Surety companies are the “third parties” that provide such assurances in return for premium payments. Surety bonds are provided in government bidding and contracting processes as well as for individuals obtaining various government licenses and for individuals and businesses entering into apartment and office lease rentals. Various types of bonds are designed to insure that when a contractor bids on a project, and is awarded the project, that the project is completed for the amount of the bid, and that the contractors pay their subcontractors and suppliers.

Surety bonds are regulated by state insurance departments. Surety insurance companies operate on a different business model than traditional casualty insurance. Surety is designed to prevent a loss. Though some losses do occur, surety premiums do not contain large provisions for loss payment. The surety takes only those risks which its underwriting experience indicates are reasonable to assume based on its underlying experience. This service is for qualified individuals or businesses whose affairs require a guarantor. The surety views its underwriting as a form of credit, much like a lending arrangement, and places its emphasis on the qualifications of the prime contractor or subcontractor to fulfill its obligations successfully, examining the contractor’s credit history, financial strength, experience, work in progress and management capability. After the surety assesses such factors, it makes a determination as to the appropriateness and the amount, if any, of surety credit.

Surety insurers are highly regulated and scrutinized, through legal requirements for regular financial, market conduct and operational audits, and other means, in order to conduct business in the estimated $6 billion surety market, based on 2018 industry reports. Most surety companies, in turn, distribute surety bonds through licensed surety bond producers, licensed business professionals who have specialized knowledge of surety products, the surety market, and the business strategies and underwriting differences among sureties. A bond producer can serve as an objective, external resource for evaluating a construction firm’s capabilities and, where necessary, can suggest improvements to help the construction firm meet a surety company’s underwriting requirements. Bond producers compete based on their experience, reputation, and ability to issue bonds on behalf of sureties. In addition to acquiring UCS, we have acquired four surety brokerage firms, The Warnock Agency, Inc., which we refer to as “Warnock,” Surety Support Services, Inc., which we refer to as “SSS,” Freestate Bonds, Inc., which we refer to as “Freestate,” and South Coast Surety Insurance Services, LLC, which we refer to as “SCS.” UCS and these brokerage firms provide us with both premium and commission revenue streams.

Broadband Services. Our AireBeam business provides fiber connectivity to homes, business and community organizations. Driven by the rising demand for higher bandwidth and faster speed connections for a variety of industrial and residential purposes, fiber optic transmission is becoming more and more common in modern society. Fiber optic cables have a much greater bandwidth than metal cables. The amount of information that can be transmitted per unit time of fiber over other transmission media is its most significant advantage. Also, an optical fiber offers low power loss, which allows for longer transmission distances. Fiber optic is generally less susceptible to electromagnetic interference, has greater capacity and weighs less than traditional metal wire connections. Also, fiber optic is made of glass, which can provide certain cost advantages over traditional copper wire. Optical fiber is more difficult and expensive to install than copper wire and special equipment is required to test optical fiber. Fiber optic is also highly susceptible to becoming cut or damaged during installation or construction activities.

Business Overview and Strategy

Since present management took over in February 2015, we have engaged in acquisitions and minority investments in outdoor billboard advertising, surety insurance, a broadband service provider, commercial real estate services, homebuilding and a bank holding company as well as a limited amount of purchases of publicly traded securities. Our strategy focuses on investing in companies and lines of business that have consistently demonstrated earnings power over time, with attractive pre-tax historical returns on tangible equity capital, and that we believe are available at a reasonable price. Since present management took over in 2015 and as of December 31, 2019, our acquisitions and operations have been funded by equity investments, including our 2017 public offering, our two “at the market” offerings pursuant to our shelf registration statement, private placements, and debt conversions totaling $366,992,764. In addition, in August 2019, our Link subsidiary entered into a bank term loan and revolving credit agreement under which Link and its subsidiaries borrowed $18,060,000 secured by the assets of Link and its subsidiaries and may borrow additional sums under the agreement. We have used a portion of these proceeds from these financings to acquire outdoor billboard assets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. We expect to continue to seek additional acquisitions in out-of-home advertising when they can be made at what we believe to be attractive prices relative to other opportunities generally available to us. We believe the billboard business offers the potential to provide a durable and growing cash flow stream over time. In addition, we believe multiple opportunities could exist in time for the industry at large including but not limited to: supply limitations, demand growth, opportunity to convert static billboard faces to digital applications when the economics are favorable, opportunity to purchase perpetual easements or land underneath our structures, and the low relative cost per impression of the advertising medium. We have also used the proceeds of these financings to organize GIG and to complete the acquisitions of Warnock, SSS, Freestate, and SCS, all surety insurance brokerage firms, and to complete the acquisition of UCS, a surety insurance company. In March 2020, we acquired substantially all of the assets of a broadband service provider located in Arizona. To date, we have invested $19 million in the parent company of Crescent, a bank providing retail and business banking services in the subprime automobile lending market, and $22 million in equity financing in DFH, a national homebuilder that also provides related services, and we have also made an investment in a commercial real estate management services company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, a related real estate asset management company, and shorter-term investments in a Nevada company that invests in commercial retail centers and two residential real estate development projects in Colorado. In addition, from time to time, we invest a portion of our available cash in public equity securities and shorter term debt securities. In addition to our existing business lines, we are actively reviewing opportunities to acquire businesses in new fields which have the potential to provide durable revenues, broad customer bases and where ideally the target's business benefits from some business, legal or financial barriers to entry from future competitors.

We source acquisitions both internally via phone calls, research or mailings, business relationships developed over time and also by receipt of target acquisition opportunities from a number of brokers and other professionals. We believe each of these proposed acquisitions is consistent with our growth strategy, but there can be no assurance that we will consummate acquisitions pursuant to our letters of intent or acquire any additional billboard assets, surety brokerage firms or minority investments in any other businesses. Furthermore, our acquisitions are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including as to when, whether and to what extent the anticipated benefits and cost savings of a particular acquisition will be realized. We are also seeking opportunities to acquire other businesses or a significant interest in existing businesses. We look to acquire businesses in their entirety that have consistently demonstrated earnings power over time, with attractive pretax historical returns on tangible equity capital, and that are available at a reasonable price. However, we may consider minority positions and stock issuances when the economics are favorable. In certain circumstances, we may enter lines of business directly when the opportunities and economics of doing so are favorable in comparison to acquisitions.

Outdoor Billboard Advertising. We seek to capitalize on our growing network and diversified geographical and product mix to grow revenues. We currently own approximately 3,000 billboard structures containing approximately 5,600 advertising faces in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Each of our billboard structures may have one to four faces. We believe the outdoor advertising business offers attractive industry fundamentals which we hope to utilize and leverage as we plan to continue to grow our presence in the United States. We hope that our growing presence will be an attractive tool in identifying and attracting both local and national advertisers. We work with our customers to enable them to better understand how our billboards can successfully reach their target audiences and promote their advertising campaigns. Our long-term strategy for our outdoor advertising businesses includes pursuing digital display opportunities where appropriate, while simultaneously utilizing traditional methods of displaying outdoor advertisements, and with a goal of consolidating fragmented markets where applicable.

Digital displays offer the opportunity to link electronic displays through centralized computer systems to instantaneously and simultaneously change advertising copy on a large number of displays. The ability to change copy by time of day and quickly change messaging based on advertisers’ needs creates additional flexibility for our customers. However, digital displays require more capital to construct compared to traditional bulletins and increase the supply of advertising faces in a market. We currently deploy 63 digital billboards.

Our local production staffs provide many of our customers a range of services required to create and install advertising copy. Production work includes creating the advertising copy design and layout, coordinating its printing with outside printing firms and installing the copy on the billboard face. We provide creative services to smaller advertisers and to advertisers not represented by advertising agencies. National advertisers often use preprinted designs that require only installation. Our creative and production personnel typically develop new designs or adapt copy from other media for use on our inventory. Our creative staff also can assist in the development of marketing presentations, demonstrations, and strategies to attract new clients.

We typically own the physical structures on which our clients’ advertising copy is displayed. We acquire new structures from third parties on sites we either lease or own or for which we have acquired permanent easements. We generally have limited or no responsibilities to maintain the land on which the billboard is sited. The site lease terms generally range from one to 20 years and often come with renewal options or exist in areas where we believe that regulations make it probable a new lease will be signed prior to expiration on similar economic terms to existing leases. In addition to the site lease, we must obtain a permit to build and operate the sign. Permits are typically issued in perpetuity by the state or local government and typically are transferable or renewable for a minimal, or no, fee. Traditional bulletin and poster advertising copy is either printed with computer generated graphics on a single sheet of vinyl or placed on lithographed or silk-screened paper sheets supplied by the advertiser. These advertisements are then transported to the site and in the case of vinyl, wrapped around the face of the structure, and in the case of paper, pasted and applied like wallpaper to the site. Our billboard lease costs in 2019 and 2018 were $6,238,827 and $2,999,971, respectively.

Insurance Operations. UCS has specialized in providing surety bonds since 1989. UCS is an authorized insurance carrier rated A- (“Excellent”) by A.M. Best and is approved by the United States Department of the Treasury (570 Circular). UCS is currently licensed to conduct business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to issuing traditional construction bonds for contractors and subcontractors, UCS offers a wide array of miscellaneous, license and permit bonds that protect consumers from the business activities of our customers or provide assurance to counterparties that our insureds will fulfill licensure requirements or faithfully remit monies owed. We also operate SCS and Warnock, brokers with clients nationwide, and SSS, another surety insurance brokerage with clients concentrated in several Midwestern states.

We seek to reduce our risk by limiting policy amounts, following extensive underwriting processes, reviewing dashboards of critical metrics, and purchasing reinsurance coverage. Our underwriting process considers a number of factors, including the financial health of the customer, the customer’s operating history, the type of obligation, the geographic territory where the contract is being issued, the language of the bond and the subject contract, and, if appropriate, a customer’s pledge of collateral to reduce the risk in the event of a default. Historically, claims on surety bonds are limited by the extensive underwriting analysis undertaken before a risk is agreed to, forms of security provided upon the bond’s issuance, and by the legal ability to pursue the customer obtaining the surety bond for recovery of amounts paid due to a claim. A surety’s right of indemnification contrasts with property and casualty, or life insurance coverages, where no such recovery right exists. Unlike other insurance, surety insurance losses are commonly limited by the indemnity obligations of the insured, collateral provided by the insured at the time of issuance, or the insurance company’s contractual right to uncollected funds from construction projects on which it has issued a bond and steps in for the insured.

Broadband Services. AireBeam operates in several underserved communities in Arizona that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. Our strategy is to enter the rural broadband business as we expect many more communities to demand increasingly more bandwidth to their homes and businesses than their current service offering can reliably provide. Within certain markets, we believe that fiber-to-the-home has the potential to be a long-lived asset that fits into our objective to invest in what we believe are durable businesses that have the potential to achieve favorable after-tax returns on invested capital. Recent studies suggest that approximately 75 million homes in the United States lack all-fiber connectivity. We believe that the combination of FibAire’s rural broadband business model we acquired together with our stronger balance sheet provides a competitive platform to bring fiber-to-the-home to additional communities in Arizona and other similarly situated communities in other states. We believe that the fiber-to-the-home market shares similar qualities with our billboard and surety insurance markets in providing a diversified customer base in markets which impose some obstacles to competitors. We also believe that many broadband systems are owned by a significant number of small operators which may be interested in being acquired, providing us the potential for future growth in the broadband internet provider market.

Competition

Outdoor Billboard Advertising. The outdoor advertising industry in the United States consists of several large companies, and three companies, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., Outfront Media, Inc. and Lamar Advertising Company, own a majority of all outdoor billboards. These companies are estimated to generate more than 50% of the industry’s total revenues and several industry sources estimate that there are many other smaller companies serving the remainder of the market, providing a potentially significant source of billboards which may be acquired in the future. Part of our strategy is to acquire certain of the smaller and medium sized competitors in markets we deem desirable to advertisers. We also compete with other advertising media in our respective markets, including broadcast and cable television, radio, print media, direct mail, online and other forms of advertisement. Outdoor advertising companies compete primarily based on their ability to reach consumers, which is driven by location of the display.

Insurance Operations. Our insurance business operates in an environment that is highly competitive and very fragmented. We compete with other global insurance and reinsurance providers, including but not limited to Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Zurich Insurance Group, Lloyds, and CNA Insurance Group, as well as numerous specialist, regional and local firms in almost every area of our business. These companies may market and service their insurance products through intermediaries, or directly without the assistance of brokers or agents. We also compete with other businesses that do not fall into the categories above that provide risk-related services and products.

Broadband Services. Our broadband services business provides high speed internet connectivity and is aimed at rural and other underserved communities that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. In the future, leading cable operators, such as Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice USA, and other competitors may seek to enter the markets we serve. In addition, we may face competition from 5G in the home and other services incorporating new technologies. Technological changes are further intensifying and may challenge existing business models. Our internet services are expected to compete with wireless phone companies, satellite and other broadband providers as well as wireline phone companies and other providers of wireline internet service and others seeking to build fiber-based network infrastructure.

Employees

As of March 1, 2020, we had 138 employees, of which 91 were in billboard operations, 43 were in insurance services, and 4 were in administrative or corporate related activities. Of the 138 employees, 2 employees in billboard operations are part time and 4 employees in insurance services are part time; the rest of our employees are full time. None of our employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good.

Information Systems

We rely on our information systems to manage our daily business activities, interact with customers and vendors, manage our digital billboard displays, and market our services. We have outsourced certain technology and business process functions to third parties and may increasingly do so in the future. We have also hired individuals responsible for maintaining and improving our information systems and for developing systems to protect both our information and that of our customers. In order to reduce the risk of unintended disclosure of customer information, our separate business groups operate different information systems for their customer interactions. Our outsourcing of certain technology and business process functions to third parties and our reliance on our use of our information systems may expose us to increased risk related to data security, service disruptions or the effectiveness of our control system. We also maintain certain levels of insurance designed to provide some coverage in the event of any damages arising from a breach of our computer security systems.

Regulation of Our Advertising Business

The outdoor advertising industry in the United States is subject to governmental regulation at the federal, state and local levels. These regulations may include, among others, restrictions on the construction, repair, maintenance, lighting, upgrading, height, size, spacing and location and permitting of and, in some instances, content of advertising copy being displayed on outdoor advertising structures. We generally do not incur material costs related to compliance with environmental laws in our advertising business.

From time to time, legislation has been introduced attempting to impose taxes on revenue from outdoor advertising or for the right to use outdoor advertising assets. Several jurisdictions have imposed such taxes as a percentage of our outdoor advertising revenue generated in that jurisdiction. In addition, some jurisdictions have taxed our personal property and leasehold interests in advertising locations using various valuation methodologies. In certain circumstances, such as our current Tampa operations, when we lease space from a governmental authority, we may enter into revenue sharing agreements with the authority, and in other circumstances we will manage third party billboards in connection with revenue sharing agreements. We expect jurisdictions to continue to try to impose such taxes and other fees as a way of increasing revenue. In recent years, outdoor advertising also has become the subject of targeted taxes and fees. These laws may affect prevailing competitive conditions in our markets in a variety of ways. Such laws may reduce our expansion opportunities or may increase or reduce competitive pressure from other members of the outdoor advertising industry. No assurance can be given that existing or future laws or regulations, and the enforcement thereof, will not materially and adversely affect the outdoor advertising industry.

In the United States, federal law, principally the Highway Beautification Act, which we refer to as the “HBA,” regulates outdoor advertising on Federal-Aid Primary, Interstate and National Highway Systems roads within the United States, which we refer to as “controlled roads.” The HBA regulates the size and placement of billboards, requires the development of state standards, mandates a state’s compliance program, promotes the expeditious removal of illegal signs and requires just compensation for takings.

To satisfy the HBA’s requirements, all states have passed billboard control statutes and regulations that regulate, among other things, construction, repair, maintenance, lighting, height, size, spacing and the placement and permitting of outdoor advertising structures. We are not aware of any state that has passed control statutes and regulations less restrictive than the prevailing federal requirements on the federal highway system, including the requirement that an owner remove any non-grandfathered, non-compliant signs along the controlled roads, at the owner’s expense and without compensation. Local governments generally also include billboard control as part of their zoning laws and building codes regulating those items described above and include similar provisions regarding the removal of non-grandfathered structures that do not comply with certain of the local requirements.

As part of their billboard control laws, state and local governments regulate the construction of new signs. Some jurisdictions prohibit new construction, some jurisdictions allow new construction only to replace or relocate existing structures and some jurisdictions allow new construction subject to the various restrictions discussed above. In certain jurisdictions, restrictive regulations also limit our ability to relocate, rebuild, repair, maintain, upgrade, modify or replace existing legal non-conforming billboards.

U.S. federal law neither requires nor prohibits the removal of existing lawful billboards, but it does mandate the payment of compensation if a state or political subdivision compels the removal of a lawful billboard along the controlled roads. In the past, state governments have purchased and removed existing lawful billboards for beautification purposes using federal funding for transportation enhancement programs, and these jurisdictions may continue to do so in the future. From time to time, state and local government authorities use the power of eminent domain and amortization to remove billboards. Amortization is the required removal of legal non-conforming billboards (billboards which conformed with applicable laws and regulations when built, but which do not conform to current laws and regulations) or the commercial advertising placed on such billboards after a period of years. Pursuant to this concept, the governmental body asserts that just compensation is earned by continued operation of the billboard over that period of time. Although amortization is prohibited along all controlled roads, amortization has been upheld along non-controlled roads in limited instances where permitted by state and local law. Since we commenced operations, we have not been asked or forced to remove or relocate a billboard, although there is no assurance that this will continue to be the case in the future.

We may expand the deployment of digital billboards in markets and in specific locations we deem appropriate and where the placement of these digital displays is permitted by government agencies regulating their locations. We are aware of some existing regulations in the U.S. that restrict or prohibit these types of digital displays. However, since digital technology for changing static copy has only recently been developed and introduced into the market on a large scale, and is in the process of being introduced more broadly, existing regulations that currently do not apply to digital technology by their terms could be revised to impose greater restrictions. These regulations, or actions by third parties, may impose greater restrictions on digital billboards due to alleged concerns over aesthetics or driver safety.

Regulation of Our Insurance Business

GIG and its subsidiaries intend to transact their insurance business in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and will be subject to regulation in the various states and jurisdictions in which they operate. The extent of regulation varies, but generally derives from statutes that delegate regulatory, supervisory and administrative authority to a department of insurance in each state and jurisdiction. The regulation, supervision and administration relate, among other things, to standards of solvency that must be met and maintained, the licensing of insurers and their agents, the nature of and limitations on investments, premium rates, restrictions on the size of risks that may be insured under a single policy, reserves and provisions for unearned premiums, losses and other obligations, deposits of securities for the benefit of policyholders, approval of policy forms and the regulation of market conduct, including the use of credit information in underwriting as well as other underwriting and claims practices. State insurance departments also conduct periodic examinations of the financial condition and market conduct of insurance companies and require the filing of financial and other reports on a quarterly and annual basis. Nebraska, the state of domicile for UCS, may also limit the payment of dividends from UCS to GIG and us and, as a result, to our stockholders if and when we declare a dividend from the operations of UCS and/or GIG and its other operating subsidiaries. Currently, we do not anticipate issuing dividends for the foreseeable future. In 2019, UCS redomiciled as a Nebraska insurance company licensed by the Nebraska Department of Insurance, and currently has certificates of authority to conduct business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

GIG and its subsidiaries and/or certain of our designated employees must be licensed to act as agents, brokers and intermediaries by state regulatory authorities in the locations in which we conduct business. Regulations and licensing laws vary by individual state location and are often complex. The applicable licensing laws and regulations in all states are subject to amendment or reinterpretation by regulatory authorities, and such authorities are vested in most cases with relatively broad discretion as to the granting, revocation, suspension and renewal of licenses. We endeavor to monitor the licensing of GIG, its subsidiaries and our employees, but the possibility exists that GIG and its subsidiaries and/or certain of our designated employees could be excluded or temporarily suspended from carrying on some or all of our activities in, or could otherwise be subjected to penalties by a particular jurisdiction.

Rate and Rule Approvals. GIG’s domestic insurance subsidiaries will be subject to each state’s laws and regulations regarding rate, form, and rule approvals. The applicable laws and regulations generally establish standards to ensure that rates are not excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory or used to engage in unfair price competition. An insurer’s ability to adjust rates and the relative timing of the process are dependent upon each state’s requirements. Many states have enacted variations of competitive ratemaking laws, which allow insurers to set certain premium rates for certain classes of insurance without having to obtain the prior approval of the state insurance department.

Requirements for Exiting Geographic Markets and/or Canceling or Nonrenewing Policies. Several states have laws and regulations which may impact the timing and/or the ability of an insurer to either discontinue or substantially reduce its writings in that state. These laws and regulations typically require prior notice, and in some instances insurance department approval, prior to discontinuing a line of business or withdrawing from that state, and they allow insurers to cancel or non-renew certain policies only for certain specified reasons.

Insurance Regulatory Information System. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which we refer to as “NAIC,” developed the Insurance Regulatory Information System, which we refer to as “IRIS,” to help state regulators identify companies that may require regulatory attention. Financial examiners review annual financial statements and the results of key financial ratios based on year-end data with the goal of identifying insurers that appear to require immediate regulatory attention. Each ratio has an established “usual range” of results. A ratio result falling outside the usual range, however, is not necessarily considered adverse; rather, unusual values are used as part of the regulatory early monitoring system. Furthermore, in some years, it may not be unusual for financially sound companies to have several ratios with results outside the usual ranges. Generally, an insurance company may become subject to regulatory scrutiny or, depending on the company’s financial condition, regulatory action if certain of its key IRIS ratios fall outside the usual ranges and the insurer’s financial condition is trending downward.

Risk-Based Capital Requirements. The NAIC has a risk-based capital, which we refer to as “RBC,” requirement for most property and casualty insurance companies, which determines minimum capital requirements and is intended to raise the level of protection for policyholder obligations. Our future U.S. insurance subsidiaries may be subject to these NAIC RBC requirements based on laws that have been adopted by individual states. These requirements subject insurers having policyholders’ surplus less than that required by the RBC calculation to varying degrees of regulatory action, depending on the level of capital inadequacy.

Investment Regulation. Insurance company investments must comply with applicable laws and regulations which prescribe the kind, quality and concentration of investments. In general, these laws and regulations permit investments in federal, state and municipal obligations, corporate bonds, certain preferred and common equity securities, mortgage loans, real estate and certain other investments, subject to specified limits and certain other qualifications. If certain investments fail to meet these criteria, these investments may be excluded or limited in calculating our compliance in meeting these and other testing criteria.

Regulation of Our Broadband Business

Many but not all of our services and networks are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, which we refer to as the “FCC”, and by state and local governments. Whether our networks or our services are regulated or unregulated depends on numerous factors, including but not limited to whether we offer telecommunications service, as defined in state and federal laws, or cable service. The construction and maintenance of our fiber optic networks may face local regulation that can adversely impact the timing or our deployment. Certain of our services that are provided via wireless transmission require FCC licenses and our local video and other services often require local government franchises, which we refer to as "franchises." The local franchises often impose certain obligations to build out the network and require payment of fees to the local government, which fees are often are based on a percentage of gross revenues. In private communities and mobile home parks, we may be required to obtain the consent of the homeowners association or other property owners to provide services, and we often have to pay a fee to obtain access to the property and provide our services.. Finally, to deploy our networks, we frequently must obtain agreements from local power utilities to use their poles and in some cases easements from landowners.

Acquisition and Financing Strategy

Acquisition Selection. Our management will have broad discretion in identifying and selecting prospective target acquisitions. In evaluating a prospective target acquisition, our management will consider, among other factors, the following:

● Management’s understanding of the business and its competitive environment;

● Management’s view of the business durability, capital intensity, and prospective returns on the capital employed over time;

● Management’s assessment of the financial attractiveness of a particular target relative to other available targets; and

● Capital requirements and management’s assessment of the ability to finance a particular target.

Issuance of senior and additional securities. To the extent that our Board of Directors determines to obtain additional capital, it may issue debt or equity securities. Existing stockholders have no preemptive rights to common or preferred stock issued in any securities offering by us, and any such offering might cause a dilution of a stockholder’s investment in our Company.

In June 2017, pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-216040) declared effective on June 15, 2017, we commenced the 2017 public offering for 6,538,462 shares of our Class A common stock at $13.00 per share that raised gross proceeds of $97,049,446. Cowen acted as the sole underwriter and received a discount of 4.4853% per share. We also granted Cowen a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 980,769 shares of Class A common stock, pursuant to which an additional 926,880 shares were sold. We received aggregate net proceeds from the offering of approximately $91,432,110 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us. None of the underwriting discounts and commissions or offering expenses were incurred or paid to any director or officer of ours, to any of their associates, to persons owning 10% or more of our common stock or to any affiliates of ours.

On February 22, 2018, the Company entered into a Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which the Company sold to MBOC I, MBOC II, and BBOC $150,000,000 in unregistered shares of Class A common stock at a price of $23.30, a slight premium to the closing price of shares of Class A common stock of $23.29 on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as reported by NASDAQ on the date of the Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement. The Class A Common Stock Purchase Agreement was approved by an independent special committee of our Board of Directors with the advice of independent legal counsel and an independent investment banking firm which provided a fairness opinion to the special committee. The closing of the first tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on March 6, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,300,000 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of $76,890,000. The closing of the second tranche of shares sold under the agreement occurred on May 15, 2018, consisting of a total of 3,137,768 shares resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $73,110,000.

Additionally, in February 2018, we filed a shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) that was declared effective on February 9, 2018, relating to the offering of Class A common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants of the Company for up to $200,000,000. On March 2, 2018, the Company entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen, pursuant to which the Company sold from time to time in an “at the market” offering a total of $49,999,625 of shares of Class A common stock through Cowen as sales agent. Sales under the “at the market” offering were made pursuant to a prospectus supplement, filed with the SEC on March 2, 2018, to the Company’s shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3, declared effective by the SEC on February 9, 2018.

From March 2018 through August 20, 2019, we sold through Cowen an aggregate of 2,141,452 shares of our Class A common stock under this “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $49,999,625. For the period from January 1, through August 20, 2019, we sold through Cowen 942,223 shares of our Class A common stock under this at-the-market offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $22,753,943 and net proceeds of $22,059,015 after offering costs of $694,928.

On August 13, 2019, we entered into a second Sales Agreement with Cowen, relating to the sale of additional shares of our Class A common stock to be offered. In accordance with the terms of the second Sales Agreement, we may offer and sell from time to time up to $75,000,000 of shares of our Class A common stock through Cowen acting as our agent. Cowen is not required to sell any specific amount of securities, but will act as our sales agent using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between Cowen and us. The compensation to Cowen for sales of Class A common stock sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement will be an amount equal to 3% of the gross proceeds of any shares of Class A common stock sold under the Sales Agreement. From August 21, 2019 through December 31, 2019, we sold through Cowen 448,880 shares of our Class A common stock under the second “at the market” offering, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $9,450,789 and net proceeds of $9,122,227, after offering costs of $328,562. We have provided Cowen with customary indemnification and contribution rights under each Sales Agreement. In connection with sales of Class A common stock on our behalf, Cowen will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation payable to Cowen will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We are not obligated to make any sales of Class A common stock under the second Sales Agreement. The offering of the shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all shares subject to the Sales Agreement, or (ii) termination of the Sales Agreement in accordance with its terms.

Borrowing of money. On August 12, 2019, Link, which owns and operates BOC’s billboard businesses, entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with First National Bank of Omaha (the “Lender”) under which Link may borrow up to $40,000,000 (the “Credit Facility”). The Credit Agreement provides for an initial term loan (“Term Loan 1”), an incremental term loan (“Term Loan 2”) and a revolving line of credit. These loans are secured by all assets of Link and its operating subsidiaries, including a pledge of equity interests of each of Link’s subsidiaries. In addition, each of Link’s subsidiaries has joined as a guarantor to the obligations under the Credit Agreement. These loans are not guaranteed by BOC or any of BOC’s non-billboard businesses.

Principal amounts under each of Term Loan 1 and Term Loan 2 are payable in monthly installments according to either a 15-year or 25-year amortization schedule at Link’s option. For Term Loan 1, these payments are due commencing on the earlier of July 1, 2020 or the first day of the first calendar month following any draw down under Term Loan 2. For Term Loan 2, these principal payments are due commencing on the last day of the month following the closing of Term Loan 2. Both term loans are payable in full on August 12, 2026. Term Loan 1 has a fixed interest rate of 4.25% per annum with interest only payments due through July 1, 2020. Term Loan 2 has a loan availability in an amount not to exceed three times 2019 reported EBITDA reduced by the loan principal under Term Loan 1 and must be drawn before June 30, 2020. If utilized, Term Loan 2 will have a fixed rate of interest determined using the seven-year Treasury rate plus 195 basis points subject to a floor of 4.20% per annum. The revolving line of credit loan facility has a $5,000,000 maximum availability, provided that the outstanding principal balance of Term Loan 1, Term Loan 2 and this revolving line of credit may not exceed $40,000,000. Interest payments are based on the 30 day LIBOR rate plus an applicable margin ranging between 2.00 and 2.50% dependent on Link’s consolidated leverage ratio. The revolving line of credit is due and payable on August 11, 2021. Long-term debt included within our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019 consists of Term Loan 1 borrowings of $18,060,000, of which $504,170 is classified as current. There were no amounts outstanding related to the revolving line of credit and Term Loan 2 as of December 31, 2019.

During the term of the Credit Facility, Link is required to comply with the following financial covenants: A consolidated leverage ratio for any test period ending on the last day of any fiscal quarter of Link (a) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2019 of greater than 3.50 to 1.00, (b) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2020 of greater than 3.25 to 1.00, and (c) beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2021 and thereafter, of greater than 3.00 to 1.0; minimum consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.15 to 1.00 measured quarterly, based on rolling four quarters, with testing to commence as of December 31, 2019 based on the December 31, 2019 audited financial statements. Link is currently in compliance with all covenants under the Credit Facility.

The Credit Agreement includes representations and warranties, reporting covenants, affirmative covenants, negative covenants, financial covenants and events of default customary for financings of this type. Upon the occurrence of an event of default the Lender may accelerate the loans. Upon the occurrence of certain insolvency and bankruptcy events of default the loans will automatically accelerate.

As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $91 million in unrestricted cash and short-term treasury securities. We also expect to continue to sell additional shares of our Class A common stock in the “at the market” offering if we deem the pricing attractive relative to our potential uses of capital. We currently expect that our current cash will be sufficient to fund operations for at least the next 12 months. Depending on the amount of significant acquisitions and investments we make, we may need to raise additional financing to make additional acquisitions and/or investments. Although we have no current plans to do so other than the “at the market” program, we may sell additional securities pursuant to the shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-222853) or in other private placements based on our capital needs.

We may in the future use a number of different sources to finance our acquisitions and operations, including cash flows from operations, seller financing, private financings (such as bank credit facilities, which may or may not be secured by our assets), additional common or preferred equity issuances or any combination of these sources, to the extent available to us, or other sources that may become available from time to time, which could include asset sales and issuance of debt securities. Any debt that we incur may be recourse or non-recourse and may be secured or unsecured. We also may take advantage of joint venture or other partnering opportunities as such opportunities arise in order to acquire properties that would otherwise be unavailable to us.

We may use the proceeds of any future borrowings to acquire assets or for general corporate purposes. We expect to use leverage on terms we find attractive, assessing the appropriateness of new equity or debt capital based on market conditions, including assumptions regarding future cash flow, the creditworthiness of customers and future rental rates. Our certificate of incorporation, which, as amended from time to time, we refer to as our “certificate of incorporation” and bylaws, which, as amended from time to time, we refer to as our “bylaws,” do not limit the amount of debt that we may incur. Our Board of Directors has not adopted a policy limiting the total amount of debt that we may incur. Our Board of Directors will consider a number of factors in evaluating the amount of debt that we may incur. If we adopt a debt policy, our Board of Directors may from time to time modify such policy in light of then-current economic conditions, relative costs of debt and equity capital, market values of our properties, general conditions in the market for debt and equity securities, fluctuations in the market price of our common stock if then trading on any exchange, growth and acquisition opportunities and other factors. Our decision to use leverage in the future to finance our assets will be at our discretion and will not be subject to the approval of our stockholders, and we are not restricted by our governing documents or otherwise in the amount of leverage that we may use.

Purchase and sale (or turnover) of acquired businesses. We do not currently intend to dispose of any of our properties in the near future as our strategy is to acquire assets which have the potential to generate significant cash flow over an extended period of time. However, we reserve the right to do so if, based upon management’s periodic review of our portfolio, our Board of Directors determines that such action would be in our best interest.

Offering of securities in exchange for property. We may in the future issue shares of common stock in connection with acquisitions of other businesses. For issuances of shares in connection with acquisitions, our Board of Directors will determine the timing and size of the issuances. Our Board of Directors intends to use its reasonable business judgment to fulfill its fiduciary obligations to our then existing stockholders in connection with any such issuance, including its determination of whether the issuance is accretive to intrinsic value. Nonetheless, future issuances of additional shares could cause immediate and substantial dilution to the net tangible book value of shares of our Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately before such transaction. In addition, we may have sellers rollover a portion of their equity holdings into an equity holding in the newly acquired business. In those situations, we may provide the seller with an option to put its holding to us and similarly, we may have an option to purchase the rollover equity stake. Any future decrease in the net tangible book value of such issued and outstanding shares could materially and adversely affect the market value of shares of our Class A common stock

Available Information

You can find more information about us at our Internet website located at www.bostonomaha.com. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to, the SEC. The contents of our website are not deemed to be part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any of our other filings with the SEC.

We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and other information with the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website that contains these reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, including us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is http://www.sec.gov.

BOC - Boston Omaha Corporation