Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Our Company
CIM Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc. (together with our subsidiaries unless the context requires otherwise, the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a non-exchange traded REIT formed as a Maryland corporation on July 27, 2010. We are primarily focused on originating, acquiring, financing and managing shorter duration senior secured loans, other related credit investments and core commercial real estate.
We have two reportable business segments as of December 31, 2024 and we refer to the investments within these segments as our target assets:
• Credit — engages primarily in acquiring and originating primarily floating rate first and second lien mortgage loans, either directly or through co-investments in joint ventures, related to real estate assets. This segment also includes investments in real estate-related securities, liquid corporate senior loans and corporate senior loans.
• Real estate — engages primarily in acquiring and managing geographically diversified income-producing retail, industrial and office properties that are primarily single-tenant properties, which are leased to creditworthy tenants under long-term net leases.
As of December 31, 2024, our credit portfolio consisted of 68 loans with a net book value of $3.4 billion, and investments in real estate-related securities and other of $345.8 million. W e conduct and expect to continue to conduct our commercial real estate lending business through our subsidiary CIM Commercial Lending REIT (“CLR”), a Maryland statutory trust, which we expect to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As of December 31, 2024 , CLR holds a diversified portfolio of approximately $1.5 billion, which includes first mortgage loans with a net book value of $1.05 billion, CMBS with an estimated fair value of $241.3 million, and an investment in the Unconsolidated Joint Venture (as defined in Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Investment in Unconsolidated Entities to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) with a carrying value of $171.8 million . In addition, as of December 31, 2024 we owned 187 commercial real estate properties, comprising approximately 5.8 million rentable square feet of commercial space located in 36 states. As of December 31, 2024, the rentable space at these properties was 100.0% leased, including month-to-month agreements, if any. As of December 31, 2024, we also owned condominium developments with a net book value of $64.9 million.
We have elected to be taxed and conduct our operations to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. We operate our business in a manner that permits us to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act. A majority of our business is conducted through CIM Real Estate Finance Operating Partnership, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“CMFT OP”), of which we are the sole general partner and own, directly or indirectly, 100% of the partnership interests, and its subsidiaries.
Our Manager, Investment Advisor and CIM
We are externally managed by CIM Real Estate Finance Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“CMFT Management”), which is an affiliate of CIM Group, LLC (“CIM Group”). CIM Group is a vertically-integrated community-focused real estate and infrastructure owner, operator, lender and developer. CIM Group is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and has offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois, Dallas, Texas, New York, New York, Orlando, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, London, UK and Tokyo, Japan. CIM Group also maintains additional offices with distribution staff and JV partnerships.
We rely upon our manager pursuant to our Second Amended and Restated Management Agreement dated March 24, 2023 (the “Management Agreement”), and certain of its affiliates to provide substantially all of our day-to-day management, including relying on our investment advisor, CIM Capital IC Management, LLC (the “Investment Advisor”), an affiliate of our manager, which provides substantially all of the day-to-day management of our wholly-owned subsidiary, CMFT Securities Investments, LLC (“CMFT Securities”), with respect to investments in securities and certain other investments held by CMFT Securities and its subsidiaries. Collectively, our manager and the Investment Advisor, together with certain other affiliates of CIM Group, serve as our sponsor, which we refer to as our “sponsor” or “CIM”. Our Management Agreement had an initial three-year term and renews automatically each year thereafter for an additional one-year period unless terminated by our board of directors (our “Board”).
On December 6, 2019, CMFT Securities entered into an investment advisory and management agreement (the “Investment Advisory and Management Agreement”) with our Investment Advisor. CMFT Securities was formed for the purpose of holding any investments in securities and certain other investments made by the Company. The Investment Advisor, a wholly-owned
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subsidiary of CIM Group, is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”). Pursuant to the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, the Investment Advisor will manage the day-to-day business affairs of CMFT Securities and its investments in corporate credit and real estate-related securities, subject to the supervision of the Board. The Investment Advisory and Management Agreement had an initial three-year term and shall be deemed renewed automatically each year thereafter for an additional one-year period unless otherwise terminated pursuant to the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement.
In addition, on December 6, 2019, the Investment Advisor entered into a sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) with OFS Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and affiliate of the Investment Advisor (the “Sub-Advisor”), to act as an investment sub-advisor to CMFT Securities. The Sub-Advisor is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act and is an affiliate of the Investment Advisor. The Sub-Advisor provides investment management services primarily with respect to the corporate credit and real estate-related securities held by CMFT Securities. Either party may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement with 30 days’ prior written notice to the other party.
Investment Strategy and Objectives
We seek to attain attractive risk-adjusted returns and create long term value for our stockholders by investing in a diversified portfolio of senior secured mortgage loans, creditworthy long-term net-leased property investments and other senior loan and liquid credit investments.
Subject to market conditions, we expect to pursue a listing of our common stock on a national securities exchange at such time as our Board determines that such a listing would be in the best interests of our stockholders, though we can provide no assurance that a listing will happen in a particular timeframe or at all.
We believe a diversified investment portfolio of credit investments and core commercial real estate, combined with our manager’s ability to actively manage those investments, will enable us to generate competitive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders over time and provide reasonable, stable, current income for stockholders through the payment of cash distributions. Our investment strategy allows us to adapt over time in order to respond to evolving market conditions and to capitalize on investment opportunities that may arise at different points in the economic and real estate investment cycle.
Investment Guidelines
Our manager and our Investment Advisor are required to manage our business in accordance with certain investment guidelines that were adopted by our Board, which include:
• not making investments that would cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”);
• not making any investment that would cause us or any of our subsidiaries to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act;
• our manager seeking to invest our capital in a broad range of investments in or relating to real property and real estate-related credit assets and our Investment Advisor seeking to invest in real estate and corporate credit-related securities;
• prior to the deployment or redeployment of capital, permitting the manager or our Investment Advisor to cause the capital to be invested in short-term investments in money market funds, bank accounts, overnight repurchase agreements with primary federal reserve bank dealers collateralized by direct U.S. government obligations, and other instruments and investments reasonably determined to be of high quality; and
• not making any investment (i) with a loan-to-value ratio in excess of 78%, and (ii) in excess of $200 million, without the approval of a majority of the Board, including a majority of independent directors, or a duly constituted committee of the Board.
Types of Investments — Commercial Real Estate-Related Credit Investments
Senior Secured Commercial Mortgage Loans . We originate, invest in and acquire loans secured by a first mortgage lien on commercial real estate properties providing mortgage financing to developers or owners. These loans generally have maturity dates ranging from three to ten years and bear interest at a fixed or floating rate, though most of our portfolio is and is expected to be floating rate and have a shorter-duration term. The loans typically require interest only payments and if these loans do provide for some amortization, they typically require, in any event, a balloon payment of principal at maturity. These investments may include whole loan participations and/or pari passu participations within such loans.
Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (“CMBS”). We invest in or acquire secured real estate related securities such as rated and non-rated CMBS generally secured by a single asset or a loan to a single borrower secured by a cross-collateralized portfolio of assets.
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Mezzanine Loans, Preferred Equity and Other Real-Estate Related Debt Instruments . We may also invest in or originate loans made to commercial property owners that are secured by pledges of the borrower’s ownership interests in the property and/or the property owner, subordinate to whole mortgage loans secured by a first lien on the property. These loans are senior to the borrower’s equity in the property. These loans may be tranched into senior and junior mezzanine loans, with junior mezzanine loans secured by a pledge of the equity interests in the more junior mezzanine borrower. Mezzanine lenders typically have different, and at times more limited, rights compared to more senior lenders, including, following a default on the senior loan, the right, for a period of time, to cure defaults under the senior loan and any senior mezzanine loan and purchase the senior loan and any senior mezzanine loan. Subject to the terms negotiated with, and the rights of, the senior lenders, mezzanine lenders typically have the right to foreclose on their equity interest and become the direct or indirect owner of the property.
We may also invest in or originate other commercial real estate-related debt instruments such as subordinated mortgage interests, preferred equity, note financing, unsecured loans to owners and operators of real estate assets, and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (“CRE CLOs”). Additionally, we may make investments that are subordinate to any mortgage or mezzanine loan, but senior to the common equity of the mortgage borrower or owner of a mortgage borrower, as applicable. Preferred equity investments typically pay a preferred return from the investment’s cash flow rather than interest payments and often have the right for such preferred return to accrue if there is insufficient cash flow for current payment. These interests are not secured by the underlying real estate, but upon the occurrence of a default, the preferred equity provider typically has the right to effect a change of control with respect to the ownership of the property.
Corporate Senior Loans . We may also invest in or originate certain syndicated or directly originated liquid and less liquid corporate senior loans.
In evaluating prospective loan or other credit investments, CMFT Management will consider factors such as the following:
• the condition and use of the collateral securing the loan;
• current and projected cash flows of the collateral securing the loan;
• expected levels of rental and occupancy rates of the property securing the loan;
• the potential for increased expenses and capital expense requirements;
• the loan-to-value ratio of the investment;
• the debt service coverage ratio of the investment;
• the degree of liquidity of the investment;
• the quality, experience and creditworthiness of the borrower;
• general economic conditions in the area where the collateral is located;
• the strength and structure and loan covenants; and
• other factors that CMFT Management believes are relevant.
Because the factors considered, including the specific weight we place on each factor, will vary for each prospective investment, we do not, and are not able to, assign a specific weight or level of importance to any particular factor.
Outside of our investment guidelines, we do not have any policies directing the portion of our assets that may be invested in any particular asset type. However, we recognize that certain types of loans, such as mezzanine loans, are subject to more risk than others, such as loans secured by first deeds of trust or first priority mortgages on income-producing, fee-simple properties. CMFT Management will evaluate the risk associated with a loan when evaluating its decision to invest, and in determining the rate of interest on the loan.
Depending on the type and classification of our credit investments, we may hold a credit investment until maturity or sell prior to maturity. Circumstances may arise that could cause us to determine to sell a credit investment earlier than anticipated if we believe the sale of the investment would be in the best interests of our stockholders. The determination of whether a particular investment should be sold or otherwise disposed of will be made after considerations of relevant factors, including prevailing and projected economic conditions, quality and stability of real estate value and operating cash flow, performance against underwritten business plan, financial condition of the sponsor, borrower and guarantor(s), and whether disposition of the investment would increase cash flows.
Our credit investments may be subject to regulation by federal, state and local authorities and subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing various requirements and restrictions, including among other things, regulating credit granting activities, establishing maximum interest rates and finance charges, requiring disclosures to customers, governing secured transactions and setting collection, repossession and claims handling procedures and other trade practices. In addition, certain states have enacted legislation requiring the licensing of mortgage bankers or other lenders and these requirements may affect our ability to effectuate our proposed investments in loans. Commencement of operations in these or
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other jurisdictions may be dependent upon a finding of our financial responsibility, character and fitness. We may determine not to make loans in any jurisdiction in which the regulatory authority determines that we have not complied in all material respects with applicable requirements.
Types of Investments — Commercial Real Estate Property Investments
We have acquired, and may continue to acquire, either directly or through co-investing in a joint venture agreement, income-producing retail, industrial and office properties that are primarily leased to single, creditworthy tenants under long-term net leases, strategic to the tenants’ operations and are geographically diversified.
Many of our retail properties are, and we anticipate that future properties will predominantly be, leased to retail tenants in the chain or franchise retail industry, including, but not limited to, convenience stores, drug stores and restaurant properties, as well as leased to large national retailers as stand-alone properties. Our industrial and office properties are leased to companies operating in a wide variety of industries. CMFT Management monitors industry trends and identifies properties on our behalf that serve to provide a favorable return balanced with risk. We generally intend to hold each property for a period in excess of five years.
By acquiring a large number of properties, we believe that lower than expected results of operations from one or a few investments will not necessarily preclude our ability to realize our investment objective of generating cash flows from our overall portfolio. Since we acquire properties that are geographically diverse, we expect to minimize the potential adverse impact of economic slowdowns or downturns in local markets.
To the extent feasible, we seek to achieve a well-balanced portfolio diversified by geographic location, age and lease maturities of the various properties. We pursue properties leased to tenants representing a variety of industries to avoid concentration in any one industry. We generally target properties with lease terms in excess of ten years. We have acquired and may continue to acquire properties with shorter lease terms if the property is in an attractive location, if the property is difficult to replace, or if the property has other significant favorable attributes. We expect that these acquisitions will provide long-term value by virtue of their size, location, quality and condition, and lease characteristics.
We expect, in most instances, to continue to acquire properties with existing double-net or triple-net leases. “Net” leases mean leases that typically require tenants to pay all or a majority of the operating expenses, including real estate taxes, special assessments and sales and use taxes, utilities, maintenance, insurance and building repairs related to the property, in addition to the lease payments. Triple-net leases typically require the tenant to pay all costs associated with a property (e.g., real estate taxes, insurance, maintenance and repairs, including roof, structure and parking lot). Double-net leases typically hold the landlord responsible for the capital expenditures for the roof and structure, while the tenant is responsible for all lease payments and remaining operating expenses associated with the property (e.g., real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance). We believe that properties under long-term triple-net and double-net leases offer a distinct investment advantage since these properties generally require less management and operating capital, have less recurring tenant turnover and, with respect to single-tenant properties, often offer superior locations that are less dependent on the financial stability of adjoining tenants. We expect that double-net and triple-net leases will help ensure the predictability and stability of our expenses, which we believe will result in greater predictability and stability of our cash distributions to stockholders. Not all of our properties are, or will be subject to, net leases. We have acquired and may continue to acquire properties with tenants subject to “gross” leases. “Gross” leases means leases that typically require the tenant to pay a flat rental amount and we would pay for all property charges regularly incurred as a result of our owning the property. When spaces in a property become vacant, existing leases expire, or we acquire properties under development or requiring substantial refurbishment or renovation, we generally expect to enter into net leases.
There is no limitation on the number, size or type of properties that we may acquire, or on the percentage of net proceeds of the Offerings (as defined below) that may be used to acquire a single property. The number and mix of properties comprising our portfolio will depend upon real estate market conditions and other circumstances existing at the time we acquire properties, and the amount of capital we have available for acquisitions. We will not forgo acquiring a high-quality asset because it does not precisely fit our expected portfolio composition.
We incur debt to acquire properties when CMFT Management determines that incurring such debt is in our best interests and in the best interests of our stockholders. In addition, from time to time, we have acquired and may continue to acquire some properties without financing and later incur mortgage debt secured by one or more of such properties if favorable financing terms are available. We use the proceeds from these loans to acquire additional properties. See “— Financing Strategy” below for a more detailed description of our borrowing intentions and limitations.
In evaluating potential property acquisitions consistent with our investment objectives, CMFT Management applies a well-established underwriting process to determine the creditworthiness of potential tenants. We consider a tenant to be creditworthy if we believe that the tenant has sufficient assets, cash flow generation and stability of operations to meet its obligations under
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the lease. Similarly, CMFT Management applies credit underwriting criteria to possible new tenants when we are leasing properties in our portfolio. Many of the tenants of our properties are, and we expect will continue to be, international, national or regional companies that are creditworthy entities having high net worth and operating income. CMFT Management’s underwriting process includes analyzing the financial data and other available information about the tenant, such as income statements, balance sheets, net worth, cash flows, business plans, data provided by industry credit rating services, and/or other information CMFT Management may deem relevant. Generally, these tenants must have a proven track record in order to meet the credit tests applied by CMFT Management. In addition, we may obtain guarantees of leases by the corporate parent of the tenant, in which case CMFT Management will analyze the creditworthiness of the corporate parent.
CMFT Management has substantial discretion with respect to the selection of our specific acquisitions, subject to our investment guidelines. In pursuing our investment objectives and making investment decisions on our behalf, CMFT Management evaluates the proposed terms of the acquisition against all aspects of the transaction, including the condition and financial performance of the asset, the terms of existing leases and the creditworthiness of the tenant, and property location and characteristics. Because the factors considered, including the specific weight we place on each factor, vary for each potential acquisition, we do not, and are not able to, assign a specific weight or level of importance to any particular factor.
CMFT Management procures and reviews an independent valuation estimate on each and every proposed acquisition. In addition, CMFT Management, to the extent such information is available, considers the following:
• tenant rolls and tenant creditworthiness;
• a property condition report;
• unit level store performance for retail properties;
• strategic importance of the asset to the tenant for industrial and office properties;
• property location, visibility and access;
• age of the property, physical condition and curb appeal;
• neighboring property uses;
• local market conditions including vacancy rates and market rents;
• area demographics, including trade area population and average household income;
• neighborhood growth patterns and economic conditions;
• presence of nearby properties that may positively or negatively impact store sales at the subject property; and
• lease terms, including length of lease term, scope of landlord responsibilities, presence and frequency of contractual rental increases, renewal option provisions, exclusive and permitted use provisions, co-tenancy requirements and termination options.
CMFT Management also reviews the terms of each existing lease by considering various factors, including:
• rent escalations;
• remaining lease term;
• renewal option terms;
• tenant purchase options;
• termination options;
• scope of the landlord’s maintenance, repair and replacement requirements;
• projected net cash flow yield; and
• projected internal rates of return.
The Board has adopted a policy to prohibit acquisitions from affiliates of CMFT Management unless a majority of our directors (including a majority of our independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction determine that the transaction is fair and reasonable to us and certain other conditions are met.
In the purchasing, leasing and development of properties, we are subject to risks generally incident to the ownership of real estate. Refer to Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Associated with Our Real Estate Segment in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We generally intend to hold each property we acquire for an extended period, generally in excess of five years. Holding periods for other real estate-related assets may vary. Circumstances might arise that could cause us to determine to sell an asset before the end of the expected holding period if we believe the sale of the asset would be in the best interests of our stockholders. The determination of whether a particular asset should be sold or otherwise disposed of will be made after
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consideration of relevant factors, including prevailing and projected economic conditions, current tenant rolls and tenant creditworthiness, whether we could apply the proceeds from the sale of the asset to acquire other assets, whether disposition of the asset would increase cash flows, and whether the sale of the asset would be a prohibited transaction under the Code or otherwise impact our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold seven properties for an aggregate gross sales price of $90.6 million, resulting in net proceeds of $87.2 million after closing costs and a net gain of $1.9 million.
Financing Strategy
We believe that utilizing borrowings to make investments is consistent with our investment objective of maximizing the return to stockholders. By operating on a leveraged basis, we have more funds available for acquiring properties or credit investments. This allows us to make more investments than would otherwise be possible, potentially resulting in a more diversified portfolio.
The amount of leverage we use is determined by our manager, taking into account a variety of factors, which may include the anticipated liquidity and price volatility of target assets in our investment portfolio, the potential for losses and extension risk in our investment portfolio, the gap between the duration of assets and liabilities, including hedges, the availability and cost of financing the assets, the creditworthiness of our financing counterparties, the health of the global economy and commercial and residential mortgage markets, the outlook for the level, slope, and volatility of interest rate movement, the credit quality of our target assets and the type of collateral underlying such target assets. In utilizing leverage, we seek to enhance equity returns. As appropriate, we seek to match the tenor, currency, and indices of our assets and liabilities, including in certain instances through the use of derivatives. When possible, we will also seek to limit the risks associated with recourse borrowing and the amount of spread mark-to-market.
As of December 31, 2024, our ratio of debt to total gross assets net of gross intangible lease liabilities was 62.6%.
The following table details our outstanding financing arrangements and borrowing capacity as of December 31, 2024 (in thousands):
Portfolio Financing Outstanding Principal Balance Maximum Capacity (1)
Notes payable – variable rate debt $ 606,452 $ 606,452
ABS mortgage notes 758,520 758,520
Credit facilities 124,500 318,000
Repurchase facilities 1,693,142 3,054,030 (2)
Total portfolio financing $ 3,182,614 $ 4,737,002
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(1) Subject to borrowing availability.
(2) Facilities under the J.P. Morgan Repurchase Facility (as defined in Note 10 — Repurchase Facilities, Notes Payable and Credit Facilities to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) carry no maximum facility size.
Subject to maintaining our qualification as a REIT, from time to time, we engage in hedging transactions that seek to mitigate the effects of fluctuations in interest rates or currencies on our cash flows. These hedging transactions could take a variety of forms, including interest rate or currency swaps or cap agreements, options, futures contracts, forward rate or currency agreements or similar financial instruments.
We may attempt to reduce interest rate risk and to minimize exposure to interest rate fluctuations through the use of match funded financing structures, when appropriate, whereby we may seek (1) to match the maturities of our debt obligations with the maturities of our assets, and (2) to match the interest rates on our assets with like-kind debt (i.e., we may finance floating rate assets with floating rate debt and fixed-rate assets with fixed-rate debt), directly or through the use of interest rate swap agreements or other financial instruments, or through a combination of these strategies. We expect these instruments will allow us to minimize, but not eliminate, the risk that we may have to refinance our liabilities before the maturities of our assets and to reduce the impact of changing interest rates on our earnings.
Our ability to increase our diversification through borrowing may be adversely impacted if banks and other lending institutions reduce the amount of funds available for borrowing. When interest rates are high or financing is otherwise unavailable on a timely basis, our ability to make additional investments will be restricted and we may not be able to adequately
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diversify our portfolio. See Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Associated with Debt Financing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our Offerings
We commenced our initial public offering in January 2012 on a “best efforts” basis of up to $2.975 billion in shares of common stock (the “Initial Offering”), including $475.0 million in shares allocated to our distribution reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”). In addition, we registered $247.0 million in shares of common stock under the DRIP (the “Initial DRIP Offering”) on December 19, 2013 and an additional $600.0 million in shares of common stock under the DRIP (the “Secondary DRIP Offering,” and together with the Initial DRIP Offering, the “DRIP Offerings,” and the DRIP Offerings collectively with the Initial Offering, the “Offerings”) on August 2, 2016. We continue to issue shares of common stock under the Secondary DRIP Offering. As of December 31, 2024, we had issued approximately $514.0 million in shares of common stock under the Secondary DRIP Offering.
Net Asset Value
Our Board establishes an estimated per share net asset value (“NAV”) of the Company’s common stock for purposes of assisting broker-dealers in meeting their customer account statement reporting obligations under Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Rule 2231.
The historical estimated per share NAV of our common stock approved by the Board are set forth below:
Effective Date of Valuation
NAV per Share
October 1, 2015 $ 9.70
November 14, 2016 $ 9.92
March 28, 2017 $ 10.08
March 29, 2018 $ 9.37
March 26, 2019 $ 8.65
March 30, 2020 $ 7.77
May 29, 2020 $ 7.26
August 14, 2020 $ 7.31
May 26, 2021 $ 7.20
December 21, 2022 $ 6.57
November 14, 2023 $ 6.31
March 1, 2024 $ 6.09
March 28, 2025 $ 5.22
For participants in the DRIP, distributions are reinvested in shares of our common stock under the DRIP at the most recent estimated per share NAV as determined by our Board. As of December 31, 2024, the estimated per share NAV of our common stock was $6.09, which was established by the Board on February 29, 2024 using a valuation date of January 31, 2024. Effective on March 28, 2025, the Board established an updated estimated per share NAV of our common stock, using a valuation date of December 31, 2024, of $5.22 per share. Commencing on March 28, 2025, distributions are reinvested in shares of our common stock under the DRIP at a price of $5.22 per share and $5.22 per share serves as the most recent estimated per share NAV for purposes of the share redemption program. We have not made any adjustments to the valuation of our estimated per share NAV for the impact of other transactions occurring subsequent to March 20, 2025. See Part II, Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities — Share Redemption Program in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our share redemption program.
Conflicts of Interest
We are subject to various conflicts of interest arising out of our relationship with CMFT Management and its affiliates, including conflicts related to the arrangements pursuant to which we compensate CMFT Management and its affiliates.
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Allocation of Investment Opportunities
Acquisition opportunities will be allocated among the programs sponsored by CIM pursuant to an asset allocation policy adopted by our Board. In the event that an acquisition opportunity has been identified that may be suitable for one or more of the other programs sponsored by CIM, and for which more than one such entity has sufficient uninvested funds, then an allocation committee, which is comprised of employees of CIM or their respective affiliates (the “Allocation Committee”), will examine the following factors, among others, in determining the entity for which the acquisition opportunity is most appropriate:
• the investment guidelines and/or restrictions, if any, set forth in each entity’s governing documents;
• the entity’s risk and return profile;
• the suitability/priority of the investment for each entity;
• the entity’s available capital for investment;
• the aggregate capital committed to each entity; and
• the age/vintage of the entity’s account for fund, and the remaining term of the investment period, if any.
In considering the priority of an investment for an entity, the Allocation Committee may consider, among other factors, whether:
• the investment opportunity is contiguous or proximate to an existing investment;
• the investment opportunity is being made in conjunction with the strategic expansion plans of an existing investment;
• the investment opportunity is being pursued with a sponsor/partner that is also a sponsor/partner in an existing investment;
• There are economic ties/relationships between the investment opportunity and an existing investment; and
• the size and/or product type of the investment opportunity enhances existing diversification within the entity’s portfolio.
If, in the judgment of the Allocation Committee, the acquisition opportunity may be equally appropriate for more than one program, then a strict rotation schedule will be employed whereby such entities will be offered the relevant investment opportunity on a rotation schedule in the order of their inception dates, from the latest to the earliest inception dates.
Investments that are managed by the Sub-Advisor are allocated pursuant to the Sub-Advisor's investment allocation policies.
We may enter into certain transactions with CMFT Management or its affiliates, including other real estate programs managed by CIM, which are subject to inherent conflicts of interest. Similarly, joint ventures involving affiliates of CMFT Management also give rise to conflicts of interest. In addition, our Board may encounter conflicts of interest in enforcing our rights against any affiliate of CMFT Management in the event of a default by or disagreement with an affiliate or in invoking powers, rights or options pursuant to any agreement between us and CMFT Management, any of its affiliates or another real estate program sponsored by affiliates of CIM.
Fees and Other Compensation paid to CMFT Management and Its Affiliates
We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, fees and expenses payable to CMFT Management and its affiliates in connection with the management of our assets.
Management Agreement. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, in connection with the services provided by our manager, our manager receives a management fee, payable quarterly in arrears, equal to the greater of (a) $250,000 per annum ($62,500 per quarter) and (b) 1.50% per annum (0.375% per quarter) of the Company’s Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement). In addition, our manager shall receive Incentive Compensation (as defined in the Management Agreement), payable with respect to each quarter, which is generally equal to the excess of (a) the product of (i) 20% and (ii) the excess of (A) Core Earnings (as defined in the Management Agreement) of the Company for the previous 12-month period, over (B) the product of (1) the Company’s Consolidated Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement) in the previous 12-month period, and (2) 7% per annum, over (b) the sum of any Incentive Compensation paid to our manager with respect to the first three calendar quarters of such previous 12-month period (or such lesser number of completed calendar quarters preceding the applicable period, if applicable). In addition, our manager generally shall continue to be entitled to reimbursement for costs and expenses to the extent incurred on behalf of the Company in accordance with the Management Agreement.
The Management Agreement had an initial three-year term and shall be deemed renewed automatically each year thereafter for an additional one-year period unless the Company provides 180 days’ written notice of termination to the manager after the
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affirmative vote of 2/3 of the Company’s independent directors. If the Management Agreement is terminated without cause, the manager shall receive a termination fee equal to three times the sum of (a) the average annual management fee and (b) the average annual Incentive Compensation during the 24-month period prior to the termination.
Investment Advisory and Management Agreement. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, our Investment Advisor shall receive an investment advisory fee (the “Investment Advisory Fee”), payable quarterly in arrears, equal to 1.50% per annum (0.375% per quarter) of CMFT Securities’ Equity (as defined in the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement). In addition, the Investment Advisor is eligible to receive incentive compensation, as described below. In the event that an Incentive Fee is earned and payable with respect to any quarter under the Management Agreement, our manager will calculate the portion of the Incentive Fee that was attributable to the assets managed by our Investment Advisor and payable to the Investment Advisor. Because the assets that are managed by our Investment Advisor are excluded from the calculation of Management Fees payable by the Company to our manager under the Management Agreement, the total management and advisory fees payable by us to our external advisors are not increased as a result of entering into the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, CMFT Securities will reimburse the Investment Advisor for costs and expenses incurred by the Investment Advisor on its behalf.
The Investment Advisory and Management Agreement was initially for a term of three years and shall be deemed renewed automatically each year thereafter for an additional one-year period unless CMFT Securities provides 180 days’ written notice of termination to the Investment Advisor after the affirmative vote of 2/3 of our independent directors, or if the Investment Advisor provides 180 days’ written notice of termination to CMFT Securities. If the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement is terminated without cause by CMFT Securities, the Investment Advisor shall receive a termination fee equal to three times the sum of (a) the average annual Investment Advisory Fee and (b) the average annual Securities Manager Incentive Compensation, as that term is defined in the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, during the 24-month period prior to the termination. CMFT Securities is not required to pay the termination fee if the Investment Advisor terminates the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement, or if the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement is terminated for cause.
On a quarterly basis, the Investment Advisor shall designate 50% of the sum of its Investment Advisory Fee and any incentive compensation payable to the Investment Advisor, as described above, as sub-advisory fees. The sub-advisory fees shall be paid by our Investment Advisor ratably, as determined pursuant to the Sub-Advisory Agreement, to the Sub-Advisor and any other sub-advisers that provide services to CMFT Securities. Either party may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement with 30 days’ prior written notice to the other party.
For a discussion of the fees and expenses payable by CLR for the management of its assets, see Note 13 — Related-Party Transactions and Arrangements to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For additional information related to conflicts of interest, see Part I, Item 1 A . R isk Fac t o rs — Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest and Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — C o nflicts of Interest of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Human Capital Resources
We are operated by affiliates of CIM. We have entered into the Management Agreement with CMFT Management, and the Investment Advisory and Management Agreement with our Investment Advisor, pursuant to which CMFT Management has agreed to provide, or arrange for other service providers to provide, management and administrative services to us and our subsidiaries, and our Investment Advisor has agreed to provide investment advisory services to CMFT Securities for the assets it manages.
Competition
In our lending and investing activities, we compete for opportunities with a variety of institutional lenders and investors, including other REITs, specialty finance companies, public and private, commercial and investment banks, commercial finance and insurance companies and other financial institutions. Several other REITs and other investment vehicles have raised significant amounts of capital, and may have investment objectives that overlap with ours, which may create additional competition for lending and investment opportunities. Some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources, such as the U.S. Government, that are not available to us. Many of our competitors are not subject to the operating constraints associated with REIT compliance or maintenance of an exclusion from regulation under the Investment Company Act. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of loans and investments, offer more attractive pricing or other terms and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, competition for originations of and investments in our target assets may lead to the yields of such assets decreasing, which may further limit our ability to generate satisfactory returns.
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Similarly, as we purchase properties, we are in competition with other potential buyers for the same properties and may have to pay more to purchase the property than if there were no other potential acquirers or we may have to locate another property that meets our acquisition criteria. Regarding the leasing efforts of our owned properties, the leasing of real estate is highly competitive in the current market, and we may continue to experience competition for tenants from owners and managers of competing projects. As a result, we may have to provide free rent, incur charges for tenant improvements, or offer other inducements, or we might not be able to timely lease the space, all of which may have an adverse impact on our results of operations. At the time we elect to dispose of our properties, we may also be in competition with sellers of similar properties to locate suitable purchasers for our properties. See the section captioned “— Conflicts of Interest” above.
Available Information
We electronically file our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports with the SEC. We also file registration statements, amendments to our registration statements, and/or supplements to our prospectus in connection with any of our offerings with the SEC. Copies of our filings with the SEC are available on our sponsor’s website, http://www.cimgroup.com , free of charge. The information on our sponsor’s website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Copies of our filings with the SEC may also be obtained from the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov . Access to these filings is free of charge.