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Investment in Gaylord Rockies Joint Venture

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Investment in Gaylord Rockies Joint Venture

Investment in Gaylord Rockies Joint Venture

4. Investment in Gaylord Rockies Joint Venture

In March 2016, certain subsidiaries of the Company entered into a series of agreements with affiliates of RIDA Development Corporation (“RIDA”) and Ares with respect to an equity investment in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture, which developed Gaylord Rockies. The hotel is managed by Marriott pursuant to a long-term management contract and consists of a 1,501-room resort hotel with over 485,000 square feet of exhibition, meeting, pre-function and outdoor space. The hotel opened in December 2018 at a total project cost of approximately $800 million.

In 2016, the Company acquired a 35% interest in a limited liability company which owns the real property comprising the hotel, which the Company purchased for a capital contribution of approximately $86.5 million. The Company also acquired a 35% interest in a limited liability company which leases the hotel from the property owner and assumed the Marriott management agreement prior to the opening of the hotel. The equity method income in this investment was $124.4 million for 2018.

A subsidiary of the Company provided designated asset management services on behalf of the hotel during the pre-construction period in exchange for a flat fee and after opening of the hotel in exchange for a fee based on the hotel’s gross revenues on an annual basis.

On December 31, 2018, the Company purchased additional interests in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture, pursuant to a Purchase Agreement by and among the Company and affiliates of RIDA and Ares, and then owned a 61.2% interest in each of the limited liability companies discussed above. The purchase price paid by the Company was approximately $235.2 million, funded with cash on hand and borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit facility. The terms of the Company’s increased investment in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture and certain related agreements provide that a subsidiary of the Company is the managing member and is responsible for day-to-day management of the joint venture and for future financings meeting certain parameters. Designated decisions, such as refinancings that do not meet established parameters, future expansions of the hotel, transactions with affiliates, selling the hotel, and admitting additional members of the joint venture, are to be approved by majority vote of a committee consisting of two members designated by the Company and two members designated by the minority partner. Based on management’s analysis of these updated agreements, management concluded that the Company’s responsibility for the day-to-day management of the joint venture and for future financings meeting certain parameters results in the Company holding the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the joint venture. In addition, the shared decisions represent protective rights of both parties. Thus, the Company is the primary beneficiary of this variable interest entity at December 31, 2018. As such, the Company consolidated the assets and liabilities of the joint venture effective December 31, 2018 and began consolidating the ongoing operations of the joint venture effective January 1, 2019.

The Company performed a valuation of the overall fair value of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture and the acquired assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2018. This valuation was determined based on a variety of factors and inputs, including future projected cash flows, market data for similar assets, future projected occupancy and ADR, replacement values of land and property, and advanced bookings already received for the hotel, all of which the Company considers as Level 3 fair value measurements. This valuation resulted in an estimation that the fair value of the Company’s existing joint venture interest immediately prior to the purchase of additional interest was $218.4 million, which exceeded the carrying value of the Company’s existing interest in the joint venture. The resulting gain of $131.4 million related to the re-measurement of the pre-existing equity method investment prior to consolidation was recorded as income from unconsolidated joint ventures in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations for 2018.

Utilizing the valuation, the Company performed a purchase price allocation for the acquired assets and liabilities of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture. As a result, the following assets, liabilities and obligations were recorded in the Company’s accompanying consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2018 (amounts in thousands):


Property and equipment (Note 2)	$	1,018,499
Cash and cash equivalents - unrestricted		11,653
Notes receivable (Note 3)		11,230
Trade receivables		2,019
Prepaid expenses and other assets		20,419
Intangible assets (Note 1)		241,973
Total assets acquired		1,305,793

Debt and capital lease obligations (Note 5)		(494,578)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		(70,215)
Total liabilities assumed		(564,793)

Noncontrolling interest in consolidated joint venture		(287,433)
Previously unconsolidated investment in joint venture		(86,913)
Gain on re-measurement of pre-existing equity method investment		(131,437)
Purchase price of additional interest in Gaylord Rockies joint venture	$	235,217

In 2019, the Company purchased an additional 0.9% interest in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture for a purchase price of $5.5 million, net of closing true-ups. Subsequent to this transaction, the Company owned 62.1% of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture.

Pursuant to the amended and restated joint venture agreements, certain affiliates of Ares each had a put right to require the Company to purchase their joint venture interests at a defined appraised value during an annual window period, or under certain other circumstances, in consideration of cash or OP Units of the Operating Partnership. During 2020, put right holders totaling 0.5% ownership in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture exercised their put rights for $2.9 million in cash, and the remaining put right holders, totaling 2.4% ownership in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture, exercised their put rights for approximately $14.0 million in OP Units, which was equivalent to approximately 0.4 million OP Units. Such OP Units have economic terms that are substantially similar to shares of the Company’s common stock and are redeemable at the option of the holders thereof. Redemptions will be paid in cash, or if the Company so elects, in shares of the Company’s common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to certain adjustments in accordance with the Operating Partnership’s partnership agreement. Subsequent to these transactions, the Company owned 65% of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture.

Affiliates of RIDA also have a put right at an appraised value for cash, which will become exercisable at the earlier of December 31, 2023 or the date on which a certain change of control of RIDA occurs.

The Company also entered into a tax protection agreement in connection with the December 31, 2018 purchase of additional interests in the Gaylord Rockies joint venture, which will generally require the Company to, among other things, indemnify certain Ares affiliates that were members of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture for 50% of any income taxes incurred by them as a result of a direct or indirect sale or other disposition of the Gaylord Rockies joint venture, within seven years of closing, and for 100% of any income taxes incurred by them as a result of the failure to comply with certain obligations related to nonrecourse liability allocations and debt guarantee opportunities for the purpose of protecting such parties’ tax bases.