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Related Party Transactions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]  
Related Party Transactions
Related Party Transactions
Ralph Bartel, who founded Travelzoo and who is a Director of the Company is the sole beneficiary of the Ralph Bartel 2005 Trust, which is the controlling shareholder of Azzurro Capital Inc.("Azzurro"). As of December 31, 2018, Azzurro is the Company's largest stockholder, holding approximately 50.5% of the Company's outstanding shares.
On August 20, 2015, as part of the transaction proceeds Travelzoo (Europe) Limited issued a promissory note to Azzurro with a principal amount of $5.7 million, with a maturity date of August 20, 2018 and the ability to pay off principal prior to this maturity date with no prepayment penalty and a stated interest rate of 7%, which is due and payable on a quarterly basis. Accrued interest for the loans and promissory note outstanding was $267,000 for the year ended December 31, 2015. In January 2016, the full amount of the loan was paid off by Travelzoo (Europe) Limited.
The Company granted Holger Bartel, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors, 400,000 stock options that vest through December 31, 2017 on September 28, 2015 and granted 400,000 stock options that vest through December 31, 2019 on October 30, 2017. See Note 8 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements for further information. Holger Bartel is the brother of Ralph Bartel.
In April 2018, the Company entered into an agreement with WeekenGO, a start-up company in Germany. The Company invested $3.0 million in WeekenGO for a 25% ownership interest. WeekenGO signed a $2.1 million insertion order for advertising with the Company in 2018. The Company’s advertising revenues from WeekenGO in the year ended December 31, 2018 were $319,000.
On February 13, 2019, the Company entered into a Stock Repurchase Agreement (the “SRA”) with Azzurro to repurchase an aggregate of 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $1.5 million. The SRA provides that the purchase price is based on the five (5) day volume weighted average price calculated using the VWAP function on Bloomberg, from the dates of February 6, 2019 through and including February 12, 2019, minus a five percent (5%) discount. The Company’s board of directors established a special committee (the “Special Committee”), consisting of independent and disinterested directors who engaged independent legal counsel and an independent financial advisor, to authorize the transaction.