Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Subsidiary Formation and Funding Agreement
Effective on January 12, 2021, Monaker Group, Inc. (the "Company", "Monaker",
"we" and "us"), NextTrip Group, LLC, a newly formed Florida limited liability,
which is wholly-owned by Monaker ("NextTrip"), HotPlay Enterprise Limited
("HotPlay"), which the Company is currently party to a pending share exchange
agreement with (along with its stockholders), and the stockholders of HotPlay
(the "HotPlay stockholders"), entered into a Subsidiary Formation and Funding
Agreement (the "Formation and Funding Agreement").
The entry into the Formation and Funding Agreement is a required condition to
closing the HotPlay exchange agreement, which requires that Monaker transfer all
of its pre-existing operations into a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary and
that Monaker execute an agreement acceptable in form to Monaker and HotPlay's
principal stockholder) providing for the operations of NextTrip, including
governance and funding requirements associated therewith.
According to the Formation and Funding Agreement, Monaker agreed, prior to the
closing date of the HotPlay share exchange, to transfer all of the assets,
operations, material agreements, employees, and goodwill of Monaker relating to
travel operations and business (collectively, the "travel operations") to
NextTrip, to insulate the travel operations from the remainder of Monaker's
post-closing operations and allow for Monaker's pre-closing management to
continue to manage the travel operations post-closing pursuant to the terms of
the NextTrip operating agreement (defined below). The Formation and Funding
Agreement also provides for all North American payroll for Monaker's travel
operations to be paid through, and run by, NextTrip.
The Formation and Funding Agreement also requires Monaker (which at that time
will have acquired 100% ownership of HotPlay), to transfer, within five (5)
business days of the closing of the HotPlay share exchange, no less than $5.8
million (less pre-closing advances (defined below)) of the cash held on the
books of HotPlay at the time of closing to NextTrip (the "initial advance"). The
initial advance will be available for use by NextTrip to retire debt of NextTrip
(and/or debt of Monaker), fund operations, further develop the travel
operations, and for such other purposes which are approved by the Board of
Managers of NextTrip. "Pre-closing advances" means the aggregate amount of loans
made by HotPlay to Monaker prior to the closing of the HotPlay share exchange,
which currently total $3 million. The initial advance is a 0% interest loan
which is forgivable in the event of a spin-off of NextTrip.
The Formation and Funding Agreement also requires Monaker to advance an
additional $10 million to NextTrip in 2021, pursuant to a mutually agreed-upon
schedule of advances (the "subsequent advances", and together with the initial
advance, the "advances"). The subsequent advances shall similarly be 0% interest
loans which are forgivable in the event of a spin-off of NextTrip.
Additionally, as a separate requirement from the requirement to make the
advances, Monaker is required to continue to fund all NextTrip expenses and
operations, for so long as Monaker owns at least 50% of NextTrip, provided that
NextTrip stays within 130% of a budget approved by the Board of Managers of
NextTrip on an annual (calendar year) basis (the "budget threshold"). In the
event NextTrip exceeds the budget threshold in any calendar year, Monaker shall
not be required to fund more than the budget threshold in such calendar year,
but shall be required to fund the approved budget (in an amount of up to the
then applicable budget threshold) in subsequent calendar years. Monaker is also
required to promptly pay for, or reimburse NextTrip for (at the option of
NextTrip), all legal, audit, insurance, employee, administrative work, and other
expenses paid or incurred by NextTrip on behalf of Monaker.
Under the Funding and Formation Agreement, NextTrip is required to assume all of
the contractual and other obligations and liabilities of Monaker incurred before
closing, provided that if such formal assumption is deemed too difficult or
impracticable by NextTrip, or such formal assumption would trigger any defaults,
required consents, or would be subject to any prerequisites, instead of formally
assuming such obligations, NextTrip is required to pay such obligations as they
come due and according to their terms (as such may be amended and modified from
time to time).
Additionally, if Monaker's currently pending lawsuit with IDS, Inc. ("IDS"),
results in IDS returning the 1,968,000 shares of restricted common stock of
Monaker which were originally issued to IDS in August 2019 (the "IDS Shares"),
NextTrip shall, with the approval of the Board of Directors of Monaker, which
shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, be able to use, and have issued
for its benefit, such number of shares of Monaker for acquisitions and strategic
transactions which benefit NextTrip and the travel operations, at the request of
the NextTrip Board of Managers.
Finally, the Funding and Formation Agreement provided that NextTrip was
required, before the closing, to adopt an operating agreement, which is
discussed below, and which was adopted on January 11, 2021.
NextTrip Group Operating Agreement
NextTrip has been formed as a Florida limited liability company, and as a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Monaker, for the sole purpose of holding Monaker's
pre-closing travel and related assets, all of which will be transferred to
NextTrip prior to the closing of the HotPlay share exchange.
On January 11, 2021, Monaker, as sole-owner of NextTrip adopted the Operating
Agreement of NextTrip (the "operating agreement"), the adoption of which was a
required condition to closing the HotPlay share exchange. The operating
agreement sets forth the framework for the governance and operation of NextTrip.
Under the operating agreement, NextTrip is authorized to issue up to 1,000,000
membership interests, of which all 1,000,000 membership interests are currently
outstanding and held by the Company. The operating agreement prohibits the
transfer of any membership interests without the approval of the Board of
Managers (defined below) and as such, the Board of Managers effectively has
control over any change of control transaction involving NextTrip.
The operating agreement includes standard representations and warranties of
members of NextTrip, customary indemnification and confidentiality obligations,
and other customary and standard terms relating to the governance of limited
liabilities companies.
Distributions of profits and losses of NextTrip are required to be approved by
the Board of Managers, who are required to evaluate such distributions on at
least a quarterly basis.
The operating agreement provides for a three-person Board of Managers ("Board of
Managers") who manage NextTrip. Of those three members, two of such members are
appointed by William Kerby and Donald P. Monaco, the current Chief Executive
Officer and director and Chairman of the board of directors of the Company, and
one of the members of the Board of Managers is selected by Monaker. Such
designees can remove the managers they can appoint, replace such members from
time to time in their discretion, and choose which persons fill vacancies
created on the Board of Managers (to the extent such vacancies relate to
positions they have authority to fill).
The initial members of the Board of Managers of NextTrip are (1) Mr. Kerby, (2)
Mr. Monaco, and (3) J. Todd Bonner, a director of HotPlay.
The Board of Managers are tasked with creating a budget for NextTrip from time
to time, but at least annually.
The Managers have authority, without member approval, to have full, complete,
and exclusive authority to manage and control the business, affairs, and
properties of NextTrip, which includes, among other things, the ability to
operate NextTrip and to enter into agreements and contracts, open and maintain
bank accounts, borrow money, take actions in connection with the operation of
NextTrip's business, acquire, sell and operate properties and assets, obtain
insurance, incur legal and other fees, employ employees and consultants, make
expenditures and undertake other decisions or acts.
Member approval is required however if the Board of Managers desires to take
certain material transactions affecting NextTrip, including to (a) amend the
operating agreement or the Articles of Organization of NextTrip; (b) change the
character of the business of the company; (c) sell all or substantially all of
NextTrip's assets; (d) mortgage or encumber all or substantially all of
NextTrip's assets; (e) undertake any action that would make it impossible for
NextTrip to carry on its business, subject to certain limited exceptions; (f)
approve any transaction with any affiliate of NextTrip other than arm's length
terms; (g) make any individual expenditure greater than $250,000, or aggregate
expenditure greater than $500,000, which is not outlined in an approved budget;
or (h) confess a judgment against NextTrip.
Mr. Kerby serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NextTrip, and has the
authority to appoint employees of NextTrip, and set forth their positions and
salaries with NextTrip, and to further provide for the bonuses payable to such
persons, provided that such compensation and bonuses do not exceed more than
$500,000 in aggregate.
The operating agreement may only be amended with the majority approval of the
Board of Managers and the unanimous approval of the members (i.e., Monaker).
* * * * *
The foregoing description of the operating agreement and Formation and Funding
Agreement above, is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the operating
agreement and Formation and Funding Agreement, attached
as Exhibits 3.1 and Exhibit 10.1 hereto, respectively, which are incorporated in
this Item 1.01 by reference in their entirety.
Item 8.01.
Other Events.
As previously disclosed in the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K which
was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 31, 2020 (the
"Prior Report"), on December 28, 2020, the Company entered into an underwriting
agreement (the "Underwriting Agreement") with Kingswood Capital Markets,
division of Benchmark Investments, Inc. ("Kingswood") and Aegis Capital Corp.
("Aegis"), as representatives of the underwriters named therein (the
"Underwriters"), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to the
Underwriters in a firm commitment underwritten public offering (the "Offering")
an aggregate of 3,080,000 shares of the Company's common stock, par value
$0.00001 per share (the "Common Stock"), at a public offering price of $2.50 per
share, which offering closed on December 31, 2020.
The Company also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an
additional 462,000 shares of Common Stock to cover over-allotments, if any,
which over-allotment option was exercised in full on January 13, 2021.
Kingswood and Aegis acted as the book-running managers for the Offering. The
shares of Common Stock sold in the Offering were offered and sold by the Company
pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3, which was
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on April 17, 2018
and declared effective on July 2, 2018 (File No. 333-224309) (the "Registration
Statement"). The Offering was made by means of a prospectus forming a part of
the effective registration statement. The Company paid the Underwriters a cash
fee equal to 6% of the aggregate gross proceeds received by the Company in
connection with the Offering, paid the Underwriters a non-accountable expense
allowance equal to 1% of the aggregate gross proceeds received by the Company in
connection with the Offering, and reimbursed certain expenses of the
Underwriters.
The total gross proceeds to the Company from the offering, including the funds
received from the prior closing and the exercise of this option, are
approximately $8.85 million. The net proceeds to the Company from the Offering,
when including the over-allotment, after deducting the underwriting discounts
and commissions and Offering expenses, were approximately $8.1 million.
The Underwriting Agreement and other terms of the Offering are described in
greater detail in the Prior Report.
On January 13 2021, the Company issued a press release announcing the the
exercise of the Underwriters' over-allotment option. A copy of the press release
is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
Exhibit
Number Description of Exhibit
3.1* Operating Agreement of NextTrip Holdings, LLC
10.1* Subsidiary Formation and Funding Agreement dated and effective
January 12, 2021, by and between Monaker Group, Inc., NextTrip
Group, LLC, HotPlay Enterprise Limited, and the stockholders of
HotPlay
99.1* Press release dated January 13, 2021
* Filed herewith.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the matters discussed in this communication which are not statements
of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements that involve a number
of risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as
"strategy," "expects," "continues," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "would,"
"will," "estimates," "intends," "projects," "goals," "targets" and other words
of similar meaning are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are
not the exclusive means of identifying these statements.
Important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ
materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements include,
without limitation, the ability of the parties to close the HotPlay Exchange
Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein, on a timely basis, if at
all; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give
rise to the right of one or all of HotPlay, the HotPlay stockholders, or the
Company (collectively, the "Share Exchange Parties") to terminate the HotPlay
exchange agreement; the effect of such terminations; the outcome of any legal
proceedings that have been, and may be, instituted against Share Exchange
Parties or their respective directors; the ability of the HotPlay stockholders
to timely obtain required audits and related financial statements of HotPlay and
where applicable, its subsidiary; the ability to obtain regulatory and other
approvals and meet other closing conditions to the HotPlay exchange agreement on
a timely basis or at all, including the risk that regulatory and other approvals
required for the HotPlay exchange agreement are not obtained on a timely basis
or at all, or are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated or
that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the
transaction; the ability to obtain approval by the Company's stockholders on the
expected schedule of the transactions contemplated by the HotPlay exchange
agreement; delays in obtaining required financial statements for HotPlay and
prior acquisitions of the Company, to the extent required; difficulties and
delays in integrating HotPlay's and the Company's businesses; prevailing
economic, market, regulatory or business conditions, or changes in such
conditions, negatively affecting the parties; risks associated with COVID-19 and
the global response thereto; risks that the transactions disrupt the Company's
or HotPlay's current plans and operations; failing to fully realize anticipated
cost savings and other anticipated benefits of the HotPlay share exchange when
expected or at all; potential adverse reactions or changes to business
relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the HotPlay share
exchange; the ability of HotPlay and the Company to retain and hire key
personnel; the diversion of management's attention from ongoing business
operations; uncertainty as to the long-term value of the common stock of the
combined company following the HotPlay share exchange; the significant dilution
which will be created to ownership interests of the Company in connection with
the closing of the HotPlay share exchange; the continued availability of capital
and financing following the HotPlay share exchange; the ability of the Company
to obtain sufficient funding to support its operations through the closing date
of the HotPlay share exchange; the business, economic and political conditions
in the markets in which Share Exchange Parties operate; and the fact that the
Company's reported earnings and financial position may be adversely affected by
tax and other factors.
Other important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements included in
this communication are described in the Company's publicly filed reports,
including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended February 29, 2020, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended August 31, 2020, and subsequently filed quarterly reports.
The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not
complete, and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements except
as required by applicable law. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking
statements attributable to the Company or any person acting on behalf of any
Share Exchange Parties are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
cautionary statements referenced above.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed HotPlay share exchange, the Company will file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a proxy statement to seek
stockholder approval for the HotPlay share exchange and the issuance of shares
of common stock pursuant thereto and in connection therewith, which, when
finalized, will be sent to the stockholders of the Company seeking their
approval of the respective transaction-related proposals. INVESTORS AND SECURITY
HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR
SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE
FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED HOTPLAY SHARE EXCHANGE, WHEN
THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE
COMPANY, HOTPLAY, AND THE PROPOSED HOTPLAY SHARE EXCHANGE, AND RISKS ASSOCIATED
THEREWITH.
Investors and security holders may obtain copies of these documents free of
charge through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or from the
Company at its website, www.monakergroup.com. Certain documents filed with the
SEC by the Company will also be available free of charge by accessing the
Company's website at www.monakergroup.com under the heading "Stock Info" or, and
all documents filed by the Company with the SEC are available by directing a
request by mail, email or telephone to Monaker Group, Inc. at 2893 Executive
Park Drive, Suite 201, Weston, Florida 33331; info@monakergroup.com; or (954)
888-9779, respectively.
Participants in the Solicitation
The Company and certain of its respective directors and executive officers may
be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the respective
stockholders of the Company in respect of the proposed HotPlay exchange
agreement under the rules of the SEC. Information about the Company's directors
and executive officers is available in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K/A (Amendment No. 1) for the year ended February 29, 2020, as filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 25, 2020. Other information
regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their
direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be
contained in the proxy statement and other relevant materials to be filed with
the SEC regarding the HotPlay exchange agreement when they become available.
Investors should read the proxy statement carefully when it becomes available
before making any voting or investment decisions. You may obtain free copies of
these documents from the Company using the sources indicated above.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities, in
any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful
prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such
jurisdiction.
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