May 23rd 2017
SOLICITATION OF PROXIES
This Information Circular is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the trustees (the “Trustees”) of The Keg Royalties Income Fund (the “Fund”) for use at the annual meeting (the “Meeting”) of holders (the “Unitholders”) of units (the “Units”) and Exchangeable Securities (as defined hereto in this Information Circular) of the Fund to be held at The Four Seasons Hotel, 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific Time), on Thursday, June 22nd, 2017, or at any adjournments thereof, for the purposes set forth in the accompanying Notice of Meeting.
It is expected that the solicitation of proxies for the Meeting will be primarily by mail, but proxies may be solicited personally, by telephone or by other means of communication by the Trustees of the Fund and by the directors (the “Directors”), officers and regular employees of The Keg GP Ltd. (“Keg GP”), the managing general partner of The Keg Rights Limited Partnership (the “Partnership”), the administrator of the Fund, who will not be specifically remunerated therefor. All costs of solicitation of proxies by or on behalf of the Trustees will be borne by the Fund.
Notice and Access
This year, the Fund is using the notice and access mechanism (“Notice and Access”) that allows the Fund to furnish proxy materials over the internet to Unitholders instead of mailing paper copies. Under Notice and Access, the Trust can deliver proxy-related materials by (i) posting the Information Circular (and other proxy related materials) on a website other than SEDAR and (ii) sending a notice informing Unitholders that the Information Circular and proxy related materials have been posted and explaining how to access them (the “Notice”).
On or about May 16, 2017, the Fund sent to Unitholders a notice package containing the Notice and the relevant voting document (a form of proxy or voting instruction form). The Notice contains basic information about the Meeting and the matters to be voted on, explains the Notice and Access process, and explains how to obtain a paper copy of the Information Circular.
The Fund has determined that those beneficial Unitholders with existing instructions on their account to receive paper material and those beneficial Unitholders with addresses outside of Canada and the United States will receive a paper copy of the Information Circular with the Notice.
APPOINTMENT OF PROXIES
The persons named in the accompanying Form of Proxy are Trustees of the Fund. A Unitholder desiring to appoint some other person, who need not be a Unitholder, to attend and act on the Unitholder’s behalf at the Meeting has the right to do so, either by inserting the desired person’s name in the blank space provided in the Form of Proxy or by completing another proper Form of Proxy.
A Form of Proxy must be in writing and signed by the Unitholder or by the Unitholder’s attorney duly authorized in writing or, if the Unitholder is a body corporate or association, under its seal or by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized indicating the capacity under which such officer or attorney is signing. If the Form of Proxy
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is executed by an attorney, evidence of the attorney’s authority must accompany the Form of Proxy. A proxy will not be valid unless the completed Form of Proxy is received by Computershare Trust Company of Canada, 100 University Avenue, 9th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2Y1 not less than 24 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) before the commencement of the Meeting, or any adjournment thereof.
Beneficial Unitholders who hold their Units or Exchangeable Securities of the Fund through an intermediary/broker are not entitled, as such, to vote at the Meeting through a proxy. Regulatory policy requires intermediaries/brokers to seek voting instructions from Beneficial Unitholders in advance of the Meeting. Beneficial Unitholders should carefully follow the instructions of their intermediary/broker, including those on how and when voting instructions are to be provided, in order to have their Units or Exchangeable Securities voted at the Meeting. See “Beneficial Unitholders”.
REVOCATION OF PROXIES
A Unitholder who has given a Form of Proxy may revoke it by an instrument in writing that is signed and delivered to Computershare Trust Company of Canada in the manner as described above so as to arrive at any time up to and including the last business day preceding the day of the Meeting, or any adjournment thereof, at which the Form of Proxy is to be used, or to the chair of the Meeting on the day of the Meeting or any adjournment thereof, or in any other manner provided by law. A revocation of a Form of Proxy does not affect any matter on which a vote has been taken prior to the revocation.
VOTING OF PROXIES
The Trustee representatives designated in the enclosed Form of Proxy will vote or withhold from voting the Units and Exchangeable Securities in respect of which they are appointed proxy on any poll that may be called for in accordance with the instructions of the Unitholder as indicated on the Form of Proxy and, if the Unitholder specifies a choice with respect to any matter to be acted upon, the Units and Exchangeable Securities will be voted accordingly. Where no choice is specified in the Form of Proxy, such Units and Exchangeable Securities will be voted “for” the matters described therein and in this Information Circular.
The enclosed Form of Proxy confers discretionary authority upon the person appointed proxy thereunder to vote with respect to amendments or variations of matters identified in the Notice of Meeting and with respect to other matters that may properly come before the Meeting. If amendments or variations to matters identified in the Notice of Meeting are properly brought before the Meeting or any other business is properly brought before the Meeting, it is the intention of the Trustee representatives designated in the enclosed Form of Proxy to vote in accordance with their best judgment on such matters or business. At the time of the printing of this Information Circular, the Trustees know of no such amendment, variation or other matter which may be presented to the Meeting.
BENEFICIAL UNITHOLDERS
The information set forth in this section is important to all Unitholders of the Fund. Unitholders who do not hold their Units or Exchangeable Securities in their own name are referred to in this Information Circular as “Beneficial Unitholders”. Beneficial Unitholders should note that only a Unitholder whose name appears on the records of the Fund as a registered holder of Units and Exchangeable Securities or a person they appoint as a proxy can be recognized and vote at the Meeting. Currently, all issued and outstanding Units are in a book-based system administered by The Canadian Depository for Securities (“CDS”). Consequently, all Units are currently registered under the name of CDS & Co. (the registration name for CDS). CDS also acts as nominee for brokerage firms through which Beneficial Holders hold their Units. Units held by CDS can only be voted (for or against resolutions) upon the instructions of the Beneficial Unitholder. Without specific instructions, brokers/nominees are prohibited from voting Units for their clients. The Trustees of the Fund do not know for whose benefit the Units registered in the name of CDS & Co. are held. Therefore, Beneficial Unitholders cannot be recognized at the Meeting for purposes of voting their Units in person or by way of depositing a Form of Proxy.
Applicable regulatory policy requires intermediaries/brokers to seek voting instructions from Beneficial Unitholders in advance of Unitholders’ meetings. Every intermediary has its own mailing procedures and provides its own return instructions, which should be carefully followed by Beneficial Unitholders in order to ensure that their Units are voted at the Meeting. Often, the Form of Proxy supplied to a Beneficial Unitholder by its broker is identical
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to that provided to registered Unitholders. However, its purpose is limited to instructing the registered Unitholder how to vote on behalf of the Beneficial Unitholder. The majority of brokers now delegate responsibility for obtaining instructions from clients to Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (“Broadridge”). Broadridge typically prepares a machine-readable special voting instruction form, mails those forms to the Beneficial Unitholders and asks Beneficial Unitholders to return the forms to Broadridge once completed in accordance with the appropriate instructions included. Broadridge then tabulates the results of all instructions received and provides appropriate instructions representing the voting of the securities to be represented at the Meeting. A Beneficial Unitholder receiving a Broadridge voting instruction form cannot use that voting instruction form to vote Units directly at the Meeting. The voting instruction form must be returned to Broadridge well in advance of the Meeting in order to have the Units voted. Proxy-related materials will be sent by the Fund to the intermediaries and not directly to the non-registered Beneficial Unitholders. The Fund intends to pay for intermediaries to deliver proxy-related materials to “objecting beneficial owners” and Form 54-101F7 (the request for voting instructions), in accordance with National Instrument 54-101 - Communication with Beneficial Owners of Securities of a Reporting Issuer.
Although Beneficial Unitholders may not be recognized directly at the Meeting for the purposes of voting Units registered in the name of CDS or their broker or other intermediary, a Beneficial Unitholder may attend at the Meeting as proxy holder for the registered holder and vote their Units in that capacity. Beneficial Unitholders who wish to attend the Meeting and indirectly vote their own Units as proxy holder for the registered holder should enter their own names in the blank space on the Form of Proxy or voting instruction form provided to them and return the same to their broker or other intermediary (or the agent of such broker or other intermediary) in accordance with the instructions provided by such broker, intermediary or agent well in advance of the Meeting. If you are a Beneficial Unitholder and wish to vote in person at the Meeting, please contact your intermediary/broker well in advance of the Meeting to determine how you can do so.
Beneficial Unitholders should carefully follow the instructions of their intermediaries/brokers, including those on how and when voting instructions are to be provided, in order to have their Units voted at the Meeting.
FUND STRUCTURE
The Fund is a limited purpose, open-ended trust established under the laws of the Province of Ontario to acquire indirectly through the Partnership certain trademarks, and other related intellectual property (the “Keg Rights”) used by Keg Restaurants Ltd. (“KRL”) in both the operation and franchise of its Keg restaurants in Canada and the United States. The trademarks are licensed to KRL for 99 years for which KRL pays the Fund a royalty (the “Royalty”) of 4% of gross sales of Keg restaurants included in a pool (the “Royalty Pool”) of Keg steakhouses. The Fund is the lender to KRL of a loan in the aggregate amount of $57 million (the “Keg Loan”) with interest on all amounts outstanding accruing at 7.5% per annum, payable monthly.
The Keg Holdings Trust (the “Trust”) is a limited purpose trust established under the laws of the Province of Ontario and is the sole limited partner of the Partnership.
Keg GP is a corporation incorporated under the laws of Canada and, as managing general partner of the Partnership, has the authority to manage and control the business and affairs of the Partnership. The affairs of Keg GP are supervised by its five member board of directors (the “Board of Directors”). The Fund holds 90 common shares in the capital of Keg GP and KRL holds the remaining 10 issued and outstanding common shares.
The Partnership is a limited partnership formed under the laws of the Province of British Columbia. Keg GP is the managing general partner of the Partnership. KRL is the general partner of the Partnership. The business of the Partnership consists of the ownership of the Keg Rights, the taking of actions to exploit, to the fullest extent possible, the use of the Keg Rights by KRL, the collection of the Royalty and the administration of the Fund and the Trust.
KRL is the leading operator and franchisor of steakhouse restaurants in Canada and has a substantial presence in certain regional markets in the United States.
The Fund does not carry on an active business but rather is restricted to holding the securities of: (i) the Partnership, indirectly through its wholly owned subsidiary, the Trust; and (ii) Keg GP. To the maximum extent
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possible, the Fund makes cash distributions to Unitholders of amounts received by the Fund pursuant to interest paid on the Keg Loan and the Trust’s notes and pursuant to distributions on the Trust’s units, less estimated amounts required for the payment of expenses, any cash redemptions of Units and reasonable reserves (which are currently nominal).
VOTING UNITS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS THEREOF
As of January 1, 2017, there are 11,353,500 Units issued and outstanding, each of which entitles the holder to one vote on a poll. In addition, KRL holds 905,944 Class A general partner units of the Partnership (“Class A Units”), 176,700 Class B general partner units of the Partnership (“Class B Units”) and 2,517,170 Class D general units of the Partnership (“Class D Units”). KRL has the right to exchange, in certain circumstances, Class A Units, Class B Units, or Class D units for Units on the basis of one Class A Unit, one Class B Unit, or one Class D Unit, as the case may be, for each Unit. As of January 1, 2017, KRL may exchange all of its Class A Units, Class B Units and Class D Units (collectively referred to herein as the “Exchangeable Securities”) into Units. There are a total of 3,599,814 Exchangeable Securities issued and outstanding as of January 1, 2017 which represents 24.07% of the Units on a fully diluted basis. See "Interest of Informed Persons in Material Transactions".
Holders of Exchangeable Securities are entitled to one vote on a poll for each Unit they would receive upon conversion of the Exchangeable Securities, provided that such holders are not entitled in the aggregate to cast:
(a) more than 45% of the votes cast upon a resolution for the appointment or removal of a Trustee; or
(b) any votes upon a resolution to amend the declaration of trust (the “Declaration of Trust”) by which the Fund is governed in respect of the limitation upon the voting rights of the holders of Exchangeable Securities.
On a show of hands, every person present and entitled to vote will be entitled to one vote. Only registered holders of Units and Exchangeable Securities at the close of business on May 9, 2017, the record date established by the Trustees, are entitled to vote at the Meeting.
Beneficial Unitholders who hold their Units of the Fund through an intermediary/broker are not entitled, as such, to vote at the Meeting in person. If you are a Beneficial Unitholder and wish to vote in person at the Meeting, please contact your intermediary/broker well in advance of the Meeting to determine how you can do so. See “Beneficial Unitholders”.
To the knowledge of the Trustees, no person beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, or exercises control or direction over, Units or Exchangeable Securities carrying more than 10% of the voting rights attached to all the issued and outstanding Units or Exchangeable Securities, other than:
Name | Class and Number of Securities | Percentage of Units on a Fully Diluted Basis |
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited(1) |
Exchangeable Securities convertible into 3,599,814 Units |
24.07% |
1832 Asset Management L.P. | 2,145,207 Units | 14.35% |
(1) On February 4, 2014, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries and holding companies, completed the transaction to acquire 51% interest in KRL from David Aisenstat, the sole shareholder of KRL prior to the transaction. KRL is the registered holder of the Exchangeable Securities. See "Interest of Informed Persons in Material Transactions".
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The consolidated financial statements of the Fund for the period ended December 31, 2016, together with the auditors’ reports thereon, are being mailed to Unitholders contemporaneously with the Information Circular. No formal action will be taken at the Meeting to approve the financial statements, the requirements of the Declaration of
Name, Position and Municipality of Residence(1) |
Principal Occupation and, if not Previously Elected as a Trustee, Occupation During the Past 5 Years(1) |
Period of Service as a Trustee | Number of Units and Exchangeable Securities Held(2) |
GEORGE KILLY Trustee Vancouver, BC, Canada |
President, Harley Street Holdings Inc. | Since April 12, 2002 | 60,000 |
TIM KERR Trustee Vancouver, BC, Canada |
Partner, Springhouse Investments Corp. | Since June 7, 2013 | 6,000 |
CHRISTOPHER CHARLES WOODWARD |
President, Woodcorp Investments Ltd. | Since April 12, 2002 | 9,300 |
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Trust having been satisfied by their advance circulation to Unitholders. If any Unitholders have questions regarding such financial statements, such questions may be brought forward at the Meeting.
ELECTION OF TRUSTEES
Majority Voting Policy
The Board has adopted a majority voting policy that requires that any nominee for Trustee who receives a greater number of votes "withheld" than votes "for" his or her election as a Trustee shall submit his or her resignation to the Governance Committee of the Keg GP for consideration promptly following the Meeting. This practice is intended to apply only to uncontested elections, meaning elections where the number of nominees for Trustee is equal to the number of Trustees to be elected. The Governance Committee shall consider the resignation and shall provide a recommendation to the Board. The Board will consider the recommendation of the Governance Committee and determine whether to accept it within 90 days of the applicable Meeting and a news release will be issued by the Fund announcing the Board’s determination. A Trustee who tenders his or her resignation will not participate in any meetings to consider whether the resignation shall be accepted. Unitholders should note that, as a result of the foregoing policy, a "withhold" vote is effectively the same as a vote against a Trustee nominee in an uncontested election.
Nominees
The number of Trustees to be elected at the Meeting is determined from time to time by resolution of the Trustees, such number being not more than ten and not less than two. The Trustees have fixed the number of Trustees to be elected at the Meeting at three. The term of office of each of the present Trustees expires at the close of the Meeting. All Trustees elected at the Meeting will hold office for a term expiring at the close of the next annual meeting of Unitholders or until their successors are appointed, unless his office is vacated earlier in accordance with the Declaration of Trust. In the following table is stated the name of each person proposed to be nominated for election as a Trustee, the municipality in which he is ordinarily resident, all offices of the Fund now held by him, his principal occupation, the period of time for which he has been a Trustee of the Fund, and the number of Units and Exchangeable Securities beneficially owned by him, directly or indirectly, or over which he exercises control or direction, as at the date hereof:
(1) The information as to municipality of residence and principal occupation, not being within the knowledge of the Fund, has been furnished by the respective Trustees individually.
(2) The information as to Units and Exchangeable Securities beneficially owned or over which a Trustee exercises control or direction, not being within the knowledge of the Fund, has been furnished by the respective Trustees individually.
Unless such authority is withheld, the Trustee representatives named in the accompanying Form of
Proxy intend to vote for the election of the nominees whose names are set forth herein.
Name, Position and Municipality of Residence(1) | Principal Occupation During the Past 5 Years(1) | Period of Service as a Director |
CHRISTOPHER CHARLES |
President, Woodcorp Investments Ltd. | Since May 1, 2002 |
GEORGE KILLY(2)(3)(4) Director Vancouver, BC, Canada |
President, Harley Street Holdings Inc. | Since May 1, 2002 |
TIM KERR(2)(3)(4) |
Partner, Springhouse Investments Corp. | Since June 7, 2013 |
DAVID AISENSTAT(5) Director and President Vancouver, BC, Canada |
President and Chief Executive Officer, KRL | Since May 31, 2002 |
NEIL MACLEAN(5) Officer, Treasurer and Secretary Richmond, BC, Canada |
Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, KRL | Since May 31, 2002 |
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DIRECTORS OF KEG GP
Pursuant to the provisions of a governance agreement among the Fund, the Partnership, the Trust, Keg GP, KRL and David Aisenstat, the Board of Directors of Keg GP is required to consist of five individuals. Three Directors are nominated by the Fund (each of whom may be a Trustee, and must be an “unrelated director” within the meaning of the corporate governance policy of The Toronto Stock Exchange, and “independent” within the meaning of applicable securities laws) and two Directors are nominated by KRL. KRL’s entitlement to nominate Directors is subject to KRL holding, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the Units whether held directly or indirectly through Exchangeable Securities. The Fund and KRL are required, pursuant to the governance agreement, to vote their common shares of Keg GP in favour of such nominees.
In the following table is stated the name of each person nominated for election as a Director by the Fund and KRL, the municipality in which he is ordinarily resident, all offices of Keg GP now held by him, his principal occupation and the period of time for which he has been a Director of Keg GP:
(1) The information as to municipality of residence and principal occupation, not being within the knowledge of the Fund, has been furnished by the respective Directors individually.
(2) Member of the Audit Committee of Keg GP.
(3) Member of the Governance Committee of Keg GP.
(4) Nominee of the Fund.
(5) Nominee of KRL.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Other than disclosed herein, to the knowledge of the Trustees, there are no existing or potential material
conflicts of interest among the Fund or a subsidiary of the Fund and a Trustee, director or officer of the Fund or a subsidiary of the Fund.
David Aisenstat is a director of Keg GP and is also a director, officer and the sole shareholder of KRL. Neil Maclean is a director Keg GP and is also a director and officer of KRL. Due to the relationship between KRL and the Fund, or a subsidiary of the Fund, such persons may have conflicting interests.
APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS
At the Meeting, the Unitholders will be called upon to appoint KPMG LLP, as auditors of the Fund, to hold office until the next annual meeting of the Fund, at a remuneration to be fixed by the Trustees. KPMG LLP has acted as the auditors of the Fund since the inception of the Fund on April 12, 2002.
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Unless such authority is withheld, the Trustee representatives named in the accompanying Form of Proxy intend to vote for the appointment of KPMG LLP, as auditors of the Fund, to hold office until the next annual meeting of the Fund, at a remuneration to be fixed by the Trustees.
The Trustees recommend that the Unitholders vote for the appointment of KPMG LLP as auditors of the Fund, at a remuneration to be fixed by the Trustees.
STATEMENT OF EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION Compensation of Trustees and Directors
The following table provides a summary of compensation provided to the Trustees of the Fund and the Directors of Keg GP for most recently completed financial year.
Name | Fees Earned ($) | Share-Based Awards ($) | Option-Based Awards ($) | Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($) | Pension Value ($) | All other Compensation ($) | Total ($) |
George Killy | $30,500 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | $30,500 |
Tim Kerr | $30,500 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | $30,500 |
Charles Woodward | $30,500 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | $30,500 |
David Aisenstat | nil | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | nil |
Neil Maclean | nil | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | nil |
The annual compensation for each Trustee is $7,500 plus $1,000 for each meeting of the Trustees except where the Trustee attends a meeting of the Board of Directors of Keg GP or a meeting of the trustees of the Trust on the same day and for which compensation is paid. The trustees of the Trust (who comprise all of the Trustees) are also compensated $7,500 per annum plus $1,000 for each meeting of the trustees of the Trust except where such trustee attends a meeting of the Board of Directors of Keg GP or a meeting of the Trustees on the same day and for which compensation is paid. The Trustees are also Directors of Keg GP and, as such, each receives compensation of $7,500 per year plus $1,000 for attending each meeting of the Board of Directors or a committee thereof except where the Trustee attends a meeting of the Trustees or a meeting of the trustees of the Trust on the same day and for which compensation is paid. Directors who are also directors or officers of KRL are not entitled to the annual retainer payable to Directors. Trustees, trustees of the Trust and Directors are also entitled to be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred by them in connection with their services as Trustees, trustees of the Trust and Directors. The aggregate amount paid to the Trustees as compensation, for acting as Trustees, trustees of the Trust and Directors, during the financial year of the Fund ended December 31, 2016 was $91,500. This compensation (and any expense reimbursement) is paid by the Partnership.
Trustees’, Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance
The Partnership maintains a policy of insurance for the Trustees, the trustees of the Trust and the directors and officers of Keg GP. The aggregate limit of liability applicable to all insured trustees, directors and officers under the policy is $10 million inclusive of defence costs. Under the policy, the Fund, the Trust and Keg GP have reimbursement coverage to the extent that it has indemnified the insured trustees, directors and officers in excess of a deductible of $50,000 for each loss. The aggregate limit of liability will be shared between the Fund, the Trust and Keg GP and their respective trustees, directors and officers such that the limit of liability will not be exclusive to the Fund, the Trust, Keg GP or their respective directors, officers and trustees. The annual premium for the period from May 28, 2016 to May 27, 2017 was paid by the Partnership and amounted to $28,425.
INDEBTEDNESS OF TRUSTEES AND DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF KEG GP
No current or former Trustee, proposed nominee for election as a Trustee, director or officer of Keg GP, or an associate of any of the foregoing is, or at any time during the Fund’s most recently completed financial year was, indebted to (i) the Fund, (ii) the Trust, (iii) Keg GP, (iv) the Partnership, or (v) to another entity where such
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indebtedness is or has been the subject of a guarantee, support agreement, letter of credit or other similar arrangement or understanding provided by the Fund, the Trust, Keg GP or the Partnership, other than routine indebtedness.
INTEREST OF INFORMED PERSONS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS
Other than as set forth below or elsewhere in this Information Circular, to the knowledge of the Trustees, no “informed person” has any material interest, direct or indirect, by way of beneficial ownership or otherwise, in any transaction with the Fund since the commencement of the Fund’s last financial year or in any proposed transaction which has materially affected or would materially affect the Fund, the Trust, the Partnership or Keg GP. An “informed person” means (a) a Trustee; (b) a trustee, director or executive officer of the Trust, the Partnership, Keg GP or a person or company that is itself an informed person; (c) any person or company who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, voting securities of the Fund or who exercises control or direction over voting securities of the Fund or a combination of both carrying more than 10% of the voting rights attached to all Units; and (d) the Fund, if it has purchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired any of its securities, for so long as it holds any of its securities.
On May 31, 2002, pursuant to an acquisition agreement (the “Acquisition Agreement”), KRL, an insider of the Fund, transferred the Keg Rights to the Partnership for a total purchase price of $113,546,820. The purchase price was paid (i) as to $30,487,380, by a cash payment; and (ii) as to $83,059,440, by the issue of 905,944 Class A Units, 3,376,700 Class B Units and 5,700,000 Class C general partner units of the Partnership.
Concurrently with the transfer of the Keg Rights to the Partnership, the Partnership pursuant to a licence and royalty agreement (the “Licence and Royalty Agreement”) granted KRL an exclusive and unlimited licence to use the Keg Rights for a period of 99 years, for which KRL agreed to pay the Partnership the Royalty. In connection with the Licence and Royalty Agreement, KRL granted to the Partnership a general security agreement (the “Partnership General Security Agreement”) to secure payment of the Royalty and all of its obligations under the Licence and Royalty Agreement. The number of Keg steakhouses included in the Royalty Pool is amended annually.
As described above, on January 1st, the pool of Keg restaurants on which KRL pays a royalty to the Partnership (the “Royalty Pool”) is adjusted to include the gross sales from new Keg restaurants that have opened on or before October 2nd of the prior year, less gross sales from any Keg restaurants that have permanently closed during the year. In return for adding these net sales to the Royalty Pool, KRL receives the right to indirectly acquire additional Fund units (the “Additional Entitlement”). The Additional Entitlement is currently determined based on 92.5% of the royalty revenue added to the Royalty Pool, divided by the yield of the Fund units divided by the weighted average unit price of the Fund units. KRL receives 80% of the estimated Additional Entitlement initially, with the balance received on December 31st of each year when the actual full year performance of the new restaurants is known with certainty.
During 2005, it was determined that the roll-in formula used to calculate the Additional Entitlement was inconsistent with other restaurant royalty funds in the Fund’s peer group such that the accretion that was intended to result from the addition of new sales to the Royalty Pool was affected by the Fund’s Unit price at the time of the roll- in. If the Unit price was above $10, the addition of new restaurant sales to the Royalty Pool would be less accretive to unitholders than intended and conversely, if the Unit price was below $10, the addition of new restaurant sales would be more accretive than intended.
As a result, on December 12, 2005, the Fund’s Trustees and KRL’s management amended the arrangements between KRL and the Fund (with effect as if the amendments had been made on May 31, 2002, the date of the Fund’s initial public offering (“IPO”)) to ensure that the intended accretion to unitholders continues regardless of the Fund’s Unit price. As part of these new arrangements, KRL agreed to waive its entitlement to receive approximately 43,718 Units in connection with the Additional Entitlement for the January 1, 2005 pursuant to the existing formula.
On December 21, 2010, the Fund announced its intention to remain an income trust in connection with the introduction of the specified investment flow-through trust tax (the “SIFT tax”) which became effective on January 1, 2011. Further to this determination, during the first quarter of 2011 the Trustees of the Fund and KRL determined that the SIFT tax would have a negative and unintended impact on the economics associated with the roll-in mechanism for the Additional Entitlements on January 1, 2012 and thereafter. Specifically, if no change was made to the terms of the Limited Partnership Agreement, further additions to the Royalty Pool (and the compensation paid to KRL for creating additional Royalty revenue for the Partnership) would not be accretive to the Fund and its
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Unitholders and KRL would receive Additional Entitlements greater than such Royalty revenue would have been worth on an after-tax basis to the Fund and the Unitholders. Though KRL was under no contractual or other legal obligation to enter into any amendment to the Limited Partnership Agreement, management of KRL advised the Fund that is believed an adjustment to the roll-in mechanism was in the best interests of all parties as a way of preserving investor confidence and interest in the Fund and the market price of the Units.
On May 17, 2011, Unitholders of the Fund approved an amendment to the terms of the Limited Partnership Agreement, the details of which amendment were described in the Fund’s Management Information Circular dated April 12, 2011, and which amendment would reduce (relative to what would have been received without the amendment) the Additional Entitlements that KRL was entitled to receive. A copy of the Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement dated as of May 17, 2011 can be found on www.sedar.com.
The total number of Keg restaurants included in the Royalty Pool has increased from the 80 Keg restaurants in existence on March 31, 2002, to 100 as of December 31, 2016. Sixty-two new Keg restaurants that opened during the period from April 1, 2002 through October 2, 2015, with annual gross sales of $311.3 million, have been added to the Royalty Pool. Forty-two permanently closed Keg restaurants with annual sales of $130.7 million have been removed from the Royalty Pool. This has resulted in a net increase in Royalty Pool sales of $180.6 million annually and KRL receiving a cumulative Additional Entitlement equivalent to 5,762,147 Fund units as of December 31, 2016.
KRL’s effective ownership of the Fund and its interest in the earning of the Partnership has grown from 10.00% at the time of the Fund’s IPO to 23.40% as of December 31, 2016. The increase in KRL’s effective ownership of the Fund is due to the cumulative Additional Entitlement received by KRL equivalent to 5,762,147 Fund units, less 3,200,000 Exchangeable units exchanged by KRL for Fund units and sold through the facilities of the TSX. The sale of the 3,200,000 Exchangeable units increased the number of issued and outstanding Fund units from 8,153,500 at the time of the IPO to 11,353,500 as of February 8, 2011.
Mr. David Aisenstat who is a Director of Keg GP, is also a director, and together with Mr. Neil Maclean, officers of KRL. Mr. Aisenstat, together with Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, comprise the shareholder group for KRL.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) dated May 31, 2002, KRL was granted certain demand and “piggy-back” registration rights by the Fund.
KRL granted to the Fund a general security agreement (the “Keg General Security Agreement”) dated May 31, 2002 to secure payment of the Keg Loan. The Keg General Security Agreement and the Partnership General Security Agreement are subordinate to security granted by KRL to a syndicate of Canadian banks to secure a $51,500,000 revolving credit\term loan facility entered into on September 28, 2013 for the expansion of restaurant operations and a $3,000,000 revolving demand operating facility with a Canadian chartered bank entered into on the same date for general corporate purposes, including working capital, overdrafts and letters of credit (collectively, the Keg Facility”).
The full details of the foregoing transactions and relationships including summaries of the provisions contained in the Acquisition Agreement, Licence and Royalty Agreement, Partnership General Security Agreement, Registration Rights Agreement, the Keg Loan, the Keg General Security Agreement and the governance agreement referred to under “Directors of Keg GP” above (but excluding the Keg Facility) are included in the Fund’s Annual Information Form dated on March 29, 2017 and filed with the security regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. Copies of the annual information form and the various material agreements (as may be amended from time to time) referred to therein may be obtained at the Canadian securities regulatory authorities website at www.sedar.com.
MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS
Other than KRL’s provision of ongoing and regular consultation and management services to the Partnership as to the operation and management of the business of the Partnership for which it is paid no consideration other than third party expense reimbursement, there are no management functions of the Fund, the Partnership or Keg GP which are to any substantial degree performed by a person other than the Trustees, in the case of the Fund, or the directors and officers of Keg GP, in the case of the Partnership and Keg GP.
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PARTICULARS OF OTHER MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON
The Trustees know of no matters to come before the Meeting other than those referred to in the Notice of Meeting accompanying this Information Circular. However, if any other matters properly come before the Meeting, it is the intention of the Trustee representatives named in the Form of Proxy accompanying this Information Circular to vote the same in accordance with their best judgment of such matters.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information relating to the Fund is available on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval at www.sedar.com. Financial information is provided in the Fund’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, together with the management’s discussion and analysis thereon and is available upon request from Neil Maclean, the Treasurer and Secretary of Keg GP, 10100 Shellbridge Way, Richmond, British Columbia, V6X 2W7.
APPROVAL OF CIRCULAR
The undersigned hereby certifies that the contents and the sending of this Information Circular have been approved by the Trustees.
DATED at Vancouver, British Columbia, this 10th day of May, 2017.
BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES
C. C. Woodward Chairman of the Board of Trustees
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SCHEDULE “A”
STATEMENT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES
The Trustees, the Board of Directors of Keg GP (the “GP Board”) and the KRL management team are committed to a high standard of corporate governance. Effective corporate governance requires specified reporting structures and business processes, a strategic plan, and a commitment to work according to these. The Trustees believe that sound corporate governance contributes to unitholder value and to trust and confidence in the Fund. The Keg GP Board is responsible under law for the stewardship of the Partnership, including the business affairs of the Fund. To help execute this mandate, the Keg GP Board has established an Audit Committee and Governance Committee, both of which are composed exclusively of “independent” Directors. The Trustees have not established any committees and none are considered necessary due to the limited number of Trustees, the nature of the Fund’s business and the committees that have been established by the Keg GP Board. The Canadian Securities Administrators established various guidelines, which came into force on June 30, 2005, and which require listed companies to disclose their corporate governance practices on an annual basis with reference to these guidelines.
Management of the Fund has monitored ongoing developments in the area of corporate governance best practices with a view to making appropriate changes to the Fund’s corporate governance structures and procedures, as described below.
References in this discussion to “the Board” relate to the Fund’s Board of Trustees and the Keg GP Board collectively.
Board Composition and Independence
The Fund’s Board is currently comprised of three Trustees, each of which is “independent” (Messrs. Killy, Kerr and Woodward).
Pursuant to a governance agreement by which Keg GP is governed, Keg GP has five Directors, three of which must be “independent” directors. Of the Directors, David Aisenstat, the President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of KRL, and Neil Maclean, an Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and a director of KRL, are by virtue of the business relationship between KRL and the Partnership, not considered to be “independent” directors.
The Trustees, and the remainder of the Directors, including the chair of the Fund and Keg GP Boards, Mr. Woodward, are free from any interest and any business or other relationship which could, or could reasonably be perceived to, materially interfere with the Trustee’s or Director’s ability to act with a view to the best interests of the Fund and the Partnership, respectively, other than interests and relationships arising from shareholdings, if any, and consequently are considered to be “independent” trustees and directors. The particular roles and responsibilities of the chair of the Fund’s Board are set out in the Charter of the Board of Trustees attached as Schedule “B” to this circular.
Mr. Woodward is also a director of Village Farms International Inc.
The Keg GP Board meets independently of management of KRL when needed; such meetings occur, at the very least, at the conclusion of every meeting of the Keg GP Board. During such meetings of the independent directors, the Board encourages open and candid discussion in respect of any issues not raised in the presence of the non-independent directors. The currently established committees of the Keg GP Board are composed entirely of independent directors.
The attendance record of each of the Fund’s Trustees and Keg GP’s directors for all Board meetings held since January 1, 2016 is as follows: