Subsequent Events

On April 8, 2016, we announced a number of immediate and longer-term initiatives designed to enhance value for our stockholders, which include:


•	Utilizing up to $50 million to initiate a stock repurchase program;


•	Amending our 2016 dividend policy commencing with the second quarter by increasing the expected quarterly cash dividend for our common stock by 20%, from $0.10 per diluted share to $0.12 per diluted share. This equates to an annual rate of $0.48 per diluted share, representing a 4.4% yield based on our closing stock price on April 7, 2016;


•	Liquidating our investment in the AQUA U.S. Fund and utilizing the cash to fund the share repurchase plan;


•	Immediately unwinding the OP Unit enfranchisement preferred equity transaction for our OP unit holders, previously announced on February 2, 2016; and


•	Commencing the sale process for up to four of our assets that do not have the RevPAR level and product quality consistent with the long-term vision of Ashford Prime. The assets include the Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown Hotel, Courtyard Seattle Downtown Hotel, Renaissance Tampa Hotel and Marriott Legacy Center Hotel in Plano, Texas.

Additionally, we reaffirmed our focused strategy of investing in luxury hotels in resort and gateway markets while targeting a conservative leverage level of Net Debt/EBITDA of 5.0x or less.

On April 26, 2016, we commenced a public offering of 290,850 shares of our Series B Preferred Stock at $17.24 per share for gross proceeds of $5.0 million. The Series B Preferred Stock offering includes accrued and unpaid dividends since April 15, 2016. Dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock will accrue at a rate of 5.50% on the liquidation preference of $25.00 per share. The offering closed on April 29, 2016. The net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts, advisory fees, commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by the company, were approximately $4.5 million.

On May 6, 2016, the Company announced that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell the Marriott Courtyard Seattle Downtown. The transaction is subject to the signing of definitive documentation and other customary closing conditions. Additionally, the Company announced that its board of directors is seeking to appoint a new chief executive officer and is also interviewing highly qualified independent director candidates with the intention to add one or more independent directors. The board of directors anticipates that a new chief executive officer and new independent directors would join the Company after the annual meeting of stockholders on June 10, 2016, if the current slate of directors recommended by the board of directors is re-elected.