Current Report Filing (8-k)

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

 

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 18, 2023

 

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Maryland	001-40923	46-1406086
(State or other jurisdiction	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation)		Identification No.)

 

1345 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 32A

New York, New York 10105

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: [phone]

  

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2 below):

 

¨	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

¨	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

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, par value $0.01 per share	FBRT	New York Stock Exchange
7.50% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share	FBRT PRE	New York Stock Exchange

 

Indicated by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter)

 

Emerging growth company ¨

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate 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. ¨

 

 

 

 

 

Item 8.01 Other Events.

 

Sale of Williamsburg Hotel Asset

 

On April 18, 2023 Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (the “Company”) announced the successful completion of the sale of the Williamsburg Hotel, the Company’s Brooklyn hotel asset, by a trustee appointed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, pursuant to the Chapter 11 plan in In re 96 Wythe Acquisition LLC, Case No. 21-22108. The purchaser of the hotel was selected after a multi-month marketing process.  The sale closed for a total sale price of $96 million, comprising cash and new indebtedness. As a result of the sale, the Company has recovered the full principal amount of its loan (equal to the carrying cost of the loan as of December 31, 2022) and approximately $20 million of additional proceeds after the payment of all related closing expenses. The Company may elect to pursue additional remedies available under the loan documents.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

Certain statements included in this Current Report on Form 8-K forward-looking statements. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and members of its management team, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based, and generally are identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "seeks," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "should" or similar expressions. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time, unless required by law.

 

The Company’s forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks and important factors contained and identified in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and its subsequent filings with the SEC, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this filing are made only as of the date hereof.

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

	Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.
	By:	/s/ Jerome S. Baglien
	Name:	Jerome S. Baglien
	Title:	Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer

 

Date: April 18, 2023