Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
A description of the risk factors associated with our business is contained in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2020 (“Annual Report”). These cautionary statements are to be used as a reference in connection with any forward-looking statements. The factors, risks and uncertainties identified in these cautionary statements are in addition to those contained in any other cautionary statements, written or oral, which may be made or otherwise addressed in connection with a forward-looking statement or contained in any of our subsequent filings with the SEC.
We are supplementing the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report as follows:
If we are unable to staff and retain qualified restaurant management and operating personnel in an increasingly competitive market, we may be unable to effectively operate and grow our business and revenues, which could materially adversely affect our financial performance.
Similar to the restaurant industry and broader economy, we are experiencing labor shortfalls relative to our sales levels in certain parts of our workforce as we reopen our dining rooms after the lifting of mandatory, social-distancing regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic and expand bakery production. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified people, our restaurants and bakery operations could be short staffed, we may be forced to incur overtime expenses, and our ability to operate and expand our concepts effectively and to meet our customers’ demand for bakery goods could be limited, any of which could materially adversely affect our financial performance.
Risks Relating to our Concurrent Public Offerings
In June 2021, we completed an offering of $345 million of 0.375% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “Notes”) and issued and sold $175 million of shares of our common stock (the “Issuance”). The Notes and Issuance are collectively referred to as the “Offerings.” We used the net proceeds from the Offerings to fund approximately $457.3 million payable in connection with the cash-settled conversion of 150,000 shares of our previously outstanding Series A convertible preferred stock and the share-settled conversion of the remaining 50,000 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock into approximately 2.4 million shares of our common stock.
The indenture governing the Notes will not restrict us from incurring additional indebtedness, and the incurrence of the Notes and any additional indebtedness could limit the cash flow available for our operations, expose us to risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and impair our ability to satisfy our obligations under the Notes.
As of June 29, 2021, we had approximately $475.0 million in principal amount of consolidated indebtedness. We incurred $345.0 million principal amount of additional indebtedness as a result of the offering of the Notes. The indenture governing the Notes does not contain any meaningful restrictive covenants and does not prohibit us or our subsidiaries from incurring additional indebtedness in the future. Accordingly, we may incur a significant amount of additional indebtedness to meet future financing needs. The incurrence of indebtedness could have significant negative consequences for our security holders and our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things:
● increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;
● limiting our ability to obtain additional financing;
● requiring the dedication of a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness, which will reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes;
● limiting our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business;
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● diluting the interests of our existing stockholders as a result of issuing shares of our common stock upon conversion of the Notes; and
● placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with competitors that are less leveraged than us or have better access to capital.
Our business may not generate sufficient funds, and we may otherwise be unable to maintain sufficient cash reserves, to pay amounts due under our indebtedness, including the Notes, and our cash needs may increase in the future. In addition, our revolving credit facility contains, and any future indebtedness that we may incur may contain, financial and other restrictive covenants that limit our ability to operate our business, raise capital or make payments under our other indebtedness. If we fail to comply with these covenants or to make payments under our indebtedness when due, then we would be in default under that indebtedness, which could, in turn, result in that and our other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full.
The issuance or sale of shares of our common stock, or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, could depress the trading price of our common stock and the notes.
The Issuance and conversion of Series A convertible preferred stock may dilute the economic and voting rights of our existing stockholders or reduce the market price of our common stock or both. Additionally, we have the right to elect to settle conversion of the Notes either entirely in cash or in combination of cash and shares of common stock. Our election to convert Notes into common stock may further dilute the economic and voting rights of our existing stockholders and/or reduce the market price of our common stock. In addition, the market’s expectation that conversions may occur could depress the trading price of our common stock even in the absence of actual conversions. Moreover, the expectation of conversions could encourage the short selling of our common stock, which could place further downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock.
We may also conduct future offerings of our common stock, preferred stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our common stock to finance our operations or fund acquisitions, or for other purposes. In addition, we have reserved approximately 4.2 million shares of common stock for grant under our The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated Stock Incentive Plan as of June 29, 2021. If we issue additional shares of our common stock or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, if any of our existing stockholders sells a substantial amount of our common stock, or if the market perceives that such issuances or sales may occur, then the trading price of our common stock may significantly decline. In addition, our issuance of additional shares of common stock will dilute the ownership interests of our existing common stockholders.
Hedging activity by investors in the Notes could depress the trading price of our common stock.
We expect that many investors in the Notes, including potential purchasers of the Notes, will seek to employ a convertible note arbitrage strategy. Under this strategy, investors typically short sell a certain number of shares of our common stock and adjust their short position over time while they continue to hold the Notes. Investors may also implement this type of strategy by entering into swaps on our common stock in lieu of, or in addition to, short selling shares of our common stock. This market activity, or the market’s perception that it will occur, could depress the trading price of our common stock.
Provisions in the indenture governing the Notes could delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover of us.
Certain provisions in the Notes and the indenture governing the Notes could make a third party attempt to acquire us more difficult or expensive. For example, if a takeover constitutes a “fundamental change” (which is defined in the indenture governing the Notes to include certain change-of-control events and the delisting of our common stock), then noteholders will have the right to require us to repurchase their Notes for cash. In addition, if a takeover constitutes a “make-whole fundamental change” (which is defined in the indenture governing the Notes to include, among other events, fundamental changes and certain additional business combination transactions), then we may be required to temporarily increase the conversion rate for the Notes. In either case, and in other cases, our obligations under the Notes and the indenture could increase the cost of acquiring us or otherwise discourage a third party from acquiring us or removing incumbent management, including in a transaction that noteholder holders of our common stock may view as favorable.
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We may be unable to raise the funds necessary to repurchase the Notes for cash following a fundamental change, or to pay the cash amounts due upon conversion, and our other indebtedness limits our ability to repurchase the Notes or pay cash upon their conversion.
Noteholders of our outstanding Notes may, subject to limited exceptions, require us to repurchase their Notes following a “fundamental change” (which is defined in the indenture governing the Notes) at a cash repurchase price generally equal to the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. In addition, all conversions of the Notes will be settled partially or entirely in cash. We may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to repurchase the Notes or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion. In addition, applicable law, regulatory authorities and the agreements governing our current senior secured credit facility or any future indebtedness may restrict our ability to repurchase the Notes or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion. For example, our revolving credit facility restricts us from paying cash upon conversion of the Notes in an amount that exceeds the principal amount being converted. Furthermore, our revolving credit facility places several restrictions on our ability to repurchase the Notes upon a fundamental change. During the covenant relief period of the facility which extends through the first date after December 28, 2021 on which we have delivered certain documentation relating to our compliance with the covenants set forth in the revolving credit facility, we are prohibited from repurchasing the Notes upon a fundamental change. Following the termination of the covenant relief period, we will be permitted under the revolving credit facility to repurchase Notes upon a fundamental change only if (i) no default of event of default exists and (ii) our pro forma net adjusted leverage ratio (as measured in accordance with the revolving credit facility) not exceed 4.75 to 1.00 and our earnings before interest, depreciation, amortization and rental expense to interest and rental expense ratio (as measured in accordance with the revolving credit facility) is at least 1.90 to 1.00.
Our failure to repurchase Notes or pay the cash amounts due upon conversion when required will constitute a default under the indenture governing the Notes. A default under the indenture governing the Notes or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under our current senior secured credit facility and agreements governing our other or future indebtedness, which may result in that other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full. We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy all amounts due under the such indebtedness and the Notes.
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.