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Related Party Transactions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
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, 2020, Azzurro is the Company's largest stockholder, holding approximately 40% of the Company's outstanding shares.
In September 2015, the Company granted Holger Bartel, options to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock of the Company, with an exercise price of $8.07 and quarterly vesting beginning on March 31, 2016 (the “2015 Option Agreement”). In October 2017, the Company granted Mr. Bartel options to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock, with an exercise price of $6.95 and quarterly vesting beginning on March 31, 2018 (the “2017 Option Agreement”). During 2019, 250,000 options granted pursuant to the 2017 Option Agreement were exercised by Mr. Bartel. The remaining 150,000 options are fully vested. In September 2019, the Company granted Mr. Bartel options to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock subject to shareholder approval, with an exercise price of $10.79 and quarterly vesting beginning on March 31, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2021 (the “2019 Option Agreement” and together with the 2015 Option Agreement and the 2017 Option Agreements, the “Bartel Option Agreements”). On May 29, 2020, the shareholders of the Company approved certain amendments to the Bartel Option Agreements, which increased and repriced all outstanding, unexercised options granted to Mr. Bartel (the “Option Agreement Amendments”). The exercise price for the options was repriced to the official NASDAQ closing share price on March 30, 2020 (the date of execution of the Option Agreement Amendments), which was $3.49. Additionally, the Option Agreement Amendments made the following increases: (a) 400,000 additional options to purchase the Company’s common stock pursuant to the 2015 Option Agreement, (b) 150,000 additional options to purchase the Company’s common stock pursuant to the 2017 Option Agreement, and (c) 400,000 additional options to purchase the Company’s common stock pursuant to the 2019 Option Agreement, which resulted in a total of 1,900,000 options granted to Mr. Bartel pursuant to the Option Agreement Amendments. Mr. Bartel’s amended options pursuant to the 2015 Option Agreement and the 2017 Option Agreement were fully vested upon the execution of the applicable Option Agreement Amendment.
WeGo signed a $2.1 million insertion order for advertising with the Company in 2018. The Company’s advertising revenues from WeGo in the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $384,000 and $1.2 million , respectively. WeGo agreed to pay in a lump sum the remaining amount outstanding pursuant to the Insertion Order, equal to approximately $200,000. The Second Insertion Order and any obligation for additional payments from WeGo for marketing were terminated. The lump sum payment was made in the first quarter of 2021.
On February 13, 2019, the Company entered into a SRA with Azzurro to repurchase an aggregate of 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $1.6 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.
On November 9, 2019, the Company entered into a SRA with Holger Bartel to repurchase an aggregate of 200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $2.0 million. The SRA provides that the purchase price is based on the 10-day volume weighted average price calculated using the VWAP function on Bloomberg, from the dates of October 22, 2019 through and including November 4, 2019, less 4.4%.
On October 22, 2020, Azzurro, a significant shareholder of the Company, purchased 50,000 shares of the Company’s common stock from Mr. Holger Bartel at a price of $7.80 based on the closing price of October 21, 2020. Ralph Bartel, who founded the Company 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. Mr. Holger Bartel had previously granted a proxy to Azzurro with power to vote these shares. Azzurro had reported those shares as beneficially owned by it because of the voting power, although it disclaimed beneficial ownership and had no pecuniary interest in the shares. This related party transaction was reviewed and approved in advance by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company.