Equity

Preferred Stock—On October 20, 2017, the Company redeemed all of its issued and outstanding Series E and Series F preferred stock. Each holder of Series E and Series F preferred stock received cash in the amount of the liquidation preference of $25.00 per share, or $240.0 million in the aggregate, plus accrued dividends of $1.1 million and $0.8 million, respectively, on its Series E and Series F Preferred stock. The total carrying value of the Series E and Series F preferred stock was $223.7 million, net of discounts and fees, and was recorded in "Additional paid-in-capital" and "Preferred Stock Series D, E, F, G and I, liquidation preference $25.00 per share" on the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016. The remaining liquidation premium of $16.3 million represents a return similar to a dividend to the holders of the Series E and Series F preferred stock and, as such, has been recorded in "Retained earnings (deficit)" on the Company's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017.

The Company had the following series of Cumulative Redeemable and Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock outstanding as of December 31, 2017:



				Cumulative Preferential Cash Dividends⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾
Series	Shares Issued and Outstanding (in thousands)	Par Value		Liquidation Preference⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾		Rate per Annum		Equivalent to Fixed Annual Rate (per share)		Carrying Value (in thousands)
D	4,000	$	0.001	$	25.00	8.00	%	$	2.00	$	89,041
G	3,200	0.001		25.00		7.65	%	1.91		72,664
I	5,000	0.001		25.00		7.50	%	1.88		120,785
J (convertible)⁽⁴⁾	4,000	0.001		50.00		4.50	%	2.25		193,510
Total	16,200									$	476,000

The Company had the following series of Cumulative Redeemable and Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock outstanding as of December 31, 2016:



				Cumulative Preferential Cash Dividends⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾
Series	Shares Issued and Outstanding (in thousands)	Par Value		Liquidation Preference⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾		Rate per Annum		Equivalent to Fixed Annual Rate (per share)		Carrying Value (in thousands)
D	4,000	$	0.001	$	25.00	8.00	%	$	2.00	$	89,041
E	5,600	0.001		25.00		7.875	%	1.97		127,136
F	4,000	0.001		25.00		7.80	%	1.95		96,550
G	3,200	0.001		25.00		7.65	%	1.91		72,664
I	5,000	0.001		25.00		7.50	%	1.88		120,785
J (convertible)⁽⁴⁾	4,000	0.001		50.00		4.50	%	2.25		193,510
Total	25,800									$	699,686

_______________________________________________________________________________

(1)

Holders of shares of the Series D, G, I and J preferred stock are entitled to receive dividends, when and as declared by the Company's Board of Directors, out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends. Dividends are cumulative from the date of original issue and are payable quarterly in arrears on or before the 15th day of each March, June, September and December or, if not a business day, the next succeeding business day. Any dividend payable on the preferred stock for any partial dividend period will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. Dividends will be payable to holders of record as of the close of business on the first day of the calendar month in which the applicable dividend payment date falls or on another date designated by the Company's Board of Directors for the payment of dividends that is not more than 30 nor less than 10 days prior to the dividend payment date.

(2)

The Company declared and paid dividends of $8.0 million, $8.3 million, $5.9 million, $6.1 million and $9.4 million on its Series D, E, F, G and I Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock during the year ended December 31, 2017. In addition, in October 2017, the Company redeemed its Series E and Series F Preferred Stock and paid dividends through the redemption date of $1.1 million and $0.8 million, respectively, on its Series E and Series F Preferred Stock and paid a liquidation premium of $16.3 million representing a return similar to a dividend to the holders of the Series E and Series F Preferred Stock. The Company declared and paid dividends of $8.0 million, $11.0 million, $7.8 million, $6.1 million and $9.4 million on its Series D, E, F, G and I Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock during the year ended December 31, 2016. The Company declared and paid dividends of $9.0 million on its Series J Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. The character of the 2017 dividends was 100% capital gain distribution, of which 27.90% represented unrecaptured section 1250 gain and 72.10% long term capital gain. The character of the 2016 dividends was as follows: 47.30% was a capital gain distribution, of which 76.15% represented unrecaptured section 1250 gain and 23.85% long term capital gain, and 52.70% was ordinary income. There are no dividend arrearages on any of the preferred shares currently outstanding.


(3)	The Company may, at its option, redeem the Series G and I Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, for cash at a redemption price equal to 100% of the liquidation preference of $25.00 per share, plus accrued and unpaid dividends, if any, to the redemption date.

(4)

Each share of the Series J Preferred Stock is convertible at the holder's option at any time, initially into 3.9087 shares of the Company's common stock (equal to an initial conversion price of approximately $12.79 per share), subject to specified adjustments. The Company may not redeem the Series J Preferred Stock prior to March 15, 2018. On or after March 15, 2018, the Company may, at its option, redeem the Series J Preferred Stock, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, for cash at a redemption price equal to 100% of the liquidation preference of $50.00 per share, plus accrued and unpaid dividends, if any, to the redemption date.

High Performance Unit Program

In May 2002, the Company's shareholders approved the iStar HPU Program. The program entitled employee participants ("HPU Holders") to receive distributions if the total rate of return on the Company's common stock (share price appreciation plus dividends) exceeded certain performance thresholds over a specified valuation period. The Company established seven HPU plans that had valuation periods ending between 2002 and 2008 and the Company has not established any new HPU plans since 2005. HPU Holders purchased interests in the High Performance common stock for an aggregate initial purchase price of $9.8 million. The remaining four plans that had valuation periods which ended in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, did not meet their required performance thresholds, none of the plans were funded and the Company redeemed the participants' units.

The 2002, 2003 and 2004 plans all exceeded their performance thresholds and were entitled to receive distributions equivalent to the amount of dividends payable on 819,254 shares, 987,149 shares and 1,031,875 shares, respectively, of the Company's common stock as and when such dividends were paid on the Company's common stock. Each of these three plans had 5,000 shares of High Performance common stock associated with it, which was recorded as a separate class of stock within shareholders' equity on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. High Performance common stock carried 0.25 votes per share. Net income allocable to common shareholders is reduced by the HPU holders' share of earnings.

In August 2015, the Company repurchased and retired all of its outstanding 14,888 HPUs, representing approximately 2.8 million common stock equivalents. The Company repurchased these HPUs at fair value from current and former employees through an arms-length exchange offer. HPU holders could have elected to receive $9.30 in cash or 0.7 shares of iStar common stock, or a combination thereof, per common stock equivalent underlying the HPUs. Approximately 37% of the outstanding HPUs were exchanged for $9.8 million in cash and approximately 63% of the outstanding HPUs were exchanged for 1.2 million shares of iStar common stock with a fair value of $15.2 million, representing the number of shares issued at the closing price of the Company's common stock on August 13, 2015. The transaction value in excess of the HPUs carrying value of $9.8 million was recorded as a reduction to retained earnings (deficit) in the Company's consolidated statements of changes in equity.

Dividends—To maintain its qualification as a REIT, the Company must annually distribute, at a minimum, an amount equal to 90% of its taxable income, excluding net capital gains, and must distribute 100% of its taxable income (including net capital gains) to eliminate corporate federal income taxes payable by the REIT. The Company has recorded NOLs and may record NOLs in the future, which may reduce its taxable income in future periods and lower or eliminate entirely the Company's obligation to pay dividends for such periods in order to maintain its REIT qualification. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had $948.8 million of NOL carryforwards at the corporate REIT level that can generally be used to offset both ordinary taxable income and capital gain net income in future years. The NOL carryforwards will expire beginning in 2029 and through 2036 if unused. The amount of NOL carryforwards as of December 31, 2017 will be determined upon finalization of the Company's 2017 tax return. Because taxable income differs from cash flow from operations due to non-cash revenues and expenses (such as depreciation and certain asset impairments), in certain circumstances, the Company may generate operating cash flow in excess of its dividends, or alternatively, may need to make dividend payments in excess of operating cash flows. The 2016 Senior Secured Credit Facility and the 2015 Secured Revolving Credit Facility permit the Company to distribute 100% of its REIT taxable income on an annual basis (prior to deducting certain cumulative NOL carryforwards), as long as the Company maintains its REIT qualification. The 2016 Senior Secured Credit Facility and the 2015 Secured Revolving Credit Facility restrict the Company from paying any common dividends if it ceases to qualify as a REIT. The Company did not declare or pay any common stock dividends for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Stock Repurchase Program—As of December 31, 2017, the Company had authorization to repurchase up to $50.0 million of common stock from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions, including pursuant to one or more trading plans. In December 2017, the Company entered into a 10b5-1 plan (the "10b5-1 Plan") in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to facilitate repurchases. Whether and how many shares will be repurchased is uncertain and dependent on prevailing market prices and trading volumes, which we cannot predict. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company repurchased 10.2 million shares of its outstanding common stock for $98.4 million, at an average cost of $9.67 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company repurchased 5.7 million shares of its outstanding common stock for $70.4 million, at an average cost of $12.25 per share.

In addition, in connection with the sale of the 3.125% Convertible Notes in September 2017 (refer to Note 10), the Company repurchased 4.0 million shares of its common stock for $45.9 million at an average cost of $11.51 per share in privately negotiated transactions with purchasers of the 3.125% Convertible Notes.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)—"Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)" reflected in the Company's shareholders' equity is comprised of the following ($ in thousands):



	As of December 31,
	2017			2016
Unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities	$	1,335		$	149
Unrealized gains (losses) on cash flow hedges	707			27
Unrealized losses on cumulative translation adjustment	(4,524		)	(4,394		)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	$	(2,482	)	$	(4,218	)