Paramount Group (PGRE) Risk Analysis

In the case of an audit of a partnership, the partnership itself may be liable for a hypothetical increase in partner-level taxes (including interest and penalties) resulting from an adjustment of partnership tax items on audit, regardless of changes in the composition of the partners (or their relative ownership) between the year under audit and the year of the adjustment. Thus, for example, an audit assessment attributable to former partners of the Operating Partnership could be shifted to the partners in the year of adjustment. The partnership audit rules also include, among other procedures, an elective alternative method under which the additional taxes resulting from the adjustment are assessed from the affected partners (often referred to as a "push-out election"), subject to a higher rate of interest than otherwise would apply. When a push-out election causes a partner that is itself a partnership to be assessed with its share of such additional taxes from the adjustment, such partnership may cause such additional taxes to be pushed out to its own partners. In addition, Treasury Regulations provide that a partnership may be able to request a modification of an adjustment that is based on deficiency dividends distributed by a partner that is a REIT. Many questions remain as to how the partnership audit rules will apply, and it is not clear at this time what effect these rules will have on us. However, it is possible that these changes could increase the U.S. federal income tax, interest, and/or penalties otherwise borne by us in the event of a U.S. federal income tax audit of a subsidiary partnership (such as our Operating Partnership).

Our charter provides that we may issue up to 900,000,000 shares of our common stock, $0.01 par value per share, and up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share. Moreover, under Maryland law and our charter, our board of directors has the power to increase the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we are authorized to issue without stockholder approval. Similarly, the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional common units, which may be exchangeable for shares of our common stock. In addition, share equivalents are available for future issuance under the Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Plan. In the future, we may issue debt or equity securities or incur other financial obligations, including stock dividends and shares that may be issued in exchange for common units and equity plan shares/units. Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and other loans and preferred stock will receive a distribution of our available assets before common stockholders. We are not required to offer any such additional debt or equity securities to existing stockholders on a preemptive basis. Therefore, additional common stock issuances, directly or through convertible or exchangeable securities (including common units and convertible preferred units), warrants or options, will dilute the holdings of our existing common stockholders and such issuances or the perception of such issuances may reduce the market price of shares of our common stock. Any convertible preferred units would have, and any series or class of our preferred stock would likely have a preference on distribution payments, periodically or upon liquidation, which could eliminate or otherwise limit our ability to make distributions to common stockholders. The existence of our share repurchase program could cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our stock. Additionally, our share repurchase program could diminish our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance future growth and to pursue possible future strategic opportunities and acquisitions. Although our share repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, there is no assurance that it will do so and short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the program's effectiveness.

The market value of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock in the market or upon exchange of common units, or the perception that such sales could occur. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell shares of our common stock in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. As of December 31, 2023, a significant number of our outstanding shares of our common stock are held by our continuing investors and their affiliates who acquired shares through a series of Formation Transactions and concurrent private placements at the time of our initial public offering on November 24, 2014. These shares of common stock are "restricted securities" within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act and may not be sold in the absence of registration under the Securities Act unless an exemption from registration is available, including the exemptions contained in Rule 144. All of these shares of our common stock are eligible for future sale and certain of such shares held by our continuing investors have registration rights pursuant to registration rights agreements that we have entered into with those investors. In addition, limited partners of our Operating Partnership, other than us, have the right to require our Operating Partnership to redeem part or all of their common units for cash, based upon the value of an equivalent number of shares of our common stock at the time of the election to redeem, or, at our election, shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis. The related shares of common stock or securities convertible into, exchangeable for, exercisable for, or repayable with common stock will be available for sale or resale, as the case may be, and such sales or resales, or the perception of such sales or resales, could depress the market price for our common stock. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement we entered into with members of the Otto family and certain affiliated entities receiving shares of our common stock in the Formation Transactions and concurrent private placements, the parties to this agreement have the right to demand that we register the resale and/or facilitate an underwritten offering of their shares; provided that the demand relates to shares having a market value of at least $40.0 million and that such parties may not make more than two such demands in any consecutive 12-month period. In addition, upon the request of one or more such parties owning at least 1.0% of our total outstanding common stock, we have agreed to file a shelf registration statement registering the offering and sale of such parties' registrable securities on a delayed or continuous basis, or a resale shelf registration statement, and maintain the effectiveness of the resale shelf registration statement for as long as the securities registered thereunder continue to qualify as registrable securities. In connection with the registration rights agreement we entered into with the continuing investors who received common units in the Formation Transactions, on March 4, 2021, we filed a shelf registration statement with the SEC to register the primary issuance of the shares of our common stock that they may receive in exchange for their common units. We are required to maintain the effectiveness of this shelf registration statement for as long as the securities registered thereunder continue to qualify as registrable securities.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common stock include: - actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results or dividends;- changes in the estimates of our FFO, NOI or income;- publication of research reports about us or the real estate industry;- increases in market interest rates that lead purchasers of our shares to demand a higher yield;- changes in market valuations of similar companies;- adverse market reaction to any additional debt we incur in the future;- additions or departures of key management personnel;- actions by institutional stockholders;- speculation in the press or investment community;- the realization of any of the other risk factors presented in this Form 10-K;- the extent of investor interest in our securities;- the general reputation of REITs and the attractiveness of our equity securities in comparison to other equity securities, including securities issued by other real estate-based companies;- our underlying asset value;- investor confidence in the stock and bond markets, generally;- changes in tax laws;- future equity issuances;- failure to meet income estimates;- financial performance of our tenants;- failure to meet and maintain REIT qualifications; and - general market and economic conditions, including the impact of inflation. In the past, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the price of their common stock. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management's attention and resources, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and trading price of our common stock. Increases in interest rates may also adversely affect the securities markets generally, which could reduce the market price of our common stock without regard to our operating performance. Any such unfavorable changes to our borrowing costs and stock price could significantly impact our ability to raise new debt and equity capital going forward.

Our policies, including any policies with respect to investments, leverage, financing, growth, debt and capitalization, are determined by our board of directors or those committees or officers to whom our board of directors may delegate such authority. Our board of directors also establishes the amount of any dividends or other distributions that we pay to our stockholders. Our board of directors or the committees or officers to which such decisions are delegated have the ability to amend or revise these and our other policies at any time without stockholder vote. Accordingly, our stockholders are not entitled to approve changes in our policies, and, while not intending to do so, we may adopt policies that may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Conflicts of interest may exist or could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our Operating Partnership or any of its partners, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company under Maryland law in connection with their management of our company. At the same time, we have duties and obligations to our Operating Partnership and its limited partners under Delaware law as modified by the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership in connection with the management of our Operating Partnership as the sole general partner. The limited partners of our Operating Partnership expressly acknowledge that the general partner of our Operating Partnership acts for the benefit of our Operating Partnership, the limited partners and our stockholders collectively. When deciding whether to cause our Operating Partnership to take or decline to take any actions, the general partner will be under no obligation to give priority to the separate interests of (i) the limited partners of our Operating Partnership (including, without limitation, the tax interests of our limited partners, except as provided in a separate written agreement) or (ii) our stockholders. Nevertheless, the duties and obligations of the general partner of our Operating Partnership may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to our company and our stockholders.

There are provisions in our charter and bylaws that may discourage a third party from making a proposal to acquire us, even if some of our stockholders might consider the proposal to be in their best interests. These provisions include the following: Our charter authorizes our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock, to authorize us to issue additional shares of our common stock or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and thereafter to authorize us to issue such classified or reclassified shares of stock. We believe these charter provisions provide us with increased flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs that might arise. The additional classes or series, as well as the additional authorized shares of our common stock, are available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities are listed or traded. Although our board of directors does not currently intend to do so, it could authorize us to issue a class or series of stock that could, depending upon the terms of the particular class or series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or that our common stockholders otherwise believe to be in their best interests. In order to qualify as a REIT, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities such as private foundations) at any time during the last half of any taxable year other than our first REIT taxable year. In order to help us qualify as a REIT, our charter generally prohibits any person or entity from actually owning or being deemed to own by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions, (i) more than 6.50% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of the outstanding shares of our common stock or (ii) more than 6.50% in value of the aggregate of the outstanding shares of all classes and series of our stock, in each case, excluding any shares of our stock not treated as outstanding for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We refer to these restrictions as the "ownership limits." In connection with the Formation Transactions and the concurrent private placement to certain members of the Otto family and their affiliates, our board of directors granted waivers to the lineal descendants of Professor Dr. h.c. Werner Otto, their spouses and controlled entities to own stock in excess of the ownership limits (which waiver currently allows them to own up to 21.0% of our outstanding common stock in the aggregate, which can be automatically increased to an amount greater than 21.0% to the extent that their aggregate ownership exceeds such percentage solely as a result of a repurchase by the company of its common stock). The term the "Otto family" refers to the lineal descendants and the surviving former spouse of the late Professor Dr. h.c. Werner Otto. Our charter also contains a "foreign ownership limit." The foreign ownership limit is intended to help us qualify as a "domestically controlled qualified investment entity." The foreign ownership limit contained in our charter prohibits persons from directly or indirectly owning shares of our capital stock to the extent such ownership would cause more than 49.8% of the value of the shares of our capital stock to be owned, directly or indirectly, by Non-U.S. Persons. For this purpose, a "Non-U.S. Person" is generally defined as a person other than a "United States person," as defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code, and it includes a "foreign person" as such term is used in the provision of the Code defining a domestically controlled qualified investment entity, though proposed Treasury Regulations provide for a "look-through" approach with respect to our stock that is held through certain entities. The ownership limits and the foreign ownership limit may prevent or delay a change in control and, as a result, could adversely affect our stockholders' ability to realize a premium for their shares of our common stock. In addition, certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law ("MGCL"), may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including the Maryland business combination and control share provisions. As permitted by the MGCL, our board of directors adopted a resolution exempting any business combinations between us and any other person or entity from the business combination provisions of the MGCL. Our bylaws provide that this resolution or any other resolution of our board of directors exempting any business combination from the business combination provisions of the MGCL may only be revoked, altered or amended, and our board of directors may only adopt any resolution inconsistent with any such resolution (including an amendment to that bylaw provision), which we refer to as an opt in to the business combination provisions, with the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by holders of outstanding shares of our common stock. In addition, as permitted by the MGCL, our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share acquisition provisions of the MGCL any and all acquisitions by any person of shares of our stock. This bylaw provision may be amended, which we refer to as an opt in to the control share acquisition provisions, only with the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on such an amendment by holders of outstanding shares of our common stock. Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permits our board of directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain takeover defenses, including adopting a classified board or increasing the vote required to remove a director. Such takeover defenses may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making an acquisition proposal for us or of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us under the circumstances that otherwise could provide our common stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then current market price. In addition, the provisions of our charter on the removal of directors and the advance notice provisions of our bylaws, among others, could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control of our company that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest. Each item discussed above may delay, deter or prevent a change in control of our company, even if a proposed transaction is at a premium over the then-current market price for our common stock. Further, these provisions may apply in instances where some stockholders consider a transaction beneficial to them. As a result, our stock price may be negatively affected by these provisions.