UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
☒
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the quarterly period ended June 30, 2022
☐
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from __________ to __________
Commission
file number 1-12471
THE
ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
68-0232575
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
200
Vesey Street ,
24 th
Floor
New
York , New York
10281
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(Zip
Code)
(212)
321-5002
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title
of each class
Trading
Symbol(s)
Name
of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 par
value
AREN
NYSE American
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant
was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting
company, or an emerging growth company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Large
accelerated filer ☐
Accelerated
filer ☐
Non-accelerated
filer ☒
Smaller
reporting company ☒
Emerging
growth company ☐
If
an emerging growth company, indicated by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ or No ☒
As
of August 9, 2022, the Registrant had 17,844,379 shares of common stock outstanding.
Page
Number
PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
4
Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
4
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
30
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
41
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
41
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
42
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
42
Item 1A. Risk Factors
42
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
42
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
42
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
42
Item 5. Other Information
42
Item 6. Exhibits
43
SIGNATURES
44
2
Forward-Looking
Statements
This
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Quarterly Report”) of The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,”
“our,” and “us”) contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange
Act”). Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and include, without limitation, statements concerning
our business strategy, future revenues, market growth, capital requirements, product introductions, and expansion plans and the adequacy
of our funding. Other statements contained in this Quarterly Report that are not historical facts are also forward-looking statements.
We have tried, wherever possible, to identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,”
“could,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,”
“believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and other stylistic variants denoting forward-looking statements.
We
caution investors that any forward-looking statements presented in this Quarterly Report, or that we may make orally or in writing from
time to time, are based on information currently available, as well as our beliefs and assumptions. The actual outcome related to forward-looking
statements will be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties, and factors that are beyond our control or ability to
predict. Although we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future performance, and some will inevitably
prove to be incorrect. As a result, our actual future results can be expected to differ from our expectations, and those differences
may be material. Accordingly, investors should use caution in relying on forward-looking statements, which are based only on known results
and trends at the time they are made, to anticipate future results or trends. We detail other risks in our public filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including in Item 1A., Risk Factors, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2021. The discussion in this Quarterly Report should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial
statements and notes thereto included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2021.
This
Quarterly Report and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf
are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. We do not undertake
any obligation to release publicly any revisions to our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
of this Quarterly Report except as may be required by law.
3
PART
I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM
1. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
THE
ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Index
to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
PAGE
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - June 30, 2022 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2021
5
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - Three Months and Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 and 2021
6
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Deficiency (Unaudited) - Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 and 2021
7
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - Six Months Ended June 30, 2022 and 2021
9
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)
10
4
THE
ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
June 30, 2022
(unaudited)
December 31,
2021
($ in thousands, except share data)
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 14,839
$ 9,349
Restricted cash
502
502
Accounts receivable, net
34,450
21,660
Subscription acquisition costs, current portion
28,603
30,162
Royalty fees
3,750
11,250
Prepayments and other current assets
4,863
4,748
Total current assets
87,007
77,671
Property and equipment, net
832
636
Operating lease right-of-use assets
455
528
Platform development, net
10,240
9,299
Subscription acquisition costs, net of current portion
7,651
8,235
Acquired and other intangible assets, net
56,221
57,356
Other long-term assets
626
639
Goodwill
23,416
19,619
Total assets
$ 186,448
$ 173,983
Liabilities, mezzanine equity and stockholders’ deficiency
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 19,733
$ 11,982
Accrued expenses and other
18,579
24,011
Line of credit
7,808
11,988
Unearned revenue
60,907
54,030
Subscription refund liability
2,394
3,087
Operating lease liabilities
400
374
Liquidated damages payable
5,497
5,197
Current portion of long-term debt
5,873
5,744
Total current liabilities
121,191
116,413
Unearned revenue, net of current portion
12,591
15,277
Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion
579
785
Liquidating damages payable, net of current portion
-
7,008
Other long-term liabilities
7,108
7,556
Deferred tax liabilities
389
362
Long-term debt
65,179
64,373
Total liabilities
207,037
211,774
Commitments and contingencies (Note 16)
-
Mezzanine equity:
Series G redeemable and convertible preferred stock, $ 0.01 par value, $ 1,000 per share liquidation value and 1,800 shares designated; aggregate liquidation value: $ 168 ; Series G shares issued and outstanding: 168 ; common shares issuable upon conversion: 8,582 at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021
168
168
Series H convertible preferred stock, $ 0.01 par value, $ 1,000 per share liquidation value and 23,000 shares designated; aggregate liquidation value: $ 14,556 and $ 15,066 ; Series H shares issued and outstanding: 14,556 and 15,066 ; common shares issuable upon conversion: 2,008,728 and 2,075,200 at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively
13,207
13,718
Total mezzanine equity
13,375
13,886
Stockholders’ deficiency:
Common stock, $ 0.01 par value, authorized 1,000,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding: 17,827,526 and 12,632,947 shares at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively
178
126
Common stock to be issued
-
-
Additional paid-in capital
258,727
200,410
Accumulated deficit
( 292,869 )
( 252,213 )
Total stockholders’ deficiency
( 33,964 )
( 51,677 )
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and stockholders’ deficiency
$ 186,448
$ 173,983
See
accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements
5
THE
ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
Three
Months Ended
June 30,
Six
Months Ended
June 30,
2022
2021
2022
2021
($ in thousands, except share data)
Revenue
$ 65,075
$ 34,746
$ 113,318
$ 68,361
Cost of revenue (includes amortization of developed technology and platform development for three months ended 2022 and 2021 of $ 2,375 and $ 2,157 , respectively and for the six months ended 2022 and 2021 of $ 4,686 and $ 4,324 , respectively)
46,729
25,307
75,226
51,049
Gross profit
18,346
9,439
38,092
17,312
Operating expenses
Selling and marketing
19,307
16,202
36,523
31,340
General and administrative
15,964
12,535
29,478
23,030
Depreciation and amortization
4,444
3,964
8,646
7,927
Loss on impairment of assets
-
-
257
-
Total operating expenses
39,715
32,701
74,904
62,297
Loss from operations
( 21,369 )
( 23,262 )
( 36,812 )
( 44,985 )
Other (expense) income
Change in valuation of warrant derivative liabilities
-
360
-
( 305 )
Interest expense, net
( 2,506 )
( 2,363 )
( 5,326 )
( 5,183 )
Liquidated damages
( 128 )
( 1,109 )
( 300 )
( 1,364 )
Gain upon debt extinguishment
-
5,717
-
5,717
Total other (expense) income
( 2,634 )
2,605
( 5,626 )
( 1,135 )
Loss before income taxes
( 24,003 )
( 20,657 )
( 42,438 )
( 46,120 )
Income taxes
1,796
-
1,782
-
Net loss
$ ( 22,207 )
$ ( 20,657 )
$ ( 40,656 )
$ ( 46,120 )
Basic and diluted net loss per common share
$ ( 1.22 )
$ ( 1.88 )
$ ( 2.41 )
$ ( 4.30 )
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted
18,258,890
11,012,866
16,847,920
10,737,555
See
accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
6
THE ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIENCY
(unaudited)
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2022
Common Stock
Common Stock to be Issued
Additional Paid-in
Accumulated
Total Stockholders’
Shares
Par Value
Shares
Par Value
Capital
Deficit
Deficiency
($ in thousands, except share data)
Balance at January 1, 2022
12,632,947
$ 126
49,134
$ -
$ 200,410
$ ( 252,213 )
$ ( 51,677 )
Issuance of restricted stock in connection with the acquisition of The Spun
Issuance of restricted stock in connection with the acquisition of The Spun, shares
Cashless exercise of common stock
Cashless exercise of common stock, shares
Common stock withheld for taxes
Common stock withheld for taxes, shares
Issuance of common stock upon conversion of series H preferred stock
70,380
1
-
-
510
-
511
Issuance of common stock for restricted stock units in connection with an acquisition
16,760
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock in connection with professional services
14,617
-
-
-
184
-
184
Issuance of common stock in connection with settlement of liquidated damages
505,671
5
-
-
6,680
-
6,685
Gain upon issuance of common stock in connection with settlement of liquidated damages
-
-
-
-
323
-
323
Issuance of common stock for restricted stock units
155,211
2
-
-
( 2 )
-
-
Common stock withheld for taxes upon issuance of underlying shares for restricted stock units
( 67,023 )
( 1 )
-
-
( 555 )
-
( 556 )
Repurchase restricted stock classified as liabilities
( 8,064 )
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock in connection with public offering
4,181,603
42
-
-
30,448
-
30,490
Stock-based compensation
-
-
-
-
8,054
-
8,054
Net loss
-
-
-
-
-
( 18,449 )
( 18,449 )
Balance at March 31, 2022
17,502,102
175
49,134
-
246,052
( 270,662 )
( 24,435 )
Issuance of common stock in connection with the acquisition of Athlon
314,103
3
-
-
3,138
-
3,141
Issuance of common stock for restricted stock units
21,600
-
-
-
-
-
-
Repurchase of restricted stock classified as liabilities
( 18,150 )
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock in connection with Say Media merger
7,851
-
( 7,851 )
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock upon cashless exercise of stock option
20
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock in connection with private placement
Issuance of common stock in connection with private placement, shares
Stock-based compensation
-
-
-
-
9,537
-
9,537
Net loss
-
-
-
-
-
( 22,207 )
( 22,207 )
Balance at June 30, 2022
17,827,526
$ 178
41,283
$ -
$ 258,727
$ ( 292,869 )
$ ( 33,964 )
7
THE
ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIENCY
(unaudited)
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2021
Common Stock
Common Stock to be Issued
Additional Paid-in
Accumulated
Total
Stockholders’
Shares
Par Value
Shares
Par Value
Capital
Deficit
Deficiency
($ in thousands, except share data)
Balance at January 1, 2021
10,412,963
$ 104
49,134
$ -
$ 141,856
$ ( 162,273 )
$ ( 20,313 )
Issuance of restricted stock awards to the board of directors
36,599
-
-
-
-
-
-
Repurchase restricted stock classified as liabilities
( 6,049 )
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock for restricted stock units in connection with an acquisition
11,667
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock in connection with professional services
14,205
-
-
-
125
-
125
Stock-based compensation
-
-
-
-
5,408
-
5,408
Net loss
-
-
-
-
-
( 25,463 )
( 25,463 )
Balance at March 31, 2021
10,469,385
$ 104
49,134
-
$ 147,389
$ ( 187,736 )
$ ( 40,243 )
Beginning balance, value
10,469,385
$ 104
49,134
-
$ 147,389
$ ( 187,736 )
$ ( 40,243 )
Issuance of restricted stock in connection with the acquisition of The Spun
194,806
2
-
-
( 2 )
-
-
Issuance of restricted stock awards to the board of directors
3,735
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cashless exercise of common stock
3,859
-
-
-
-
-
-
Common stock withheld for taxes
( 2,226 )
-
-
-
( 41 )
-
( 41 )
Repurchase of restricted stock classified as liabilities
( 6,049 )
-
-
-
-
-
-
Issuance of common stock in connection with private placement
1,299,027
13
-
-
19,825
-
19,838
Stock-based compensation
-
-
-
-
8,666
-
8,666
Net loss
-
-
-
-
-
( 20,657 )
( 20,657 )
Balance June 30, 2021
11,962,537
$ 119
49,134
$ -
$ 175,837
$ ( 208,393 )
$ ( 32,437 )
Ending balance, value
11,962,537
$ 119
49,134
$ -
$ 175,837
$ ( 208,393 )
$ ( 32,437 )
See
accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
8
THE
ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(unaudited)
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2022
2021
($ in thousands)
Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss
$ ( 40,656 )
$ ( 46,120 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation of property and equipment
245
220
Amortization of platform development and intangible assets
13,087
12,031
Gain upon debt extinguishment
-
( 5,717 )
Amortization of debt discounts
934
1,001
Loss on impairments of assets
257
-
Change in valuation of warrant derivative liabilities
-
305
Noncash and accrued interest
69
3,632
Liquidated damages
300
1,364
Stock-based compensation
16,466
13,215
Deferred income taxes
( 1,782 )
-
Other
469
( 759 )
Change in operating assets and liabilities net of effect of business combination:
Accounts receivable
5
4,375
Subscription acquisition costs
2,143
( 13,784 )
Royalty fees
7,500
7,500
Prepayments and other current assets
264
( 4,060 )
Other long-term assets
13
( 121 )
Accounts payable
335
4
Accrued expenses and other
( 7,131 )
1,714
Unearned revenue
945
14,934
Subscription refund liability
( 693 )
737
Operating lease liabilities
( 107 )
( 404 )
Other long-term liabilities
( 128 )
-
Net cash used in operating activities
( 7,465 )
( 9,933 )
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment
( 379 )
( 182 )
Capitalized platform development
( 2,784 )
( 1,971 )
Proceeds from sale of equity investment
2,450
-
Payments for acquisition of business, net of cash acquired
( 9,481 )
( 7,057 )
Net cash used in investing activities
( 10,194 )
( 9,210 )
Cash flows from financing activities
Borrowings (repayments) under line of credit
( 4,180 )
( 2,249 )
Proceeds from common stock public offering, net of offering costs
32,058
-
Payments of issuance costs from common stock public offering
( 1,568 )
-
Payment of The Spun deferred cash payment
( 453 )
-
Proceeds from common stock private placement
-
20,005
Payments of issuance costs from common stock private placement
-
( 167 )
Payment for taxes related to repurchase of restricted common stock
( 556 )
( 41 )
Payment of restricted stock liabilities
( 2,152 )
( 716 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
23,149
16,832
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
5,490
( 2,311 )
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – beginning of period
9,851
9,535
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – end of period
$ 15,341
$ 7,224
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 14,839
$ 6,723
Restricted cash
502
501
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
$ 15,341
$ 7,224
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information
Cash paid for interest
$ 4,323
$ 289
Cash paid for income taxes
-
-
Noncash investing and financing activities
Reclassification of stock-based compensation to platform development
$ 1,125
$ 859
Issuance of common stock in connection with settlement of liquidated damages
7,008
-
Issuance of common stock in connection with professional services
-
125
Common stock issued in connection with acquisition of Athlon
3,141
-
Deferred cash payments in connection with acquisition of Athlon
1,889
-
Assumption of liabilities in connection with acquisition of Athlon
12,642
-
Deferred cash payments in connection with acquisition of The Spun
-
1,639
Assumption of liabilities in connection with acquisition of The Spun
-
2
Conversion of Series H convertible preferred stock into common stock
511
-
See
accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
9
THE
ARENA GROUP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(unaudited)
($
in thousands, unless otherwise stated)
1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis
of Presentation
The
condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as TheMaven, Inc.)
and its wholly owned subsidiaries (“The Arena Group” or the “Company”), after eliminating all significant intercompany
balances and transactions. The Company does not have any off-balance sheet arrangements. The Company changed its corporate name to The
Arena Group Holdings, Inc. from TheMaven, Inc. on February 8, 2022.
The
accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required
by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for complete audited financial statements.
These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements,
which are included in The Arena Group’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC as of April
1, 2022.
The
condensed consolidated financial statements as of June 30, 2022, and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, are unaudited
but, in management’s opinion, include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of interim periods. All
such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021, was derived
from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The results of operations for interim periods
are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire fiscal year.
The
novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic impacted the Company less during the second quarter of 2022 than it did in 2021.
During the initial onset of COVID-19, the Company faced significant change in its advertisers’ buying behavior. Since May 2020,
however, there has been a steady recovery in the advertising market in both pricing and volume. This coupled with the return of professional
and college sports yielded steady growth in revenues. Given that the Sports Illustrated media business relies on sporting events to generate
content and comprises a material portion of the Company’s revenues, the cash flows and results of operations are susceptible to
a widespread cancellation of sporting events or a general limitation of societal activity akin to what is widely known to have occurred
in the Unites States and elsewhere during the 2020 calendar year and, to a lesser extent, during the 2021 calendar year. Future widespread
shutdowns of in-person economic activity could have a material impact on the Company’s business. As a result of the Company’s
advertising revenue declining in early 2021 caused by the widespread cancellations of sporting events, the Company is vulnerable to a
risk of loss in the near term and it is at least reasonably possible that events or circumstances may occur that could cause an impact
in the near term, depending on the actions taken to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
The
Company operates in one reportable segment.
Reverse
Stock Split
The Company effected a 1-for-22 reverse stock split as of February
9, 2022. The condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto give effect to such reverse stock split for all periods
presented. The shares of common stock retained a par value of $0.01 per share. Accordingly, stockholders’ deficiency reflects the
reverse stock split by reclassifying from “common stock” to “additional paid-in capital” in an amount equal to
the par value of the decreased shares resulting from the reverse stock split. Any fractional shares that would otherwise be issued as
a result of the reverse stock split were rounded up to the nearest whole share.
10
Use
of Estimates
Preparation
of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect
the amounts reported and disclosed in the financial statements and the accompanying notes. Actual results could differ materially from
these estimates. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to the allowance for credit losses,
fair values of financial instruments, capitalization of platform development, intangible assets and goodwill, useful lives of intangible
assets and property and equipment, income taxes, fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the business acquisitions,
determination of the fair value of stock-based compensation and valuation of derivatives liabilities and contingent liabilities, among
others. The Company bases its estimates on assumptions, both historical and forward looking, that are believed to be reasonable, the
results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities.
Recently
Adopted Accounting Standards
In
August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and
Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) , which updates various codification topics to simplify the
accounting guidance for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, with a specific focus on convertible
instruments and the derivative scope exception for contracts in an entity’s own equity and amends the diluted earnings per share computation for
these instruments. On January 1, 2022, the Company adopted ASU 2020-06 with no material impact to its condensed consolidated financial
position, results of operations or cash flows.
In
May 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-04, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt-Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation
(Topic 718), and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Issuer’s Accounting for Certain
Modifications or Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options, a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF),
to provide explicit guidance on accounting by issuers for modifications or exchanges of freestanding equity-classified written call
options that remain equity classified after the modification or exchange. On January 1, 2022, the Company adopted ASU 2021-04 with no
material impact to its condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations, cash flows or disclosures.
In
October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805), Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities
from Contracts with Customers , which requires an acquirer to account for revenue contracts acquired in a business combination in
accordance with Topic 606 as if it had originated the contracts. The acquirer may assess how the acquiree applied Topic 606 to determine
what to record for the acquired contracts. This update should lead to recognition and measurement consistent with what’s reported
in the acquiree’s financial statements, provided that the acquiree prepared financial statements in accordance with GAAP. The new
standard marks a change from current GAAP, under which assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination, including contract
assets and contract liabilities arising from revenue contracts, are generally recognized at fair value at the acquisition date. On January
1, 2022, the Company adopted ASU 2021-08 with no material impact to its condensed financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
This new accounting standard will be applied prospectively to business combinations.
11
Loss
per Common Share
Basic
loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period and excludes any dilutive
effects of common stock equivalent shares, such as stock options, restricted stock, and warrants. All restricted stock awards are considered
outstanding but are included in the computation of basic loss per common share only when the restrictions expire, the shares
are no longer forfeitable, and are thus vested. Restricted stock units are included in the computation of basic loss per common share
only when the restrictions expire, the shares are no longer forfeitable, and are thus vested. Contingently issuable shares
are included in basic loss per common share only when there are no circumstances under which those shares would not be issued. Diluted
loss per common share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and common stock equivalent shares outstanding
during the period using the treasury stock method.
The
Company excluded the outstanding securities summarized below (capitalized terms are described herein), which entitle the holders thereof
to acquire shares of the Company’s common stock, from its calculation of net loss per common share, as their effect would have
been anti-dilutive. Common stock equivalent shares are excluded from the diluted calculations when a net loss is incurred as they would
be anti-dilutive.
Schedule of Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
As of June 30,
2022
2021
Series G convertible preferred stock
8,582
8,582
Series H Preferred Stock
2,008,728
2,699,312
Restricted Stock Awards
97,402
202,003
Financing Warrants
116,118
131,003
ABG Warrants
999,540
999,540
AllHipHop warrants
5,682
5,682
Publisher Partner Warrants
16,174
35,889
Equity Plans
7,890,027
7,601,168
Outside Options
138,644
138,644
Total
11,280,897
11,821,823
Reclassifications
Certain
prior quarter amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation. These reclassifications were immaterial, both
individually and in the aggregate. These changes did not impact previously reported loss from operations or net loss.
2. Acquisitions
2022
Acquisitions
Athlon
Holdings, Inc. – On April 1, 2022, the Company acquired 100 %
of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Athlon Holdings, Inc., a Tennessee corporation (“Athlon”), for a
preliminary purchase price of $ 17,115 ,
as adjusted for the estimated working capital adjustment as of the closing date of the transaction. The purchase price is pending
finalization of a working capital adjustment and deferred taxes and could be subject to further revision if additional information
related to the fair value of the identifiable net assets become available. As a part of the closing consideration, the Company also
acquired cash of $ 1,840 ,
that was further adjusted post-closing for the working capital adjustment. The preliminary purchase price of $ 17,115 ,
as discounted, is comprised of (i) a cash portion of $ 14,181 ,
with $ 11,840
paid at closing and $ 2,341
estimated to be paid post-closing (as further described below) and (ii) the issuance of 314,103
shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair market value of $ 3,141 .
The number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued was determined based on a $ 3,000
value using the common stock trading price for the 10 trading days preceding the April 1, 2022 closing date. Certain of
Athlon’s key employees entered into either advisory agreements or employment agreements with the Company. Athlon operates in
the United States.
The
amount estimated to be paid post-closing of $2,341 will be paid as follows: (i) $2,096 will be paid on the nine-month anniversary of
the closing date, or January 1, 2023 (consisting of $3,000 for the deferred cash payments, as discounted, less a $904 cash
adjustment); and (ii) $245 will be paid within two business days from the date the Company receives proceeds from the sale of all or
a portion of the equity interest in Just Like Falling Off a Bike, LLC that was held by Athlon as of the closing date (this was paid
on April 7, 2022) .
12
The
composition of the preliminary purchase price is as follows:
Schedule of Preliminary Purchase Price
Cash
$ 12,085
Common stock
3,141
Deferred cash payments, as discounted
1,889
Total purchase consideration
$ 17,115
The
Company incurred $ 200 in transaction costs related to the acquisition, which primarily consisted of legal and accounting expenses. The
acquisition related expenses were recorded within general and administrative expense on the consolidated statements of operations.
The
preliminary purchase price allocation resulted in the following amounts being allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed
at the closing date of the acquisition based upon their respective fair values as summarized below:
Summary of Price Allocation for Acquisition
Cash
$ 2,604
Accounts receivable
13,033
Other current assets
379
Equity investment
2,450
Fixed assets
62
Advertiser relationships
6,630
Trade names
2,611
Goodwill
3,797
Accounts payable
( 7,416 )
Accrued expenses and other
( 1,483 )
Unearned revenue
( 3,200 )
Other long-term liabilities
( 543 )
Deferred tax liabilities
( 1,809 )
Net assets acquired
$ 17,115
The
Company utilized an independent appraisal firm to assist in the determination of the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities
assumed, which required certain significant management assumptions and estimates. The fair values of the advertiser relationships were
determined by projecting the acquired entity’s cash flows, deducting notional contributory asset charges on supporting assets (working
capital, tangible assets, trade names, and the assembled workforce) to compute the excess cash flows associated with the advertiser relationships.
The fair values of the trade names were determined by projecting revenue associated with each trade name and applying a royalty rate
to compute the amount of the royalty payments the company is relieved from paying due to its ownership of the trade names. The estimated
weighted average useful lives of the advertiser relationships are eight point seventy-five years ( 8.75 years) and trade names are fourteen
point six years ( 14.60 years).
The
excess of purchase price over the fair value amounts assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed represents goodwill from
the acquisition. Goodwill is recorded as a non-current asset that is not amortized but is subject to an annual review for impairment.
No portion of the goodwill will be deductible for tax purposes.
2021
Acquisitions
College
Spun Media Incorporated – On June 4, 2021, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of
College Spun Media Incorporated, a New Jersey corporation (“The Spun”), for an aggregate of $ 11,830 in cash and the issuance
of an aggregate of 194,806 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock, with one-half of the shares vesting on the first anniversary
of the closing date and the remaining one-half of the shares vesting on the second anniversary of the closing date, subject to a customary
working capital adjustment based on cash and accounts receivable as of the closing date. The cash payment consists of: (i) $ 10,830 paid
at closing (of the cash paid at closing, $ 830 represents adjusted cash pursuant to the working capital adjustments), and (ii) $ 500 to
be paid on the first anniversary of the closing and $ 500 to be paid on the second anniversary date of the closing. The vesting of shares
of the Company’s common stock is subject to the continued employment of certain selling employees. The Spun operates in the United
States.
13
The
composition of the purchase price is as follows:
Schedule of Preliminary Purchase Price
Cash
$ 10,830
Deferred cash payments, as discounted
905
Total purchase consideration
$ 11,735
The
Company incurred $ 128 in transaction costs related to the acquisition, which primarily consisted of legal and accounting expenses. The
acquisition related expenses were recorded in general and administrative expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
After
the June 30, 2021 condensed consolidated financial statements were issued, the Company received a final valuation report from a third-party
valuation firm. After considering the results of that valuation report, the Company estimated the fair values for the brand name of $ 5,175 ,
along with a decrease for working capital accounts of $ 1,932 (consisting of adjusted amounts for cash, accounts receivable, accrued expenses
and deferred tax liabilities) resulting in a corresponding decrease to goodwill of $ 3,977 .
The
purchase price allocation resulted in the following amounts being allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the closing
date of the acquisition based upon their respective fair values as summarized below:
Summary of Price Allocation for Acquisition
Cash
$ 3,214
Accounts receivable
1,772
Other current assets
5
Brand name
5,175
Goodwill
3,479
Accrued expenses and other
( 85 )
Deferred tax liabilities
( 1,825 )
Net assets acquired
$ 11,735
The
Company utilized an independent appraisal firm to assist in the determination of the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities
assumed, which required certain significant management assumptions and estimates. The fair value of the brand name was determined by
projecting the acquired entity’s cash flows, deducting notional contributory asset charges on supporting assets (working capital
and the assembled workforce) to compute the excess cash flows associated with the brand with a useful life of ten years ( 10.0 years).
The
excess of purchase price over the fair value amounts assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed represents goodwill from
the acquisition. Goodwill is recorded as a non-current asset that is not amortized but is subject to an annual review for impairment.
No portion of the goodwill will be deductible for tax purposes.
14
3. Balance Sheet Components
The
components of certain balance sheet amounts are as follows:
Accounts
Receivable – Accounts receivable are presented net of allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts
as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 was $ 1,862 and $ 1,578 , respectively.
Subscription
Acquisition Costs – Subscription acquisition costs include the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer, paid
to external parties, if it expects to recover those costs. The current portion of the subscription acquisition costs as of June 30, 2022
and December 31, 2021 was $ 28,603 and $ 30,162 , respectively. The noncurrent portion of the subscription acquisition costs as of June
30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 was $ 7,651 and $ 8,235 , respectively. Subscription acquisition costs as of June 30, 2022 presented as current
assets of $ 28,603 are expected to be amortized over a one year period, or through June 30, 2023 and $ 7,651 presented as long-term assets
are expected to be amortized after the one year period ending June 30, 2023.
Property
and Equipment – Property and equipment are summarized as follows:
Schedule of Property and Equipment
As of
June 30, 2022
December 31, 2021
Office equipment and computers
$ 1,724
$ 1,345
Furniture and fixtures
63
1
Property and equipment, gross
1,787
1,346
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization
( 955 )
( 710 )
Net property and equipment
$ 832
$ 636
Depreciation
and amortization expense for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 was $ 131 and $ 110 , respectively. Depreciation and amortization
expense for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 was $ 245 and $ 220 , respectively. Depreciation and amortization expense is included
in selling and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses, as appropriate, on the condensed consolidated statements of
operations.
Platform
Development – Platform development costs are summarized as follows:
Summary of Platform Development Costs
As of
June 30, 2022
December 31, 2021
Platform development
$ 18,339
$ 21,997
Less accumulated amortization
( 8,099 )
( 12,698 )
Net platform development
$ 10,240
$ 9,299
Amortization
expense for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, was $ 1,413 and $ 1,060 , respectively. Amortization expense for the six months
ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, was $ 2,757 and $ 2,129 , respectively.
A
summary of platform development activity for the six months ended June 30, 2022 is as follows:
Summary of Platform Development Cost Activity
Platform development beginning of year
$ 21,997
Payroll-based costs capitalized during the period
2,784
Less dispositions
( 7,356 )
Total capitalized costs
17,425
Stock-based compensation
1,125
Impairments
( 211 )
Platform development end of period
$ 18,339
For
the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, impairment charges of $ 0
and $ 211 ,
respectively, have been record for platform development. No
impairment charges have been recorded for the
three and six months ended June 30, 2021.
15
Intangible
Assets – Intangible assets subject to amortization consisted of the following:
Schedule of Intangible Assets Subjects to Amortization
As of June 30, 2022
As of December 31, 2021
Carrying Amount
Accumulated Amortization
Net Carrying
Amount
Carrying Amount
Accumulated Amortization
Net Carrying
Amount
Developed technology
$ 17,333
$ ( 13,167 )
$ 4,166
$ 17,579
$ ( 11,465 )
$ 6,114
Trade name
5,939
( 966 )
4,973
3,328
( 782 )
2,546
Brand name
5,175
( 556 )
4,619
5,175
( 298 )
4,877
Subscriber relationships
73,459
( 39,881 )
33,578
73,459
( 32,623 )
40,836
Advertiser relationships
8,870
( 879 )
7,991
2,240
( 570 )
1,670
Database
2,397
( 1,503 )
894
2,397
( 1,104 )
1,293
Subtotal amortizable intangible assets
113,173
( 56,952 )
56,221
104,178
( 46,842 )
57,336
Website domain name
-
-
-
20
-
20
Total intangible assets
$ 113,173
$ ( 56,952 )
$ 56,221
$ 104,198
$ ( 46,842 )
$ 57,356
Amortization
expense for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 was $ 5,275 and $ 4,951 , respectively. Amortization expense for the six months
ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 was $ 10,330 and $ 9,902 , respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, impairment charges
of $ 0 and $ 46 , respectively, have been recorded for the intangible assets. No impairment charges have been recorded for the three and
six months ended June 30, 2021.
4. Leases
The
Company’s real estate lease for the use of office space was subleased during the year ended December 31, 2021 (as further described
below). The Company’s current lease is a long-term operating lease with a remaining fixed payment term of 2.26 years.
The
table below presents supplemental information related to operating leases:
Schedule of Supplemental Information Related to Operating Leases
Six Months Ended
Year Ended
June 30, 2022
December 31, 2021
Operating lease costs during the period (1)
$ 453
$ 2,718
Cash payments included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities during the period
$ 234
$ 2,787
Weighted-average remaining lease term (in years) as of period-end
2.26
2.75
Weighted-average discount rate during the period
9.90 %
9.90 %
(1)
Operating lease
costs is presented net of sublease income that is not material.
The
Company generally utilizes its incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the commencement of the lease in determining
the present value of future payments since the implicit rate for the Company’s leases is not readily determinable.
Variable
lease expense includes rental increases that are not fixed, such as those based on amounts paid to the lessor based on cost or consumption,
including maintenance and utilities.
16
The
components of operating lease costs were as follows:
Schedule of Operating Lease Costs
Three Months Ended
June 30,
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2022
2021
2022
2021
Operating lease costs:
Cost of revenue
$ -
$ 630
$ -
$ 1,261
Selling and marketing
-
181
-
362
General and administrative
328
148
562
297
Total operating lease costs (1)
328
959
562
1,920
Sublease income
( 54 )
-
( 109 )
-
Total
$ 274
$ 959
$ 453
$ 1,920
(1) Includes certain
costs associated with a business membership agreement (see below) that permits access to certain office space for the three and six months
ended June 30, 2022 of $ 170 and $ 340 , respectively, and month-to-month lease arrangements for the three and six months ended June 30,
2022 of $ 96 and $ 96 , respectively.
Maturities
of the operating lease liability as of June 30, 2022 are summarized as follows:
Summary of Maturity of Lease Liabilities
Years Ending December 31,
2022 (remaining six months of the year)
$ 238
2023
486
2024
373
Minimum lease payments
1,097
Less imputed interest
( 118 )
Present value of operating lease liability
$ 979
Current portion of operating lease liability
$ 400
Long-term portion of operating lease liability
579
Total operating lease liability
$ 979
Sublease
Agreement – In November 2021, the Company entered into an agreement to sublease its leased office space for the duration
of its operating lease through September 2024. As of June 30, 2022, the Company is entitled to receive total sublease income of
$ 567 .
Business
Membership – Effective October 1, 2021, the Company entered into a business membership agreement with York Factory LLC, doing
business as SaksWorks, that permits access to certain office space with furnishings, referred to as SaksWorks Memberships (each membership
provides a certain number of accounts that equate to the use of the space granted). The term of the agreement was for 27 months, with
18 months remaining at $ 57 per month for 110 accounts.
5. Line of Credit
On
December 6, 2021, the Company entered into an amendment to its financing and security agreement for its line of credit with FPP
Finance LLC (“FastPay”) that was originally entered into on February 27, 2020, pursuant to which (i) the maximum amount
of advances available was increased to $ 25,000
from $ 15,000
(subject to eighty-five ( 85 %)
of eligible accounts receivable), (ii) the interest rate on the facility applicable margin was decreased to 6.0 %
per annum from 8.5 %
per annum (the facility bears interest at the LIBOR rate plus the applicable margin), and (iii) the maturity date was extended to
February 28, 2024 from February 6, 2022. The line of credit is for working capital purposes and is secured by a first lien on all the Company’s
cash and accounts receivable and a second lien on all other assets. As of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the balance
outstanding under the FastPay line of credit was $ 7,808
and $ 11,988 ,
respectively.
17
6. Restricted Stock Liabilities
On
December 15, 2020, the Company entered into an amendment for certain restricted stock awards and units that were previously issued to
certain employees in connection with a previous merger (the “HubPages merger”). Pursuant to the amendment, the Company committed
to repurchase 48,389 vested restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2020 at a price of $ 88.00 per share in 24 equal monthly installments
on the second business day of each calendar month beginning January 4, 2021, subject to certain conditions.
The
following table presents the components of the restricted stock liabilities:
Schedule of Components of Restricted Stock Liabilities
As of
June 30, 2022
December 31, 2021
Restricted stock liabilities (before imputed interest)
$ 2,307
$ 3,801
Less imputed interest
( 155 )
( 177 )
Present value of restricted stock liabilities
2,152
3,624
Less principal payments during the period
( 2,152 )
( 1,472 )
Restricted stock liabilities at end of period (reflected in accrued expenses and other)
$ -
$ 2,152
The
Company recorded the repurchase of 26,214 ( 8,064 during the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 18,150 during the six months ended June
30, 2022) and 6,049 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock during the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively,
on the condensed consolidated statements of stockholders’ deficiency. Effective April 4, 2022, there are no longer any shares of
the Company’s common stock subject to repurchase. During the six months ended June 30, 2022, the Company paid $ 2,307 in cash for
the repurchase, including interest of $ 155 .
7. Liquidated Damages Payable
Liquidated
damages were recorded as a result of the following: (i) certain registration rights agreements provide for damages if the Company does
not register certain shares of the Company’s common stock within the requisite time frame (the “Registration Rights Damages”);
and (ii) certain securities purchase agreements provide for damages if the Company does not maintain its periodic filings with the SEC
within the requisite time frame (the “Public Information Failure Damages”).
Obligations
with respect to the liquidated damages payable are summarized as follows:
Summary of Liquidated Damages
As of June 30, 2022
Registration
Rights
Damages
Public
Information
Failure
Damages
Accrued
Interest
Balance
MDB common stock to be issued (1)
$ 15
$ -
$ -
$ 15
Series H convertible preferred stock
618
625
494
1,737
Convertible debentures
-
704
237
941
Series J convertible preferred stock
932
932
412
2,276
Series K convertible preferred stock
95
379
54
528
Total
$ 1,660
$ 2,640
$ 1,197
$ 5,497
18
As of December 31, 2021
Registration
Rights
Damages
Public
Information
Failure
Damages
Accrued
Interest
Balance
MDB common stock to be issued (1)
$ 15
$ -
$ -
$ 15
Series H convertible preferred stock
1,164
1,172
792
3,128
Convertible debentures
-
873
242
1,115
Series I convertible preferred stock
1,386
1,386
613
3,385
Series J convertible preferred stock
1,560
1,560
490
3,610
Series K convertible preferred stock
180
722
50
952
Total
$ 4,305
$ 5,713
$ 2,187
$ 12,205
(1)
Consists of
shares of common stock issuable to MDB Capital Group, LLC (“MDB”).
As
of June 30, 2022, the short-term and long-term liquidated damages payable were $ 5,497 and $ 0 , respectively. The Company will continue
to accrue interest on the liquidated damages balance at 1.0 % per month based on the balance outstanding as of June 30, 2022 until paid.
There is no scheduled date when the unpaid liquidated damages become due.
As
of December 31, 2021, the short-term and long-term liquidated damages payable were $ 5,197 and $ 7,008 , respectively. The long-term portion
was converted into shares of the Company’s common stock on January 24, 2022, as further described below.
On
January 24, 2022, the Company entered into several stock purchase agreements with several investors, where the Company was liable to
for liquidated damages, pursuant to which the Company issued an aggregate of 505,671 shares of its common stock at a price equal to $ 13.86
per share (determined based on the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock at the close of trading on the sixty
(60) previous trading days), to the investors in lieu of an aggregate of $ 7,008 owed in liquidated damages. In connection with the stock
purchase agreements, the Company filed a registration statement covering the resale of the 505,671 shares of the Company’s common
stock. The Company recorded $ 6,685 in connection with the issuance of shares of the Company’s common stock and recognized a gain
of $ 323 on the settlement of the liquidated damages, which was recorded within additional paid-in capital on the condensed consolidated
statement of stockholders’ deficiency.
8. Fair Value Measurements
The
Company estimates the fair value of financial instruments using available market information and valuation methodologies the Company
believes to be appropriate for these purposes. Considerable judgment and a high degree of subjectivity are involved in developing these
estimates and, accordingly, they are not necessarily indicative of amounts the Company would realize upon disposition.
The
fair value hierarchy consists of three broad levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value, which are described below:
Level
1 . Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
Level
2 . Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are either directly or indirectly observable; and
Level
3 . Assets or liabilities for which fair value is based on valuation models with significant unobservable pricing inputs and which
result in the use of management estimates.
The
Company accounted for certain warrants (as described under the heading Common Stock Warrants in Note 10) as derivative liabilities, which
required the Company to carry such amounts on its condensed consolidated balance sheets as a liability at fair value, as adjusted at
each reporting period-end. As of December 31, 2021, the Strome Warrants and B. Riley Warrants (as described in Note 11) were classified
within equity.
19
For
the three months ended June 30, 2021, the change in valuation of warrant derivative liabilities of $ 360 was recognized as other income
on the condensed consolidated statement of operations. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, the change in valuation of warrant derivative
liabilities of $ 305 was recognized as other expense on the condensed consolidated statement of operations.
9. Long-term Debt
Senior
Secured Note
As
of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company’s outstanding obligation under its senior secured note with BRF Finance Co.,
LLC, an affiliated entity of B. Riley Financial, Inc. (“B. Riley”), in its capacity as agent for the purchasers and as purchaser,
is summarized as follows:
●
On March 24, 2020, the
Company entered into a second amended and restated note when the principal balance outstanding under its note issued on June 19,
2019 was $ 51,336 (including accrued interest), due on June 14, 2022 (as further amended). The terms of the note also permitted the
Company to enter into a Delayed Draw Term Note (as described below), in the aggregate principal amount of $ 12,000 ;
●
On October 23, 2020, the
Company entered into a first amendment to second amended and restated note issued on March 24, 2020 (“Amendment 1”),
where the maturity date was changed to December 31, 2022 (as further amended) from June 14, 2022, subject to certain acceleration
conditions and interest payable on the note on September 30, 2020, December 31, 2020, March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021, September 30,
2021, and December 31, 2021 will be payable in-kind in arrears on the last day of such fiscal quarter. Alternatively, at the option
of the holder, such interest amounts originally could have been paid in shares of previously designated Series K convertible preferred
stock (the “Series K Preferred Stock”); however, after December 18, 2020, the date the Series K Preferred Stock converted
into shares of the Company’s common stock, such interest amounts can be converted into shares of the Company’s common
stock based upon the conversion rate specified in the Certificate of Designation for the Series K Preferred Stock, subject to certain
adjustments;
●
On May 19, 2021, the Company
entered into a second amendment to the second amended and restated note issued March 24, 2020 (“Amendment 2”), pursuant
to which: (i) the interest rate on the Senior Secured Note, as defined below, decreased from a rate of 12.0 % per annum to a rate
of 10.0 % per annum; and (ii) the Company agreed that within one (1) business day after receipt of cash proceeds from any issuance
of equity interests, it will prepay the certain obligations in an amount equal to such cash proceeds, net of underwriting discounts
and commissions; provided, that, this mandatory prepayment obligation does not apply to any proceeds that the Company received from
shares of the Company’s common stock issued pursuant to a certain securities purchase agreement during the 90-day period commencing
on May 20, 2021;
●
On December 6, 2021, the
Company entered into a third amendment to the second amended and restated note issued March 24, 2020 (“Amendment 3”),
where the Company was permitted to increase the FastPay line of credit in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $ 25,000 ; and
●
On January 23, 2022, the
Company entered into a fourth amendment to the second amended and restated note issued March 24, 2020 (“Amendment 4”),
where the maturity date on the note was extended to (i) December 31, 2023 from December 31, 2022 upon the consummation of the equity
financing on February 15, 2022 (further details are provided below), or (ii) the date accelerated pursuant to certain terms of Amendment
4.
Collectively,
the second amended and restated note and Amendment 1, Amendment 2, Amendment 3 and Amendment 4 thereto are referred to as the “Senior
Secured Note,” with all borrowings collateralized by substantially all assets of the Company.
20
After
the date of Amendment 4, interest on the note will be payable, at the agent’s sole discretion, either (a) in cash quarterly in
arrears on the last day of each fiscal quarter or (b) by continuing to add such interest due on such payment dates to the principal amount
of the note. Interest on the Senior Secured Note will accrue for each calendar quarter on the outstanding principal amount of the note
at an aggregate rate of 10.0 % per annum, subject to adjustment in the event of default. Further, interest that was payable during fiscal
years 2020 and 2021 and added to the principal amount under the note remains subject to the conversion election under Amendment 1.
Delayed
Draw Term Note
As
of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company’s outstanding obligation under its delayed draw term note with B. Riley is
summarized as follows:
●
On March 24, 2020, the
Company entered into a delayed draw term note (the “Delayed Draw Term Note”) with an interest rate of 15.0 % per annum,
pursuant to the second amended and restated note purchase agreement, in the aggregate principal amount of $ 12,000 . The terms of the
note provided that up to $ 8,000 in principal amount was due on March 31, 2021;
●
On March 24, 2020, the
Company drew down $ 6,914 under the Delayed Draw Term Note, with interest payable in-kind in arrears on the last day of each fiscal
quarter;
●
On October 23, 2020, pursuant
to the terms of Amendment 1, the maturity date of the Delayed Draw Term Note was changed to March 31, 2022 (as further amended) from
March 31, 2021. Amendment 1 also provided that the holder, could originally elect, in lieu of receipt of cash for payment of all
or any portion of the interest due or cash payments up to a certain conversion portion of the Delayed Draw Term Note, to receive
shares of Series K Preferred Stock; however, after December 18, 2020, the date the Series K Preferred Stock converted into shares
of the Company’s common stock, the holder may elect, in lieu of receipt of cash for such amounts, shares of the Company’s
common stock at the price the Company last sold shares of the Company’s common stock;
●
On October 23, 2020, $ 3,367 ,
including principal and accrued interest of the Delayed Draw Term Note, converted into shares of the Company’s Series K Preferred
Stock, which shares were further converted into shares of the Company’s common stock;
●
On May 19, 2021, pursuant
to Amendment 2, the interest rate on the Delayed Draw Term Note decreased to a rate of 10.0 % per annum from a rate of 15.0 % per annum;
●
On December 28, 2021, the
Company drew down $ 5,086 under the Delayed Draw Term Note, and after payment of commitment and funding fees paid of $ 509 , the Company
received net proceeds of $ 4,578 ; and
●
On February
15, 2023, pursuant to Amendment 4, the maturity date on the Delayed Draw Term Note was extended to (i) December 31, 2022 from March
31, 2022 for $ 5,925 of principal due and (ii) December 31, 2023 from March 31, 2022 for $ 4,000 of principal due, subject to certain
acceleration terms.
Amendment
4 also provided that interest will be payable, at the agent’s sole discretion, either (a) in cash quarterly in arrears on the last
day of each fiscal quarter or (b) in kind quarterly in arrears on the last day of each fiscal quarter, and will accrue for each fiscal
quarter on the principal amount outstanding under the note at an aggregate rate of 10.0 % per annum, subject to adjustment in the event
of default.
21
The
following table summarizes the long-term debt:
Schedule of Long Term Debt
As of June 30, 2022
As of December 31, 2021
Principal
Balance
(including
accrued
interest)
Unamortized
Discount and
Debt Issuance
Costs
Carrying
Value
Principal
Balance
(including
accrued
interest)
Unamortized
Discount and
Debt Issuance
Costs
Carrying
Value
Senior Secured Note, as amended, matures December 31, 2023
$ 62,691
$ ( 1,360 )
$ 61,331
$ 62,691
$ ( 1,935 )
$ 60,756
Delayed Draw Term Note, as amended, matures December 31, 2023
9,928
( 207 )
9,721
9,928
( 567 )
9,361
Total
$ 72,619
$ ( 1,567 )
$ 71,052
$ 72,619
$ ( 2,502 )
$ 70,117
Carrying value
Current portion
$ 5,873
$ 5,744
Long-term portion
65,179
64,373
Total
$ 71,052
$ 70,117
As
of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company’s Delayed Draw Term Note, as amended, carrying value of $ 9,721 and $ 9,361 ,
respectively, was as follows: (1) $ 5,873 and $ 5,744 for the first draw (including accrued interest and less unamortized discount and
debt issuance costs of $ 52 and $ 180 ), respectively; and (2) $ 3,848 and $ 3,617 for the second draw (including accrued interest and less
unamortized discount and debt issuance costs of $ 155 and $ 387 ), respectively. As of June 30, 2022, the effective interest of the Senior
Secured Note, Delayed Draw Term Note first draw and second draw was 11.4 %, 11.7 % and 12.5 %, respectively.
The
following table summarizes principal maturities of long-term debt:
Schedule of Principal Maturities of Long-term Debt
Years Ending December 31,
2022
$ 5,924
2023
66,695
Total
$ 72,619
10. Preferred Stock
The
Company has the authority to issue 1,000,000
shares of preferred stock, $ 0.01
par value per share, which as of June 30, 2022 has been designated and issued as follows:
●
1,800 authorized shares
designated as “Series G Convertible Preferred Stock”, of which 168 shares are outstanding.
●
23,000 authorized shares
designated as “Series H Convertible Preferred Stock” (as further described below), of which 14,556 shares are outstanding.
Series
H Preferred Stock
The
Company recorded the issuance of 70,380 shares of the Company’s common stock upon conversion of 510 shares of the Company’s
series H convertible preferred stock (the “Series H Preferred Stock”) during the six months ended June 30, 2022, as reflected
on the condensed consolidated statements of stockholders’ deficiency.
22
Series
L Preferred Stock
On
May 4, 2021, a special committee of the Board declared a dividend of one preferred stock purchase right to be paid to the stockholders
of record at the close of business on May 14, 2021 for (i) each outstanding share of the Company’s common stock and (ii) each share
of the Company’s common stock issuable upon conversion of each share of the Company’s Series H Preferred Stock. Each preferred
stock purchase right entitles the registered holder to purchase, subject to a rights agreement (the “Rights Agreement”),
from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of the Company’s then-newly created Series L Junior Participating Preferred Stock,
par value $ 0.01 per share (the “Series L Preferred Stock”), at a price of $ 4.00 , subject to certain adjustments. The Series
L Preferred Stock was entitled, when, as and if declared, to a preferential per share quarterly dividend payment equal to the greater
of (i) $1.00 per share or (ii) 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 1,000 times the aggregate per share
amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions paid to the holders of the Company’s common stock. The
Series L Preferred Stock was entitled to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Company. In the event
of any merger, consolidation or other transaction in which shares of the Company’s common stock are converted or exchanged, the
Series L Preferred Stock was entitled to receive 1,000 times the amount received per one share of the Company’s common stock.
The
Rights Agreement was set to expire on May 3, 2022; however, on May 2, 2022, the Board elected to extend the expiration date by an amended
and restated rights agreement (the “Extended Rights Agreement”), which was ratified by the Company’s stockholders on
June 2, 2022.
Further
details subsequent to the date of these condensed consolidated financial statements are provided under the heading Series L Preferred
Stock in Note 17.
11. Stockholders’ Equity
Common
Stock
The
Company has the authority to issue 1,000,000,000 shares of common stock, $ 0.01 par value per share.
On
February 15, 2022 and March 11, 2022, the Company raised gross proceeds of $ 34,498 pursuant to a firm commitment underwritten public
offering of 4,181,603 shares of the Company’s common stock (on February 15, 2022 the Company issued 3,636,364 shares and on March
11, 2022 the Company issued 545,239 shares pursuant to the underwriter’s overallotment that was exercised on March 10, 2022), at
a public offering price of $ 8.25 per share. The Company received net proceeds of $ 32,058 , after deducting underwriting discounts and
commissions and other offering costs payable by the Company. In addition, the Company directly incurred offering costs of $ 1,568 and
recorded $ 30,490 upon the issuance of its common stock, as reflected on the condensed consolidated statements of stockholders’
deficiency.
On
April 27, 2022, the Company issued 7,851 shares of the Company’s common stock in connection with a previous merger with Say Media,
Inc. (the “Say Media merger”). These shares were previously classified as common stock to be issued on the condensed consolidated
statements of stockholders’ deficiency.
On
May 20, 2021 and May 25, 2021, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with several accredited investors, pursuant to
which the Company sold an aggregate of 974,351 shares of the Company’s common stock, at a per share price of $ 15.40 for aggregate
gross proceeds of $ 15,005 in a private placement. On June 2, 2021, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with an accredited
investor, pursuant to which the Company sold an aggregate of 324,676 shares of the Company’s common stock, at a per share price
of $ 15.40 for gross proceeds of $ 5,000 in a private placement that was in addition to the closings that occurred on May 20, 2021 and
May 25, 2021. After payment of legal fees and expenses the investors of $ 167 , of which $ 100,000 was paid in cash to B. Riley, the Company
received net proceeds of $ 19,838 . The Company used the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
23
Common
Stock Warrants
The
Company issued warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock to MDB Capital Group, LLC (the “MDB Warrants”),
L2 Capital, LLC (the “L2 Warrants”), Strome Mezzanine Fund LP (the “Strome Warrants”), and B. Riley Financial,
Inc. (the “B. Riley Warrants”) in connection with various financing transactions (collectively, the “Financing Warrants”).
The
Financing Warrants outstanding and exercisable as of June 30, 2022 are summarized as follows:
Schedule of Common Stock Financing Warrants Outstanding and Exercisable
Exercise
Price
Expiration Date
Total
Outstanding and
Exercisable
Shares
Strome Warrants
$ 11.00
June 15, 2023
68,182
B. Riley Warrants
7.26
October 18, 2025
39,773
MDB Warrants
25.30
October 19, 2022
5,435
MDB Warrants
55.00
October 19, 2022
2,728
Total
116,118
The
intrinsic value of exercisable but unexercised in-the-money stock warrants as of June 30, 2022 was $ 69 , based on a fair market value
of the Company’s common stock of $ 9.00 per share on June 30, 2022.
12. Compensation Plans
The
Company provides stock-based compensation in the form of (a) restricted stock awards to certain employees (referred to as the
“Restricted Stock Awards”), (b) stock option grants to employees, directors and consultants under the 2016 Stock
Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”), (c) stock option awards, restricted stock awards and units, unrestricted stock awards,
and stock appreciation rights to employees, directors and consultants under the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2019
Plan”), (d) stock option awards, restricted stock awards and units, unrestricted stock awards, and stock appreciation rights
to employees, directors and consultants under the Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”) (collectively, the 2016 Plan,
2019 Plan and 2022 Plan are referred to as the “Equity Plans”), (e) stock option awards outside of the 2016 Plan, 2019
Plan and 2022 Plan to certain officers, directors and employees (referred to as the “Outside Options”), (f) common stock
warrants to the Company’s publisher partners (referred to as the “Publisher Partner Warrants”), and (g) common
stock warrants to ABG-SI, LLC (referred to as the “ABG Warrants”). Effective with the adoption of the 2022 Plan, the Company will not issue new awards under the 2016 Plan and 2019
Plan.
24
Stock-based
compensation and equity-based expense charged to operations or capitalized during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021
are summarized as follows:
Summary of Stock-based Compensation
Restricted
Stock
Equity
Outside
ABG
Awards
Plans
Options
Warrants
Totals
During the Three Months Ended June 30, 2022
Cost of revenue
$ 404
$ 2,269
$ -
$ -
$ 2,673
Selling and marketing
-
739
-
-
739
General and administrative
-
5,207
-
480
5,687
Total costs charged to operations
404
8,215
-
480
9,099
Capitalized platform development
-
438
-
-
438
Total stock-based compensation
$ 404
$ 8,653
$ -
$ 480
$ 9,537
During the Three Months Ended June 30, 2021
Cost of revenue
$ 25
$ 1,728
$ 1
$ -
$ 1,754
Selling and marketing
-
1,513
74
-
1,587
General and administrative
142
4,237
-
396
4,775
Total costs charged to operations
167
7,478
75
396
8,116
Capitalized platform development
4
544
2
-
550
Total stock-based compensation
$ 171
$ 8,022
$ 77
$ 396
$ 8,666
Restricted
Stock
Equity
Outside
ABG
Awards
Plans
Options
Warrants
Totals
During the Six Months Ended June 30, 2022
Cost of revenue
$ 834
$ 3,996
$ -
$ -
$ 4,830
Selling and marketing
-
1,339
-
-
1,339
General and administrative
-
9,196
105
996
10,297
Total costs charged to operations
834
14,531
105
996
16,466
Capitalized platform development
-
1,125
-
-
1,125
Total stock-based compensation
$ 834
$ 15,656
$ 105
$ 996
$ 17,591
During the Six Months Ended June 30, 2021
Cost of revenue
$ 49
$ 3,146
$ 3
$ -
$ 3,198
Selling and marketing
-
2,489
149
-
2,638
General and administrative
145
6,481
-
753
7,379
Total costs charged to operations
194
12,116
152
753
13,215
Capitalized platform development
9
846
4
-
859
Total stock-based compensation
$ 203
$ 12,962
$ 156
$ 753
$ 14,074
25
Unrecognized
compensation expense and expected weighted-average period to be recognized related to the stock-based compensation awards and equity-based
awards as of June 30, 2022 was as follows:
Schedule of Unrecognized Compensation Expense
Restricted
Stock
Equity
Outside
ABG
Awards
Plans
Options
Warrants
Totals
Unrecognized compensation cost
$ 1,521
$ 43,337
$ -
$ 1,508
$ 46,366
Expected weighted-average period expected to be recognized (in years)
0.93
1.89
-
1.50
1.85
Further
details as of the date these condensed consolidated financial statements were issued are provided under the heading Compensation Plans
in Note 17.
Stock
Option Repricing
On
March 18, 2022, the Company approved a repricing of certain outstanding stock options (the “Stock Option Repricing”) granted
under the Company’s 2016 Plan and the 2019 Plan that had an exercise price above $ 8.82 per share, including certain outstanding
stock options held by senior management of the Company. The Stock Option Repricing also included certain outstanding stock options granted
outside of the 2016 Plan and 2019 Plan. The Stock Options Repricing was approved by the Board and stockholders. As a result of the Stock
Option Repricing, the exercise prices were set to $ 8.82 per share, which was the closing sale price of the Company’s common stock
as listed on the NYSE American exchange on March 18, 2022. Except for the repricing of the stock options under the 2019 Plan, all terms
and conditions of each stock option remains in full force and effect. For the repricing of the stock options under the 2019 Plan, the
Company (i) modified the exercise price; (ii) will allow cashless exercise as a method of paying the exercise price, and (iii) will waive
a lock-up provision in the stock option agreements. All other term and conditions of each of the stock options under the 2019 Plan remains
in full force and effect.
The
Stock Option Repricing of 4,343,017
stock option grants (for 340 employees) that were issued to employees of the Company, including senior management, resulted in
incremental cost of $ 6,061 ,
of which $ 143
was recognized at the time of the Stock Option Repricing for the fully vested awards and included in the condensed consolidated
statement of operations, and $ 5,918
will be recognized over the remaining vesting term of the original award at the repricing date.
26
13. Revenue Recognition
Disaggregation
of Revenue
The
following table provides information about disaggregated revenue by product line, geographical market and timing of revenue recognition:
Schedule of Disaggregation of Revenue
2022
2021
2022
2021
Three Months Ended
June 30,
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2022
2021
2022
2021
Revenue by category:
Digital revenue
Digital advertising
$ 24,693
$ 11,532
$ 46,339
$ 21,072
Digital subscriptions
5,490
7,690
11,951
14,775
Other revenue
4,880
867
8,345
1,613
Total digital revenue
35,063
20,089
66,635
37,460
Print revenue
Print advertising
13,788
2,015
15,156
3,548
Print subscriptions
16,224
12,642
31,527
27,353
Total print revenue
30,012
14,657
46,683
30,901
Total
$ 65,075
$ 34,746
$ 113,318
$ 68,361
Revenue by geographical market:
United States
$ 63,172
$ 33,360
$ 110,493
$ 65,888
Other
1,903
1,386
2,825
2,473
Total
$ 65,075
$ 34,746
$ 113,318
$ 68,361
Revenue by timing of recognition:
At point in time
$ 59,585
$ 27,056
$ 101,367
$ 53,586
Over time
5,490
7,690
11,951
14,775
Total
$ 65,075
$ 34,746
$ 113,318
$ 68,361
Contract
Balances
The
timing of the Company’s performance under its various contracts often differs from the timing of the customer’s payment,
which results in the recognition of a contract asset or a contract liability. A contract asset is recognized when a good or service is
transferred to a customer and the Company does not have the contractual right to bill for the related performance obligations. A contract
liability is recognized when consideration is received from the customer prior to the transfer of goods or services.
The
following table provides information about contract balances:
Schedule of Contract with Customer, Asset and Liability
June 30, 2022
December 31, 2021
As of
June 30, 2022
December 31, 2021
Unearned revenue (short-term contract liabilities):
Digital subscriptions
$ 22,469
$ 14,693
Print revenue
38,438
39,337
Total unearned revenue (short-term contract liabilities)
$ 60,907
$ 54,030
Unearned revenue (long-term contract liabilities):
Digital subscriptions
$ 1,058
$ 1,446
Print revenue
11,533
13,831
Total unearned revenue (long-term contract liabilities)
$ 12,591
$ 15,277
Unearned
Revenue – Unearned revenue, also referred to as contract liabilities, include payments received in advance of performance under
the contracts and are recognized as revenue over time. The Company records contract liabilities as unearned revenue on the condensed
consolidated balance sheets.
27
14. Income Taxes
The
provision for income taxes in interim periods is determined using an estimate of the Company’s annual effective tax rate, adjusted
for discrete items, if any, that arise during the period. Each quarter, the Company updates its estimate of its annual effective tax
rate, and if the estimated annual effective tax rate changes, the Company makes a cumulative adjustment in such period. The quarterly
provision for income taxes, and estimate of the Company’s annual effective tax rate, are subject to variation due to several factors,
including variability in pre-tax income (or loss), the mix of jurisdictions to which such income relates, changes in how the Company
conducts business, and tax law developments.
The
effective tax rate benefit for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 was 4.3 %
and 0.0 %,
respectively. The deferred income tax benefit for the six months ended June 30, 2022 was primarily due to discrete items.
The
realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon a variety of factors, including the generation of future taxable income, the reversal
of deferred tax liabilities, and tax planning strategies. Based upon the Company’s historical operating losses and the uncertainty
of future taxable income, the Company has provided a valuation allowance against most of the deferred tax assets as of June 30, 2022
and 2021.
15. Related Party
For
the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company had several transactions with B. Riley, a principal stockholder, where it
paid fees associated with the common stock public offering totaling approximately $ 2,440
and $ 0 , respectively.
For the three months ended June
30, 2022 and 2021, the Company paid in cash or accrued interest that was added to the principal on the Senior Secured Note and Delayed
Draw Term Note due to B. Riley, a principal stockholder, of $ 1,836 (paid in cash) and $ 1,763 (accrued interest that was added to the principal),
respectively. For
the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company paid in cash or accrued interest that was added to the principal on the Senior
Secured Note and Delayed Draw Term Note due to B. Riley, a principal stockholder, of $ 3,651 (paid in cash) and $ 3,618 (accrued interest
that was added to the principal), respectively.
Consulting
and Service Contracts
For
the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company paid James C. Heckman, its former Chief Executive Officer, consulting fees of
$ 99 and $ 52 , respectively, in connection with a consulting agreement, as amended from time to time. For the six months ended June
30, 2022 and 2021, the Company paid James C. Heckman, its former Chief Executive Officer, consulting fees of $ 264 and $ 104 , respectively,
in connection with a consulting agreement, as amended from time to time. For the three and six months ended June 30,
2022, the Company paid an entity affiliated with Mr. Heckman, Roundtable Media, L.L.C., a net revenue share amount of $ 52 and $ 82 , respectively, in connection
with a partner agreement.
28
Repurchases
of Restricted Stock
On
December 15, 2020, the Company entered into an amendment for certain restricted stock awards and units that were previously issued to
certain employees in connection with the HubPages merger (as further described in Note 6), pursuant to which the Company agreed to repurchase
from certain key personnel of HubPages, including Paul Edmondson, one of the Company’s officers, and his spouse, an aggregate of
16,802
shares of the Company’s common stock at
a price of $ 88.00
per share each month for a period of 24 months,
for aggregate proceeds to Mr. Edmondson and his spouse of $ 67,000
per month. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, the Company repurchased 9,927 shares of the Company’s common stock for $ 874 .
16. Commitments and Contingencies
Contingent
Liability
In
connection with the Company’s underwritten public offering in February 2022, the Company may have a contingent liability arising
out of possible violations of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) in connection with an investor
presentation, which the Company publicly filed. Specifically, the furnishing of the investor presentation publicly may have constituted
an “offer to sell” as described in Section 5(b)(1) of the Securities Act and the investor presentation may be deemed to be
a prospectus that did not meet the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act, resulting in a potential violation of Section 5(b)(1)
of the Securities Act. Any liability would depend upon the number of shares purchased by investors who reviewed and relied upon the investor
presentation. If a claim were brought by any such investor and a court were to conclude that the public disclosure of such investor presentation
constituted a violation of the Securities Act, the Company could be required to repurchase the shares sold to the investors at the original
purchase price, plus statutory interest. The Company could also incur considerable expense in contesting any such claims. As of the issuance
date of these consolidated financial statements, no legal proceedings or claims have been made or threatened by any investors. The likelihood
and magnitude of this contingent liability, if any, is not determinable at this time.
Claims
and Litigation
From
time to time, the Company may be subject to claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company is not currently
a party to any pending or threatened legal proceedings that it believes would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect
on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
17. Subsequent Events
The
Company performed an evaluation of subsequent events through the date of filing of these condensed consolidated financial statements
with the SEC. Other than the below described subsequent events, there were no material subsequent events which affected, or could affect,
the amounts or disclosures on the condensed consolidated financial statements .
Series
L Preferred Stock
As
of July 18, 2022, the Company eliminated the Series L Preferred Stock.
As
disclosed in Note 10, the Company entered into an Extended Rights Agreement, which extended the term of the Rights Agreement originally
adopted on May 4, 2021. Even though the stockholders ratified the Extended Rights Agreement, the Board determined that the Rights Agreement
was no longer necessary or in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders. The Board thus determined to terminate the Rights
Agreement by accelerating its expiration date from May 3, 2024 to July 15, 2022 pursuant to an amendment to the Extended Rights Agreement.
The amendment effectively terminated all preferred share purchase rights under the Rights Agreement such that they are no longer issued
or outstanding.
Compensation
Plans
From
July 1, 2022 through the date these condensed consolidated financial statements were issued, the Company granted common stock options
and restricted stock units totaling 125,701 ( 120,000 are subject to Board consent) all which remain outstanding.
29
ITEM
2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The
following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30,
2022 and 2021 should be read together with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere
in this Quarterly Report and in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December
31, 2021 included in the Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 1, 2022. The following discussion contains “forward-looking statements”
that reflect our future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. Our actual results may differ materially from those currently
anticipated and expressed in such forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those set forth above. We
caution that assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events may, and often do, vary from actual results
and the differences can be material. Please see the section above under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements.”
All
dollar figures are presented in thousands unless otherwise stated.
Overview
We
are a tech-powered media company that focuses on building deep content verticals powered by a best-in-class digital media platform (the
“Platform”) empowering premium publishers who impact, inform, educate, and entertain. Our strategy is to focus on key verticals
where audiences are passionate about a topic category (e.g., sports and finance), and where we can leverage the strength of our core
brands to grow our audience and increase monetization both within our core brands as well as our media publishers (each, a “Publisher
Partner”). Our focus is on leveraging our Platform and iconic brands in targeted verticals to maximize audience reach, improve
engagement, and optimize monetization of digital publishing assets for the benefit of our users, our advertiser clients, and our 40 owned
and operated properties as well as properties we run on behalf of independent Publisher Partners. We operate the media businesses for
Sports Illustrated (“Sports Illustrated”), own and operate TheStreet, Inc. (“TheStreet”), College Spun Media
Incorporated (“The Spun”), and Athlon Holdings, Inc. (“Athlon”), and power more than 200 independent Publisher
Partners, including Biography, History, and the many sports team sites that comprise FanNation, among others. Each Publisher Partner
joins the Platform by invitation-only and is drawn from premium media brands and independent publishing businesses with the objective
of augmenting our position in key verticals and optimizing the performance of the Publisher Partner. Publisher Partners incur the costs
in content creation on their respective channels and receive a share of the revenue associated with their content. Because of the state-of-the-art
technology and large scale of the Platform and our expertise in search engine optimization (SEO), social media, subscription marketing
and ad monetization, Publisher Partners continually benefit from our ongoing technological advances and bespoke audience development
expertise. Additionally, we believe the lead brand within each vertical creates a halo benefit for all Publisher Partners in the vertical
while each of them adds to the breadth and quality of content. While they benefit from these critical performance improvements they also
may save substantially in costs of technology, infrastructure, advertising sales, and member marketing and management.
Our
growth strategy is to continue to expand by adding new premium publishers with high quality brands and content either as independent
Publisher Partners or by acquiring publishers as owned and operated entities.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Cash
and Working Capital Facility
As
of June 30, 2022, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of cash of $14,839. In addition, as of June 30, 2022, available for additional
use was $17,192, subject to eligible accounts receivable, we had the use of additional proceeds from our working capital facility with
FPP Finance LLC (“FastPay”). As of June 30, 2022, the outstanding balance of the FastPay working capital facility was $7,808.
We also had accounts receivable, net of our advances from FastPay of $26,642 as of June 30, 2022. Our cash balance as of the issuance
date of our accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements is $16,224.
30
Material
Contractual Obligations
We
have material contractual obligations that arise in the normal course of business primarily consisting of employment contracts, consulting
agreements, leases, liquidated damages, debt and related interest payments. Purchase obligations consist of contracts primarily related
to merchandise, equipment, and third-party services, the majority of which are due in the next 12 months. See Notes 4, 7 and 9 in our
accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements for amounts outstanding as of June 30, 2022, related to leases, liquidated damages
and long-term debt, respectively. There have been no material changes from the disclosures in our Form 10-K.
Contingent
Liability
We
may have a contingent liability arising out of possible violations of the Securities Act in connection with an investor presentation,
which we furnished as Exhibit 99.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K and Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed on January 31, 2022 and February
1, 2022, respectively. Specifically, the furnishing of the investor presentation publicly may have constituted an “offer to sell”
as described in Section 5(b)(1) of the Securities Act and the investor presentation may be deemed to be a prospectus that does not meet
the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act, resulting in a potential violation of Section 5(b)(1) of the Securities Act. Any
liability would depend upon the number of shares purchased by investors who reviewed and relied upon such investor presentation that
may have constituted a potential violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act. If a claim were brought by any such ‘recipients’
of such investor presentation and a court were to conclude that the public disclosure of such investor presentation constituted a violation
of Section 5 of the Securities Act, we could be required to repurchase the shares sold to the investors who reviewed such investor presentation
at the original purchase price, plus statutory interest. We could also incur considerable expense in contesting any such claims. As of
the date of the filing of this Quarterly Report, no legal proceedings or claims have been made or threatened by any investors in our
offering. Such payments and expenses, if required, could significantly reduce the amount of working capital we have available for our
operations and business plan, delay or prevent us from completing our plan of operations, or force us to raise additional funding, which
funding may not be available on favorable terms, if at all.
Working
Capital
We
have financed our working capital requirements since inception through issuances of equity securities and various debt financings. Our
working capital deficit as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 was as follows:
As of
June 30, 2022
December 31, 2021
Current assets
$ 87,007
$ 77,671
Current liabilities
(121,191 )
(116,413 )
Working capital deficit
(34,184 )
(38,742 )
As
of June 30, 2022, we had a working capital deficit of $34,184, as compared to $38,742 as of December 31, 2021, consisting of $87,007
in total current assets and $121,191 in total current liabilities. As of December 31, 2021, our working capital deficit consisted of
$77,671 in total current assets and $116,413 in total current liabilities.
Our
cash flows during the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 consisted of the following:
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2022
2021
Net cash used in operating activities
$ (7,465 )
$ (9,933 )
Net cash used in investing activities
(10,194 )
(9,210 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
23,149
16,832
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
$ 5,490
$ (2,311 )
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period
$ 15,341
$ 7,224
31
For
the six months ended June 30, 2022, net cash used in operating activities was $7,465, consisting primarily of $119,144 of cash paid to
employees, Publisher Partners, expert contributors, suppliers, and vendors, and for revenue share arrangements, advance of royalty fees
and professional services; and $4,323 of cash paid for interest, offset by $116,002 of cash received from customers. For the six months
ended June 30, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was $9,933, consisting primarily of $84,267 of cash paid to employees, Publisher
Partners, expert contributors, suppliers, and vendors, and for revenue share arrangements, advance of royalty fees and professional services;
and $289 of cash paid for interest, offset by $74,623 of cash received from customers.
For
the six months ended June 30, 2022, net cash used in investing activities was $10,194, consisting primarily of $9,481 for the acquisition
of a business; $2,784 for capitalized costs for our Platform; and $379 for property and equipment, offset by $2,450 from the sale of
an equity investment. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, net cash used in investing activities was $9,210 consisting primarily of
$7,057 for the acquisition of businesses; $1,971 for capitalized costs for our Platform; and $182 for property and equipment.
For
the six months ended June 30, 2022, net cash provided by financing activities was $23,149, consisting primarily of $30,490 (net of
issuance costs paid of $1,568) in net proceeds from the public offering of common stock; less $4,180 from repayments of our FastPay
line of credit; $2,152 related to payments of restricted stock liabilities; offset by a $453 payment for The Spun deferred cash
payment and $556 for tax payments relating to the withholding of shares of common stock for certain employees. For the six months
ended June 30, 2021, net cash provided by financing activities was $16,832 consisting primarily of $19,838 (net of issuance cost
paid of $167) in net proceeds from the private placement of common stock; offset by $2,249 from repayments of our FastPay line of
credit, $716 related to payments of restricted stock liabilities and $41 for tax payments relating to the withholding of shares of
common stock for certain employees.
Results
of Operations
Three
Months Ended June 30, 2022 and 2021
Three Months Ended June 30,
2022 versus 2021
2022
2021
$ Change
% Change
Revenue
$ 65,075
$ 34,746
$ 30,329
87.3 %
Cost of revenue
46,729
25,307
21,422
84.6 %
Gross profit
18,346
9,439
8,907
94.4 %
Operating expenses
Selling and marketing
19,307
16,202
3,105
19.2 %
General and administrative
15,964
12,535
3,429
27.4 %
Depreciation and amortization
4,444
3,964
480
12.1 %
Total operating expenses
39,715
32,701
7,014
21.4 %
Loss from operations
(21,369 )
(23,262 )
1,893
-8.1 %
Total other (expense) income
(2,634 )
2,605
(5,239 )
-201.1 %
Loss before income taxes
(24,003 )
(20,657 )
(3,346 )
16.2 %
Income taxes
1,796
-
1,796
100.0 %
Net loss
$ (22,207 )
$ (20,657 )
$ (1,550 )
7.5 %
Basic and diluted net loss per common share
$ (1.22 )
$ (1.88 )
$ 0.66
-35.1 %
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted
18,258,890
11,012,866
7,246,024
65.8 %
32
Net
Loss
For
the three months ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, net loss was $22,207, as compared to $20,657 for the three months
ended June 30, 2021, which represents an increase of $1,550. The primary driver for the increase in net loss, despite an increase of
$30,329 in revenue, was an increase in operating expenses of $7,014 during the three months ended June 30, 2022.
Revenue
The
following table sets forth revenue by product line and the corresponding percent of total revenue:
Three
Months Ended June 30,
2022
versus 2021
2022
2021
$
Change
%
Change
Digital revenue
Digital advertising
$
24,693
$
11,532
$
13,161
114.1
%
Digital subscriptions
5,490
7,690
(2,200)
-28.6
%
Other revenue
4,880
867
4,013
462.9
%
Total digital revenue
35,063
20,089
14,974
74.5
%
Print revenue
Print advertising
13,788
2,015
11,773
584.3
%
Print subscriptions
16,224
12,642
3,582
28.3
%
Total print revenue
30,012
14,657
15,355
104.8
%
Total revenue
$
65,075
$
34,746
$
30,329
87.3
%
For the three months ended June 30, 2022, as referenced
in the above table, total revenue increased $30,329 or 87.3% from $34,746 to $65,075. Total digital revenue increased $14,974 and 74.5%
primarily due to an increase in digital advertising revenue of $13,161 and 114.1%. The increase in digital advertising revenue was mainly
due to additional revenue of $4,493 generated as a result of The Spun, which was acquired during the second quarter of 2021; $2,545 generated
as a result of Athlon, which was acquired during the second quarter of 2022; $1,550 generated as a result of The Street; $872 generated
as a result of the Sports Illustrated media business; and $1,844 in revenue generated from our legacy business. Other revenue increased
by $4,013 primarily related to licensing revenue primarily from Sports Illustrated Swim magazine (“SI Swim”) and the Sports
Illustrated media business. Total print revenue increased $15,355 a 104.8% increase from $14,657 to $30,012 primarily related to $14,968
from Athlon magazine circulations, which we acquired during the second quarter of 2022; and $387 from the Sports Illustrated media business.
Cost
of Revenue
The
following table sets forth cost of revenue by category:
Three
Months Ended June 30,
2022
versus 2021
2022
2021
$
Change
%
Change
Publisher
Partner revenue share payments
$ 4,729
$ 5,596
$ (867 )
-15.5 %
Technology,
Platform and software licensing fees
4,536
2,404
2,132
88.7 %
Royalty
fees
3,750
3,750
-
0.0 %
Content
and editorial expenses
15,855
7,154
8,701
121.6 %
Printing,
distribution and fulfillment costs
12,687
2,391
10,296
430.6 %
Amortization
of developed technology and platform development
2,375
2,157
218
10.1 %
Stock-based
compensation
2,673
1,754
919
52.4 %
Other
cost of revenue
124
101
23
22.8 %
Total
cost of revenue
$ 46,729
$ 25,307
$ 21,422
84.6 %
33
For
the three months ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, we recognized cost of revenue of $46,729, as compared to $25,307
for the three months ended June 30, 2021, which represents an increase of $21,422 or 84.6%. Cost of revenue for the second quarter of
2022, was impacted by increases in printing, distribution, and fulfillment costs of $10,296, primarily due to the Athlon
acquisition, which was acquired in the second quarter of 2022 and the SI Swim magazine that was issued in June 2022 versus July 2021
of the prior year; content and editorial expenses of $8,701, partially generated as a result of the Athlon acquisition and SI Swim; technology,
Platform and software licensing fees of $2,132; stock-based compensation of $919; amortization of developed technology and platform development
of $218; partially offset by a decrease in Publisher Partner revenue share payments of $867.
The
improvement in gross profit percentage was driven by our strategic shift to eliminate most Publisher Partner guarantees near the end
of fiscal 2020 as well as growth in our owned and operated digital properties. As a result, our Publisher Partner revenue share payments
represent 19.2% of digital advertising revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to 48.5% for the six months ended
June 30, 2021. In addition, we continue to experience high contributions from our digital advertising.
Operating
Expenses
Selling
and Marketing
The
following table sets forth selling and marketing by category:
Three
Months Ended June 30,
2022
versus 2021
2022
2021
$
Change
%
Change
Payroll
and employee benefits of selling and marketing account management support teams
$ 4,970
$ 2,748
$ 2,222
80.9 %
Stock-based
compensation
739
1,587
(848 )
-53.4 %
Professional
marketing services
1,223
642
581
90.5 %
Circulation
costs
1,022
828
194
23.4 %
Subscription
acquisition costs
8,962
7,764
1,198
15.4 %
Advertising
costs
1,807
1,795
12
0.7 %
Other
selling and marketing expenses
584
838
(254 )
-30.3 %
Total
selling and marketing
$ 19,307
$ 16,202
$ 3,105
19.2 %
For the three months
ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, we incurred selling and marketing costs of $19,307 as compared to $16,202 for the
three months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $3,105 or 19.2% .
The increase in selling and marketing costs of $3,105 is primarily due to payroll and employee benefits of selling and marketing account
management support teams of $2,222; subscription acquisition costs of $1,198; and professional and marketing service costs of $581; partially
offset by a decrease in stock-based compensation of $848.
34
General
and Administrative
The
following table sets forth general and administrative by category:
Three
Months Ended June 30,
2022
versus 2021
2022
2021
$
Change
%
Change
Payroll
and related expenses for executive and administrative personnel
$ 4,954
$ 3,721
$ 1,233
33.1 %
Stock-based
compensation
5,687
4,775
912
19.1 %
Professional
services, including accounting, legal and insurance
3,239
2,849
390
13.7 %
Other
general and administrative expenses
2,084
1,190
894
75.1 %
Total
general and administrative
$ 15,964
$ 12,535
$ 3,429
27.4 %
For the three months
ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, we incurred general and administrative costs of $15,964 as compared to $12,535,
an increase of $3,429 or 27.4%. The increase is primarily related to payroll and related expenses of $1,233; stock-based compensation
of $912; professional services of $390; and other general and administrative expenses of $894.
Other
(Expenses) Income
The
following table sets forth other (expense) income:
Three Months Ended
June 30,
2022 versus 2021
2022
2021
$ Change
% Change
Change in valuation of warrant derivative liabilities
$ -
$ 360
$ 360
-100.0 %
Interest expense
(2,506 )
(2,363 )
(143 )
6.1 %
Liquidated damages
(128 )
(1,109 )
981
-88.5 %
Gain upon debt extinguishment
-
5,717
(5,717 )
-100.0 %
Total other (expenses) income
$ (2,634 )
$ 2,605
$ (5,239 )
-201.1 %
Change
in Valuation of Warrant Derivative Liabilities . The change of $360 in the valuation of warrant derivative liabilities for the three
months ended June 30, 2021 was the result no longer having any warrant derivative liabilities as of June 30, 2022.
Interest
Expense . We incurred interest expense of $2,506 for the three months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to $2,363 for the three months
ended June 30, 2021. The increase in interest expense of $143 is primarily from $1,873 increase in cash interest paid; less a decrease
of $1,697 from accrued interest.
Liquidated
Damages . We recorded liquidated damages of $128 for the three months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to $1,109 for the three months
ended June 30, 2021. The decrease of $981 is primarily from no further liquidated damages assessed under the corresponding agreements and only recording interest
expense related to the previous liquidated damages assessed.
Gain
Upon Debt Extinguishment . We recorded a gain upon debt extinguishment of $5,717 (including accrued interest) pursuant to the forgiveness
of the Paycheck Protection Program Loan for the six months ended June 30, 2021.
35
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2022 and 2021
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2022 versus 2021
2022
2021
$ Change
% Change
Revenue
$ 113,318
$ 68,361
$ 44,957
65.8 %
Cost of revenue
75,226
51,049
24,177
47.4 %
Gross profit
38,092
17,312
20,780
120.0 %
Operating expenses
Selling and marketing
36,523
31,340
5,183
16.5 %
General and administrative
29,478
23,030
6,448
28.0 %
Depreciation and amortization
8,646
7,927
719
9.1 %
Loss on impairment of assets
257
-
257
100.0 %
Total operating expenses
74,904
62,297
12,607
20.2 %
Loss from operations
(36,812 )
(44,985 )
8,173
-18.2 %
Total other (expense)
(5,626 )
(1,135 )
(4,491 )
395.7 %
Loss before income taxes
(42,438 )
(46,120 )
3,682
-8.0 %
Income taxes
1,782
-
1,782
100.0 %
Net loss
$ (40,656 )
$ (46,120 )
$ 5,464
-11.8 %
Basic and diluted net loss per common share
$ (2.41 )
$ (4.30 )
$ 1.89
-44.0 %
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted
16,847,920
10,737,555
6,110,365
56.9 %
Net
loss
For
the six months ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, net loss was $40,656, as compared to $46,120 for the six
months ended June 30, 2021, which represents an improvement of $5,464. The primary driver for the improvement in net loss is due to
an $44,957 increase in revenue, which was partially offset by an increase in operating expenses of $12,607 during the six months
ended June 30, 2022.
Revenue
The
following table sets forth revenue by product line and the corresponding percent of total revenue:
Six
Months Ended June 30,
2022
versus 2021
2022
2021
$
Change
%
Change
Digital
revenue
Digital
advertising
$ 46,339
$ 21,072
$ 25,267
119.9 %
Digital
subscriptions
11,951
14,775
(2,824 )
-19.1 %
Other
revenue
8,345
1,613
6,732
417.4 %
Total
digital revenue
66,635
37,460
29,175
77.9 %
Print
revenue
Print
advertising
15,156
3,548
11,608
327.2 %
Print
subscriptions
31,527
27,353
4,174
15.3 %
Total
print revenue
46,683
30,901
15,782
51.1 %
Total
revenue
$ 113,318
$ 68,361
$ 44,957
65.8 %
36
For the six months ended June 30, 2022, as referenced
in the above table, total revenue increased $44,957 or 65.8% from $68,361 to $113,318. Total digital revenue increased $29,175 and 77.9%
primarily due to an increase in digital advertising revenue of $25,267 and 119.9%. The increase in digital advertising revenue was mainly
due to additional revenue of $10,511 generated as a result of The Spun, which was acquired during the second quarter of 2021; $2,545 generated
as a result of Athlon, which was acquired during the second quarter of 2022; $2,541 generated as a result of the Sports Illustrated media
business; $2,387 generated as a result of The Street; and $3,203 in revenue generated from our legacy business. Other revenue increased
by $6,732 primarily related to licensing revenue primarily from SI Swim and the Sports Illustrated media business. Total print revenue
increased $15,782 a 51.1% increase from $30,901 to $46,683 primarily related to $14,968 from Athlon magazine circulations, which was acquired
during the second quarter of 2022; and $814 from the Sports Illustrated media business.
Cost
of Revenue
The
following table sets forth cost of revenue by category:
Six
Months Ended June 30,
2022
versus 2021
2022
2021
$
Change
%
Change
Publisher
Partner revenue share payments
$ 9,771
$ 10,846
$ (1,075 )
-9.9 %
Technology,
Platform and software licensing fees
7,710
5,216
2,494
47.8 %
Royalty
fees
7,500
7,500
-
0.0 %
Content
and editorial expenses
25,047
13,921
11,126
79.9 %
Printing,
distribution and fulfillment costs
15,544
5,931
9,613
162.1 %
Amortization
of developed technology and platform development
4,686
4,324
362
8.4 %
Stock-based
compensation
4,830
3,198
1,632
51.0 %
Other
cost of revenue
138
113
25
22.1 %
Total
cost of revenue
$ 75,226
$ 51,049
$ 24,177
47.4 %
For
the six months ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, we recognized cost of revenue of $75,226, as compared to $51,049
for the six months ended June 30, 2021, which represents an increase of $24,177 or 47.4%. Cost of revenue for the six months ended June
30, 2022 was impacted by increases in content and editorial expenses of $11,126, primarily due to the Athlon acquisition,
which was acquired in the second quarter of 2022 and the SI Swim magazine that was issued in June 2022 versus July 2021 of the prior
year; printing, distribution and fulfillment costs of $9,613, partially generated as a result of the Athlon acquisition and SI Swim;
technology, Platform and software licensing fees of $2,494; stock-based compensation of $1,632; and amortization of developed technology
and platform development of $362; partially offset by a decrease in Publisher Partner revenue share payments of $1,075.
The
improvement in gross profit percentage was driven by our strategic shift to eliminate most Publisher Partner guarantees near the end
of fiscal 2020 as well as growth in our owned and operated digital properties. As a result, our Publisher Partner revenue share payments
represent 21.1% of digital advertising revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to 51.5% for the six months ended
June 30, 2021. In addition, we continue to experience high contributions from our digital advertising.
37
Operating
Expenses
Selling
and Marketing
The
following table sets forth selling and marketing by category:
Six
Months Ended June 30,
2022
versus 2021
2022
2021
$
Change
%
Change
Payroll
and employee benefits of selling and marketing account management support teams
$ 8,251
$ 5,514
$ 2,737
49.6 %
Stock-based
compensation
1,339
2,638
(1,299 )
-49.2 %
Professional
marketing services
1,840
1,013
827
81.6 %
Circulation
costs
1,805
1,775
30
1.7 %
Subscription
acquisition costs
18,685
15,526
3,159
20.3 %
Advertising
costs
3,117
3,159
(42 )
-1.3 %
Other
selling and marketing expenses
1,486
1,715
(229 )
-13.4 %
Total
selling and marketing
$ 36,523
$ 31,340
$ 5,183
16.5 %
For the six
months ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, we incurred selling and marketing costs of $36,523, as compared to $31,340
for the six months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $5,183 or 16.5%. The increase in selling and marketing costs of $5,183 is primarily
related to subscription acquisition costs of $3,159; payroll of selling and marketing account management support teams of $2,737; and
professional and marketing services of $827; partially offset by a decrease in stock-based compensation of $1,299.
General
and Administrative
The
following table sets forth general and administrative by category:
Six Months Ended June 30,
2022 versus 2021
2022
2021
$ Change
% Change
Payroll and related expenses for executive, sales and administrative personnel
$ 8,928
$ 7,432
$ 1,496
20.1 %
Stock-based compensation
10,297
7,379
2,918
39.5 %
Professional services, including accounting, legal and insurance
6,877
6,035
842
14.0 %
Other general and administrative expenses
3,376
2,184
1,192
54.6 %
Total general and administrative
$ 29,478
$ 23,030
$ 6,448
28.0 %
For the six months
ended June 30, 2022, as referenced in the above table, we incurred general and administrative costs of $29,478, as compared to $23,030
for the six months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $6,448 or 28.0%. The increase is primarily related to stock-based compensation
of $2,918; payroll and related expenses for executive and administrative personnel of $1,496; professional services, including accounting,
legal and insurance of $842; and other general and administrative expenses of $1,192.
38
Other
(Expenses) Income
The
following table sets forth other (expense) income:
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2022 versus 2021
2022
2021
$ Change
% Change
Change in valuation of warrant derivative liabilities
$ -
$ (305 )
$ 305
-100.0 %
Interest expense
(5,326 )
(5,183 )
(143 )
2.8 %
Liquidated damages
(300 )
(1,364 )
1,064
-78.00 %
Gain upon debt extinguishment
-
5,717
(5,717 )
-100.0 %
Total other expenses
$ (5,626 )
$ (1,135 )
$ (4,491 )
395.7 %
Change
in Valuation of Warrant Derivative Liabilities . The change of $305 in the valuation of warrant derivative liabilities for the six
months ended June 30, 2021 was the result no longer having any warrant derivative liabilities as of June 30, 2022.
Interest
Expense . We incurred interest expense of $5,326 for the six months ended June
30, 2022, as compared to $5,183 for the six months ended June 30, 2021. The increase in interest expense of $143 is primarily from $3,773
increase in cash interest paid; less a decrease of $3,563 from accrued interest.
Liquidated
Damages . We recorded liquidated damages of $300 for the six months ended June
30, 2022, as compared to $1,364 for the six months ended June 30, 2021. The decrease of $1,064 is primarily from no further liquidated
damages assessed under the corresponding agreements and only recording interest expense related to the previous liquidated damages assessed.
Gain
Upon Debt Extinguishment . We recorded a gain upon debt extinguishment of $5,717 (including accrued interest) pursuant to the forgiveness
of the Paycheck Protection Program Loan for the six months ended June 30, 2021.
Use
of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We report our financial results in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”); however, management believes that certain non-GAAP financial
measures provide users of our financial information with useful supplemental information that enables a better comparison of our performance
across periods. We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides visibility to the underlying continuing operating performance by excluding the impact
of certain items that are noncash in nature or not related to our core business operations. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net loss,
adjusted for (i) interest expense, (ii) income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) stock-based compensation, (v) change in
derivative valuations, (vi) liquidated damages, (vii) gain upon extinguishment of debt, (viii) loss on impairment of assets, (ix) professional
and vendor fees, and (x) employee restructuring payments.
Our
non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure used by other companies, has limitations as an analytical
tool, and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under GAAP. Additionally,
we do not consider our non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA as superior to, or a substitute for, the equivalent measures calculated and presented
in accordance with GAAP. Some of the limitations is that Adjusted EBITDA:
●
does not reflect interest
expense, or the cash required to service our debt, which reduces cash available to us;
●
does not reflect deferred
income taxes, which is a noncash expense;
●
does not reflect depreciation
and amortization expense and, although this is a noncash expense, the assets being depreciated may have to be replaced in the future,
increasing our cash requirements;
●
does not reflect stock-based
compensation and, therefore, does not include all of our compensation costs;
●
does not reflect the change
in derivative valuations and, although this is a noncash expense, the change in the valuations each reporting period are not impacted
by our actual business operations but is instead strongly tied to the change in the market value of our common stock;
●
does not reflect liquidated
damages and, therefore, does not include future cash requirements if we repay the liquidated damages in cash instead of shares of
our common stock (which the investor would need to agree to);
39
●
does not reflect any gains
upon debt extinguishment, which we do not consider in our evaluation of our business operations
●
does not reflect any losses
from the impairment of assets, which is a noncash operating expense;
●
does not reflect the professional
and vendor fees incurred by us for services provided by consultants, accountants, lawyers, and other vendors, which services were
related to certain types of events that are not reflective of our business operations; and
●
does
not reflect payments related to employee restructuring charges for the former Chief Financial Officer of Athlon and our former Chief
Executive Officer.
The
following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, which is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for the
periods indicated:
Three Months Ended
June 30,
Six Months Ended
June 30,
2022
2021
2022
2021
Net loss
$ (22,207 )
$ (20,657 )
$ (40,656 )
$ (46,120 )
Add:
Interest expense (1)
2,506
2,363
5,326
5,183
Deferred income taxes
(1,796 )
-
(1,782 )
-
Depreciation and amortization (2)
6,819
6,121
13,332
12,251
Stock-based compensation (3)
9,099
8,116
16,466
13,215
Change in derivative valuations
-
(360 )
-
305
Liquidated damages (4)
128
1,109
300
1,364
Gain upon debt extinguishment (5)
-
(5,717 )
-
(5,717 )
Loss on impairment of assets (6)
-
-
257
-
Professional and vendor fees (7)
-
1,719
-
2,124
Employee restructuring payments (8)
505
66
679
241
Adjusted EBITDA
$ (4,946 )
$ (7,240 )
$ (6,078 )
$ (17,154 )
(1)
Represents
interest expense (net of interest income) of $2,506 and $2,363, for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively,
and interest expense (net of interest income) of $5,326 and $5,183, for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Interest expense is related to our capital structure. Interest expense varies over time due to a variety of financing transactions.
Interest expense includes $274 and $307 for amortization of debt discounts for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively,
and $934 and $1,001 for amortization of debt discounts for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, as presented in our condensed
consolidated statements of cash flows, which are a noncash item. Investors should note that interest expense will recur in future
periods.
(2)
Represents depreciation
and amortization related to our developed technology and Platform included within cost of revenues of $2,375 and $2,157, for the
three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and depreciation and amortization included within operating expenses of
$4,444 and $3,964 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Represents depreciation and amortization related
to our developed technology and Platform included within cost of revenues of $4,686 and $4,324, for the six months ended June 30,
2022 and 2021, respectively, and depreciation and amortization included within operating expenses of $8,646 and $7,927 for the six
months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We believe (i) the amount of depreciation and amortization expense in any specific
period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations and (ii) such expenses can vary significantly
between periods as a result of new acquisitions and full amortization of previously acquired tangible and intangible assets. Investors
should note that the use of tangible and intangible assets contributed to revenue in the periods presented and will contribute to
future revenue generation and should also note that such expense will recur in future periods.
(3)
Represents noncash costs
arising from the grant of stock-based awards to employees, consultants and directors. We believe that excluding the effect of stock-based
compensation from Adjusted EBITDA assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons in our operating performance
because (i) the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business
operations, and (ii) such expenses can vary significantly between periods as a result of the timing of grants of new stock-based
awards, including grants in connection with acquisitions. Additionally, we believe that excluding stock-based compensation from Adjusted
EBITDA assists management and investors in making meaningful comparisons between our operating performance and the operating performance
of other companies that may use different forms of employee compensation or different valuation methodologies for their stock-based
compensation. Investors should note that stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to employees whose efforts contributed
to the operating results in the periods presented and are expected to contribute to operating results in future periods. Investors
should also note that such expenses will recur in the future.
40
(4)
Represents
damages (or interest expense related to accrued liquidated damages) we owe to certain of our investors in private placements offerings
conducted in fiscal years 2018 through 2020, pursuant to which we agreed to certain covenants in the respective securities purchase
agreements and registration rights agreements, including the filing of resale registration statements and becoming current in our
reporting obligations, which we were not able to timely meet.
(5)
Represents a gain upon
extinguishment of the Paycheck Protection Program Loan.
(6)
Represents our impairment
of certain assets that no longer are useful.
(7)
Represents professional
and vendor fees recorded in connection with services provided by consultants, accountants, lawyers, and other vendors related to
the preparation of periodic reports in order for us to become current in our reporting obligations (“Delinquent Reporting Obligations
Services”). With respect to the Delinquent Reporting Obligations Services, we incurred professional and vendor fees in the
first quarter of 2021 related to the preparation of our annual reports for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 (which contained the financial
information for the quarterly periods during fiscal 2019), and our quarterly reports fiscal 2020. The amount of fees incurred in
connection with the Delinquent Reporting Obligations Services is adjusted based on our best estimate of the amount we expect we would
ordinarily incur to meet our reporting obligations pursuant to the Exchange Act.
(8)
Represents
severance payments to the former Chief Financial Officer of Athlon and our former Chief Executive Officer for the three and six
months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021.
ITEM
3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not
applicable to a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of SEC Regulation S-K.
ITEM
4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining a system of disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e)
and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file
or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s
rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information
required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated
to the issuer’s management, including its principal executive officer(s) and principal financial officer(s), or persons performing
similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
In
accordance with Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15, an evaluation was completed under the supervision and with the participation of
our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of
our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report. Based on that evaluation, conducted in accordance with SEC’s guidance in Release No. 34-55929, our management,
including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective
as of such date in providing reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the
Exchange Act was recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
Changes
in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
In
connection with our continued monitoring and maintenance of our controls procedures as part of the implementation of Section 404 of the
Sarbanes, we continue to review, test, and improve the effectiveness of our internal controls. There have not been any changes in our
internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the
six months ended June 30, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over
financial reporting.
41
PART
II - OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM
1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From
time to time, we may be subject to claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We are not currently subject to
any pending or threatened legal proceedings that we believe would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
ITEM
1A. RISK FACTORS
There
are numerous factors that affect our business and operating results, many of which are beyond our control. The risk factors described
in Part I, “Item IA. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2021, should be carefully
considered, together with the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this Quarterly Report and in our other filings
with SEC in connection with evaluating us, our business and the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report. Additional
risks and uncertainties not known to us at present, or that we currently deem immaterial, may affect us. The occurrence of any of these
known or unknown risks could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
ITEM
2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
During
the three months ended June 30, 2022, we issued or repurchased unregistered securities to the extent identified in this Item 2.
Unregistered
Issuances
On
April 1, 2022, we issued 314,103 restricted shares of our common stock in connection with our acquisition of Athlon Holdings, Inc. Such
issuance comprised $3,141 of the purchase price. The number of restricted shares issued was based on the corresponding merger agreement,
which called for the price per share to be determined based on our common stock price on each of 10 trading days preceding the April
1, 2022 closing date. The issuance was exempt from registration as a transaction not involving a public offering.
On
April 27, 2022, we issued 7,851 shares of our common stock in connection with the Say Media merger. These shares were previously classified
as common stock to be issued on the condensed consolidated statements of stockholders’ deficiency. The issuance was exempt from
registration as a transaction not involving a public offering.
On
May 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022, we issued 18,000 and 3,600, respectively, shares of our common stock in connection with the vesting of
restricted stock units as payment for services rendered. The issuance was exempt from registration as a transaction not involving a public
offering.
Repurchases
Period
Total number of shares (or units) purchased (1)
Average price paid per share (or unit)
Total number of shares (or units) purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs
Maximum number of shares (or units) that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs
April 1 – 30, 2022
18,150
$ 88.00
-
-
May 1 – 31, 2022
-
$
-
-
June 1 – 30, 2022
-
$
-
-
Total
18,150
$
-
-
(1)
The shares disclosed in this column were not repurchased in connection with a publicly announced plan
or program, and no such plan or program has been announced. Such repurchases were made in connection with the HubPages merger as consideration
for an amendment to a true-up provision. There are no remaining shares to be repurchased.
ITEM
3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None.
ITEM
4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not
applicable.
ITEM
5. OTHER INFORMATION
None.
42
ITEM
6. EXHIBITS
The
following documents are filed as part of this Quarterly Report:
Exhibit
Number
Description
of Document
3.1
Certificate of Designation of Series L Junior Participating Preferred Stock of the Company, which was filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 4, 2021.
3.2*
Certificate of Elimination of Series L Convertible Preferred Stock, as filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on July 18, 2022.
4.1
Rights Agreement, dated as of May 4, 2021, between the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as Rights Agent, which includes the Form of Certificate of Designations, the Form of Right Certificate, and the Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares attached thereto as Exhibits A, B, and C, respectively, which was filed as Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 4, 2021.
10.1
Amendment No. 2 to Second Amended and Restated Note Purchase Agreement, dated as of May 19, 2021, by and among the Company, Maven Coalition, Inc., TheStreet, Inc., Maven Media Brands, LLC, and the Agent, and the Purchaser, which was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K on May 25, 2021.
10.2
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement among the Company and each of the several purchasers signatory thereto, which was filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K on May 25, 2021.
10.3
Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Company and each of the several purchasers signatory thereto, which was filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K on May 25, 2021.
10.4
Stock Purchase Agreement, dated June 4, 2021, by and among the Company, Maven Media Brands, LLC, College Spun Media Incorporated, Matthew Lombardi, Alyson Shontell Lombardi, Timothy Ray, Andrew Holleran, and the Representative, which was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 7, 2021.
31.1*
Chief Executive Officer’s Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2*
Chief Financial Officer’s Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1*
Chief Executive Officer’s Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2*
Chief Financial Officer’s Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS**
Inline XBRL
Instance Document
101.SCH**
Inline XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL**
Inline XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.LAB**
Inline XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE**
Inline XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
101.DEF**
Inline XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
104
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
*
Filed herewith.
**
In accordance with Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information on Exhibit No. 101 to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q shall be deemed
“furnished” herewith but not “filed”.
43
SIGNATURES
In
accordance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
The
Arena Group Holdings, Inc.
Date:
August 9, 2022
By:
/s/
ROSS LEVINSOHN
Ross
Levinsohn
Chief
Executive Officer
(Principal
Executive Officer)
Date:
August 9, 2022
By:
/s/
SPIROS CHRISTOFORATOS
Spiros
Christoforatos
Chief
Accounting Officer
(Principal
Accounting Officer)
44
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.