Shift4 Payments, Inc., Now a Single Share Class Company, Removing Super-Voting Stock, and Eliminating Tax Receivable Obligations to Founder
Transaction overview
On
Actions completed under the Simplification Transaction Agreement:
- Rook redeemed and exchanged all of its LLC Interests on a one‑for‑one basis for Class A shares and the corresponding Class B shares were cancelled;
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Mr. Isaacman and Rook converted all Class C shares on a one‑for‑one basis for Class A shares and Rook waived its consent rights under the prior stockholders agreement; - Rook assigned its rights and benefits under the TRA to the Company, making the company the sole beneficiary of the tax benefits associated with Rook’s TRA;
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Consideration: In exchange for these and other company benefits,
Mr. Isaacman (in part via Rook) received aggregate value of$191.8 million , consisting of (1) approximately$138.8 million in cash (tax distributions previously held by the Company), (2) 423,296 shares of the Company’s mandatory convertible preferred stock issued in a private placement; and (3) deemed satisfaction in full of Mr. Isaacman’s previously disclosed agreement to fund 50% of the Company’s discretionary equity award program for non-management employees.
Key benefits to the Company and investors:
- This transaction eliminated Mr. Isaacman’s voting and contractual control rights, and thus the Company's previous "controlled company" status under NYSE corporate governance standards.
- Removing multiple share classes and super-voting stock attracts a wider audience of institutional and retail investors and certain indices. It also increases the public stockholders’ influence on any potential future change of control transaction.
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The Company is relieved of an estimated
$440 million of future TRA payments, removing a large and uncertain future cash outflow while improving long‑term free cash flow visibility. These benefits are now retained by the Company and its shareholders.
A special committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, who retained
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Simplification Transaction, the assignment and waiver of the TRA and payments pursuant to the TRA, the elimination of voting and contractual control rights, other benefits to the Company, future negotiations, and the timing of any of the foregoing. Actual results may differ materially from those explicit or implicit in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to the other risks, uncertainties, and other important factors disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
About
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260209956354/en/
Investor Relations:
EVP, Head of Investor Relations
investors@shift4.com
Director, Strategy & Investor Relations
investors@shift4.com
Media Contacts:
SVP, Marketing
nhirshberg@shift4.com
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