As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2020

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

SHIFT4 PAYMENTS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		7389		84-3676340
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

2202 N. Irving St.

Allentown, Pennsylvania 18109

Telephone: (888) 276-2108

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Jordan Frankel

2202 N. Irving St.

Allentown, Pennsylvania 18109

Telephone: (888) 276-2108

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Marc D. Jaffe, Esq. Ian D. Schuman, Esq. Adam J. Gelardi, Esq. Latham & Watkins LLP 885 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 Telephone: (212) 906-1200 Fax: (212) 751-4864		Jordan Frankel, Esq. Secretary and General Counsel, Shift4 Payments, Inc. 2202 N. Irving St. Allentown, Pennsylvania 18109 Telephone: (888) 276-2108		Richard A. Fenyes, Esq. Joshua F. Bonnie, Esq. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 425 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10017 Telephone: (212) 455-2000 Fax: (212) 455-2502

 

 

APPROXIMATE DATE OF COMMENCEMENT OF PROPOSED SALE TO THE PUBLIC: AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE AFTER THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT IS DECLARED EFFECTIVE.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box.  ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer		☐		Accelerated filer		☐
Non-accelerated filer		☒		Smaller reporting company		☐
Emerging growth company		☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered		Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)(2)		Amount of Registration Fee
Class A common stock, $        par value per share		$100,000,000.00		$12,980.00

(1)	Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(2)	Includes the offering price of shares of Class A common stock that may be sold if the option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock granted by the Registrant to the underwriters is executed.

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to completion. Dated May 15, 2020.

            Shares

 

 

 

Shift4 Payments, Inc.

Class A Common Stock

 

 

This is an initial public offering of shares of Class A common stock of Shift4 Payments, Inc. We are selling                  shares of Class A common stock.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the Class A common stock. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per share of Class A common stock will be between $        and $        . We have applied to list our Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “FOUR.”

We will have two classes of common stock outstanding after this offering: Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Each share of our Class A common stock entitles its holder to one vote per share and each share of our Class B common stock entitles its holder to             votes per share on all matters presented to our stockholders generally. Immediately following the consummation of this offering, all shares of our Class B common stock will be held by Searchlight (as defined below) and our Founder (as defined below), which combined will represent approximately     % of the voting power of our outstanding common stock after this offering (or approximately      % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares).

We will be a holding company, and upon consummation of this offering and the application of proceeds therefrom, our principal asset will consist of (i) the LLC Interests (as defined below) that we purchase directly from Shift4 Payments, LLC and certain of the Continuing Equity Owners (as defined below) with the proceeds from this offering and (ii) the LLC Interests that we acquire from the Former Equity Owners (as defined below) in connection with the consummation of the Transactions (as defined below), collectively representing an aggregate     % economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC. Of the remaining     % economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC,     % will be owned by Searchlight through their ownership of LLC Interests and     % will be owned by our Founder through his ownership of LLC Interests.

We will be the sole managing member of Shift4 Payments, LLC. We will operate and control all of the business and affairs of Shift4 Payments, LLC and, through Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries, conduct our business.

Following this offering, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules. See “Our Organizational Structure” and “Management—Controlled Company Exception.”

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and will be subject to reduced disclosure and public reporting requirements. This prospectus complies with the requirements that apply to an issuer that is an emerging growth company.

 

Investing in our Class A common stock involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 25 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of our Class A common stock.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

		Per Share				Total
Initial public offering price		$				$
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)		$				$
Proceeds, before expenses, to Shift4 Payments, Inc.		$				$

 

(1)

We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses in connection with this offering. See “Underwriting.”

The underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional                  shares of Class A common stock from us at the initial price to public less the underwriting discount within 30 days of the date of this prospectus.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of Class A common stock against payment in New York, New York on                 , 2020.

 

 

(listed in alphabetical order)

Citigroup		Credit Suisse		Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

 

 

 

BofA Securities		Morgan Stanley		RBC Capital Markets		Evercore ISI

Raymond James		SunTrust Robinson Humphrey		Wolfe Capital Markets and Advisory

Citizens Capital Markets		Scotiabank		TD Securities		Telsey Advisory Group

Prospectus dated                 , 2020.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

		Page
LETTER FROM JARED ISAACMAN, OUR FOUNDER			vi
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY			1
RISK FACTORS			25
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			60
OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE			62
USE OF PROCEEDS			66
CAPITALIZATION			67
DIVIDEND POLICY			69
DILUTION			70
SELECTED HISTORICAL CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA			73
UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION			75
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS			82
BUSINESS			101
MANAGEMENT			121
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION			128
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS			135
PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS			145
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK			147
DESCRIPTION OF INDEBTEDNESS			153
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE			157
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS OF CLASS A COMMON STOCK			159
UNDERWRITING			163
LEGAL MATTERS			168
EXPERTS			168
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			168
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS			F-1

We and the underwriters have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any related free writing prospectuses. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered by this prospectus, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospectus may have changed since that date.

Through and including                 , 2020 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.

For investors outside the United States: We and the underwriters have not done anything that would permit this offering or the possession or distribution of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus we may provide to you in connection with this offering in any jurisdiction where action for purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of Class A common stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States. See “Underwriting.”

 

i

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Organizational Structure

In connection with the closing of this offering, we will effect certain organizational transactions. Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires, all information in this prospectus reflects the consummation of the organizational transactions and this offering, which we refer to collectively as the Transactions. See “Our Organizational Structure” for a description of the Transactions and a diagram depicting our organizational structure after giving effect to the Transactions, including this offering.

Certain Definitions

As used in this prospectus, unless the context otherwise requires, references to:

 

•

“we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” “Shift4” and similar references refer: (1) following the consummation of the Transactions, including this offering, to Shift4 Payments, Inc., and, unless otherwise stated, all of its subsidiaries, including Shift4 Payments, LLC and, unless otherwise stated, all of its subsidiaries, and (2) prior to the completion of the Transactions, including this offering, to Shift4 Payments, LLC and, unless otherwise stated, all of its subsidiaries.

 

•

“Blocker Companies” refers to certain direct and/or indirect owners of LLC Interests in Shift4 Payments, LLC, collectively, prior to the Transactions that are taxable as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

•

“Continuing Equity Owners” refers collectively to Searchlight, our Founder and their respective permitted transferees that will own LLC Interests after the Transactions and who may, following the consummation of this offering, redeem at each of their options, in whole or in part from time to time, their LLC Interests for, at our election (determined solely by our independent directors (within the meaning of the rules of the NYSE ) who are disinterested), cash or newly-issued shares of our Class A common stock as described in “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions— Shift4 LLC Agreement—Agreement in Effect Upon Consummation of this Offering.”

 

•

“LLC Interests” refers to the common units of Shift4 Payments, LLC, including those that we purchase directly from Shift4 Payments, LLC and certain of the Continuing Equity Owners with the proceeds from this offering and the common units of Shift4 Payments, LLC that we acquire from the Former Equity Owners in connection with the consummation of the Transactions.

 

•

“Founder” refers to Jared Isaacman, our Chief Executive Officer.

 

•

“Former Equity Owners” refers to certain Original Equity Owners (as defined below) who will exchange their ownership interests in LLC Interests for shares of our Class A common stock (to be held by them either directly or indirectly) in connection with the consummation of the Transactions.

 

•

“Blocker Shareholders” refers to the owners of Blocker Companies, collectively, prior to the Transactions.

 

•

“Original Equity Owners” refers to the owners of LLC Interests in Shift4 Payments, LLC, collectively, prior to the Transactions, which include entities affiliated with Searchlight, our Founder and FPOS Holding Co., Inc.

 

•

“Searchlight” refers to Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, and certain funds affiliated with Searchlight (including any such fund or entity formed to hold shares of Class A common stock for the Former Equity Owners).

 

•

“Shift4 Payments LLC Agreement” refers to Shift4 Payments, LLC’s amended and restated limited liability company agreement, which will become effective on or prior to the consummation of this offering.

Shift4 Payments, Inc. will be a holding company and the sole managing member of Shift4 Payments, LLC, and upon consummation of this offering and the application of proceeds therefrom, its principal asset will consist of LLC Interests.

 

ii

Presentation of Financial Information

Shift4 Payments, LLC is the accounting predecessor of the issuer, Shift4 Payments, Inc., for financial reporting purposes. Shift4 Payments, Inc. will be the audited financial reporting entity following this offering. Accordingly, this prospectus contains the following historical financial statements:

 

•

Shift4 Payments, Inc. Other than the inception balance sheet, dated as of November 5, 2019, the historical financial information of Shift4 Payments, Inc. has not been included in this prospectus as it is a newly incorporated entity, has no significant business transactions or activities to date and had no significant assets or liabilities during the periods presented in this prospectus.

 

•

Shift4 Payments, LLC. As Shift4 Payments, Inc. will have no interest in any operations other than those of Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries, the historical consolidated financial information included in this prospectus is that of Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries.

The unaudited pro forma financial information of Shift4 Payments, Inc. presented in this prospectus has been derived by the application of pro forma adjustments to the historical consolidated financial statements of Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries included elsewhere in this prospectus. These pro forma adjustments give effect to the Transactions as described in “Our Organizational Structure,” including the consummation of this offering, as if all such transactions had occurred on January 1, 2019 in the case of the unaudited pro forma consolidated statements of operations data, and as of March 31, 2020 in the case of the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet data. See “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Information” for a complete description of the adjustments and assumptions underlying the pro forma financial information included in this prospectus.

Certain monetary amounts, percentages and other figures included in this prospectus have been subject to rounding adjustments. Percentage amounts included in this prospectus have not in all cases been calculated on the basis of such rounded figures, but on the basis of such amounts prior to rounding. For this reason, percentage amounts in this prospectus may vary from those obtained by performing the same calculations using the figures in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Certain other amounts that appear in this prospectus may not sum due to rounding.

Key Terms and Performance Indicators Used in this Prospectus; Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Throughout this prospectus, we use a number of key terms and provide a number of key performance indicators used by management. These key performance indicators are discussed in more detail in the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key performance indicators and non-GAAP measures.” We define these terms as follows:

 

•

end-to-end payment volume, which we define as the total dollar amount of card payments that we authorize and settle on behalf of our merchants;

 

•

net revenue, which we define as gross revenue less network fees, which includes interchange and assessment fees;

 

•

EBITDA, which we define as earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization; and

 

•

adjusted EBITDA, which we define as EBITDA further adjusted for acquisition, restructuring and integration costs, management fees and other non-recurring items management believes are not indicative of ongoing operations.

We use non-GAAP financial measures to supplement financial information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. We believe that excluding certain items from our GAAP results allows management to better understand our consolidated financial performance from period to period and better project our future consolidated financial performance as forecasts are developed at a level of detail different from that used to prepare GAAP-based financial measures. Moreover, we believe these

 

iii

non-GAAP financial measures provide our stakeholders with useful information to help them evaluate our operating results by facilitating an enhanced understanding of our operating performance and enabling them to make more meaningful period to period comparisons. There are limitations to the use of the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this prospectus. For example, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do, limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes. See “Prospectus Summary—Summary Historical and Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial and Other Data” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

 

iv

TRADEMARKS

This prospectus includes our trademarks and trade names which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are our property. This prospectus also contains trademarks, trade names and service marks of other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ^®, ^™ or SM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks, trade names and service marks. We do not intend our use or display of other parties’ trademarks, trade names or service marks to imply, and such use or display should not be construed to imply, a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other parties.

MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA

Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this prospectus concerning our industry, competitive position and the markets in which we operate is based on information from independent industry and research organizations, other third-party sources and management estimates. Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts, such as The Nilson Report, the “Global payments 2018: A dynamic industry continues to break new ground” report by McKinsey & Company, or McKinsey, and other third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and are based on assumptions made by us upon reviewing such data, and our experience in, and knowledge of, such industry and markets, which we believe to be reasonable. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of the future performance of the industry in which we operate and our future performance are necessarily subject to uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.

This prospectus also contains information regarding feedback that originated from our customers, including those described in “Business—Customer Success Stories.” This information is based upon feedback collected by us. We encourage our customers to describe their experiences with our services. We also survey our customers from time to time regarding their experiences with us. In response to positive feedback received, we contacted certain of these customers to request their consent to use their story in this prospectus and, in some cases, requested further detail about their positive experience.

 

v

LETTER FROM JARED ISAACMAN, OUR FOUNDER

Shift4 Payments is an incredible story of vision, innovation and disciplined execution. As the founder and CEO, I want to share some of our history and why this is such a special business.

I founded what was to become Shift4 Payments when I was 16 years old, in my parents’ basement. I was drawn to what was, at the time, an emerging sector filled with odd and unnecessary inefficiencies and therefore opportunities. There were a lot of fundamental problems with how the merchant services industry was operating. The challenges I observed included mismanaged and misaligned distribution, cumbersome onboarding and a slew of operational inefficiencies. I believed there was a better way.

Our organizational determination to differentiate and grow through problem solving did not stop in the basement. We have built a successful company by pivoting in advance of industry trends, innovating technology solutions and empowering our distribution partners with a compelling value proposition. In fact, one of the few things that has changed over the years is the scale of the problems we solve… and the size of the merchants we solve them for.

Shift4 has pioneered several distinct and successful integrated payment strategies, long before competitors, analysts and even investors were talking about integrated payments. For decades now, we have monetized payments through software we have built, software assets we have acquired and through hundreds of software companies we have partnered with.

Our seat at the table begins with an in-house platform delivering proprietary technical capabilities. These capabilities give us a privileged position within the payments value chain. In fact, many of the largest payments processors in the country rely on Shift4 to handle their hospitality customers.

Leveraging the moat our platform affords, we further differentiate by obsessively solving merchant and partner pain points with innovative proprietary solutions like our Point-of-Sale software, business intelligence cloud, mobile pay-at-table (Skytab) products and a laser focus on operational capabilities that most competitors prefer to outsource. This allows us to deliver a single vendor solution to complex merchant environments. Eliminating multiple vendors and outsourced providers in turn eliminates cost and complexity and increases merchant satisfaction. This is why 7,000+ software partners and 200,000+ merchants have adopted the Shift4 model.

I constantly reflect on our history, not just because it’s a cool story, but also because I obsess over past decisions looking for opportunities to improve. It is amazing to look back at the types of customers we served in our earliest days — they were all small businesses and many are still loyal customers nearly two decades later. Today, we have hundreds of thousands of merchants that depend on our technology, which span from those same small businesses to some of the most recognizable brands like Mandarin Oriental, Caesars, Pebble Beach and many more. We didn’t win these great customer relationships by accident or by fighting over the last fraction of a penny. Shift4 wins because our “true north” is to seek out complexity and simplify it.

As I write this letter, I would be remiss if I didn’t reflect a bit on the extraordinary circumstances facing the world as the COVID-19 crisis paralyzes so many aspects of our society. I have navigated Shift4 through various economic climates after the “dot com” bubble, the tragedy of 9/11 and the Great Recession, but nothing before has had such a profound impact on commerce like the crisis we have all been enduring. It is during chaotic times like this that I am most proud of our company.

We have used the past two months to focus our resources around a number of initiatives to ensure employee safety, financial stability, industry stewardship and product innovation. You can find a detailed list of these on page 7 of this prospectus. These actions, while necessary in a time of crisis, also instill lasting values on our culture and strengthen our relationships with our customers.

Despite the heartache this pandemic has caused across the world, we have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Our transaction data suggests the worst financial impact to our customers appears to have passed in late March 2020. As of                     , 2020 we have seen payment volume rebound more than     % from their March lows, and we believe those trends will continue to improve.

 

vi

The world will emerge from this crisis and, while many of us are excited to return to our social routines, some things will undoubtedly be different. As always, Shift4 Payments will be there to help solve those new and complex problems. That may include new methods for takeout and tableside ordering, as well as innovations with contactless payments. What I know won’t change is the American consumer’s desire to go out to dinner and socialize with friends and family, to enjoy a drink after work at the local pub and to travel and discover new experiences.

I have had the privilege throughout my career of observing many great companies through both the lens of an operator and investor. In that time, I have tried to distill all of the details into a simple list of what really drives success – and I use these criteria before making any investment decision.

Here is what you can expect from Shift4:

 

1.

Our Strategy: We have a winning strategy and intend to keep the company focused on leveraging our distinct advantages and executing for the benefit of our customers, partners, employees and stockholders. If, for whatever reason, the puck changes direction, there is a good chance Shift4 will already be there and waiting for it.

 

2.

Our Discipline: Shift4 will be disciplined and efficient allocators of capital. We have a track record of generating strong unit economics, investing in growth-accelerating innovation and acquiring and unlocking value in high-potential assets.

 

3.

Our Focus: Shift4 will have my complete attention. Over the years, I have built and sold several successful businesses while still serving as CEO of Shift4 Payments. Despite those outside interests, I have overseen consistent year-over-year revenue growth. In consideration of this IPO and the road ahead, I have reduced my equity interest and resigned my officer responsibilities in all outside ventures so that I can devote substantially all of my time, focus and energy to Shift4.

 

4.

Our Team: I am fortunate to have an extraordinary leadership team. I honestly can’t brag about them enough and I am passionate about ensuring that management is completely aligned with stockholders. It is my goal that, through reasonable and properly aligned compensation, every layer of management comes to work each day thinking and making decisions like an owner.

 

5.

Our Alignment: I intend to ensure that all aspects of governance are informed by a thorough diversity of views and our independent directors. This includes my own compensation. My base salary going forward will be consistent with a typical entry-level manager and other compensation will be entirely at the discretion of our board’s compensation committee, of which I will not be a member. In this regard, it is my expectation that the financial successes from operating Shift4 as a public company will come to me much in the same way as they always have over the past 20 years: as a stockholder in the business.

I have spent more than half of my life building Shift4 Payments. I have always felt fortunate to be in a position to run the company through some of the most amazing and, as of late, some of the most unexpected and demanding times. Honestly, there is never a bad day coming to work as CEO of such an amazing company and our brightest days are clearly ahead. I can state wholeheartedly there is no shortage of opportunity as commerce-enabling software and payments continue their journey of convergence, and there is no better organization to accelerate that trend than Shift4 Payments.

We are honored to welcome you to our family.

Jared Isaacman

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

vii

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

7

 

8

 

9

 

10

 

11

 

12

 

13

 

14

 

15

 

16

 

17

 

18

 

19

 

20

 

21

 

22

 

23

 

24

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our Class A common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, as well as the other information in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes, before deciding to invest in our Class A common stock. The occurrence of any of the events described below could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or prospects. In such an event, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business.

Business risks

The recent novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, global pandemic has had and is expected to continue to have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In late 2019, COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and governmental authorities around the world have implemented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These measures, including “shelter-in-place” orders suggested or mandated by governmental authorities or otherwise elected by companies as a preventive measure, have adversely affected workforces, customers, consumer sentiment, economies, and financial markets, and, along with decreased consumer spending, have led to an economic downturn in the United States.

Numerous state and local jurisdictions, including in markets where we operate, have imposed, and others in the future may impose, “shelter-in-place” orders, quarantines, travel restrictions, executive orders and similar government orders and restrictions for their residents to control the spread of COVID-19. For example, the federal and state governments in the United States have imposed social distancing measures and restrictions on movement, only allowing essential businesses to remain open. Such orders or restrictions have resulted in the temporary closure of many of our merchant operations, work stoppages, slowdowns and delays, travel restrictions and cancellation of events, among other effects, any of which may materially impact our business and results of operations.

As a result of COVID-19, we have begun to experience a significant decrease in our payments volumes and expect the impact of shelter-in-place orders and other government measures to continue to significantly impact our business, results of operations and cash flows for the foreseeable future. As result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our hospitality merchants have experienced an 80% or greater decline in transaction volumes from pre-COVID-19 levels and many of our restaurant merchants are limited to take-out or delivery business only.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we have:

 

•

drawn the remaining $64.5 million available under our revolving credit facility in March 2020;

 

•

furloughed approximately 25% of our employees;

 

•

accelerated approximately $30 million of annual expense reduction plans related to previous acquisitions;

 

•

re-prioritized our capital projects;

 

•

instituted a company-wide hiring freeze; and

 

•

reduced salaries for management across the organization.

Due to the uncertainty of COVID-19, we will continue to assess the situation, including abiding by any government-imposed restrictions, market by market. We are unable to accurately predict the ultimate impact that COVID-19 will have on our operations going forward due to uncertainties that will be dictated by the length of time that such disruptions continue, which will, in turn, depend on the currently unknowable duration and

 

25

severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of governmental regulations that might be imposed in response to the pandemic, the speed and extent to which normal economic and operating conditions will resume and overall changes in consumer behavior. In particular, even as our merchants re-open their operations, we cannot accurately predict the ongoing impact of government regulations and changing consumer behavior on our business. While we have not seen a meaningful degradation in new merchant sign-ups or an increase in existing merchant attrition as a result of COVID-19, it is possible that those business trends change if economic hardship across the country forces merchant closures. Any significant reduction in consumer visits to, or spending at, our merchants, would result in a loss of revenue to us. In particular, we cannot accurately forecast the potential impact of additional outbreaks as government restrictions are relaxed, further shelter-in-place or other government restrictions implemented in response to such outbreaks, or the impact on the ability of our merchants to remain in business as a result of the ongoing pandemic, which could result in additional chargeback or merchant receivable losses, any future outbreak or any government restrictions related thereto.

In addition, the global deterioration in economic conditions, which may have an adverse impact on discretionary consumer spending, could also impact our business. For instance, consumer spending may be negatively impacted by general macroeconomic conditions, including a rise in unemployment, and decreased consumer confidence resulting from COVID-19 pandemic. Changing consumer behaviors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic may also have a material impact on our payments-based revenue for the foreseeable future, particularly for the hospitality and restaurant industries, verticals upon which we have predominantly focused on over the last decade.

In the past, governments have taken unprecedented actions in an attempt to address and rectify these extreme market and economic conditions by providing liquidity and stability to financial markets. If these actions are not successful, the return of adverse economic conditions may cause a material impact on our ability to raise capital, if needed, on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or at all.

To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those relating to our liquidity, indebtedness and our ability to comply with the covenants contained in the agreements that govern our indebtedness.

Substantial and increasingly intense competition worldwide in the financial services, payments and payment technology industries may adversely affect our overall business and operations.

The financial services, payments and payment technology industries are highly competitive, and our payment services and solutions compete against all forms of financial services and payment systems, including cash and checks and electronic, mobile, e-commerce and integrated payment platforms. Many of the areas in which we compete are evolving rapidly with changing and disruptive technologies, shifting user needs, and frequent introductions of new products and services. We compete against a wide range of businesses with varying roles within the payments value chain. If we are unable to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and drive value for our customers, we may not be able to compete effectively. Our competitors may introduce their own value-added or other innovative services or solutions more effectively than we do, which could adversely impact our current competitive position and prospects for growth. Our competitors also may be able to offer and provide services that we do not offer. We also compete against new entrants that have developed alternative payment systems, e-commerce payment systems, payment systems for mobile devices and customized integrated software payment solutions. Failure to compete effectively against any of these competitive threats could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, some of our competitors are larger and/or have greater financial resources than us, enabling them to maintain a wider range of product offerings, mount extensive promotional campaigns and be more aggressive in offering products and services at lower rates, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

26

Potential changes in competitive landscape, including disintermediation from other participants in the payments chain, could harm our business.

We expect the competitive landscape will continue to change in a variety of ways, including:

 

•

rapid and significant changes in technology, resulting in new and innovative payment methods and programs, that could place us at a competitive disadvantage and reduce the use of our products and services;

 

•

competitors, including third-party processors (such as Chase Paymentech, Elavon, Fiserv, Global Payments and Worldpay) and integrated payment providers (such as Adyen, Lightspeed POS, Shopify and Square), merchants, governments and/or other industry participants may develop products and services that compete with or replace our value-added products and services, including products and services that enable payment networks and banks to transact with consumers directly;

 

•

participants in the financial services, payments and payment technology industries may merge, create joint ventures, or form other business combinations that may strengthen their existing business services or create new payment services that compete with our services; and

 

•

new services and technologies that we develop may be impacted by industry-wide solutions and standards related to migration to Europay, Mastercard and Visa, or EMV, standards, including chip technology, tokenization and other safety and security technologies.

Certain competitors could use strong or dominant positions in one or more markets to gain a competitive advantage against us, such as by integrating competing platforms or features into products they control such as search engines, web browsers, mobile device operating systems or social networks; by making acquisitions; or by making access to our platform more difficult. Further, current and future competitors could choose to offer a different pricing model or to undercut prices in the market or our prices in an effort to increase their market share. Failure to compete effectively against any of these or other competitive threats could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our ability to anticipate and respond to changing industry trends and the needs and preferences of our merchants and consumers may adversely affect our competitiveness or the demand for our products and services.

The financial services, payments and payments technology industries are subject to rapid technological advancements, resulting in new products and services, including mobile payment applications and customized integrated software payment solutions, and an evolving competitive landscape, as well as changing industry standards and merchant and consumer needs and preferences. We expect that new services and technologies applicable to the financial services, payments and payment technology industries will continue to emerge. These changes may limit the competitiveness of and demand for our services. Also, our merchants continue to adopt new technology for business. We must anticipate and respond to these changes in order to remain competitive within our relative markets. In addition, failure to develop value-added services that meet the needs and preferences of our merchants could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively in our industry. Any new solution we develop or acquire might not be introduced in a timely or cost-effective manner and might not achieve the broad market acceptance necessary to generate significant revenue. In addition, these solutions could become subject to legal or regulatory requirements, which could prohibit or slow the development and provision of such new solutions and/or our adoption thereof. Furthermore, our merchants’ potential negative reaction to our products and services can spread quickly through social media and damage our reputation before we have the opportunity to respond. Improving and enhancing the functionality, performance, reliability, design, security and scalability of our platform is expensive, time-consuming and complex, and to the extent we are not able to do so in a manner that responds to our merchants’ evolving needs, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected. If we are unable to anticipate or respond to technological or industry standard changes on a timely basis, our ability to remain competitive could be adversely affected.

 

27

Because we rely on third-party vendors to provide products and services, we could be adversely impacted if they fail to fulfill their obligations.

We depend on third-party vendors for certain products and services, including components of our computer systems, software, data centers and telecommunications networks, to conduct our business. Any changes in these systems that degrade the functionality of our products and services, impose additional costs or requirements on it, or give preferential treatment to competitors’ services, including their own services, could materially and adversely affect usage of our products and services. For example, we are dependent on our relationship with a single third-party processor for services such as merchant authorization, processing, risk and chargeback monitoring accounting and clearing and settlement for the transactions we service. In the event our agreement with our third-party processor is terminated, or if upon its expiration we are unable to renew the contract on terms favorable to us, or at all, it may be difficult for us to replace these services which may adversely affect our operations and profitability.

We also rely on third parties for specific software and devices used in providing our products and services. Some of these organizations and service providers provide similar services and technology to our competitors, and we do not have long-term or exclusive contracts with them.

Our systems and operations or those of our merchants and software partners could be exposed to damage or interruption from, among other things, fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure, unauthorized entry, computer viruses, denial-of-service attacks, acts of terrorism, human error, vandalism or sabotage, financial insolvency, bankruptcy and similar events. For example, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. In addition, we may be unable to renew our existing contracts with our most significant merchants and software and partners or our merchants and software partners may stop providing or otherwise supporting the products and services we obtain from them, and we may not be able to obtain these or similar products or services on the same or similar terms as our existing arrangements, if at all. The failure of our third-party vendors to perform their obligations and provide the products and services we obtain from them in a timely manner for any reason could adversely affect our operations and profitability due to, among other consequences:

 

•

loss of revenues;

 

•

loss of merchants and software partners;

 

•

loss of merchant and cardholder data;

 

•

fines imposed by payment networks;

 

•

harm to our business or reputation resulting from negative publicity;

 

•

exposure to fraud losses or other liabilities;

 

•

additional operating and development costs; or

 

•

diversion of management, technical and other resources.

Acquisitions create certain risks and may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We have acquired businesses and may continue to make acquisitions of businesses or assets in the future. The acquisition and integration of businesses or assets involve a number of risks. These risks include valuation (determining a fair price for the business or assets), integration (managing the process of integrating the acquired business’ people, products, technology and other assets to extract the value and synergies projected to be realized in connection with the acquisition), regulation (obtaining regulatory or other government approvals that may be necessary to complete the acquisition) and due diligence (including identifying risks to the prospects of the

 

28

business, including undisclosed or unknown liabilities or restrictions to be assumed in the acquisition). In addition, a significant portion of the purchase price of companies we acquire may be allocated to acquired goodwill, and other intangible assets. We are required to test goodwill and any other intangible assets with an indefinite life for possible impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently when circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. We are also required to evaluate amortizable intangible assets and fixed assets for impairment if there are indicators of a possible impairment. In the future, if our acquisitions do not yield expected returns, we may be required to take charges to our operating results based on this impairment assessment process, which could adversely affect our results of operations. See “—Financial risks—Our balance sheet includes significant amounts of goodwill and intangible assets. The impairment of a significant portion of these assets would negatively affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.”

In addition, to the extent we pursue acquisitions outside of the United States, these potential acquisitions often involve additional or increased risks including:

 

•

managing geographically separated organizations, systems and facilities;

 

•

integrating personnel with diverse business backgrounds and organizational cultures;

 

•

complying with non-U.S. regulatory and other legal requirements;

 

•

addressing financial and other impacts to our business resulting from fluctuations in currency exchange rates and unit economics across multiple jurisdictions;

 

•

enforcing intellectual property rights outside of the United States;

 

•

difficulty entering new non-U.S. markets due to, among other things, consumer acceptance and business knowledge of these markets; and

 

•

general economic and political conditions. See “—Business risks—Global economic, political and other conditions may adversely affect trends in consumer, business and government spending, which may adversely impact the demand for our services and our revenue and profitability.”

The process of integrating operations could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of one or more of our combined businesses and the possible loss of key personnel. The diversion of management’s attention and any delays or difficulties encountered in connection with acquisitions and their integration could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Health concerns arising from the outbreak of a health epidemic or pandemic may have an adverse effect on our business.

In addition to COVID-19, our business could be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of a widespread health epidemic or pandemic, including arising from various strains of avian flu or swine flu, such as H1N1, particularly if located in the United States. The occurrence of such an outbreak or other adverse public health developments could materially disrupt our business and operations. Such events could also significantly impact our industry and cause a temporary closure of our merchants’ businesses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, other viruses may be transmitted through human contact, and the risk of contracting viruses could cause consumers to avoid gathering in public places or patronizing certain businesses, which could adversely affect payment volumes. We could also be adversely affected if government authorities impose mandatory closures, seek voluntary closures, impose restrictions on operations of our merchants’ businesses, or restrict the import or export of hardware and equipment. Even if such measures are not implemented and a virus or other disease does not spread significantly, the perceived risk of infection or health risk may adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

29

We may not be able to continue to expand our share of the existing payment processing markets or expand into new markets which would inhibit our ability to grow and increase our profitability.

Our future growth and profitability depend upon the growth of the markets in which we currently operate and our ability to increase our penetration and service offerings within these markets, as well as the emergence of new markets for our services and our ability to successfully expand into these new markets. It is difficult to attract new merchants because of potential disadvantages associated with switching payment processing vendors, such as transition costs, business disruption and loss of accustomed functionality. There can be no assurance that our efforts to overcome these factors will be successful, and this resistance may adversely affect our growth. A merchant’s payment processing activity with us may also decrease for a variety of reasons, including the merchant’s level of satisfaction with our products and services, the effectiveness of our support services, pricing of our products and services, the pricing and quality of competing products or services, the effects of global economic conditions (including as a result of COVID-19), or reductions in the consumer spending levels.

Our expansion into new markets is also dependent upon our ability to adapt our existing technology and offerings or to develop new or innovative applications to meet the particular service needs of each new market. In order to do so, we will need to anticipate and react to market changes and devote appropriate financial and technical resources to our development efforts, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in these efforts.

Furthermore, we may expand into new geographical markets, including foreign countries, in which we do not currently have any operating experience. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully continue such expansion efforts due to our lack of experience in such markets and the multitude of risks associated with global operations, including the possibility of needing to obtain appropriate regulatory approval.

Our services and products must integrate with a variety of operating systems, software, device and web browsers, and our business may be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to ensure that our services interoperate with such operating systems, device, software and web browsers.

We are dependent on the ability of our products and services to integrate with a variety of operating systems, software and devices, such as the POS terminals we provide to merchants, as well as web browsers that we do not control. Any changes in these systems that degrade the functionality of our products and services, impose additional costs or requirements on us, or give preferential treatment to competitive services, could materially and adversely affect usage of our products and services. In addition, system integrators may show insufficient appetite to enable our products and services to integrate with a variety of operating systems, software and devices. In the event that it is difficult for our merchants to access and use our products and services, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We depend, in part, on our merchant and software partner relationships and strategic partnerships with various institutions to operate and grow our business. If we are unable to maintain these relationships and partnerships, our business may be adversely affected.

We depend, in part, on our merchant and software partner relationships and partnerships with various institutions to operate and grow our business. We rely on the growth of our merchant and other strategic relationships, and our ability to maintain these relationships and other distribution channels, to support and grow our business. If we fail to maintain these relationships, or if our software partners or other strategic partners fail to maintain their brands or decrease the size of their branded networks, our business may be adversely affected. In addition, our contractual arrangements with our merchants and other strategic partners vary in length, and may also allow for early termination upon the occurrence of certain events. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew these contractual arrangements on similar terms or at all. The loss of merchant or software partner relationships could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We rely on our sponsor bank to provide sponsorship to card and other payment networks and treasury services. If our sponsor bank stops providing sponsorship and treasury services, we would need to find one or more other

 

30

financial institutions to provide those services. If we are unable to find a replacement institution, we may no longer be able to provide processing services to certain merchants, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In the event of a chargeback, merchant bankruptcy or other failure to fund, or other intervening failure in the payment network system, we may be unable to recoup certain payments, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

A significant number of our merchants are small- and medium-sized businesses and small affiliates of large companies, which can be more difficult and costly to retain than larger enterprises and may increase the impact of economic fluctuations on us.

We market and sell our products and services to, among others, SMBs. To continue to grow our revenue, we must add merchants, sell additional services to existing merchants and encourage existing merchants to continue doing business with us. However, retaining SMBs can be more difficult than retaining large enterprises, as SMB merchants:

 

•

often have higher rates of business failure and more limited resources;

 

•

may have decisions related to the choice of payment processor dictated by their affiliated parent entity; and

 

•

are more able to change their payment processors than larger organizations dependent on our services.

SMBs are typically more susceptible to the adverse effects of economic fluctuations, including as a result of COVID-19. Adverse changes in the economic environment or business failures of our SMB merchants may have a greater impact on us than on our competitors who do not focus on SMBs to the extent that we do. As a result, we may need to attract and retain new merchants at an accelerated rate or decrease our expenses to reduce negative impacts on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Global economic, political and other conditions may adversely affect trends in consumer, business and government spending, which may adversely impact the demand for our services and our revenue and profitability.

The financial services, payments and payment technology industries in which we operate depend heavily upon the overall level of consumer, business and government spending. A sustained deterioration in general economic conditions (including distress in financial markets and turmoil in specific economies around the world), in particular as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, may adversely affect our financial performance by reducing the number or average purchase amount of transactions we process. See “—The recent novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, global pandemic has had and is expected to continue to have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.” A reduction in the amount of consumer spending or credit card transactions could result in a decrease of our revenue and profits.

Adverse economic trends may accelerate the timing, or increase the impact of, risks to our financial performance. These trends could include:

 

•

declining economies and the pace of economic recovery can change consumer spending behaviors, on which the majority of our revenue is dependent;

 

•

low levels of consumer and business confidence typically associated with recessionary environments, and those markets experiencing relatively high unemployment, may result in decreased spending by cardholders;

 

•

budgetary concerns in the United States and other countries around the world could affect the United States and other sovereign credit ratings, which could impact consumer confidence and spending;

 

•

financial institutions may restrict credit lines to cardholders or limit the issuance of new cards to mitigate cardholder credit concerns;

 

•

uncertainty and volatility in the performance of our merchants’ businesses, particularly SMBs, may make estimates of our revenues and financial performance less predictable;

 

31

•

cardholders or merchants may decrease spending for value-added services we market and sell; and

 

•

government intervention, including the effect of laws, regulations and government investments in our merchants, may have potential negative effects on our business and our relationships with our merchants or otherwise alter their strategic direction away from our products and services.

In addition, the banking industry remains subject to consolidation regardless of overall economic conditions. In times of economic distress, various financial institutions in the markets we serve have been acquired or merged with and into other financial institutions, including those with which we partner. If a current referral partner of ours is acquired by another bank, the acquiring bank may seek to terminate our agreement and impose its own merchant services program on the acquired bank. We may be unable to retain our banking relationships post-acquisition, or may have to offer financial concessions to do so, which could adversely affect our results of operations or growth.

We may in the future offer merchant acquiring and processing services in geographies outside of the United States, including potentially in the European Union or the United Kingdom. In such circumstances, we may become subject to additional European Union and United Kingdom financial regulatory requirements and we could become subject to risks associated with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union (including any resulting economic downturn) following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) on January 31, 2020. We are subject to risks associated with operations in international markets, including changes in foreign governmental policies and requirements applicable to our business, including the presence of more established competitors and our lack of experience in such non-U.S. markets. In addition, any future partners in non-U.S. jurisdictions, may also be acquired, reorganized or otherwise disposed of in the event of further market turmoil or losses in their loan portfolio that result in such financial institutions becoming less than adequately capitalized. Our revenue derived from these and other non-U.S. operations will be subject to additional risks, including those resulting from social and geopolitical instability and unfavorable political or diplomatic developments, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In the event we expand internationally, we may face challenges due to the presence of more established competitors and our lack of experience in such non-U.S. markets. If we are unable to successfully manage these risks relating to the international expansion of our business, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to governmental regulation and other legal obligations, particularly related to privacy, data protection and information security, and consumer protection laws across different markets where we conduct our business. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our business.

In the United States and other jurisdictions in which our services are used, we are subject to various consumer protection laws (including laws on disputed transactions) and related regulations. If we are found to have breached any consumer protection laws or regulations in any such market, we may be subject to enforcement actions that require us to change our business practices in a manner which may negatively impact our revenue, as well as expose ourselves to litigation, fines, civil and/or criminal penalties and adverse publicity that could cause our customers to lose trust in us, negatively impacting our reputation and business in a manner that harms our financial position.

As part of our business, we collect personally identifiable information, also referred to as personal data, and other potentially sensitive and/or regulated data from our consumers and the merchants we work with. Laws and regulations in the United States and around the world restrict how personal information is collected, processed, stored, used and disclosed, as well as set standards for its security, implement notice requirements regarding privacy practices, and provide individuals with certain rights regarding the use, disclosure and sale of their protected personal information. Several foreign jurisdictions, including the EU and the United Kingdom, have

 

32

laws and regulations which are more restrictive in certain respects than those in the United States. For example, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which came into force on May 25, 2018, implemented stringent operational requirements for the use of personal data. The European regime also includes directives which, among other things, require EU member states to regulate marketing by electronic means and the use of web cookies and other tracking technology. Each EU member state has transposed the requirements of these directives into its own national data privacy regime, and therefore the laws may differ between jurisdictions. These are also under reform and are expected to be replaced by a regulation which should provide consistent requirements across the EU.

The GDPR introduced more stringent requirements (which will continue to be interpreted through guidance and decisions over the coming years) and require organizations to erase an individual’s information upon request, implement mandatory data breach notification requirements and additional new obligations on service providers. A UK version of the GDPR is expected to take effect on January 1, 2021 after the end of the Brexit transition period (during which the EU GDPR continues to apply). If our privacy or data security measures fail to comply with applicable current or future laws and regulations, we may be subject to litigation, regulatory investigations, enforcement notices requiring us to change the way we use personal data or our marketing practices. For example, under the GDPR we may be subject to fines of up to €20 million or up to 4% of the total worldwide annual group turnover of the preceding financial year (whichever is higher). We may also be subject to other liabilities, as well as negative publicity and a potential loss of business.

In the United States, both the federal and various state governments have adopted or are considering, laws, guidelines or rules for the collection, distribution, use and storage of information collected from or about consumers or their devices. For example, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, which became effective January 1, 2020, requires new disclosures to California consumers, imposes new rules for collecting or using information about minors, and affords consumers new abilities to opt out of certain disclosures of personal information. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches that is expected to increase data breach litigation. The effects of the CCPA, forthcoming implementing regulations, and uncertainties about the scope and applicability of exemptions that may apply to our business, are potentially significant and may require us to modify our data collection or processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply.

Restrictions on the collection, use, sharing or disclosure of personally identifiable information or additional requirements and liability for security and data integrity could require us to modify our solutions and features, possibly in a material manner, could limit our ability to develop new services and features and could subject us to increased compliance obligations and regulatory scrutiny.

Our inability to protect our systems and data from continually evolving cybersecurity risks, security breaches or other technological risks could affect our reputation among our merchants and consumers and may expose us to liability.

We are subject to a number of legal requirements, contractual obligations and industry standards regarding security, data protection and privacy and any failure to comply with these requirements, obligations or standards could have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and operating results.

In conducting our business, we process, transmit and store sensitive business information and personally identifiable information about our merchants, consumers, sales and financial institution partners, vendors, and other parties. This information may include account access credentials, credit and debit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, names and addresses and other types of sensitive business or personal information. Some of this information is also processed and stored by our merchants, software and financial institution partners, third-party service providers to whom we outsource certain functions and other agents, which we refer to collectively as our associated third parties. We have certain responsibilities to payment networks and their member financial institutions for any failure, including the failure of our associated third parties, to protect this information.

 

33

In addition, as a provider of security-related solutions to merchants and other business customers, our products and services may themselves be targets of cyber-attacks that attempt to sabotage or otherwise disable them, or the defensive and preventative measures we take ultimately may not be able to effectively detect, prevent, or protect against or otherwise mitigate losses from all cyber-attacks. Despite significant efforts to create security barriers against such threats, it is virtually impossible for us to eliminate these risks entirely. Any such breach could compromise our networks, creating system disruptions or slowdowns and exploiting security vulnerabilities of our products. Additionally, the information stored on our networks could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost, or stolen, which could subject us to liability and cause us financial harm. These breaches, or any perceived breach, may also result in damage to our reputation, negative publicity, loss of key partners, merchants and sales, increased costs to remedy any problem, and costly litigation, and may therefore adversely impact market acceptance of our products and seriously affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We have previously been the target of malicious third-party attempts to identify and exploit system vulnerabilities, and/or penetrate or bypass our security measures, in order to gain unauthorized access to our networks and systems or those of third parties associated with us. If these attempts are successful it could lead to the compromise of sensitive, business, personal or confidential information. While we proactively employ multiple methods at different layers of our systems to defend against intrusion and attack and to protect our data, we cannot be certain that these measures or sufficient to counter all current and emerging technology threats.

Our computer systems and the computer systems of our merchants and software partners have been, and could be in the future, subject to breaches, and our data protection measures may not prevent unauthorized access. While we believe the procedures and processes we have implemented to handle an attack are adequate, the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and are often difficult to detect. Threats to our systems and associated third party systems can originate from human error, fraud or malice on the part of employees or third parties, or simply from accidental technological failure. Computer viruses and other malware can be distributed and could infiltrate our systems or those of associated third parties. In addition, denial of service or other attacks could be launched against us for a variety of purposes, including to interfere with our services or create a diversion for other malicious activities. Our defensive measures may not prevent unplanned downtime, unauthorized access or unauthorized use of sensitive data. While we maintain cyber errors and omissions insurance coverage that covers certain aspects of cyber risks, our insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses. Further, while we select our associated third parties carefully, we do not control their actions. Any problems experienced by these third parties, including those resulting from breakdowns or other disruptions in the services provided by such parties or cyber-attacks and security breaches, could adversely affect our ability to service our merchants or otherwise conduct our business.

We could also be subject to liability for claims relating to misuse of personal information, such as unauthorized marketing purposes and violation of consumer protection or data privacy laws. We cannot provide assurance that the contractual requirements related to security and privacy that we impose on our service providers who have access to merchant and consumer data will be followed or will be adequate to prevent the unauthorized use or disclosure of data. In addition, we have agreed in certain agreements to take certain protective measures to ensure the confidentiality of merchant and consumer data. The costs of systems and procedures associated with such protective measures may increase and could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. Any failure to adequately enforce or provide these protective measures could result in liability, protracted and costly litigation, governmental and card network intervention and fines and, with respect to misuse of personal information of our merchants and consumers, lost revenue and reputational harm.

Any type of security breach, attack or misuse of data, whether experienced by us or an associated third party, could harm our reputation or deter existing or prospective merchants from using our services, increase our operating expenses in order to contain and remediate the incident, expose us to unbudgeted or uninsured liability, disrupt our operations (including potential service interruptions), divert management focus away from other priorities, increase our risk of regulatory scrutiny, result in the imposition of penalties and fines under state, federal and foreign laws or by payment networks and adversely affect our continued payment network

 

34

registration and financial institution sponsorship. As set out above, fines under the GDPR, including for inadequate security, can reach €20 million or up to 4% of the total worldwide annual group turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. Further, if we were to be removed from networks’ lists of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, compliant service providers, our existing merchants, sales and financial institution partners or other third parties may cease using or referring our services. Also, prospective merchants, sales partners, financial institution partners or other third parties may choose to terminate their relationship with us, or delay or choose not to consider us for their processing needs, and the payment networks on which we rely could refuse to allow us to continue processing through their networks.

We may experience failures in our processing systems due to software defects, computer viruses and development delays, which could damage customer relations and expose us to liability.

Our core business depends heavily on the reliability of our processing systems, including the security of the applications and systems we develop and license to our customers, in addition to the security of the processing system of our sponsor bank. Software defects or vulnerabilities, a system outage, or other failures could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, including by damaging our reputation or exposing us to third-party liability. Payment network rules and certain governmental regulations allow for possible penalties if our products and services do not meet certain operating standards. To successfully operate our business, we must be able to protect our systems from interruption, including from events that may be beyond our control. Events that could cause system interruptions include fire, natural disaster, unauthorized entry, power loss, telecommunications failure, computer viruses, terrorist acts and war. Although we have taken steps to protect against data loss and system failures, we still face the risk that we may lose critical data or experience system failures. To help protect against these events, we perform a portion of disaster recovery operations ourselves, as well as utilize select third parties for certain operations. To the extent we outsource any disaster recovery functions, we are at risk of the merchant’s unresponsiveness or other failures in the event of breakdowns in our systems. In addition, our property and business interruption insurance may not be adequate to compensate us for all losses or failures that may occur.

Our products and services are based on sophisticated software and computing systems that are constantly evolving. We often encounter delays and cost overruns in developing changes implemented to our systems. In addition, the underlying software may contain undetected errors, viruses or defects. Defects in our software products and errors or delays in our processing of electronic transactions could result in additional development costs, diversion of technical and other resources from our other development efforts, loss of credibility with current or potential merchants, harm to our reputation or exposure to liability claims. In addition, we rely on technologies supplied to us by third parties that may also contain undetected errors, viruses or defects that could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Although we attempt to limit our potential liability for warranty claims through disclaimers in our software documentation and limitation of liability provisions in our licenses and other agreements with our merchants and software partners, we cannot assure that these measures will be successful in limiting our liability. Additionally, we and our merchants and software partners are subject to payment network rules. If we do not comply with payment network requirements or standards, we may be subject to fines or sanctions, including suspension or termination of our registrations and licenses necessary to conduct business. We have experienced high growth rates in payment transaction volumes over the past years and expect growth to continue for the coming years; however, despite the implementation of architectural changes to safeguard sufficient future processing capacity on our payments platform, in the future the payments platform could potentially reach the limits of the number of transactions it is able to process, resulting in longer processing time or even downtime. Our efforts to safeguard sufficient future processing capacity are time-consuming, involve significant technical risk and may divert our resources from new features and products, and there can be no guarantee that these efforts will succeed. Furthermore, any efforts to further scale the platform or increase its complexity to handle a larger number or more complicated transactions could result in performance issues, including downtime. A failure to adequately scale our payments platform could therefore materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

35

Degradation of the quality of the products and services we offer, including support services, could adversely impact our ability to attract and retain merchants and software partners.

Our merchants and software partners expect a consistent level of quality in the provision of our products and services. The support services we provide are a key element of the value proposition to our merchants and software partners. If the reliability or functionality of our products and services is compromised or the quality of those products or services is otherwise degraded, or if we fail to continue to provide a high level of support, we could lose existing merchants and software partners and find it harder to attract new merchants and software partners. If we are unable to scale our support functions to address the growth of our merchant and partner network, the quality of our support may decrease, which could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain merchants and software partners.

A significant natural disaster could have a material and adverse effect on our business. Despite any precautions we may take, the occurrence of a natural disaster or other unanticipated problems at our headquarters or data centers could result in lengthy interruptions in access to or functionality of our platform or could result in related liabilities.

Increased customer attrition could cause our financial results to decline.

We experience attrition in customer credit and debit card processing volume resulting from several factors, including business closures, transfers of merchants’ accounts to our competitors, unsuccessful contract renewal negotiations and account closures that we initiate for various reasons, such as heightened credit risks, unacceptable card types or businesses, or contract breaches by customers. In addition, if a software partner switches to another payment processor, terminates our services, internalizes payment processing functions that we perform, merges with or is acquired by one of our competitors, or shuts down or becomes insolvent, we may no longer receive new merchant referrals from the software partner, and we risk losing existing merchants that were originally enrolled by the software partner. We cannot predict the level of attrition in the future and it could increase. Our software partners, most of which are not exclusive, are an important source of new business. Higher than expected attrition could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. If we are unable to renew our customer contracts on favorable terms, or at all, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Fraud by merchants or others could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We may be liable for certain fraudulent transactions or credits initiated by merchants or others. Examples of merchant fraud include merchants or other parties knowingly using a stolen or counterfeit credit, debit or prepaid card, card number, or other credentials to record a false sales or credit transaction, processing an invalid card or intentionally failing to deliver the merchandise or services sold in an otherwise valid transaction. Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities such as counterfeiting and fraud. Failure to effectively manage risk and prevent fraud could increase our chargeback liability or cause us to incur other liabilities. It is possible that incidents of fraud could increase in the future. Increases in chargebacks or other liabilities could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective in mitigating our risk exposure in all market environments or against all types of risk.

We operate in a rapidly changing industry. Accordingly, our risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective to identify, monitor and manage all risks our business encounters. In addition, when we introduce new services, focus on new business types, or begin to operate in markets where we have a limited history of fraud loss, we may be less able to forecast and reserve accurately for those losses. If our policies and procedures are not fully effective or we are not successful in identifying and mitigating all risks to which we are or may be exposed, we may suffer uninsured liability, harm to our reputation or be subject to litigation or regulatory actions that could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

36

Our business depends on strong and trusted brands, and damage to our reputation, or the reputation of our partners, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We market our products and services under our brands and we must protect and grow the value of our brands to continue to be successful in the future. If an incident were to occur that damages our reputation, the value of our brands could be adversely affected and our business could be damaged.

Our ability to recruit, retain and develop qualified personnel is critical to our success and growth.

All of our businesses function at the intersection of rapidly changing technological, social, economic and regulatory environments that require a wide range of expertise and intellectual capital. For us to successfully compete and grow, we must recruit, retain and develop personnel who can provide the necessary expertise across a broad spectrum of intellectual capital needs. In addition, we must develop, maintain and, as necessary, implement appropriate succession plans to assure we have the necessary human resources capable of maintaining continuity in our business. For instance, we are highly dependent on the expertise of our Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jared Isaacman. The market for qualified personnel is competitive and we may not succeed in recruiting additional personnel or may fail to effectively replace current personnel who depart with qualified or effective successors. In addition, from time to time, there may be changes in our management team that may be disruptive to our business. If our management team, including any new hires that we make, fails to work together effectively and to execute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. Our effort to retain and develop personnel may also result in significant additional expenses, which could adversely affect our profitability. We cannot assure that key personnel, including our executive officers, will continue to be employed or that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Failure to recruit, retain or develop qualified personnel could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We incur chargeback liability when our merchants refuse to or cannot reimburse chargebacks resolved in favor of their customers. Any increase in chargebacks not paid by our merchants may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In the event a dispute between a cardholder and a merchant is not resolved in favor of the merchant, the transaction is normally charged back to the merchant and the purchase price is credited or otherwise refunded to the cardholder. If we are unable to collect such amounts from the merchant’s account or reserve account, if applicable, or if the merchant refuses or is unable, due to closure, bankruptcy or other reasons, to reimburse us for a chargeback, we are responsible for the amount of the refund paid to the cardholder. The risk of chargebacks is typically greater with those merchants that promise future delivery of goods and services rather than delivering goods or rendering services at the time of payment (for example in the hospitality and auto rental industries, both of which we support), as well as “card not present” transactions in which consumers do not physically present cards to merchants in connection with the purchase of goods and services, such as e-commerce, telephonic and mobile transactions. We may experience significant losses from chargebacks in the future. Any increase in chargebacks not paid by our merchants could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We have policies and procedures to monitor and manage merchant-related credit risks and often mitigate such risks by requiring collateral, such as cash reserves, and monitoring transaction activity. Notwithstanding our policies and procedures for managing credit risk, it is possible that a default on such obligations by one or more of our merchants could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We expend significant resources pursuing sales opportunities, and if we fail to close sales after expending significant time and resources to do so, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

The initial installation and set-up of many of our services often involve significant resource commitments by our merchants, particularly those with larger operational scale. Potential merchants generally commit significant

 

37

resources to an evaluation of available services and may require us to expend substantial time, effort and money educating them as to the value of our services. We incur substantial costs in order to obtain each new customer. We may expend significant funds and management resources during a sales cycle and ultimately fail to close the sale. Our sales cycle may be extended due to our merchants’ budgetary constraints or for other reasons. If we are unsuccessful in closing sales after expending significant funds and management resources or we experience delays or experience greater than anticipated costs, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

There may be a decline in the use of cards as a payment mechanism for consumers or adverse developments with respect to the card industry in general.

If consumers do not continue to use credit or debit cards as a payment mechanism for their transactions, if there continues to be a reduction in “card present” transactions as a result of COVID-19, or if there is a change in the mix of payments between cash, credit cards and debit cards and other emerging means of payment our business could be adversely affected. Consumer credit risk may make it more difficult or expensive for consumers to gain access to credit facilities such as credit cards. Regulatory changes may result in financial institutions seeking to charge their customers additional fees for use of credit or debit cards. Such fees may result in decreased use of credit or debit cards by cardholders. In order to consistently increase and maintain our profitability, consumers and businesses must continue to use electronic payment methods that we process, including credit and debit cards. If consumers and businesses do not continue to use credit, debit or prepaid cards as a payment mechanism for their transactions or if there is a change in the mix of payments between cash, alternative currencies and technologies, credit, debit and prepaid cards, or the corresponding methodologies used for each, which is adverse to us, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Increases in card network fees and other changes to fee arrangements may result in the loss of merchants or a reduction in our earnings.

From time to time, card networks, including Visa and Mastercard, increase the fees that they charge processors. We could attempt to pass these increases along to our merchants, but this strategy might result in the loss of merchants to our competitors who do not pass along the increases. If competitive practices prevent us from passing along the higher fees to our merchants in the future, we may have to absorb all or a portion of such increases, which may increase our operating costs and reduce our earnings. In addition, regulators are subjecting interchange and other fees to increased scrutiny, and new regulations could require greater pricing transparency of the breakdown in fees or fee limitations, which could lead to increased price-based competition, lower margins and higher rates of merchant attrition and affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In addition, in certain of our markets, card issuers pay merchant acquirers such as us fees based on debit card usage in an effort to encourage debit card use. If these card issuers discontinue this practice, our revenue and margins in these jurisdictions could be adversely affected.

If we fail to comply with the applicable requirements of payment networks, they could seek to fine us, suspend us or terminate our registrations. If our merchants or sales partners incur fines or penalties that we cannot collect from them, we may have to bear the cost of such fines or penalties.

In order to provide our transaction processing services, several of our subsidiaries are registered with Visa and Mastercard and other payment networks as members or as service providers for members. Visa, Mastercard, and other payment networks, set the rules and standards with which we must comply. The termination of our member registration or our status as a certified service provider, or any changes in network rules or standards, including interpretation and implementation of the rules or standards, that increase the cost of doing business or limit our ability to provide transaction processing services to or through our merchants or partners, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

38

As such, we and our merchants are subject to payment network rules that could subject us or our merchants to a variety of fines or penalties that may be levied by such networks for certain acts or omissions by us or our merchants. The rules of card networks are set by their boards, which may be influenced by card issuers, and some of those issuers are our competitors with respect to these processing services. Many banks directly or indirectly sell processing services to merchants in direct competition with us. These banks could attempt, by virtue of their influence on the networks, to alter the networks’ rules or policies to the detriment of non-members including certain of our businesses. The termination of our registrations or our status as a service provider or a merchant processor, or any changes in network rules or standards, including interpretation and implementation of the rules or standards, that increase the cost of doing business or limit our ability to provide transaction processing services to our merchants, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. If a merchant fails to comply with the applicable requirements of card networks, it could be subject to a variety of fines or penalties that may be levied by card networks. If we cannot collect the amounts from the applicable merchant, we may have to bear the cost of the fines or penalties, resulting in lower earnings for us. The termination of our registration, or any changes in card network rules that would impair our registration, could require us to stop providing payment processing services relating to the affected card network, which would adversely affect our ability to conduct our business.

Many of our key components are procured from a single or limited number of suppliers. Thus, we are at risk of shortage, price increases, tariffs, changes, delay, or discontinuation of key components, which could disrupt and materially and adversely affect our business.

Many of the key components used to manufacture our products, such as our POS systems, come from limited or single sources of supply. In addition, in some cases, we rely only on one manufacturer to fabricate, test, and assemble our products. In general, our contract manufacturers fabricate or procure components on our behalf, subject to certain approved procedures or supplier lists, and we do not have firm commitments from all of these manufacturers to provide all components, or to provide them in quantities and on timelines that we may require.

Due to our reliance on the components and products produced by suppliers such as these, we are subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times in the supply of certain components or products. We are still in the process of identifying alternative manufacturers for the assembly of our products and for many of the single-sourced components used in our products. In the case of off-the-shelf components, we are subject to the risk that our suppliers may discontinue or modify them, or that the components may cease to be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, component shortages or delays or other problems in product assembly, and the availability of these components or products may be difficult to predict. For example, our manufacturers may experience temporary or permanent disruptions in their manufacturing operations due to equipment breakdowns, labor strikes or shortages, natural disasters, component or material shortages, cost increases, acquisitions, insolvency, changes in legal or regulatory requirements, or other similar problems.

Additionally, various sources of supply-chain risk, including strikes or shutdowns at delivery ports or loss of or damage to our products while they are in transit or storage, intellectual property theft, losses due to tampering, issues with quality or sourcing control, failure by our suppliers to comply with applicable laws and regulation, potential tariffs or other trade restrictions, or other similar problems could limit or delay the supply of our products or harm our reputation. In the event of a shortage or supply interruption from suppliers of these components, we may not be able to develop alternate sources quickly, cost-effectively, or at all. Any interruption or delay in manufacturing or component supply, any increases in component costs, or the inability to obtain these parts or components from alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable amount of time, would harm our ability to provide our products to sellers on a timely basis. This could harm our relationships with our sellers, prevent us from acquiring new sellers, and materially and adversely affect our business.

 

39

Cost savings initiatives may not produce the savings expected and may negatively impact our other initiatives and efforts to grow our business.

We are consistently exploring measures aimed at improving our profitability and maintaining flexibility in our capital resources, including the introduction of cost savings initiatives. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we furloughed approximately 25% of our employees, accelerated expense reduction plans related to previous acquisitions, limited discretionary spending, re-prioritized our capital projects, instituted a company-wide hiring freeze and reduced salaries for management. We expect to continue to take measures to improve our profitability and cash flows from operating activities. However, there can be no assurance that the cost control measures will be successful. In addition, these and any future spending reductions, if any, may negatively impact our other initiatives or our efforts to grow our business, which may negatively impact our future results of operations and increase the burden on existing management, systems, and resources.

Our operating results and operating metrics are subject to seasonality and volatility, which could result in fluctuations in our quarterly revenues and operating results or in perceptions of our business prospects.

We have experienced in the past, and expect to continue to experience, seasonal fluctuations in our revenue, which can vary by region. For instance, our revenue has historically been strongest in our second and third quarters and weakest in our first quarter. Some variability results from seasonal retail events and the number of business days in a month or quarter. We also experience volatility in certain other metrics, such as number of transactions processed and payment processing volumes. Volatility in our key operating metrics or their rates of growth could result in fluctuations in financial condition or results of operations and may lead to adverse inferences about our prospects, which could result in declines in our stock price.

Financial risks

Our balance sheet includes significant amounts of goodwill and intangible assets. The impairment of a significant portion of these assets would negatively affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

As a result of our prior acquisitions, a significant portion of our total assets consists of intangible assets (including goodwill). Goodwill and intangible assets, net of amortization, together accounted for approximately 81% and 74% of the total assets on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020, respectively. To the extent we engage in additional acquisitions we may recognize additional intangible assets and goodwill. We evaluate goodwill for impairment annually at October 1 and whenever events or circumstances make it more likely than not that impairment may have occurred. Under current accounting rules, any determination that impairment has occurred would require us to record an impairment charge, which would adversely affect our earnings. An impairment of a significant portion of goodwill or intangible assets could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, expose us to interest rate risk to the extent of our variable rate debt and prevent us from meeting our debt obligations.

We have substantial indebtedness. As of March 31, 2020, we had approximately $729.3 million of total debt outstanding. Our substantial indebtedness could have adverse consequences, including:

 

•

increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic, industry or competitive developments;

 

•

requiring a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, reducing our ability to use cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures and future business opportunities;

 

40

•

making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our indebtedness, including restrictive covenants and borrowing conditions, which could result in an event of default under the agreements governing such indebtedness;

 

•

restricting us from making strategic acquisitions or causing us to make nonstrategic divestitures;

 

•

making it more difficult for us to obtain network sponsorship and clearing services from financial institutions or to obtain or retain other business with financial institutions;

 

•

limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, product development, debt service requirements, acquisitions, and general corporate or other purposes; and

 

•

limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business or market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors who are less highly leveraged and who, therefore, may be able to take advantage of opportunities that our leverage prevents us from exploiting.

Successful execution of our business strategy is dependent in part upon our ability to manage our capital structure to reduce interest expense and enhance free cash flow generation. As of March 31, 2020, we had $509.8 million, $130.0 million, and $89.5 million outstanding under the first lien term loan facility, second lien term loan facility, and the revolving credit facility, respectively. The revolving credit facility had no remaining capacity as of March 31, 2020. We may not be able to refinance our Credit Facilities or our other existing indebtedness at or prior to their maturity at attractive rates of interest because of our high levels of debt, debt incurrence restrictions under our debt agreements or because of adverse conditions in credit markets generally. See “Description of Indebtedness” for additional information.

In addition, our total debt outstanding at March 31, 2020 of $729.3 million, including borrowings under our Credit Facilities, are at variable rates of interest and none of these borrowings are subject to an interest rate hedge. The condition of the financial and credit markets and prevailing interest rates have fluctuated in the past and are likely to fluctuate in the future. In addition, developments in our business and operations could lead to a ratings downgrade for us or our subsidiaries. As a result, as of March 31, 2020, the impact of a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $7.3 million.

Any such fluctuation in the financial and credit markets, or in the rating of us or our subsidiaries, may impact our ability to access debt markets in the future or increase our cost of current or future debt, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Restrictions imposed by our Credit Facilities and our other outstanding indebtedness may materially limit our ability to operate our business and finance our future operations or capital needs.

The terms of our Credit Facilities restrict us and our restricted subsidiaries, which currently includes all of our operating subsidiaries, from engaging in specified types of transactions. These covenants restrict our ability, and that of our restricted subsidiaries, to, among other things:

 

•

incur indebtedness;

 

•

create liens;

 

•

engage in mergers or consolidations;

 

•

make investments, loans and advances;

 

•

pay dividends and distributions and repurchase capital stock;

 

•

sell assets;

 

•

engage in certain transactions with affiliates;

 

•

enter into sale and leaseback transactions;

 

41

•

make certain accounting changes; and

 

•

make prepayments on junior indebtedness.

In addition, the credit agreements governing our Credit Facilities contain a springing maximum total leverage ratio financial covenant and customary financial covenants based on various leverage and interest coverage ratios. See “Description of Indebtedness.” A breach of any of these covenants, or any other covenant in the documents governing our Credit Facilities, could result in a default or event of default under our Credit Facilities. In the event of any event of default under our Credit Facilities, the applicable lenders or agents could elect to terminate borrowing commitments and declare all borrowings and loans outstanding thereunder, together with accrued and unpaid interest and any fees and other obligations, to be immediately due and payable. In addition, or in the alternative, the applicable lenders or agents could exercise their rights under the security documents entered into in connection with our Credit Facilities. We have pledged substantially all of our assets as collateral securing our Credit Facilities and any such exercise of remedies on any material portion of such collateral would likely materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If we were unable to repay or otherwise refinance these borrowings and loans when due, and the applicable lenders proceeded against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness, we may be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. In the event the applicable lenders accelerate the repayment of our borrowings, we may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness. Any acceleration of amounts due under our Credit Facilities or other outstanding indebtedness would also likely have a material adverse effect on us.

Accelerated funding programs increase our working capital requirements and expose us to incremental credit risk, and if we are unable to access or raise sufficient liquidity to address these funding programs we may be exposed to additional competitive risk.

In response to demand from our merchants and competitive offerings, we offer certain of our merchants various accelerated funding programs, which are designed to enable qualified participating merchants to receive their deposits from credit card transactions in an expedited manner. These programs increase our working capital requirements and expose us to incremental credit risk related to our merchants, which could constrain our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations and adversely affect our growth, financial condition and results of operations. Our inability to access or raise sufficient liquidity to address our needs in connection with the anticipated expansion of such advance funding programs could put us at a competitive disadvantage by restricting our ability to offer programs to all of our merchants similar to those made available by various of our competitors.

Our results of operations may be adversely affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Revenue and profit generated by our non-U.S. operations will increase or decrease compared to prior periods as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. In addition, we may become subject to exchange control regulations that restrict or prohibit the conversion of our other revenue currencies into U.S. dollars. Any of these factors could decrease the value of revenues and earnings we derive from our non-U.S. operations and adversely affect our business.

While we currently have limited diversification in foreign currency, we may seek to reduce our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates through the use of hedging arrangements. To the extent that we hedge our foreign currency exchange rate exposure, we forgo the benefits we would otherwise experience if foreign currency exchange rates changed in our favor. No strategy can completely insulate us from risks associated with such fluctuations and our currency exchange rate risk management activities could expose us to substantial losses if such rates move materially differently from our expectations.

 

42

New or revised tax regulations or their interpretations, or becoming subject to additional foreign or U.S. federal, state or local taxes that cannot be passed through to our merchants or partners, could reduce our net income.

We are subject to tax laws in each jurisdiction where we do business. Changes in tax laws or their interpretations could decrease the amount of revenues we receive, the value of any tax loss carry-forwards and tax credits recorded on our balance sheet and the amount of our cash flow, and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Additionally, companies in the electronic payments industry, including us, may become subject to incremental taxation in various tax jurisdictions. Taxing jurisdictions have not yet adopted uniform positions on this topic. If we are required to pay additional taxes and are unable to pass the tax expense through to our merchants, our costs would increase and our net income would be reduced.

If we cannot pass along increases in interchange and other fees from payment networks to our merchants, our operating margins would be reduced.

We pay interchange, assessment, transaction and other fees set by the payment networks to such networks and, in some cases, to the card issuing financial institutions for each transaction we process. From time to time, the payment networks increase the interchange fees and other fees that they charge payment processors and the financial institution sponsors. At their sole discretion, our financial institution sponsors have the right to pass any increases in interchange and other fees on to us and they have consistently done so in the past. We are generally permitted under the contracts into which we enter, and in the past we have been able to, pass these fee increases along to our merchants through corresponding increases in our processing fees. However, if we are unable to pass through these and other fees in the future, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Legal and regulatory risks

Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, anti-money laundering, economic and trade sanctions regulations, and similar laws could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences.

We may operate our business in foreign countries where companies often engage in business practices that are prohibited by U.S. and other regulations applicable to us. We are subject to anti-corruption laws and regulations, including the FCPA and other laws that prohibit the making or offering of improper payments to foreign government officials and political figures, including anti-bribery provisions enforced by the Department of Justice and accounting provisions enforced by the SEC. These laws prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by the United States and other business entities for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have implemented policies, procedures, systems, and controls designed to identify and address potentially impermissible transactions under such laws and regulations; however, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, consultants and agents, including those that may be based in or from countries where practices that violate U.S. or other laws may be customary, will not take actions in violation of our policies, for which we may be ultimately responsible.

In addition, we are contractually required to comply with anti-money laundering laws and regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, or the BSA. Among other things, the BSA requires subject entities to develop and implement risk-based anti-money laundering programs, report large cash transactions and suspicious activity, and maintain transaction records.

We are also subject to certain economic and trade sanctions programs that are administered by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, which prohibit or restrict transactions to or from or dealings with specified countries, their governments, and in certain circumstances, their nationals, and with

 

43

individuals and entities that are specially-designated nationals of those countries, narcotics traffickers, and terrorists or terrorist organizations. Other entities may be subject to additional foreign or local sanctions requirements in other relevant jurisdictions.

Similar anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing and proceeds of crime laws apply to movements of currency and payments through electronic transactions and to dealings with persons specified in lists maintained by the country equivalents to OFAC lists in several other countries and require specific data retention obligations to be observed by intermediaries in the payment process. Our businesses in those jurisdictions are subject to those data retention obligations.

Failure to comply with any of these laws and regulations or changes in this regulatory environment, including changing interpretations and the implementation of new or varying regulatory requirements by the government, may result in significant financial penalties, reputational harm or change the manner in which we currently conduct some aspects of our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Failure to protect, enforce and defend our intellectual property rights may diminish our competitive advantages or interfere with our ability to market and promote our products and services.

Our trademarks, trade names, trade secrets, patents, know-how, proprietary technology and other intellectual property are important to our future success. We believe our trademarks and trade names are widely recognized and associated with quality and reliable service. While it is our policy to protect and defend our intellectual property rights vigorously, we cannot predict whether the steps we take to protect our intellectual property will be adequate to prevent infringement, misappropriation, dilution or other potential violations of our intellectually property rights. We also cannot guarantee that others will not independently develop technology with the same or similar functions to any proprietary technology we rely on to conduct our business and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to copy or obtain and use our technology to develop applications with the same functionality as our solutions, and policing unauthorized use of our technology and intellectual property rights is difficult and may not be effective. Furthermore, we may face claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights that could interfere with our ability to market and promote our brands, products and services. Any litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights or defend ourselves against claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights could be costly, divert attention of management and may not ultimately be resolved in our favor. Moreover, if we are unable to successfully defend against claims that we have infringed the intellectual property rights of others, we may be prevented from using certain intellectual property or may be liable for damages, which in turn could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

While software and other of our proprietary works may be protected under copyright law, we have chosen not to register any copyrights in these works, and instead, primarily rely on protecting our software as a trade secret. In order to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States, the copyright must be registered with the United States Copyright Office. Accordingly, the remedies and damages available to us for unauthorized use of our software may be limited.

We attempt to protect our intellectual property and proprietary information by requiring all of our employees, consultants and certain of our contractors to execute confidentiality and invention assignment agreements. However, we may not obtain these agreements in all circumstances, and individuals with whom we have these agreements may not comply with their terms. The assignment of intellectual property rights under these agreements may not be self-executing or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. In addition, we may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical know-how or other trade secrets by the parties to these agreements despite the existence generally of confidentiality agreements and other contractual restrictions. Monitoring unauthorized

 

44

uses and disclosures is difficult and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary technologies will be effective.

In addition, we use open-source software in connection with our proprietary software and expect to continue to use open-source software in the future. Some open-source licenses require licensors to provide source code to licensees upon request, or prohibit licensors from charging a fee to licensees. While we try to insulate our proprietary code from the effects of such open-source license provisions, we cannot guarantee we will be successful. Accordingly, we may face claims from others claiming ownership of, or seeking to enforce the license terms applicable to such open-source software, including by demanding release of the open-source software, derivative works or our proprietary source code that was developed or distributed with such software. These claims could also result in litigation, require us to purchase a costly license or require us to devote additional research and development resources to change our software, any of which would have a negative effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, if the license terms for the open-source code change, we may be forced to re-engineer our software or incur additional costs.

Our existing patents may not be valid, and we may not be able to obtain and enforce additional patents to protect our proprietary rights from use by potential competitors. Companies with other patents could require us to stop using or pay to use required technology.

We have applied for, and intend to continue to apply for, patents relating to our proprietary software and technology. Such applications may not result in the issuance of any patents, and any patents now held or that may be issued may not provide adequate protection from competition. Furthermore, because the issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, it is possible that patents issued or licensed to us may be challenged successfully and found to be invalid or unenforceable. In that event, any competitive advantage that such patents might provide would be lost. If we are unable to secure or to continue to maintain patent coverage, our technology could become subject to competition from the sale of similar competing products.

Competitors may also be able to design around our patents. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection. If these developments were to occur, we could face increased competition. In addition, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing patents on our software and technology in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States.

Failure to comply with, or changes in, laws, regulations and enforcement activities may adversely affect the products, services and markets in which we operate.

We, our merchants and certain third party partners are subject to laws, regulations and industry standards that affect the electronic payments industry in the many countries in which our services are used. In particular, certain merchants and software partners and our sponsor bank are subject to numerous laws and regulations applicable to banks, financial institutions, and card issuers in the United States and abroad, and, consequently, we are at times affected by these foreign, federal, state, and local laws and regulations. There may be changes to the laws, regulation and standards that affect our operations in substantial and unpredictable ways at the federal and state level in the United States and in other countries in which our services are used. Changes to laws, regulations and standards, including interpretation and enforcement of such laws, regulations and standards could increase the cost of doing business or otherwise change how or where we want to do business. In addition, changes to laws, regulations and standards could affect our merchants and software partners and could result in material effects on the way we operate or the cost to operate our business.

In addition, the U.S. government has increased its scrutiny of a number of credit card practices, from which some of our merchants derive significant revenue. Regulation of the payments industry, including regulations

 

45

applicable to us, our merchants and software partners, has increased significantly in recent years. Failure to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our business may result in the suspension or revocation of licenses or registrations, the limitation, suspension or termination of services or the imposition of consent orders or civil and criminal penalties, including fines which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are also subject to U.S. financial services regulations, a myriad of consumer protection laws, including economic sanctions, laws and regulations, anticorruption laws, escheat regulations and privacy and information security regulations. Changes to legal rules and regulations, or interpretation or enforcement of them, could have a negative financial effect on us. Any lack of legal certainty exposes our operations to increased risks, including increased difficulty in enforcing our agreements in those jurisdictions and increased risks of adverse actions by local government authorities, such as expropriations. In addition, certain of our alliance partners are subject to regulation by federal and state authorities and, as a result, could pass through some of those compliance obligations to us, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In particular, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Dodd-Frank Act, significantly changed the U.S. financial regulatory system. Among other things, Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, which regulates consumer financial products and services, including some offered by certain of our merchants. Regulation, examination and enforcement actions from the CFPB may require us to adjust our activities and may increase our compliance costs.

Separately, under the Dodd-Frank Act, debit interchange fees that a card issuer receives and which are established by a payment network for an electronic debit transaction are regulated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Reserve, and must be “reasonable and proportional” to the cost incurred by the card issuer in authorizing, clearing, and settling the transaction. The Federal Reserve has capped debit interchange rates for card issuers operating in the United States with assets of $10 billion or more at the sum of $0.21 per transaction and an ad valorem component of 5 basis points to reflect a portion of the card issuer’s fraud losses plus, for qualifying card issuers, an additional $0.01 per transaction in debit interchange for fraud prevention costs. Regulations such as these could result in the need for us to make capital investments to modify our services to facilitate our existing merchants’ and potential merchants’ compliance and reduce the fees we are able to charge our merchants. These regulations also could result in greater pricing transparency and increased price-based competition leading to lower margins and higher rates of merchant attrition. Furthermore, the requirements of the regulations could result in changes in our merchants’ business practices, which could change the demand for our services and alter the type or volume of transactions that we process on behalf of our merchants.

From time to time we are subject to various legal proceedings which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are involved in various litigation matters from time to time. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources and cause us to incur significant expenses. Our insurance or indemnities may not cover all claims that may be asserted against us, and any claims asserted against us, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, may harm our reputation. If we are unsuccessful in our defense in these litigation matters, or any other legal proceeding, we may be forced to pay damages or fines, enter into consent decrees or change our business practices, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

46

Risks related to our organizational structure

Our principal asset after the completion of this offering will be our interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC, and, as a result, we will depend on distributions from Shift4 Payments, LLC to pay our taxes and expenses, including payments under the TRA. Shift4 Payments, LLC’s ability to make such distributions may be subject to various limitations and restrictions.

Upon the consummation of this offering, we will be a holding company and will have no material assets other than our ownership of LLC Interests. As such, we will have no independent means of generating revenue or cash flow, and our ability to pay our taxes and operating expenses or declare and pay dividends in the future, if any, will be dependent upon the financial results and cash flows of Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries and distributions we receive from Shift4 Payments, LLC. There can be no assurance that our subsidiaries will generate sufficient cash flow to distribute funds to us or that applicable state law and contractual restrictions, including negative covenants in our debt instruments, will permit such distributions. Although Shift4 Payments, LLC is not currently subject to any debt instruments or other agreements that would restrict its ability to make distributions to Shift4 Payments, Inc., the terms of our Credit Facilities and other outstanding indebtedness restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to Shift4 Payments, LLC.

Shift4 Payments, LLC will continue to report as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, as such, generally will not be subject to any entity-level U.S. federal income tax. Instead, any taxable income of Shift4 Payments, LLC will be allocated to holders of LLC Interests, including us. Accordingly, we will incur income taxes on our allocable share of any net taxable income of Shift4 Payments, LLC. Under the terms of the Shift4 Payments LLC Agreement, Shift4 Payments, LLC will be obligated to make tax distributions to holders of LLC Interests, including us. In addition to tax expenses, we will also incur expenses related to our operations, including payments under the TRA, which we expect could be significant. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Tax Receivable Agreement.” We intend, as its managing member, to cause Shift4 Payments, LLC to make cash distributions to the owners of LLC Interests in an amount sufficient to (1) fund all or part of their tax obligations in respect of taxable income allocated to them and (2) cover our operating expenses, including payments under the TRA. However, Shift4 Payments, LLC’s ability to make such distributions may be subject to various limitations and restrictions, such as restrictions on distributions that would either violate any contract or agreement to which Shift4 Payments, LLC is then a party, including debt agreements, or any applicable law, or that would have the effect of rendering Shift4 Payments, LLC insolvent. If we do not have sufficient funds to pay tax or other liabilities or to fund our operations (including as a result of an acceleration of our obligations under the TRA), we may have to borrow funds, which could materially adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition and subject us to various restrictions imposed by any such lenders. To the extent that we are unable to make timely payments under the TRA for any reason, such payments generally will be deferred and will accrue interest until paid; provided, however, that nonpayment for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the TRA and therefore accelerate payments due under the TRA. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Tax Receivable Agreement” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions— Shift4 LLC Agreement—Agreement in Effect Upon Consummation of this Offering—Distributions.” In addition, if Shift4 Payments, LLC does not have sufficient funds to make distributions, our ability to declare and pay cash dividends will also be restricted or impaired. See “—Risks related to the offering and ownership of our Class A common stock” and “Dividend Policy.”

Under the Shift4 Payments LLC Agreement, we expect Shift4 Payments, LLC, from time to time, to make distributions in cash to its equityholders, in amounts sufficient to cover the taxes on their allocable share of taxable income of Shift4 Payments, LLC. As a result of (i) potential differences in the amount of net taxable income indirectly allocable to us and to Shift4 Payments, LLC’s other equityholders, (ii) the lower tax rate applicable to corporations as opposed to individuals and (iii) the favorable tax benefits that we anticipate from (a) future purchases or redemptions of LLC Interests from the Continuing Equity Owners, (b) payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and (c) the acquisition of interests in Shift4 Payments, LLC from its equityholders, we expect that these tax distributions may be in amounts that exceed our tax liabilities. Our board of directors will determine the appropriate uses for any excess cash so accumulated, which may include, among other uses,

 

47

the payment of obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement and the payment of other expenses. We will have no obligation to distribute such cash (or other available cash) to our stockholders. No adjustments to the exchange ratio for LLC Interests and corresponding shares of Class A common stock will be made as a result of any cash distribution by us or any retention of cash by us. To the extent we do not distribute such excess cash as dividends on our Class A common stock or otherwise take ameliorative actions between LLC Interests and shares of Class A common stock and instead, for example, hold such cash balances, or lend them to Shift4 Payments, LLC, this may result in shares of our Class A common stock increasing in value relative to the value of LLC Interests. The holders of LLC Interests may benefit from any value attributable to such cash balances if they acquire shares of Class A common stock in exchange for their LLC Interests, notwithstanding that such holders may previously have participated as holders of LLC Interests in distributions that resulted in such excess cash balances.

The TRA with the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders requires us to make cash payments to them in respect of certain tax benefits to which we may become entitled, and we expect that the payments we will be required to make will be substantial.

Under the TRA, we will be required to make cash payments to the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders equal to 85% of the tax benefits, if any, that we actually realize, or in certain circumstances are deemed to realize, as a result of (1) the increases in our share of the tax basis of assets of Shift4 Payments, LLC resulting from any redemptions of LLC Interests from the Continuing Equity Owners as described under “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Shift4 LLC Agreement—Agreement in Effect Upon Consummation of this Offering—Common Unit Redemption Right,” (2) our utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies and (3) certain other tax benefits related to our making payments under the TRA. The payment obligations under the TRA are obligations of Shift4 Payments, Inc. and we expect that the amount of the cash payments that we will be required to make under the TRA will be significant. Any payments made by us to the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders under the TRA will not be available for reinvestment in our business and will generally reduce the amount of overall cash flow that might have otherwise been available to us. The payments under the TRA are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the exchanging Continuing Equity Owners. Furthermore, our future obligation to make payments under the TRA could make us a less attractive target for an acquisition, particularly in the case of an acquirer that cannot use some or all of the tax benefits that are the subject of the TRA. For more information, see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Tax Receivable Agreement.” The actual increase in tax basis, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the TRA, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of redemptions by the Continuing Equity Owners, the price of shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable, the amount of gain recognized by such holders of LLC Interests, the amount and timing of the taxable income allocated to us or otherwise generated by us in the future, the portion of our payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement constituting imputed interest and the federal and state tax rates then applicable.

Our organizational structure, including the TRA, confers certain benefits upon the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders that will not benefit holders of our Class A common stock to the same extent that it will benefit the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders.

Our organizational structure, including the TRA, confers certain benefits upon the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders that will not benefit the holders of our Class A common stock to the same extent that it will benefit the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders. We will enter into the TRA with Shift4 Payments, LLC, the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders in connection with the completion of this offering, which will provide for the payment by Shift4 Payments, Inc. to the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders of 85% of the amount of tax benefits, if any, that Shift4 Payments, Inc. actually realizes, or in some circumstances is deemed to realize, as a result of (1) the increases in the tax basis of assets of Shift4 Payments, LLC resulting from any redemptions of LLC Interests from the Continuing Equity Owners as described under “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Shift4 LLC

 

48

Agreement—Agreement in Effect Upon Consummation of this Offering—Common Unit Redemption Right” (2) our utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies and (3) certain other tax benefits related to our making payments under the TRA. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Tax Receivable Agreement.” Although Shift4 Payments, Inc. will retain 15% of the amount of such tax benefits, this and other aspects of our organizational structure may adversely impact the future trading market for the Class A common stock.

In certain cases, payments under the TRA to the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders may be accelerated or significantly exceed any actual benefits we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the TRA.

The TRA provides that upon certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control or if, at any time, we elect an early termination of the TRA, then our obligations, or our successor’s obligations, under the TRA to make payments would be based on certain assumptions, including an assumption that we would have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize all potential future tax benefits that are subject to the TRA.

As a result of the foregoing, (1) we could be required to make payments under the TRA that are greater than the specified percentage of any actual benefits we ultimately realize in respect of the tax benefits that are subject to the TRA and (2) if we elect to terminate the TRA early, we would be required to make an immediate cash payment equal to the present value of the anticipated future tax benefits that are the subject of the TRA, based on certain assumptions, which payment may be made significantly in advance of the actual realization, if any, of such future tax benefits. In these situations, our obligations under the TRA could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control. There can be no assurance that we will be able to fund or finance our obligations under the TRA.

We will not be reimbursed for any payments made to the Continuing Equity Owners or the Blocker Shareholders under the TRA in the event that any tax benefits are disallowed.

Payments under the TRA will be based on the tax reporting positions that we determine, and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, or another tax authority may challenge all or part of the tax basis increases or other tax benefits we claim, as well as other related tax positions we take, and a court could sustain such challenge. If the outcome of any such challenge would reasonably be expected to materially affect a recipient’s payments under the TRA, then we will not be permitted to settle or fail to contest such challenge without the consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of Searchlight and the Founder. The interests of the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders in any such challenge may differ from or conflict with our interests and your interests, and Searchlight and the Founder may exercise their consent rights relating to any such challenge in a manner adverse to our interests and your interests. We will not be reimbursed for any cash payments previously made to the Continuing Equity Owners or the Blocker Shareholder under the TRA in the event that any tax benefits initially claimed by us and for which payment has been made to a Continuing Equity Owner or the Blocker Shareholder are subsequently challenged by a taxing authority and are ultimately disallowed. Instead, any excess cash payments made by us to a Continuing Equity Owner or the Blocker Shareholder will be netted against any future cash payments that we might otherwise be required to make to such Continuing Equity Owner or such Blocker Shareholder, as applicable, under the terms of the TRA. However, we might not determine that we have effectively made an excess cash payment to a Continuing Equity Owner or the Blocker Shareholder for a number of years following the initial time of such payment and, if any of our tax reporting positions are challenged by a taxing authority, we will not be permitted to reduce any future cash payments under the TRA until any such challenge is finally settled or determined. Moreover, the excess cash payments we previously made under the TRA could be greater than the amount of future cash payments against which we would otherwise be permitted to net such excess. As a result, payments could be made under the TRA significantly in excess of any tax savings that we realize in respect of the tax attributes with respect to a Continuing Equity Owner or the Blocker Shareholder that are the subject of the TRA.

 

49

Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to taxes by the U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax authorities. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:

 

•

allocation of expenses to and among different jurisdictions;

 

•

changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;

 

•

expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;

 

•

tax effects of stock-based compensation;

 

•

costs related to intercompany restructurings;

 

•

changes in tax laws, tax treaties, regulations or interpretations thereof; or

 

•

lower than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory tax rates.

In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other taxes by U.S. federal, state, and local and foreign taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

If we were deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the 1940 Act, including as a result of our ownership of Shift4 Payments, LLC, applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Under Sections 3(a)(1)(A) and (C) of the 1940 Act, a company generally will be deemed to be an “investment company” for purposes of the 1940 Act if (1) it is, or holds itself out as being, engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities or (2) it engages, or proposes to engage, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and it owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. We do not believe that we are an “investment company,” as such term is defined in either of those sections of the 1940 Act.

We and Shift4 Payments, LLC intend to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed an investment company. As the sole managing member of Shift4 Payments, LLC, we will control and operate Shift4 Payments, LLC. On that basis, we believe that our interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC is not an “investment security” as that term is used in the 1940 Act. However, if we were to cease participation in the management of Shift4 Payments, LLC, or if Shift4 Payments, LLC itself becomes an investment company, our interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC could be deemed an “investment security” for purposes of the 1940 Act.

We and Shift4 Payments, LLC intend to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed an investment company. If it were established that we were an unregistered investment company, there would be a risk that we would be subject to monetary penalties and injunctive relief in an action brought by the SEC, that we would be unable to enforce contracts with third parties and that third parties could seek to obtain rescission of transactions undertaken during the period it was established that we were an unregistered investment company. If we were required to register as an investment company, restrictions imposed by the 1940 Act, including limitations on our capital structure and our ability to transact with affiliates, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

50

Risks related to the offering and ownership of our Class A common stock

The Continuing Equity Owners will continue to have significant influence over us after this offering, including control over decisions that require the approval of stockholders.

Upon consummation of this offering, the Continuing Equity Owners will control, in the aggregate, approximately         % of the voting power represented by all our outstanding classes of stock. As a result, the Continuing Equity Owners will continue to exercise significant influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election and removal of directors and the size of our board, any amendment of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws and any approval of significant corporate transactions (including a sale of substantially all of our assets), and will continue to have significant control over our management and policies.

We expect that members of our board of directors will be Continuing Equity Owners and/or will be affiliated with our Continuing Equity Owners. The Continuing Equity Owners can take actions that have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us or discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares, which could prevent stockholders from receiving a premium for their shares. These actions may be taken even if other stockholders oppose them. The concentration of voting power with the Continuing Equity Owners may have an adverse effect on the price of our Class A common stock. The interests of the Continuing Equity Owners may not be consistent with your interests as a stockholder.

Searchlight and their respective affiliates engage in a broad spectrum of activities. In the ordinary course of their business activities, Searchlight and their respective affiliates may engage in activities where their interests conflict with our interests or those of our stockholders. Searchlight may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. In addition, Searchlight may have an interest in us pursuing acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions that, in its judgment, could enhance its investment, even though such transactions might involve risks to you.

The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting power with our Founder and Searchlight, which will limit your ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.

Our Class B common stock has                votes per share, and our Class A common stock, which is the stock we are offering by means of this prospectus, has one vote per share. Upon the closing of this offering, Jared Isaacman, our Founder, Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors will hold approximately         % of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock; and Searchlight will hold approximately         % of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. Accordingly, upon the closing of this offering, our Founder and Searchlight will together hold all of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class B common stock and therefore, individually or together, will be able to significantly influence matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transactions. Our Founder and Searchlight, individually or together, may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our Class A common stock. Future transfers by the holders of Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting into shares of Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions. For information about our dual class structure, see the section titled “Description of Capital Stock.”

We cannot predict the effect our dual class structure may have on the market price of our Class A common stock.

We cannot predict whether our dual class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock, in adverse publicity, or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index

 

51

providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indices. In July 2017, FTSE Russell announced that it plans to require new constituents of its indices to have greater than 5% of the company’s voting rights in the hands of public stockholders, and S&P Dow Jones announced that it will no longer admit companies with multiple-class share structures to certain of its indices. Affected indices include the Russell 2000 and the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, and S&P SmallCap 600, which together make up the S&P Composite 1500. Also in 2017, MSCI, a leading stock index provider, opened public consultations on their treatment of no-vote and multi-class structures and temporarily barred new multi-class listings from certain of its indices and in October 2018, MSCI announced its decision to include equity securities “with unequal voting structures” in its indices and to launch a new index that specifically includes voting rights in its eligibility criteria. Under such announced policies, the dual class structure of our common stock would make us ineligible for inclusion in certain indices and, as a result, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment vehicles that attempt to track those indices would not invest in our Class A common stock. These policies are relatively new and it is unclear what effect, if any, they will have on the valuations of publicly-traded companies excluded from such indices, but it is possible that they may depress valuations, as compared to similar companies that are included. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indices, exclusion from certain stock indices would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make our Class A common stock less attractive to other investors. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such corporate governance requirements.

After the consummation of this offering,                will have more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors, and, as a result, we will be considered a “controlled company” for the purposes of the NYSE. As such, we will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements to have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors, an entirely independent nominating and corporate governance committee, an entirely independent compensation committee or to perform annual performance evaluations of the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees.

The corporate governance requirements and specifically the independence standards are intended to ensure that directors who are considered independent are free of any conflicting interest that could influence their actions as directors. Following this offering, we intend to utilize certain exemptions afforded to a “controlled company.” As a result, we will not be subject to certain corporate governance requirements, including that a majority of our board of directors consists of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of the NYSE. In addition, we will not be required to have a nominating and corporate governance committee or compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities or to conduct annual performance evaluations of the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees.

Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE. Our status as a controlled company could make our Class A common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.

Certain provisions of Delaware law and antitakeover provisions in our organizational documents could delay or prevent a change of control.

Certain provisions of Delaware law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may have an antitakeover effect and may delay, defer, or prevent a merger, acquisition, tender offer, takeover attempt or other change of control transaction that a stockholder might consider in its best

 

52

interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares held by our stockholders. These provisions provide for, among other things:

 

•

a multi-class common stock structure;

 

•

a classified board of directors with staggered three-year terms;

 

•

the ability of our board of directors to issue one or more series of preferred stock;

 

•

advance notice for nominations of directors by stockholders and for stockholders to include matters to be considered at our annual meetings;

 

•

certain limitations on convening special stockholder meetings;

 

•

prohibit cumulative voting in the election of directors;

 

•

the removal of directors only for cause and only upon the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power represented by our then-outstanding common stock; and

 

•

that certain provisions may be amended only by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power represented by our then-outstanding common stock.

These antitakeover provisions could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if the third party’s offer may be considered beneficial by many of our stockholders. As a result, our stockholders may be limited in their ability to obtain a premium for their shares.

In addition, we have opted out of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which we refer to as the DGCL, but our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder (any stockholder with     % or more of our voting stock) for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder is prohibited, subject to certain exceptions. See “Description of Capital Stock.”

The JOBS Act will allow us to postpone the date by which we must comply with certain laws and regulations intended to protect investors and to reduce the amount of information we provide in our reports filed with the SEC. We cannot be certain if this reduced disclosure will make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.

The JOBS Act is intended to reduce the regulatory burden on “emerging growth companies.” As defined in the JOBS Act, a public company whose initial public offering of common equity securities occurs after December 8, 2011 and whose annual gross revenues are less than $1.07 billion will, in general, qualify as an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of:

 

•

the last day of its fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of its initial public offering of common equity securities;

 

•

the last day of its fiscal year in which it has annual gross revenue of $1.07 billion or more;

 

•

the date on which it has, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.07 billion in nonconvertible debt; and

 

•

the date on which it is deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” which will occur at such time as the company (1) has an aggregate worldwide market value of common equity securities held by non-affiliates of $700 million or more as of the last business day of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter, (2) has been required to file annual and quarterly reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, for a period of at least 12 months and (3) has filed at least one annual report pursuant to the Exchange Act.

 

53

Under this definition, we will be an “emerging growth company” upon completion of this offering and could remain an “emerging growth company” until as late as the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering. For so long as we are an “emerging growth company,” we will, among other things:

 

•

not be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;

 

•

not be required to hold a nonbinding advisory stockholder vote on executive compensation pursuant to Section 14A(a) of the Exchange Act;

 

•

not be required to seek stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved pursuant to Section 14A(b) of the Exchange Act;

 

•

be exempt from the requirement of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, regarding the communication of critical audit matters in the auditor’s report on the financial statements; and

 

•

be subject to reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can use the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This permits an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period and, as a result, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of issuers who are required to comply with the effective dates for new or revised accounting standards that are applicable to public companies.

We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result of our decision to take advantage of some or all of the reduced disclosure requirements above. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

Because we have no current plans to pay regular cash dividends on our Class A common stock following this offering, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your Class A common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

We do not anticipate paying any regular cash dividends on our Class A common stock following this offering. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, general and economic conditions, our results of operations and financial condition, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions and such other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is, and may be, limited by covenants of existing and any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur, including under our Credit Facilities. Therefore, any return on investment in our Class A common stock is solely dependent upon the appreciation of the price of our Class A common stock on the open market, which may not occur. See “Dividend Policy” for more detail.

No market currently exists for our Class A common stock, and an active, liquid trading market for our Class A common stock may not develop, which may cause our Class A common stock to trade at a discount from the initial offering price and make it difficult for you to sell the Class A common stock you purchase.

Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our Class A common stock. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in us will lead to the development of a trading market or how active and liquid that market may become. If an active and liquid trading market does not develop or continue, you may have difficulty selling any of our Class A common stock that you purchase at a price above the price you purchase it or

 

54

at all. The initial public offering price for the shares was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters and may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the open market following this offering. The failure of an active and liquid trading market to develop and continue would likely have a material adverse effect on the value of our Class A common stock. The market price of our Class A common stock may decline below the initial offering price, and you may not be able to sell your shares of our Class A common stock at or above the price you paid in this offering, or at all. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, subject to limited exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, subject to limited exceptions, that unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our Company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, or other employee or stockholder of our Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, creditors or other constituents, (3) action asserting a claim against the Company or any director or officer of the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (4) action asserting a claim against the Company or any director or officer of the Company governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that the exclusive forum provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, or to any claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. For instance, the provision would not apply to actions arising under federal securities laws, including suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations thereunder. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the doctrine of “corporate opportunity” will not apply against Searchlight, any of our directors who are employees of or affiliated with Searchlight, or any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries.

The doctrine of corporate opportunity generally provides that a corporate fiduciary may not develop an opportunity using corporate resources, acquire an interest adverse to that of the corporation or acquire property that is reasonably incident to the present or prospective business of the corporation or in which the corporation has a present or expectancy interest, unless that opportunity is first presented to the corporation and the corporation chooses not to pursue that opportunity. The doctrine of corporate opportunity is intended to preclude officers or directors or other fiduciaries from personally benefiting from opportunities that belong to the corporation. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will be in effect upon the consummation of this offering, will provide that the doctrine of “corporate opportunity” will not apply against

 

55

Searchlight, any of our directors who are employees of or affiliated with Searchlight, or any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries. Searchlight, any of our directors who are employees of or affiliated with Searchlight, or any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries will therefore have no duty to communicate or present corporate opportunities to us, and will have the right to either hold any corporate opportunity for their (and their affiliates’) own account and benefit or to recommend, assign or otherwise transfer such corporate opportunity to persons other than us, including to any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries.

As a result, certain of our stockholders, directors and their respective affiliates will not be prohibited from operating or investing in competing businesses. We therefore may find ourselves in competition with certain of our stockholders, directors or their respective affiliates, and we may not have knowledge of, or be able to pursue, transactions that could potentially be beneficial to us. Accordingly, we may lose a corporate opportunity or suffer competitive harm, which could negatively impact our business or prospects.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they downgrade our stock or our sector, or if there is any fluctuation in our credit rating, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our Class A common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on our Company. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our Company, the trading price of our shares would likely be negatively impacted. Furthermore, if one or more of the analysts who do cover us downgrade our stock or our industry, or the stock of any of our competitors, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts stops covering us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Additionally, any fluctuation in the credit rating of us or our subsidiaries may impact our ability to access debt markets in the future or increase our cost of future debt which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition, which in return may adversely affect the trading price of shares of our Class A common stock.

As a public reporting company, we will be subject to rules and regulations established from time to time by the SEC and the NYSE regarding our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, or report them in a timely manner.

Upon completion of this offering, we will become a public reporting company subject to the rules and regulations established from time to time by the SEC and the NYSE. These rules and regulations will require, among other things, that we establish and periodically evaluate procedures with respect to our internal control over financial reporting. Reporting obligations as a public company are likely to place a considerable strain on our financial and management systems, processes and controls, as well as on our personnel.

In addition, as a public company we will be required to document and test our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act so that our management can certify as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting by the time our second annual report is filed with the SEC and thereafter, which will require us to document and make significant changes to our internal control over financial reporting. Likewise, our independent registered public accounting firm will be required to provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at such time as we cease to be an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we become an accelerated or large accelerated filer although, as described above, we could potentially qualify as an “emerging growth company” until as late as the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering.

 

56

We expect to incur costs related to implementing an internal audit and compliance function in the upcoming years to further improve our internal control environment. If we identify future deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting or if we are unable to comply with the demands that will be placed upon us as a public company, including the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in a timely manner, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results, or report them within the timeframes required by the SEC. We also could become subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In addition, if we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, when required, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, we may face restricted access to the capital markets and our stock price may be adversely affected.

We will incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company.

Prior to this offering, we operated on a private basis. After this offering, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE and other applicable securities laws and regulations. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. We also expect that being a public company and being subject to new rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as our executive officers. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our Class A common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation. These factors may therefore strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.

Future sales, or the perception of future sales, by us or our existing stockholders in the public market following this offering could cause the market price for our Class A common stock to decline.

After this offering, the sale of shares of our Class A common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our Class A common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

Upon consummation of this offering, we will have outstanding a total of                  shares of Class A common stock. Of the outstanding shares, the                  shares sold in this offering (or                  shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares) will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, other than any shares held by our affiliates. In addition, the shares of Class A common stock issued to the Former Equity Owners in the Transactions will be eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144 without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, other than any shares held by our affiliates. Any shares of Class A common stock held by our affiliates will be eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, subject to the volume, manner of sale, holding period and other limitations of Rule 144.

Our directors and executive officers, and substantially all of our stockholders have entered into lock-up agreements with the underwriters prior to the commencement of this offering pursuant to which each of these persons or entities, subject to certain exceptions, for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, may not, without the prior written consent of                                          (1) offer, pledge, loan, announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant

 

57

any option, right or warrant to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of our common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock (including, without limitation, common stock or such other securities which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by such directors, executive officers, managers and members in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and securities which may be issued upon exercise of a stock option or warrant), or (2) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common stock or such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, or (3) make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any shares of our common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock. See “Underwriting.”

In addition, we have reserved shares of Class A common stock equal to     % of the total number of outstanding LLC Interests following this offering for issuance under the 2020 Plan. Any Class A common stock that we issue under the 2020 Plan or other equity incentive plans that we may adopt in the future would dilute the percentage ownership held by the investors who purchase Class A common stock in this offering.

As restrictions on resale end or if these stockholders exercise their registration rights, the market price of our shares of Class A common stock could drop significantly if the holders of these shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional funds through future offerings of our shares of Class A common stock or other securities.

In the future, we may also issue securities in connection with investments, acquisitions or capital raising activities. In particular, the number of shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition, or to raise additional equity capital, could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of our Class A common stock. Any such issuance of additional securities in the future may result in additional dilution to you or may adversely impact the price of our Class A common stock.

Our stock price may change significantly following the offering, and you may not be able to resell shares of our Class A common stock at or above the price you paid or at all, and you could lose all or part of your investment as a result.

The initial public offering price for the shares was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters. You may not be able to resell your shares at or above the initial public offering price due to a number of factors included herein, including the following:

 

•

results of operations that vary from the expectations of securities analysts and investors;

 

•

results of operations that vary from those of our competitors;

 

•

changes in expectations as to our future financial performance, including financial estimates and investment recommendations by securities analysts and investors;

 

•

technology changes, changes in consumer behavior or changes in merchant relationships in our industry;

 

•

security breaches related to our systems or those of our merchants, affiliates or strategic partners;

 

•

changes in economic conditions for companies in our industry;

 

•

changes in market valuations of, or earnings and other announcements by, companies in our industry;

 

•

declines in the market prices of stocks generally, particularly those of global payment companies;

 

•

strategic actions by us or our competitors;

 

•

announcements by us, our competitors or our strategic partners of significant contracts, new products, acquisitions, joint marketing relationships, joint ventures, other strategic relationships, or capital commitments;

 

 

58

•

changes in general economic or market conditions or trends in our industry or the economy as a whole and, in particular, in the consumer spending environment;

 

•

changes in business or regulatory conditions;

 

•

future sales of our Class A common stock or other securities;

 

•

investor perceptions of the investment opportunity associated with our Class A common stock relative to other investment alternatives;

 

•

the public’s response to press releases or other public announcements by us or third parties, including our filings with the SEC;

 

•

announcements relating to litigation or governmental investigations;

 

•

guidance, if any, that we provide to the public, any changes in this guidance, or our failure to meet this guidance;

 

•

the development and sustainability of an active trading market for our stock;

 

•

changes in accounting principles; and

 

•

other events or factors, including those resulting from system failures and disruptions, natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism or responses to these events.

Furthermore, the stock market may experience extreme volatility that, in some cases, may be unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of our Class A common stock is low.

In the past, following periods of market volatility, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation. If we were involved in securities litigation, it could have a substantial cost and divert resources and the attention of management from our business regardless of the outcome of such litigation.

If you purchase shares of Class A common stock in this offering, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of your investment.

The initial public offering price of our Class A common stock is substantially higher than the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock. Therefore, if you purchase shares of our Class A common stock in this offering, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds our pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering. You will experience immediate dilution of $        per share, representing the difference between our pro forma net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering and the initial public offering price. In addition, investors who purchase Class A common stock from us in this offering will have contributed     % of the aggregate price paid by all purchasers of our outstanding equity but will own only approximately     % of our outstanding equity after this offering. See “Dilution” for more detail, including the calculation of the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock.

 

59

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus may be forward-looking statements. Statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, including, among others, statements regarding the Transactions, including the consummation of this offering, expected growth, future capital expenditures and debt service obligations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus include, but are not limited to statements about:

 

•

the effect of the COVID-19 global pandemic on our business and results of operations;

 

•

our ability to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and compete effectively;

 

•

our ability to anticipate and respond to changing industry trends and merchant and consumer needs;

 

•

our ability to continue making acquisitions of businesses or assets;

 

•

our ability to continue to expand our market share or expand into new markets;

 

•

our reliance on third-party vendors to provide products and services;

 

•

our ability to integrate our services and products with operating systems, devices, software and web browsers;

 

•

our ability to maintain merchant and software partner relationships and strategic partnerships;

 

•

the effects of global economic, political and other conditions on consumer, business and government spending;

 

•

our compliance with governmental regulation and other legal obligations, particularly related to privacy, data protection and information security, and consumer protection laws;

 

•

our ability to establish, maintain and enforce effective risk management policies and procedures;

 

•

our ability to protect our systems and data from continually evolving cybersecurity risks, security breaches and other technological risks;

 

•

potential harm caused by software defects, computer viruses and development delays;

 

•

the effect of degradation of the quality of the products and services we offer;

 

•

potential harm caused by increased customer attrition;

 

•

potential harm caused by fraud by merchants or others;

 

•

potential harm caused by damage to our reputation or brands;

 

•

our ability to recruit, retain and develop qualified personnel;

 

•

our reliance on a single or limited number of suppliers;

 

•

the effects of seasonality and volatility on our operating results;

 

•

the effect of various legal proceedings;

 

•

our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations;

 

•

our ability to protect, enforce and defend our intellectual property rights;

 

•

our ability to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures;

 

•

our compliance with laws, regulations and enforcement activities that affect our industry;

 

60

•

our dependence on distributions from Shift4 Payments, LLC to pay our taxes and expenses, including payments under the TRA; and

 

•

the significant influence the Continuing Equity Owners will continue to have over us after this offering, including control over decisions that require the approval of stockholders.

The forward-looking statements in this prospectus are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We believe that these factors include, but are not limited to the factors set forth under “Risk Factors.” Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus after we distribute this prospectus, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

 

61

OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Shift4 Payments, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was formed on November 5, 2019 and is the issuer of the Class A common stock offered by this prospectus. Prior to this offering, all of our business operations have been conducted through Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries. We will consummate the Transactions, excluding this offering, on or prior to the consummation of this offering.

Existing Organization

Shift4 Payments, LLC is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, as such is generally not subject to any U.S. federal entity-level income taxes. Taxable income or loss of Shift4 Payments, LLC is included in the U.S. federal income tax returns of Shift4 Payments, LLC’s members. Prior to the consummation of this offering, the Original Equity Owners were the only members of Shift4 Payments, LLC, and included three owners of membership units: Searchlight, our Founder and FPOS Holding Co., Inc.

Transactions

We will consummate the following organizational transactions in connection with this offering:

 

•

we will amend and restate the existing limited liability company agreement of Shift4 Payments, LLC to, among other things, (1) convert all existing ownership interests in Shift4 Payments, LLC into                LLC Interests and (2) appoint Shift4 Payments, Inc. as the sole managing member of Shift4 Payments, LLC upon its acquisition of LLC Interests in connection with this offering;

 

•

we will amend and restate Shift4 Payments, Inc.’s certificate of incorporation to, among other things, provide (1) for Class A common stock, with each share of our Class A common stock entitling its holder to one vote per share on all matters presented to our stockholders generally and (2) for Class B common stock, with each share of our Class B common stock entitling its holder to             votes per share on all matters presented to our stockholders generally, and that shares of our Class B common stock may only be held by Searchlight, our Founder and their respective permitted transferees as described in “Description of Capital Stock—Common Stock—Class B Common Stock;”

 

•

the Former Equity Owners will exchange their ownership interests in LLC Interests for                  shares of Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis;

 

•

we will issue                  shares of our Class A common stock to the purchasers in this offering (or                  shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) in exchange for net proceeds of approximately $        million (or approximately $        million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $        per share (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) less the underwriting discounts and commissions;

 

•

we will use all of the net proceeds from this offering to purchase             newly issued LLC Interests (or                 LLC Interests if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) directly from Shift4 Payments, LLC and certain of the Continuing Equity Owners at a price per unit equal to the initial public offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering less the underwriting discounts and commissions;

 

•

Shift4 Payments, LLC intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of LLC Interests to Shift4 Payments, Inc. to             and, if any remain, for general corporate purposes as described under “Use of Proceeds;” and

 

•

Shift4 Payments, Inc. will enter into (1) the Stockholders Agreement with Searchlight and our Founder, (2) the Registration Rights Agreement with Searchlight and our Founder and (3) the TRA with Shift4 Payments, LLC, the Continuing Equity Owners and the Blocker Shareholders. For a description of the terms of the Stockholders Agreement, the Registration Rights Agreement and the Tax Receivable Agreement, see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

 

62

Organizational Structure Following this Offering

 

•

Shift4 Payments, Inc. will be a holding company and its principal asset will consist of LLC Interests it purchases from Shift4 Payments, LLC and certain of the Continuing Equity Owners and LLC Interests it acquires from the Former Equity Owners;

 

•

Prior to the consummation of this offering, we expect there will be three holders of common stock of Shift4 Payments, Inc.

 

•

Shift4 Payments, Inc. will be the sole managing member of Shift4 Payments, LLC and will control the business and affairs of Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries;

 

•

Shift4 Payments, Inc. will own, directly or indirectly,                 LLC Interests of Shift4 Payments, LLC, representing approximately     % of the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC (or                LLC Interests, representing approximately     % of the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock);

 

•

the Continuing Equity Owners will own (1)            LLC Interests of Shift4 Payments, LLC, representing approximately     % of the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC (or                LLC Interests, representing approximately     % of the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) and (2)            shares of Class B common stock of Shift4 Payments, Inc., representing approximately     % of the combined voting power of all of Shift4 Payments, Inc.’s common stock (or                  shares of Class B common stock of Shift4 Payments, Inc., representing approximately     % if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock); and

 

•

the purchasers in this offering will own (1)            shares of Class A common stock of Shift4 Payments, Inc. (or                  shares of Class A common stock of Shift4 Payments, Inc. if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock), representing approximately     % of the combined voting power of all of Shift4 Payments, Inc.’s common stock and approximately     % of the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, Inc. (or approximately     % of the combined voting power and approximately     % of the economic interest if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock), and (2) through Shift4 Payments, Inc.’s ownership of LLC Interests, indirectly will hold approximately     % of the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC (or approximately     % of the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock).

 

63

The diagram below depicts our organizational structure after giving effect to the Transactions, including this offering, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock.

 

 

(1)	Investors in this offering will hold approximately         % of the voting interest.

 

(2)	Jared Isaacman will hold     % of his economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC through a wholly owned corporation, Rook Holdings, Inc., for which he is the sole stockholder.

As the sole managing member of Shift4 Payments, LLC, we will operate and control all of the business and affairs of Shift4 Payments, LLC and, through Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries, conduct the business. Following the Transactions, including this offering, Shift4 Payments, Inc. will have the majority economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC, and will control the management of Shift4 Payments, LLC as the sole managing member. As a result, Shift4 Payments, Inc. will consolidate Shift4 Payments, LLC and record a significant noncontrolling interest in consolidated entity for the economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC held by the Continuing Equity Owners.

Unless otherwise indicated, this prospectus assumes the shares of Class A common stock are offered at $        per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus). Although the combined number of LLC Interests to purchase LLC Interests outstanding after the offering will remain fixed regardless of

 

64

the initial public offering price in this offering, pursuant to the terms of the existing LLC Agreement among the Original Equity Owners the split between the number of LLC Interests among the Original Equity Owners will vary depending on the initial public offering price in this offering. The initial public offering price will also impact the relative allocation of LLC Interests issued in the Transactions among the Original Equity Owners and, in turn, the shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock issued to the Original Equity Owners in the Transactions. Therefore, the indirect economic interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC represented by the shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering will be largely unaffected by the initial public offering price.

Incorporation of Shift4 Payments, Inc.

Shift4 Payments, Inc., the issuer of the Class A common stock offered by this prospectus, was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on November 5, 2019. Shift4 Payments, Inc. has not engaged in any material business or other activities except in connection with its formation. The amended and restated certificate of incorporation of Shift4 Payments, Inc. that will become effective immediately prior to the consummation of this offering will authorize two classes of common stock, Class A common stock and Class B common stock, each having the terms described in “Description of Capital Stock.”

Reclassification and Amendment and Restatement of the Shift4 Payments LLC Agreement

Prior to or substantially concurrently with the consummation of this offering, the existing limited liability company agreement of Shift4 Payments, LLC will be amended and restated to, among other things, modify its capital structure by creating a single new class of units that we refer to as “common units” and providing for a right of redemption of common units in exchange for, at our election (determined solely by our independent directors (within the meaning of the rules of the NYSE), who are disinterested), shares of our Class A common stock or cash. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Shift4 LLC Agreement.”

 

65

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate, based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $            per share (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), that we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $                 (or $            if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock), after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering (including any net proceeds from any exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) to purchase             LLC Interests (or                LLC Interests if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock) directly from Shift4 Payments, LLC at a price per unit equal to the initial public offering price per share of Class A common stock in this offering less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

Shift4 Payments, LLC intends to use the $            million in net proceeds it receives from the sale of LLC Interests to Shift4 Payments, Inc. (together with any additional proceeds it may receive if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock), after deducting estimated offering expenses, as follows:

 

•

; and

 

•

the remainder, if any, for general corporate purposes.

Pending use of the net proceeds from this offering described above, we may invest the net proceeds in short- and intermediate-term interest-bearing obligations, investment-grade instruments, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States government.

Assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock, each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $            per share (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $            million and, in turn, the net proceeds received by Shift4 Payments, LLC from the sale of LLC Interests to Shift4 Payments, Inc. by $            million, assuming the number of shares offered, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Each 1,000,000 share increase (decrease) in the number of shares offered by us in this offering would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $            million and, in turn, the net proceeds received by Shift4 Payments, LLC from the sale of LLC Interests to Shift4 Payments, Inc. by $            million, assuming that the price per share for the offering remains at $            (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Shift4 Payments, LLC will bear or reimburse Shift4 Payments, Inc. for all of the expenses incurred in connection with this offering.

 

66

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth the capitalization as of March 31, 2020, as follows:

 

•

of Shift4 Payments, LLC and its subsidiaries on a historical basis;

 

•

of Shift4 Payments, Inc. and its subsidiaries on a pro forma basis to give effect to the Transactions, excluding this offering; and

 

•

of Shift4 Payments, Inc. and its subsidiaries on a pro forma as adjusted basis to give effect to the Transactions, including our sale of                      shares of Class A common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $            per share (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds,” and use of proceeds therefrom.

For more information, please see “Our Organizational Structure,” “Use of Proceeds” and “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Information” included elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section and other financial information contained in this prospectus.

 

		As of March 31, 2020
(in millions, except per share and share amounts)		Shift4 Payments, LLC Historical				Shift4 Payments, Inc. Pro Forma				Shift4 Payments, Inc. Pro Forma As Adjusted
						(unaudited)
Long-term debt (including current portion)(1):
First Lien Term Loan Facility		$	509.8			$				$
Second Lien Term Loan Facility			130.0
Revolving Credit Facility			89.5
Total debt		$	729.3			$				$
Redeemable preferred units			43.0
Members’/stockholders’ equity (deficit):
Member’s equity:
Class A common units			—
Class B common units			0.3
Members’ equity			147.9
Retained deficit			(183.6	)
Stockholders’ equity:
Class A common stock, par value $         per share;                  shares authorized,                  shares issued and outstanding, pro forma; and                  shares authorized,                  shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted			—
Class B common stock, par value $         per share;                  shares authorized,                  shares issued and outstanding, pro forma; and                  shares authorized,                  shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted			—
Additional paid-in capital			—
Nonredeemable noncontrolling interests			—
Total members’ (deficit)/stockholders’ equity			(35.4	)
Total capitalization		$	736.9			$				$

 

(1)	See “Description of Indebtedness” for a description of our currently outstanding indebtedness.

 

67

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $            per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) each of total indebtedness, additional paid-in capital and total members’ / stockholders’ equity on a pro forma as adjusted basis by approximately $            million, assuming that the price per share for the offering remains at $                (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

Each 1,000,000 share increase or decrease in the number of shares offered in this offering by us would increase or decrease each of total indebtedness, additional paid-in capital and total members’ / stockholders’ equity on a pro forma as adjusted basis by approximately $            million, assuming that the price per share for the offering remains at $                (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

68

DIVIDEND POLICY

We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business and to repay indebtedness, and therefore we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our Class A common stock in the foreseeable future. Holders of our Class B common stock are not entitled to participate in any dividends declared by our board of directors. Furthermore, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay cash dividends on our Class A common stock depends on our receipt of cash distributions from Shift4 Payments, LLC and, through Shift4 Payments, LLC, cash distributions and dividends from our other direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Our ability to pay dividends may be restricted by the terms of any future credit agreement or any future debt or preferred equity securities of us or our subsidiaries. See “Description of Capital Stock,” “Description of Indebtedness” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation—Liquidity and capital resources.” Any future determination as to the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to compliance with contractual restrictions and covenants in the agreements governing our current and future indebtedness. Any such determination will also depend upon our business prospects, results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements and availability and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

Accordingly, you may need to sell your shares of our Class A common stock to realize a return on your investment, and you may not be able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for them. See “Risk Factors—Risks related to the offering and ownership of our Class A common stock—Because we have no current plans to pay regular cash dividends on our Class A common stock following this offering, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your Class A common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.”

Immediately following this offering, we will be a holding company, and our principal asset will be the LLC Interests we purchase from Shift4 Payments, LLC. If we decide to pay a dividend in the future, we would need to cause Shift4 Payments, LLC to make distributions to us in an amount sufficient to cover such dividend. If Shift4 Payments, LLC makes such distributions to us, the other holders of LLC Interests will be entitled to receive pro rata distributions. See “Risk Factors—Risks related to our organizational structure—Our principal asset after the completion of this offering will be our interest in Shift4 Payments, LLC, and, as a result, we will depend on distributions from Shift4 Payments, LLC to pay our taxes and expenses, including payments under the TRA. Shift4 Payments, LLC’s ability to make such distributions may be subject to various limitations and restrictions.”

 

69

DILUTION

The Continuing Equity Owners will own LLC Interests after the Transactions. Because the Continuing Equity Owners do not own any Class A common stock or have any right to receive distributions from Shift4 Payments, Inc., we have presented dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per share both before and after this offering assuming that all of the holders of LLC Interests (other than Shift4 Payments, Inc.) had their LLC Interests redeemed or exchanged for newly-issued shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis (rather than for cash) and the cancellation for no consideration of all of their shares of Class B common stock (which are not entitled to receive distributions or dividends, whether cash or stock from Shift4 Payments, Inc.) in order to more meaningfully present the dilutive impact on the investors in this offering. We refer to the assumed redemption or exchange of all LLC Interests for shares of Class A common stock as described in the previous sentence as the Assumed Redemption.

Dilution is the amount by which the offering price paid by the purchasers of the Class A common stock in this offering exceeds the pro forma net tangible book value per share of Class A common stock after the offering. Shift4 Payments, LLC’s pro forma net tangible book value as of March 31, 2020 prior to this offering and after giving effect to the other Transactions and the Assumed Redemption was a deficit of $        million. Pro forma net tangible book value per share prior to this offering is determined by subtracting our total liabilities from the total book value of our tangible assets and dividing the difference by the number of shares of Class A common stock deemed to be outstanding after giving effect to the Assumed Redemption.

If you invest in our Class A common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be immediately diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering.

Pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering is determined by subtracting our total liabilities from the total book value of our tangible assets and dividing the difference by the number of shares of Class A common stock deemed to be outstanding, after giving effect to the Transactions, including this offering and the application of the proceeds from this offering as described in “Use of Proceeds,” and the Assumed Redemption. Our pro forma net tangible book value as of March 31, 2020, after this offering would have been approximately a deficit of $        million, or $        per share of Class A common stock. This amount represents an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value of $        per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in pro forma net tangible book value of approximately $        per share to new investors purchasing shares of Class A common stock in this offering. We determine dilution by subtracting the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering from the amount of cash that a new investor paid for a share of Class A common stock. The following table illustrates this dilution:

 

Assumed initial public offering price per share						$
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share as of March 31, 2020 before this offering(1)		$
Increase per share attributable to new investors in this offering		$
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering(2)
Dilution per share to new Class A common stock investors in this offering						$

 

70

 

(1)	The computation of pro forma net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2020 before this offering is set forth below (in thousands except for share data):

 

Numerator
Book value of tangible assets		$
Less: total liabilities
Pro forma net tangible book value(a)		$
Denominator
Shares of Class A common stock to be outstanding immediately prior to this offering, the Assumed Redemption and vested restricted stock units(b)
Total
Pro forma net tangible book value per share		$

 

(a)

Gives pro forma effect to the Transactions (excluding this offering) and the Assumed Redemption.

(b)

Reflects                outstanding shares of Class A common stock, consisting of (i)                outstanding shares of Class A common stock issued in exchange for certain of the Former Equity Owners’ indirect ownership interests in LLC Interests on a one-to-one basis and (ii)                outstanding shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exchange of LLC Interests to be held by the Continuing Equity Owners prior to this offering.

 

(2)	The computation of pro forma net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2020, after giving effect to this offering is set forth below:

 

Numerator
Book value of tangible assets		$
Less: total liabilities
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit)(a)		$
Denominator
Shares of Class A common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering and the Assumed Redemption(b)
Total
Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share		$

 

(a)

Gives pro forma effect to the Transactions (including this offering) and the Assumed Redemption. Pro forma net tangible book value reflects a net increase from stockholders’ equity of $        million, comprised of an increase of $        million as a result of the issuance of our Class A common stock, offset by a reduction of $        million related to our purchase of LLC Interests directly from certain of the Continuing Equity Owners with a portion of the net proceeds from this offering, as described under “Use of Proceeds.”

(b)

Reflects                outstanding shares of Class A common stock, consisting of (i)                shares of Class A common stock to be issued in this offering, and (ii) the                shares described in note (1)(b) above, including                 shares of Class A common stock sold by the Former Equity owners in this offering, less the                  shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exchange of LLC Interests to be purchased directly from certain of the Continuing Equity Owners with a portion of the net proceeds from this offering, as described under “Use of Proceeds.” Does not reflect stock options covering a total of approximately                shares of our Class A common stock to be granted to certain of our directors, executive officers and other employees in connection with this offering as described under the captions “Executive Compensation—                                                         ” and “Executive Compensation—                                                         .”

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase the pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering by approximately $        , and dilution in pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share to new investors by approximately $        assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

71

If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock, the pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) after the offering would be $        per share, the increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share to existing stockholders would be $        per share and the dilution in pro forma net tangible book value to new investors would be $        per share, in each case assuming an initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

The following table summarizes, as of March 31, 2020, after giving effect to the Transactions (including this offering) and the Assumed Redemption, the number of shares of Class A common stock purchased from us, the total consideration paid, or to be paid, to us and the average price per share paid, or to be paid, by existing owners and by the new investors. The calculation below is based on an assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, before deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

		Shares Purchased								Total Consideration								Average Price Per Share
		Number				Percent				Amount				Percent
Original Equity Owners								%		$						%		$
New investors
Total							100	%		$					100	%		$

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share would increase (decrease) the total consideration paid by new investors and the total consideration paid by all stockholders by $        million, assuming the number of shares offered by us remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions but before estimated offering expenses.

Except as otherwise indicated, the discussion and the tables above assume no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock. In addition, the discussion and tables above exclude shares of Class B common stock, because holders of the Class B common stock are not entitled to distributions or dividends, whether cash or stock, from Shift4 Payments, Inc. The number of shares of our Class A common stock outstanding after this offering as shown in the tables above is based on the number of shares outstanding as of March 31, 2020, after giving effect to the Transactions and the Assumed Redemption, and excludes                  shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under our 2020 Plan (as described in “Executive Compensation—                                                         ”), including approximately                  shares of Class A common stock issuable pursuant to stock options we intend to grant to certain of our directors, executive officers and other employees, including certain of our named executive officers, in connection with this offering as described in “Executive Compensation—                                                         ” and “Executive Compensation—                                                         .”

To the extent any of these outstanding options are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors. To the extent all of such outstanding options had been exercised as of March 31, 2020, the pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering would be $        , and total dilution per share to new investors would be $        .

If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock:

 

•

the percentage of shares of Class A common stock held by the Original Equity Owners will decrease to approximately     % of the total number of shares of our Class A common stock outstanding after this offering; and

 

•

the number of shares held by new investors will increase to                 , or approximately     % of the total number of shares of our Class A common stock outstanding after this offering.

 

72