As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 3, 2006

Registration No. 333-          

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM S-11

FOR REGISTRATION UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

OF CERTAIN REAL ESTATE COMPANIES

 

Cole Credit Property Trust II, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Governing Instruments)

 

2555 East Camelback Road, Suite 400

Phoenix, Arizona 85016

(602) 778-8700

(Address, Including Zip Code and Telephone Number,

Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 

Blair D. Koblenz

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Cole Credit Property Trust II, Inc.

2555 East Camelback Road, Suite 400

Phoenix, Arizona 85016

(602) 778-8700

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code and Telephone Number,

Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

 

Copies to:

 

Lauren Burnham Prevost, Esq.

Heath D. Linsky, Esq.

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

1600 Atlanta Financial Center

3343 Peachtree Road, N.E.

Atlanta, Georgia 30326-1044

(404) 233-7000

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable following effectiveness of this Registration Statement.

 

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.  o

 

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.  o

 

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.  o

 

If delivery of the prospectus is expected to be made pursuant to Rule 434, check the following box.  o

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED NOVEMBER 3, 2006

 

 

Cole Credit Property Trust II, Inc.
Maximum Offering of 150,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

 

Cole Credit Property Trust II, Inc. is a Maryland corporation which qualifies as a real estate investment trust. We invest primarily in freestanding, single-tenant retail properties net leased to investment grade and other creditworthy tenants.

 

We are offering up to 125,000,000 shares of our common stock in our primary offering for $10.00 per share, with discounts available for certain categories of purchasers. We also are offering up to 25,000,000 shares pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan at a purchase price equal to the higher of $9.50 per share or 95% of the estimated value of a share of our common stock. We will offer these shares until          , 2009, which is two years after the effective date of this offering, unless the offering is extended. We reserve the right to reallocate the shares of our common stock we are offering between the primary offering and the distribution reinvestment plan.

 

The dealer manager of this offering, Cole Capital Corporation, a member firm of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., is our affiliate and will offer the shares on a best efforts basis. The minimum investment amount generally is $2,500.

 

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 18 for a description of some of the risks you should consider before buying shares of our common stock. These risks include the following:

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Attorney General of the State of New York nor any other state securities regulator has approved or disapproved of our common stock, determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete or passed on or endorsed the merits of this offering. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

This investment involves a high degree of risk. You should purchase these securities only if you can afford a complete loss of your investment.

 

 

          , 2007

 

An investment in our common stock involves significant risk and is only suitable for persons who have adequate financial means, desire a relatively long-term investment and who will not need immediate liquidity from their investment. There is no public market for our common stock and we cannot assure you that one will develop, which means that it may be difficult for you to sell your shares. This investment is not suitable for persons who require immediate liquidity or guaranteed income, or who seek a short-term investment.

 

In consideration of these factors, we have established suitability standards for initial stockholders and subsequent purchasers of shares from our stockholders. These suitability standards require that a purchaser of shares have, excluding the value of a purchaser’s home, furnishings and automobiles, either:

 

 

The minimum investment amount generally is $2,500 (250 shares). You may not transfer any of your shares if such transfer would result in your owning less than the minimum investment amount, unless you transfer all of your shares. In addition, you may not transfer or subdivide your shares so as to retain less than the number of shares required for the minimum purchase. In order to satisfy the minimum purchase requirements for retirement plans, unless otherwise prohibited by state law, a husband and wife may jointly contribute funds from their separate IRAs, provided that each such contribution is made in increments of $1,000. You should note that an investment in shares of our common stock will not, in itself, create a retirement plan and that, in order to create a retirement plan, you must comply with all applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

After you have purchased the minimum investment amount, any additional purchase must be at least $1,000 (100 shares), or made pursuant to (1) our automatic purchase plan or (2) our distribution reinvestment plan, which may be in lesser amounts.

 

Several states have established suitability requirements that are more stringent than the standards that we have established and described above. Shares will be sold only to investors in these states who meet the special suitability standards set forth below:

 

 

In all states listed above, net worth is to be determined excluding the value of a purchaser’s home, furnishings and automobiles.

 

Each participating broker-dealer, authorized representative or any other person selling shares on our behalf is required to:

 

 

 

In making this determination, your participating broker-dealer, authorized representative or other person selling shares on our behalf will, based on a review of the information provided by you, consider whether you:

 

 

 

In the case of sales to fiduciary accounts, the suitability standards must be met by the fiduciary account, by the person who directly or indirectly supplied the funds for the purchase of the shares or by the beneficiary of the account. Given the long-term nature of an investment in our shares, our investment objectives and the relative illiquidity of our shares, our suitability standards are intended to help ensure that shares of our common stock are an appropriate investment for those of you who become investors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Below we have provided some of the more frequently asked questions and answers relating to an offering of this type. Please see “Prospectus Summary” and the remainder of this prospectus for more detailed information about this offering.

 

 

 

 

2401 Kerner Boulevard

San Rafael, California 94901

(866) 341-2653

 

 

Cole Capital Corporation

2555 East Camelback Road, Suite 400

Phoenix, Arizona 85016

(866) 341-2653

Attn: Investor Services

www.colecapital.com

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

 

Cole Credit Property Trust II, Inc.

 

Our Advisor

 

Our Management

 

Our REIT Status

 

Summary Risk Factors

	•	Our advisor and its affiliates face conflicts of interest, including significant conflicts among us and our advisor, since (i) our chairman, chief executive officer and president owns 100% of our advisor, our dealer manager and our property manager, (ii) our advisor and other affiliated entities may compete

		with us and acquire properties suitable to our investment objectives, and (iii) our advisor’s compensation arrangements with us and other Cole-sponsored programs may provide incentives that are not aligned with the interests of our stockholders.

	•	You will be unable to evaluate the economic merit of all of our future investments prior to our making them and there may be a substantial delay in receiving a return, if any, on your investment.
	•	You may not own more than 9.8% in value of the outstanding shares of our common stock or more than 9.8% of the number or value of any class or series of our outstanding shares of stock. Therefore, your ability to control the direction of our company will be limited.
	•	No public market currently exists for our shares of common stock and one may never exist. If you are able to sell your shares, you would likely have to sell them at a substantial discount from their public offering price.
	•	This is a best efforts offering and we might not sell all of the shares being offered. If we raise substantially less than the maximum offering, we may not be able to invest in a diverse portfolio of properties, and the value of your investment may vary more widely with the performance of specific properties. There is a greater risk that you will lose money in your investment if we cannot diversify our portfolio of investments by geographic location and property type.
	•	We may incur substantial debt, which could hinder our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders or could decrease the value of your investment in the event that income on, or the value of, the property securing the debt falls.
	•	Our investments may not generate operating cash flow sufficient to make distributions to our stockholders. If that occurs, we intend to pay all or a substantial portion of our distributions from the proceeds of this offering or from borrowings in anticipation of future cash flow. Any such distributions will constitute a return of your capital, and may reduce the amount of capital we ultimately invest in properties and negatively impact the value of your investment.
	•	Our failure to continue to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes would adversely effect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.
	•	We are dependent on our advisor to select investments and conduct our operations. Adverse changes in the financial condition of our advisor or our relationship with our advisor could adversely affect us.
	•	We will pay substantial fees and expenses to our advisor, its affiliates and participating broker-dealers, which payments increase the risk that you will not earn a profit on your investment.
	•	Our board of directors has the authority to designate and issue one or more classes or series of preferred stock without stockholder approval, with rights and preferences senior to the rights of holders of common stock, including rights to payment of distributions. If we issue any preferred shares, the amount of funds available for the payment of distributions on the common stock could be reduced or eliminated.

 

Description of Real Estate Investments

				Rentable
Property Description		Tenant		Square Feet
Tractor Supply — Parkersburg, WV		Tractor Supply Company			22,000
Walgreens — Brainerd, MN		Walgreen Co.			15,000
Rite Aid — Alliance, OH		Rite Aid of Ohio, Inc.			11,000

				Rentable
Property Description		Tenant		Square Feet
La-Z-Boy — Glendale, AZ		EBCO, Inc.			23,000
Walgreens — Florissant, MO		Walgreen Co.			15,000
Walgreens (Telegraph) — St. Louis, MO		Walgreen Co.			15,000
Walgreens (Gravois) — St. Louis, MO		Walgreen Co.			15,000
Walgreens — Columbia, MO		Walgreen Co.			14,000
Walgreens — Olivette, MO		Walgreen Co.			15,000
CVS — Alpharetta, GA		Mayfield CVS, Inc.			10,000
Lowe’s — Enterprise, AL		Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc.			95,000
CVS — Richland Hills, TX		CVS EGL Grapevine N Richland Hills Texas, LP			11,000
FedEx Package Distribution Center — Rockford, IL		FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.			67,000
Plastech — Auburn Hills, MI		LDM Technologies, Inc.			112,000
Academy Sports — Macon, GA		Academy, LTD			75,000
David’s Bridal — Lenexa, KS		David’s Bridal, Inc.			12,000
Rite Aid — Enterprise, AL		Harco, Inc.			15,000
Rite Aid — Wauseon, OH		Rite Aid of Ohio, Inc.			15,000
Staples — Crossville, TN		Staples the Office Superstore East, Inc.			24,000
Rite Aid — Saco, ME		Rite Aid of Maine, Inc.			11,000
Wadsworth Boulevard Marketplace		Various			198,000
Mountainside Fitness — Chandler, AZ		Mountainside Fitness Centers of Ocotillo, LLC			31,000
Drexel Heritage Distribution Center — Hickory, NC		Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries, Inc.			261,000
Rayford Square — Spring, TX		Various			80,000
CVS (Scioto Trail) — Portsmouth, OH		Revco Discount Drug Centers, Inc.			10,000
Wawa — Hockessin, DE		Wawa, Inc.			5,000
Wawa — Manahawkin, NJ		Wawa, Inc.			5,000
Wawa — Narberth, PA		Wawa, Inc.			5,000
CVS (Sublease) — Lakewood, OH		Various			13,000
Rite Aid — Cleveland, OH		Rite Aid of Ohio, Inc.			11,000
Rite Aid — Fremont, OH		Rite Aid of Ohio, Inc.			11,001
Walgreens — Knoxville, TN		Walgreen Co.			15,000
CVS — Madison, MS		CVS EGL Highland Madison MS, Inc.			14,000
Rite Aid — Defiance, OH		Rite Aid of Ohio, Inc.			15,000
Conns — San Antonio, TX		CAI, LP			25,000
Dollar General — Crossville, TN		Dolgencorp, Inc.			24,000
Dollar General — Ardmore, TN		Dolgencorp, Inc.			24,000
Dollar General — Livingston, TN		Dolgencorp, Inc.			24,000
Wehrenberg Theatre — Arnold, MO		Wehrenberg, Inc.			50,000
Sportsman’s Warehouse — Wichita, KS		Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc.			50,000
CVS (Chillicothe) — Portsmouth, OH		Revco DS, Inc.			11,000
Advance Auto — Greenfield, IN		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000

				Rentable
Property Description		Tenant		Square Feet
Advance Auto — Trenton, OH		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Rite Aid — Lansing, MI		Rite Aid of Michigan, Inc.			12,000
Advance Auto — Columbia Heights, MN		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Advance Auto — Fergus Falls, MN		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
CVS — Okeechobee, FL		CVS EGL Parrott Okechobee FL, LLC			13,000
Office Depot — Dayton, OH		Office Depot, Inc.			20,000
Advance Auto — Holland, MI		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Advance Auto — Holland Township, MI		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Advance Auto — Zeeland, MI		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
CVS — Orlando, FL		CVS EGL Lake Pickett FL, LLC			14,000
Office Depot — Greenville, MS		Office Depot, Inc.			25,000
Office Depot — Warrensburg, MO		Office Depot, Inc.			20,000
CVS — Gulfport, MS		CVS EGL East Pass Gulfport MS, LLC			11,000
Advance Auto — Grand Forks, ND		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
CVS — Clinton, NY		CVS BDI, Inc.			10,000
Oxford Theatre Co — Oxford, MS		Oxford Theatre Company, Inc.			35,000
Advance Auto — Duluth, MN		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Walgreens — Picayune, MS		Walgreen Co.			15,000
Kohl’s — Wichita, KS		Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc.			87,000
Lowe’s — Lubbock, TX		Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc.			130,000
Lowe’s — Midland, TX		Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc.			130,000
Advance Auto — Grand Bay, AL		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Advance Auto — Hurley, MS		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Advance Auto — Rainsville, AL		Advance Stores Company, Incorporated			7,000
Golds Gym — O’Fallon, IL		Gold’s St. Louis, LLC			41,000
Rite Aid — Glassport, PA		Rite Aid of Pennsylvania, Inc.			15,000
Rite Aid — Hanover, PA		Rite Aid of Pennsylvania, Inc.			15,000
David’s Bridal & Radio Shack — Topeka, KS		Federated Dept. Stores & Radio Shack Corp.			10,000
American T.V. — Peoria, IL		American TV & Appliance of Madison, Inc.			127,000

 

Estimated Use of Proceeds of This Offering

		Maximum Offering								Maximum Offering
		(including distribution								(not including distribution
		reinvestment plan)								reinvestment plan)
		Amount				Percent				Amount				Percent
Gross Offering Proceeds		$	1,487,500,000				100	%		$	1,250,000,000				100	%
Less Public Offering Expenses:
Selling Commissions and Dealer Manager Fee			106,250,000				7.1	%			106,250,000				8.5	%
Organization and Offering Expenses			22,312,500				1.5	%			18,750,000				1.5	%
Amount Available for Investment			1,358,937,500				91.4	%			1,125,000,000				90.0	%
Acquisition and Development:
Acquisition and Advisory Fees			26,490,010				1.8	%			21,929,825				1.8	%
Acquisition Expenses			6,622,502				0.5	%			5,482,456				0.4	%
Initial Working Capital Reserve			1,324,501				0.1	%			1,096,491				0.1	%
Amount Invested in Properties		$	1,324,500,487				89.0	%		$	1,096,491,228				87.7	%

 

Investment Objectives

	•	to provide current income for you through the payment of cash distributions; and
	•	to preserve, protect and return your invested capital.

 

Conflicts of Interest

	•	The management personnel of Cole Advisors II, each of whom also makes investment decisions for other Cole-sponsored programs, must determine which investment opportunities to recommend to us or another Cole-sponsored program or joint venture and must determine how to allocate resources among us and the other Cole-sponsored programs;

	•	Cole Advisors II may structure the terms of joint ventures between us and other Cole-sponsored programs;
	•	We have retained Cole Realty Advisors, Inc., formerly known as Fund Realty Advisors, Inc. (Cole Realty Advisors), an affiliate of Cole Advisors II, to manage and lease some or all of our properties;
	•	Cole Advisors II and its affiliates will have to allocate their time between us and other real estate programs and activities in which they are involved; and
	•	Cole Advisors II and its affiliates will receive fees in connection with transactions involving the purchase, management and sale of our properties regardless of the quality of the property acquired or the services provided to us.

(1)		The investors in this offering will own registered shares of common stock in Cole Credit Property Trust II, Inc. As of September 30, 2006, we had 19 million shares of common stock outstanding.
(2)		Cole Holdings Corporation currently owns 20,000 shares of our common stock, which represents less than 1% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock.

 

Prior Offering Summary

 

The Offering

 

Compensation to Cole Advisors II and its Affiliates

 

To maintain our qualification as a REIT, we are required to make aggregate annual distributions to our stockholders of at least 90% of our annual taxable income (which does not necessarily equal net income as calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP)). Our board of directors may authorize distributions in excess of those required for us to maintain REIT status depending on our financial condition and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. We have not established a minimum distribution level. Distributions are paid to our stockholders as of the record date or dates selected by our board of directors. We expect to declare and pay distributions at least quarterly. We currently declare distributions with a daily record date, and pay distributions monthly. In the event we do not have enough cash to make distributions, we may borrow, use proceeds from this offering, issue additional securities or sell assets in order to fund distributions. Until we are generating operating cash flow sufficient to make distributions to our stockholders, we intend to pay all or a substantial portion of our distributions from the proceeds of this offering or from borrowings, including possible borrowings from our advisor or its affiliates, in anticipation of future cash flow, which may reduce the amount of capital we ultimately invest in properties, and negatively impact the value of your investment.

 

Listing

	•	seek stockholder approval of an extension or amendment of this listing deadline; or
	•	seek stockholder approval of the liquidation of our corporation.

 

Distribution Reinvestment Plan

 

Share Redemption Program

 

Cole Operating Partnership II, LP

 

ERISA Considerations

 

Description of Shares

 

An investment in our common stock involves various risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider the following risk factors in conjunction with the other information contained in this prospectus before purchasing our common stock. The risks discussed in this prospectus can adversely affect our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition. These risks could cause the value of our common stock to decline and could cause you to lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face but do represent those risks and uncertainties that we believe are material to our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also harm our business.

 

You will not have the opportunity to evaluate our future investments before we make them, which makes an investment in us more speculative.

 

We will not provide you with information to evaluate our future investments prior to our acquisition of properties. We will seek to use the net proceeds from this offering, after the payment of fees and expenses, to acquire a portfolio of commercial real estate comprised primarily of a large number of freestanding, single-tenant commercial properties net leased to investment grade or other creditworthy tenants and a smaller number of multi-tenant properties that compliment our overall investment objectives. We may also, in the discretion of our advisor, invest in other types of real estate or in entities that invest in real estate. In addition, our advisor may make or invest in mortgage loans or participations therein on our behalf if our board of directors determines, due to the state of the real estate market or in order to diversify our investment portfolio or otherwise, that such investments are advantageous to us. We have established policies relating to the creditworthiness of tenants of our properties, but our board of directors will have wide discretion in implementing these policies, and you will not have the opportunity to evaluate potential tenants. For a more detailed discussion of our investment policies, see the “Investment Objectives and Policies — Acquisition and Investment Policies” section of this prospectus.

 

There is no public trading market for our shares and there may never be one; therefore, it will be difficult for you to sell your shares.

 

There currently is no public market for our shares and there may never be one. If you are able to find a buyer for your shares, you may not sell your shares unless the buyer meets applicable suitability and minimum purchase standards. Our charter also prohibits the ownership of more than 9.8% of our stock by a single investor, unless exempted by our board of directors, which may inhibit large investors from desiring to purchase your shares. Moreover, our share redemption program includes numerous restrictions that would limit your ability to sell your shares to us. Our board of directors may reject any request for redemption of shares, or amend, suspend or terminate our share redemption program upon 30 days’ notice. Therefore, it will be difficult for you to sell your shares promptly or at all. If you are able to sell your shares, you will likely have to sell them at a substantial discount to the price you paid for the shares. It also is likely that your shares would not be accepted as the primary collateral for a loan. You should purchase the shares only as a long-term investment because of the illiquid nature of the shares. See “Suitability Standards,” “Description of Shares — Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer” and “Share Redemption Program” elsewhere for a more complete discussion on the restrictions on your ability to transfer your shares.

 

We may suffer from delays in locating suitable additional investments, which could adversely affect our ability to make distributions and the value of your investment.

 

Our ability to achieve our investment objectives and to pay distributions is dependent upon the performance of Cole Advisors II, our advisor, in the acquisition of our investments, the selection of our tenants and the determination of any financing arrangements. Except for the investments described in this prospectus, you will have no opportunity to evaluate the terms of transactions or other economic or financial data concerning our investments. You must rely entirely on the management ability of Cole Advisors II and the

oversight of our board of directors. We could suffer from delays in locating suitable additional investments, particularly as a result of our reliance on our advisor at times when management of our advisor is simultaneously seeking to locate suitable investments for other affiliated programs. Delays we encounter in the selection, acquisition and, in the event we develop properties, development of income-producing properties, likely would adversely affect our ability to make distributions and the value of your overall returns. In such event, we may pay all or a substantial portion of our distributions from the proceeds of this offering or from borrowings in anticipation of future cash flow, which may constitute a return of your capital. Distributions from the proceeds of this offering or from borrowings also could reduce the amount of capital we ultimately invest in properties. This, in turn, would reduce the value of your investment. In particular, where we acquire properties prior to the start of construction or during the early stages of construction, it will typically take several months to complete construction and rent available space. Therefore, you could suffer delays in the receipt of cash distributions attributable to those particular properties. If Cole Advisors II is unable to obtain suitable investments, we will hold the proceeds of this offering in an interest-bearing account or invest the proceeds in short-term, investment-grade investments. If we cannot invest proceeds from this offering within a reasonable amount of time, or if our board of directors determines it is in the best interests of our stockholders, we will return the uninvested proceeds to investors.

 

If our advisor loses or is unable to obtain key personnel, our ability to implement our investment strategies could be delayed or hindered, which could adversely affect our ability to make distributions and the value of your investment.

 

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the contributions of certain of our executive officers and other key personnel of our advisor, including Christopher H. Cole, Blair D. Koblenz, Christopher P. Robertson, John M. Pons, D. Kirk McAllaster, Jr., Sean D. Leahy and Marc T. Nemer, each of whom would be difficult to replace. Our advisor does not have an employment agreement with any of these key personnel and we cannot guarantee that all, or any particular one, will remain affiliated with us and/or advisor. If any of our key personnel were to cease their affiliation with our advisor, our operating results could suffer. Further, we do not intend to separately maintain key person life insurance on Mr. Cole or any other person. We believe that our future success depends, in large part, upon our advisor’s ability to hire and retain highly skilled managerial, operational and marketing personnel. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we cannot assure you that our advisor will be successful in attracting and retaining such skilled personnel. If our advisor loses or is unable to obtain the services of key personnel, our ability to implement our investment strategies could be delayed or hindered, and the value of your investment may decline.

 

Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to recover claims against our officers, directors and our advisor are limited, which could reduce your and our recovery against them if they cause us to incur losses.

 

Maryland law provides that a director has no liability in that capacity if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the corporation’s best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. Our charter, in the case of our directors, officers, employees and agents, and the advisory agreement, in the case of our advisor, require us to indemnify our directors, officers, employees and agents and our advisor and its affiliates for actions taken by them in good faith and without negligence or misconduct. Additionally, our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted under Maryland law, subject to the limitations required by the Statement of Policy Regarding Real Estate Investment Trusts published by the North American Securities Administrators Associations, also known as the NASAA REIT Guidelines. Although our charter does not allow us to exonerate and indemnify our directors and officers to a greater extent than permitted under Maryland law and the NASAA REIT Guidelines, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors, officers, employees and agents, and our advisor and its affiliates, than might otherwise exist under common law, which could reduce your and our recovery against them. In addition, we may be obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by our directors, officers, employees and agents or our advisor in some cases which would decrease the cash otherwise

available for distribution to you. See the section captioned “Management — Limited Liability and Indemnification of Directors, Officers, Employees and Other Agents” elsewhere herein.

 

We will be subject to conflicts of interest arising out of our relationships with our advisor and its affiliates, including the material conflicts discussed below. The “Conflicts of Interest” section of this prospectus provides a more detailed discussion of the conflicts of interest between us and our advisor and its affiliates, and our policies to reduce or eliminate certain potential conflicts.

 

Cole Advisors II will face conflicts of interest relating to the purchase and leasing of properties, and such conflicts may not be resolved in our favor, which could adversely affect our investment opportunities.

 

During the period from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2005, affiliates of our advisor have sponsored 65 privately offered real estate investment programs, including 24 limited partnerships, a real estate investment trust, four debt offerings and 22 tenant-in-common programs and 17 Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) programs. As of March 31, 2006, such prior programs had raised approximately $608.1 million from approximately 6,800 investors. Affiliates of our advisor may sponsor other real estate investment programs in the future. We may buy properties at the same time as one or more of the other Cole-sponsored programs managed by officers and key personnel of Cole Advisors II. There is a risk that Cole Advisors II will choose a property that provides lower returns to us than a property purchased by another Cole-sponsored program. We cannot be sure that officers and key personnel acting on behalf of Cole Advisors II and on behalf of managers of other Cole-sponsored programs will act in our best interests when deciding whether to allocate any particular property to us. In addition, we may acquire properties in geographic areas where other Cole-sponsored programs own properties. Also, we may acquire properties from, or sell properties to, other Cole-sponsored programs. If one of the other Cole-sponsored programs attracts a tenant that we are competing for, we could suffer a loss of revenue due to delays in locating another suitable tenant. You will not have the opportunity to evaluate the manner in which these conflicts of interest are resolved before or after making your investment. Similar conflicts of interest may apply if our advisor determines to make or purchase mortgage loans or participations in mortgage loans on our behalf, since other Cole-sponsored programs may be competing with us for these investments.

 

Cole Advisors II faces conflicts of interest relating to joint ventures, which could result in a disproportionate benefit to the other venture partners at our expense.

 

We may enter into joint ventures with other Cole-sponsored programs for the acquisition, development or improvement of properties. Cole Advisors II may have conflicts of interest in determining which Cole-sponsored program should enter into any particular joint venture agreement. The co-venturer may have economic or business interests or goals that are or may become inconsistent with our business interests or goals. In addition, Cole Advisors II may face a conflict in structuring the terms of the relationship between our interests and the interest of the affiliated co-venturer and in managing the joint venture. Since Cole Advisors II and its affiliates will control both the affiliated co-venturer and, to a certain extent, us, agreements and transactions between the co-venturers with respect to any such joint venture will not have the benefit of arm’s-length negotiation of the type normally conducted between unrelated co-venturers, which may result in the co-venturer receiving benefits greater than the benefits that we receive. In addition, we may assume liabilities related to the joint venture that exceed the percentage of our investment in the joint venture.

 

We may participate in 1031 exchange programs with affiliates of our advisor that will not be the result of arm’s-length negotiations and will result in conflicts of interest.

 

Cole Capital Partners, LLC (Cole Capital Partners), an affiliate of our advisor, has developed programs to facilitate the acquisition of real estate properties in co-ownership arrangements with persons who are looking to invest proceeds from a sale of real estate in order to qualify for like-kind exchange treatment under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code (a Section 1031 Program). Section 1031 Programs are structured as co-ownership arrangements with other investors in the property (Section 1031 Participants) who are seeking

to defer taxes under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. These programs are structured either as a tenant-in-common program or by use of a Delaware Statutory Trust. When Cole Capital Partners develops such a program, it generally organizes a new entity (a Cole Exchange Entity) to acquire all or part of a property. We may participate in the program by either co-investing in the property with the Cole Exchange Entity or purchasing a co-ownership interest from the Cole Exchange Entity, generally at the Cole Exchange Entity’s cost. In that event, as a co-owner of properties, we will be subject to the risks inherent in the co-ownership arrangements with unrelated third parties. Our purchase of co-ownership interests will present conflicts of interest between us and affiliates of our advisor. The business interests of Cole Capital Partners and the Cole Exchange Entity may be adverse to, or to the detriment of, our interests. Further, any agreement that we enter into with a Cole Exchange Entity will not be negotiated in an arm’s-length transaction and, as a result of the affiliation between our advisor, Cole Capital Partners and the Cole Exchange Entity, our advisor may be reluctant to enforce the agreements against such entities.

 

Cole Advisors II and its officers and employees and certain of our key personnel face competing demands relating to their time, and this may cause our operating results to suffer.

 

Cole Advisors II and its officers and employees and certain of our key personnel and their respective affiliates are key personnel, general partners and sponsors of other real estate programs having investment objectives and legal and financial obligations similar to ours and may have other business interests as well. Because these persons have competing demands on their time and resources, they may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time between our business and these other activities. During times of intense activity in other programs and ventures, they may devote less time and fewer resources to our business than is necessary or appropriate. If this occurs, the returns on our investments may suffer.

 

Our officers face conflicts of interest related to the positions they hold with affiliated entities, which could hinder our ability to successfully implement our business strategy and to generate returns to you.

 

Each of our executive officers, including Christopher H. Cole, who also serves as the chairman of our board of directors, also are officers of our advisor, our property manager, our dealer manager and other affiliated entities. As a result, these individuals owe fiduciary duties to these other entities and their stockholders and limited partners, which fiduciary duties may conflict with the duties that they owe to us and our stockholders. Their loyalties to these other entities could result in actions or inactions that are detrimental to our business, which could harm the implementation of our business strategy and our investment and leasing opportunities. Conflicts with our business and interests are most likely to arise from involvement in activities related to (i) allocation of new investments and management time and services between us and the other entities, (ii) our purchase of properties from, or sale of properties, to affiliated entities, (iii) the timing and terms of the investment in or sale of an asset, (iv) development of our properties by affiliates, (v) investments with affiliates of our advisor, (vi) compensation to our advisor, and (vii) our relationship with our dealer manager and property manager. If we do not successfully implement our business strategy, we may be unable to generate cash needed to make distributions to you and to maintain or increase the value of our assets.

 

Cole Advisors II faces conflicts of interest relating to the incentive fee structure under our advisory agreement, which could result in actions that are not necessarily in the long-term best interests of our stockholders.

 

Under our advisory agreement, Cole Advisors II is entitled to fees that are structured in a manner intended to provide incentives to our advisor to perform in our best interests and in the best interests of our stockholders. However, because our advisor does not maintain a significant equity interest in us and is entitled to receive substantial minimum compensation regardless of performance, our advisor’s interests are not wholly aligned with those of our stockholders. In that regard, our advisor could be motivated to recommend riskier or more speculative investments in order for us to generate the specified levels of performance or sales proceeds that would entitle our advisor to fees. In addition, our advisor’s entitlement to fees upon the sale of our assets and to participate in sale proceeds could result in our advisor recommending sales of our investments at the earliest possible time at which sales of investments would produce the level of return that would entitle the

advisor to compensation relating to such sales, even if continued ownership of those investments might be in our best long-term interest. Our advisory agreement requires us to pay a performance-based termination fee to our advisor in the event that we terminate the advisor prior to the listing of our shares for trading on an exchange or, absent such listing, in respect of its participation in net sales proceeds. To avoid paying this fee, our independent directors may decide against terminating the advisory agreement prior to our listing of our shares or disposition of our investments even if, but for the termination fee, termination of the advisory agreement would be in our best interest. In addition, the requirement to pay the fee to the advisor at termination could cause us to make different investment or disposition decisions than we would otherwise make, in order to satisfy our obligation to pay the fee to the terminated advisor. Moreover, our advisor has the right to terminate the advisory agreement upon a change of control of our company and thereby trigger the payment of the performance fee, which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing the change of control.

 

There is no separate counsel for us and our affiliates, which could result in conflicts of interest.

 

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP acts as legal counsel to us and also represents our advisor and some of its affiliates. There is a possibility in the future that the interests of the various parties may become adverse and, under the Code of Professional Responsibility of the legal profession, Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP may be precluded from representing any one or all of such parties. If any situation arises in which our interests appear to be in conflict with those of our advisor or its affiliates, additional counsel may be retained by one or more of the parties to assure that their interests are adequately protected. Moreover, should a conflict of interest not be readily apparent, Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP may inadvertently act in derogation of the interest of the parties which could affect our ability to meet our investment objectives.

 

The limit on the number of shares a person may own may discourage a takeover that could otherwise result in a premium price to our stockholders.

 

Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Unless exempted by our board of directors, no person may own more than 9.8% in value of our outstanding stock and more than 9.8% in value or number, whichever is more restrictive, of any class of our outstanding stock. This restriction may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets) that might provide a premium price for holders of our common stock. See the “Description of Shares — Restriction on Ownership and Transfer” section of this prospectus.

 

Our charter permits our board of directors to issue stock with terms that may subordinate the rights of common stockholders or discourage a third party from acquiring us in a manner that might result in a premium price to our stockholders.

 

Our charter permits our board of directors to issue up to 250,000,000 shares of stock. In addition, our board of directors, without any action by our stockholders, may amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares or the number of shares of any class or series of stock that we have authority to issue. Our board of directors may classify or reclassify any unissued common stock or preferred stock and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption of any such stock. Thus, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have a priority as to distributions and amounts payable upon liquidation over the rights of the holders of our common stock. Preferred stock could also have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets) that might provide a premium price for holders of our common stock. See the “Description of Shares — Preferred Stock” section of this prospectus.

Maryland law prohibits certain business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us to be acquired and may limit your ability to exit the investment.

 

Under Maryland law, “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities. An interested stockholder is defined as:

 

 

A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which he or she otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, the board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board.

 

After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:

 

 

These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation’s stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares. The business combination statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by the board of directors prior to the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Pursuant to the statute, our board of directors has exempted any business combination involving Cole Advisors II or any affiliate of Cole Advisors II. Consequently, the five-year prohibition and the super-majority vote requirements will not apply to business combinations between us and Cole Advisors II or any affiliate of Cole Advisors II. As a result, Cole Advisors II and any affiliate of Cole Advisors II may be able to enter into business combinations with us that may not be in the best interest of our stockholders, without compliance with the super-majority vote requirements and the other provisions of the statute. The business combination statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer. For a more detailed discussion of the Maryland laws governing us and the ownership of our shares of common stock, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Shares — Business Combinations.”

 

Maryland law also limits the ability of a third-party to buy a large stake in us and exercise voting power in electing directors.

 

Maryland law provides a second anti-takeover statute, its Control Share Acquisition Act, which provides that “control shares” of a Maryland corporation acquired in a “control share acquisition” have no voting rights except to the extent approved by the corporation’s disinterested stockholders by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares of stock owned by interested stockholders, that is, by the acquirer, by officers or by directors who are employees of the corporation, are excluded from shares entitled to vote on the matter. “Control shares” are voting shares of stock that would entitle the acquirer to exercise voting power in electing directors within specified ranges of voting power. Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder

approval. A “control share acquisition” means the acquisition of control shares. The control share acquisition statute does not apply (a) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction or (b) to acquisitions approved or exempted by the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the corporation. Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the Control Share Acquisition act any and all acquisitions of our common stock by Cole Advisors II or any affiliate of Cole Advisors II. This statute could have the effect of discouraging offers from third parties to acquire us and increasing the difficulty of successfully completing this type of offer by anyone other than our affiliates or any of their affiliates. For a more detailed discussion on the Maryland laws governing control share acquisitions, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Shares — Control Share Acquisitions.”

 

If we are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we could not continue our business, which may significantly reduce the value of your investment.

 

We are not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (Investment Company Act), pursuant to an exemption in Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act and certain No-Action Letters from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pursuant to this exemption, (1) at least 55% of our assets must consist of real estate fee interests or loans secured exclusively by real estate or both, (2) at least 25% of our assets must consist of loans secured primarily by real estate (this percentage will be reduced by the amount by which the percentage in (1) above is increased); and (3) up to 20% of our assets may consist of miscellaneous investments. We intend to monitor compliance with these requirements on an ongoing basis. If we were obligated to register as an investment company, we would have to comply with a variety of substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act imposing, among other things:

 

 

In order to maintain our exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act, we must engage primarily in the business of buying real estate, and these investments must be made within a year after the offering ends. If we are unable to invest a significant portion of the proceeds of this offering in properties within one year of the termination of the offering, we may avoid being required to register as an investment company by temporarily investing any unused proceeds in government securities with low returns. This would reduce the cash available for distribution to investors and possibly lower your returns.

 

To maintain compliance with the Investment Company Act exemption, we may be unable to sell assets we would otherwise want to sell and may need to sell assets we would otherwise wish to retain. In addition, we may have to acquire additional income or loss generating assets that we might not otherwise have acquired or may have to forgo opportunities to acquire interests in companies that we would otherwise want to acquire and would be important to our investment strategy. If we were required to register as an investment company but failed to do so, we would be prohibited from engaging in our business, and criminal and civil actions could be brought against us. In addition, our contracts would be unenforceable unless a court were to require enforcement, and a court could appoint a receiver to take control of us and liquidate our business.

 

If you do not agree with the decisions of our board of directors, you only have limited control over changes in our policies and operations and may not be able to change such policies and operations.

 

Our board of directors determines our major policies, including our policies regarding investments, financing, growth, debt capitalization, REIT qualification and distributions. Our board of directors may amend

or revise these and other policies without a vote of the stockholders. Under the Maryland General Corporation Law and our charter, our stockholders have a right to vote only on the following:

 

 

All other matters are subject to the discretion of our board of directors.

 

Our board of directors may change our investment policies without stockholder approval, which could alter the nature of your investments.

 

Our charter requires that our independent directors review our investment policies at least annually to determine that the policies we are following are in the best interest of the stockholders. These policies may change over time. The methods of implementing our investment policies may also vary, as new real estate development trends emerge and new investment techniques are developed. Our investment policies, the methods for their implementation, and our other objectives, policies and procedures may be altered by our board of directors without the approval of our stockholders. As a result, the nature of your investment could change without your consent.

 

You are limited in your ability to sell your shares pursuant to our share redemption program and may have to hold your shares for an indefinite period of time.

 

Our board of directors may amend the terms of our share redemption program without stockholder approval. Our board also is free to suspend or terminate the program upon 30 days notice or to reject any request for redemption. In addition, the share redemption program includes numerous restrictions that would limit your ability to sell your shares. Generally, you must have held your shares for at least one year in order to participate in our share redemption program. Subject to funds being available, we will limit the number of shares redeemed pursuant to our share redemption program as follows: (1) during any calendar year, we will not redeem in excess of 3% of the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the prior calendar year; and (2) funding for the redemption of shares will be limited to the net proceeds we receive from the sale of shares under our distribution reinvestment plan. These limits might prevent us from accommodating all redemption requests made in any year. See the “Description of Shares — Share Redemption Program” section of this prospectus for more information about the share redemption program. These restrictions severely limit your ability to sell your shares should you require liquidity, and limit your ability to recover the value you invested or the fair market value of your shares.

 

We established the offering price on an arbitrary basis; as a result, the actual value of your investment may be substantially less than what you pay.

 

Our board of directors has arbitrarily determined the selling price of the shares, which is the same offering price as in our initial public offering, and such price bears no relationship to our book or asset values, or to any other established criteria for valuing issued or outstanding shares. Because the offering price is not based upon any independent valuation, the offering price is not indicative of the proceeds that you would receive upon liquidation.

Because the dealer manager is one of our affiliates, you will not have the benefit of an independent review of the prospectus or us customarily performed in underwritten offerings.

 

The dealer manager, Cole Capital Corporation, is one of our affiliates and will not make an independent review of us or the offering. Accordingly, you will have to rely on your own broker-dealer to make an independent review of the terms of this offering. If your broker-dealer does not conduct such a review, you will not have the benefit of an independent review of the terms of this offering. Further, the due diligence investigation of us by the dealer manager cannot be considered to be an independent review and, therefore, may not be as meaningful as a review conducted by an unaffiliated broker-dealer or investment banker.

 

Your interest in Cole REIT II will be diluted if we issue additional shares.

 

Existing stockholders and potential investors in this offering do not have preemptive rights to any shares issued by us in the future. Our charter currently has authorized 250,000,000 shares of stock, of which 240,000,000 shares are designated as common stock and 10,000,000 are designated as preferred stock. Subject to any limitations set forth under Maryland law, our board of directors may increase the number of authorized shares of stock, increase or decrease the number of shares of any class or series of stock designated, or reclassify any unissued shares without the necessity of obtaining stockholder approval. All of such shares may be issued in the discretion of our board of directors. Existing stockholders and investors purchasing shares in this offering likely will suffer dilution of their equity investment in us, in the event that we (1) sell shares in this offering or sell additional shares in the future, including those issued pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan, (2) sell securities that are convertible into shares of our common stock, (3) issue shares of our common stock in a private offering of securities to institutional investors, (4) issue shares of our common stock upon the exercise of the options granted to our independent directors, (5) issue shares to our advisor, its successors or assigns, in payment of an outstanding fee obligation as set forth under our advisory agreement, or (6) issue shares of our common stock to sellers of properties acquired by us in connection with an exchange of limited partnership interests of Cole OP II, existing stockholders and investors purchasing shares in this offering will likely experience dilution of their equity investment in us. In addition, the partnership agreement for Cole OP II contains provisions that would allow, under certain circumstances, other entities, including other Cole-sponsored programs, to merge into or cause the exchange or conversion of their interest for interests of Cole OP II. Because the limited partnership interests of Cole OP II may, in the discretion of our board of directors, be exchanged for shares of our common stock, any merger, exchange or conversion between Cole OP II and another entity ultimately could result in the issuance of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, thereby diluting the percentage ownership interest of other stockholders. Because of these and other reasons described in this “Risk Factors” section, you should not expect to be able to own a significant percentage of our shares.

 

Payment of fees to Cole Advisors II and its affiliates reduces cash available for investment and distribution.

 

Cole Advisors II and its affiliates perform services for us in connection with the offer and sale of the shares, the selection and acquisition of our investments, and the management and leasing of our properties, the servicing of our mortgage loans, if any, and the administration of our other investments. They are paid substantial fees for these services, which reduces the amount of cash available for investment in properties or distribution to stockholders. As of September 30, 2006, we had sold approximately 19 million shares of common stock in our initial public offering, with gross offering proceeds of approximately $189 million. From this amount, we paid approximately $5.2 million in acquisition fees to Cole Realty Advisors, approximately $1.6 million in finance coordination fees to Cole Advisors, approximately $15.8 million in selling commissions and dealer manager fees to Cole Capital Corporation and approximately $2.8 million in organization and offering cost reimbursement to Cole Advisors. For a more detailed discussion of these fees, see the “Management Compensation” section of this prospectus.

We may be unable to pay or maintain cash distributions or increase distributions over time.

 

There are many factors that can affect the availability and timing of cash distributions to stockholders. Distributions will be based principally on cash available from our operations. The amount of cash available for distributions is affected by many factors, such as our ability to buy properties as offering proceeds become available, rental income from such properties, and our operating expense levels, as well as many other variables. Actual cash available for distributions may vary substantially from estimates. We cannot assure you that we will be able to pay or maintain our current level of distributions or that distributions will increase over time. We cannot give any assurance that rents from the properties will increase, that the securities we buy will increase in value or provide constant or increased distributions over time, or that future acquisitions of real properties, mortgage loans or any investments in securities will increase our cash available for distributions to stockholders. Our actual results may differ significantly from the assumptions used by our board of directors in establishing the distribution rate to stockholders. We may not have sufficient cash from operations to make a distribution required to maintain our REIT status. We may increase borrowing or use proceeds from this offering to make distributions, each of which could be deemed to be a return of your capital. For a description of the factors that can affect the availability and timing of cash distributions to stockholders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Shares — Distributions Policy.”

 

Our operating results will be affected by economic and regulatory changes that have an adverse impact on the real estate market in general, and we cannot assure you that we will be profitable or that we will realize growth in the value of our real estate properties.

 

Our operating results are subject to risks generally incident to the ownership of real estate, including:

 

 

These and other reasons may prevent us from being profitable or from realizing growth or maintaining the value of our real estate properties.

 

Many of our retail properties will depend upon a single tenant for all or a majority of their rental income, and our financial condition and ability to make distributions may be adversely affected by the bankruptcy or insolvency, a downturn in the business, or a lease termination of a single tenant.

 

We expect that many of our properties will be occupied by only one tenant or will derive a majority of their rental income from one tenant and, therefore, the success of those properties will be materially dependent on the financial stability of such tenants. Lease payment defaults by tenants could cause us to reduce the amount of distributions we pay. A default of a tenant on its lease payments to us would cause us to lose the revenue from the property and force us to find an alternative source of revenue to meet any mortgage payment and prevent a foreclosure if the property is subject to a mortgage. In the event of a default, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights as landlord and may incur substantial costs in protecting our investment and re-letting the property. If a lease is terminated, there is no assurance that we will be able to lease the property for the rent previously received or sell the property without incurring a loss. A default by a tenant, the failure of a guarantor to fulfill its obligations or other premature termination of a lease, or a tenant’s election not to extend a lease upon its expiration, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and our ability to pay distributions.

If a tenant declares bankruptcy, we may be unable to collect balances due under relevant leases.

 

Any of our tenants, or any guarantor of a tenant’s lease obligations, could be subject to a bankruptcy proceeding pursuant to Title 11 of the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such a bankruptcy filing would bar all efforts by us to collect pre-bankruptcy debts from these entities or their properties, unless we receive an enabling order from the bankruptcy court. Post-bankruptcy debts would be paid currently. If a lease is assumed, all pre-bankruptcy balances owing under it must be paid in full. If a lease is rejected by a tenant in bankruptcy, we would have a general unsecured claim for damages. If a lease is rejected, it is unlikely we would receive any payments from the tenant because our claim is capped at the rent reserved under the lease, without acceleration, for the greater of one year or 15% of the remaining term of the lease, but not greater than three years, plus rent already due but unpaid. This claim could be paid only in the event funds were available, and then only in the same percentage as that realized on other unsecured claims.

 

A tenant or lease guarantor bankruptcy could delay efforts to collect past due balances under the relevant leases, and could ultimately preclude full collection of these sums. Such an event could cause a decrease or cessation of rental payments that would mean a reduction in our cash flow and the amount available for distributions to you. In the event of a bankruptcy, we cannot assure you that the tenant or its trustee will assume our lease. If a given lease, or guaranty of a lease, is not assumed, our cash flow and the amounts available for distributions to you may be adversely affected.

 

A high concentration of our properties in a particular geographic area, or that have tenants in a similar industry, would magnify the effects of downturns in that geographic area or industry.

 

We expect that our properties will be diverse according to geographic area and industry of our tenants. However, in the event that we have a concentration of properties in any particular geographic area, any adverse situation that disproportionately effects that geographic area would have a magnified adverse effect on our portfolio. Similarly, if our tenants are concentrated in a certain industry or industries, any adverse effect to that industry generally would have a disproportionately adverse effect on our portfolio.

 

If a sale-leaseback transaction is re-characterized in a tenant’s bankruptcy proceeding, our financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

We may enter into sale-leaseback transactions, whereby we would purchase a property and then lease the same property back to the person from whom we purchased it. In the event of the bankruptcy of a tenant, a transaction structured as a sale-leaseback may be re-characterized as either a financing or a joint venture, either of which outcomes could adversely affect our business. If the sale-leaseback were re-characterized as a financing, we might not be considered the owner of the property, and as a result would have the status of a creditor in relation to the tenant. In that event, we would no longer have the right to sell or encumber our ownership interest in the property. Instead, we would have a claim against the tenant for the amounts owed under the lease, with the claim arguably secured by the property. The tenant/debtor might have the ability to propose a plan restructuring the term, interest rate and amortization schedule of its outstanding balance. If confirmed by the bankruptcy court, we could be bound by the new terms, and prevented from foreclosing our lien on the property. If the sale-leaseback were re-characterized as a joint venture, our lessee and we could be treated as co-venturers with regard to the property. As a result, we could be held liable, under some circumstances, for debts incurred by the lessee relating to the property. Either of these outcomes could adversely affect our cash flow and the amount available for distributions to you.

 

Properties that have vacancies for a significant period of time could be difficult to sell, which could diminish the return on your investment.

 

A property may incur vacancies either by the continued default of tenants under their leases or the expiration of tenant leases. If vacancies continue for a long period of time, we may suffer reduced revenues resulting in less cash to be distributed to stockholders. In addition, because properties’ market values depend principally upon the value of the properties’ leases, the resale value of properties with prolonged vacancies could suffer, which could further reduce your return.

We may obtain only limited warranties when we purchase a property and would have only limited recourse in the event our due diligence did not identify any issues that lower the value of our property.

 

The seller of a property often sells such property in its “as is” condition on a “where is” basis and “with all faults,” without any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use or purpose. In addition, purchase agreements may contain only limited warranties, representations and indemnifications that will only survive for a limited period after the closing. The purchase of properties with limited warranties increases the risk that we may lose some or all of our invested capital in the property as well as the loss of rental income from that property.

 

We may be unable to secure funds for future tenant improvements or capital needs, which could adversely impact our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders.

 

When tenants do not renew their leases or otherwise vacate their space, it is usual that, in order to attract replacement tenants, we will be required to expend substantial funds for tenant improvements and tenant refurbishments to the vacated space. In addition, although we expect that our leases with tenants will require tenants to pay routine property maintenance costs, we will likely be responsible for any major structural repairs, such as repairs to the foundation, exterior walls and rooftops. We will use substantially all of this offering’s gross proceeds to buy real estate and pay various fees and expenses. We intend to reserve only 0.1% of the gross proceeds from this offering for future capital needs. Accordingly, if we need additional capital in the future to improve or maintain our properties or for any other reason, we will have to obtain financing from other sources, such as cash flow from operations, borrowings, property sales or future equity offerings. These sources of funding may not be available on attractive terms or at all. If we cannot procure additional funding for capital improvements, our investments may generate lower cash flows or decline in value, or both.

 

Our inability to sell a property when we desire to do so could adversely impact our ability to pay cash distributions to you.

 

The real estate market is affected by many factors, such as general economic conditions, availability of financing, interest rates and other factors, including supply and demand, that are beyond our control. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any property for the price or on the terms set by us, or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a property.

 

We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold. We cannot assure you that we will have funds available to correct such defects or to make such improvements. Moreover, in acquiring a property, we may agree to restrictions that prohibit the sale of that property for a period of time or impose other restrictions, such as a limitation on the amount of debt that can be placed or repaid on that property. These provisions would restrict our ability to sell a property.

 

We may not be able to sell our properties at a price equal to, or greater than, the price for which we purchased such property, which may lead to a decrease in the value of our assets.

 

Many of our leases do not, and will not, contain rental increases over time. Therefore, the value of the property to a potential purchaser may not increase over time, which may restrict our ability to sell a property, or in the event we are able to sell such property, may lead to a sale price less than the price that we paid to purchase the property.

 

Certain of our properties are subject to lock-out provisions, and in the future we may acquire or finance additional properties with lock-out provisions, which may prohibit us from selling a property, or may require us to maintain specified debt levels for a period of years on some properties.

 

As of October 30, 2006, approximately 83% of our properties are subject to lock-out provisions. Lock-out provisions could materially restrict us from selling or otherwise disposing of or refinancing properties. These provisions affect our ability to turn our investments into cash and thus affect cash available for distributions to you. Lock out provisions may prohibit us from reducing the outstanding indebtedness with respect to any

properties, refinancing such indebtedness on a non-recourse basis at maturity, or increasing the amount of indebtedness with respect to such properties. Lock-out provisions could impair our ability to take other actions during the lock-out period that could be in the best interests of our stockholders and, therefore, may have an adverse impact on the value of the shares, relative to the value that would result if the lock-out provisions did not exist. In particular, lock-out provisions could preclude us from participating in major transactions that could result in a disposition of our assets or a change in control even though that disposition or change in control might be in the best interests of our stockholders.

 

Rising expenses could reduce cash flow and funds available for future acquisitions.

 

Our current properties are, and any properties that we buy in the future will be, subject to operating risks common to real estate in general, any or all of which may negatively affect us. If any property is not fully occupied or if rents are being paid in an amount that is insufficient to cover operating expenses, we could be required to expend funds with respect to that property for operating expenses. The properties will be subject to increases in tax rates, utility costs, operating expenses, insurance costs, repairs and maintenance and administrative expenses. While we expect that many of our properties will be leased on a triple-net-lease basis or will require the tenants to pay a portion of such expenses, renewals of leases or future leases may not be negotiated on that basis, in which event we may have to pay those costs. If we are unable to lease properties on a triple-net-lease basis or on a basis requiring the tenants to pay all or some of such expenses, or if tenants fail to pay required tax, utility and other impositions, we could be required to pay those costs which could adversely affect funds available for future acquisitions or cash available for distributions.

 

Adverse economic conditions will negatively affect our returns and profitability.

 

Our operating results may be affected by the following market and economic challenges, which may result from a continued or exacerbated general economic slow down experienced by the nation as a whole or by the local economics where our properties may be located:

 

 

The length and severity of any economic downturn cannot be predicted. Our operations could be negatively affected to the extent that an economic downturn is prolonged or becomes more severe.

 

If we suffer losses that are not covered by insurance or that are in excess of insurance coverage, we could lose invested capital and anticipated profits.

 

Generally, each of our tenants is responsible for insuring its goods and premises and, in some circumstances, may be required to reimburse us for a share of the cost of acquiring comprehensive insurance for the property, including casualty, liability, fire and extended coverage customarily obtained for similar properties in amounts that our advisor determines are sufficient to cover reasonably foreseeable losses. Tenants of single-user properties leased on a triple-net-lease basis typically are required to pay all insurance costs associated with those properties. Material losses may occur in excess of insurance proceeds with respect to any property, as insurance may not be sufficient to fund the losses. However, there are types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as losses due to wars, acts of terrorism, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pollution or environmental matters, which are either uninsurable or not economically insurable, or may be insured subject to limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments. Insurance risks associated with potential terrorism acts could sharply increase the premiums we pay for coverage against property and casualty claims. Additionally, mortgage lenders in some cases have begun to insist that commercial property owners purchase specific coverage against terrorism as a condition for providing mortgage loans. It is uncertain

whether such insurance policies will be available, or available at reasonable cost, which could inhibit our ability to finance or refinance our potential properties. In these instances, we may be required to provide other financial support, either through financial assurances or self-insurance, to cover potential losses. We cannot assure you that will have adequate coverage for such losses. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 is designed for a sharing of terrorism losses between insurance companies and the federal government. We cannot be certain how this act will impact us or what additional cost to us, if any, could result. If such an event damaged or destroyed one or more of our properties, we could lose both our invested capital and anticipated profits from such property.

 

Real estate related taxes may increase and if these increases are not passed on to tenants, our income will be reduced.

 

Some local real property tax assessors may seek to reassess some of our properties as a result of our acquisition of the property. Generally, from time to time our property taxes increase as property values or assessment rates change or for other reasons deemed relevant by the assessors. An increase in the assessed valuation of a property for real estate tax purposes will result in an increase in the related real estate taxes on that property. Although some tenant leases may permit us to pass through such tax increases to the tenants for payment, there is no assurance that renewal leases or future leases will be negotiated on the same basis. Increases not passed through to tenants will adversely affect our income, cash available for distributions, and the amount of distributions to you.

 

Revenue from our properties depends on the amount of our tenants’ retail revenue, making us vulnerable to general economic downturns and other conditions affecting the retail industry.

 

As of October 30, 2006, approximately 69% of our leases provide for base rent plus contractual base rent increases. Some of our leases may also include a percentage rent clause for additional rent above the base amount based upon a specified percentage of the sales our tenants generate. Under those leases that contain percentage rent clauses, our revenue from tenants may decrease as the sales of our tenants decrease. Generally, retailers face declining revenues during downturns in the economy. As a result, the portion of our revenue that we derive from percentage rent leases could decline upon a general economic downturn. As of October 30, 2006, approximately 100% of our current rental revenue is from base rents and approximately 0% is from rents based on a specific percentage of sales.

 

CC&Rs may restrict our ability to operate a property.

 

Some of our properties will most likely be contiguous to other parcels of real property, comprising part of the same retail center. In connection with such properties, there will likely exist significant covenants, conditions and restrictions, known as “CC&Rs,” restricting the operation of such properties and any improvements on such properties, and related to granting easements on such properties. Moreover, the operation and management of the contiguous properties may impact such properties. Compliance with CC&Rs may adversely affect our operating costs and reduce the amount of funds that we have available to pay distributions. As of October 30, 2006, approximately 13% of our properties are subject to CC&Rs.

 

Our operating results may be negatively affected by potential development and construction delays and resultant increased costs and risks.

 

While we do not currently intend to do so, we may use proceeds from this offering to acquire and develop properties upon which we will construct improvements. We will be subject to uncertainties associated with re-zoning for development, environmental concerns of governmental entities and/or community groups, and our builder’s ability to build in conformity with plans, specifications, budgeted costs, and timetables. If a builder fails to perform, we may resort to legal action to rescind the purchase or the construction contract or to compel performance. A builder’s performance may also be affected or delayed by conditions beyond the builder’s control. Delays in completion of construction could also give tenants the right to terminate preconstruction leases. We may incur additional risks when we make periodic progress payments or other advances to builders before they complete construction. These and other such factors can result in increased

costs of a project or loss of our investment. In addition, we will be subject to normal lease-up risks relating to newly constructed projects. We also must rely on rental income and expense projections and estimates of the fair market value of property upon completion of construction when agreeing upon a price at the time we acquire the property. If our projections are inaccurate, we may pay too much for a property, and our return on our investment could suffer.

 

While we do not currently intend to do so, we may invest in unimproved real property. Returns from development of unimproved properties are also subject to risks associated with re-zoning the land for development and environmental concerns of governmental entities and/or community groups. Although we intend to limit any investment in unimproved property to property we intend to develop, your investment nevertheless is subject to the risks associated with investments in unimproved real property.

 

If we contract with an affiliated development company for newly developed property, we cannot guarantee that our earnest money deposit made to the development company will be fully refunded.

 

While we currently do not have an affiliated development company, our sponsor and/or its affiliates may form a development company. In such an event, we may enter into one or more contracts, either directly or indirectly through joint ventures with affiliates or others, to acquire real property from an affiliate of Cole Advisors II that is engaged in construction and development of commercial real properties. Properties acquired from an affiliated development company may be either existing income-producing properties, properties to be developed or properties under development. We anticipate that we will be obligated to pay a substantial earnest money deposit at the time of contracting to acquire such properties. In the case of properties to be developed by an affiliated development company, we anticipate that we will be required to close the purchase of the property upon completion of the development of the property by our affiliate. At the time of contracting and the payment of the earnest money deposit by us, our development company affiliate typically will not have acquired title to any real property. Typically, our development company affiliate will only have a contract to acquire land, a development agreement to develop a building on the land and an agreement with one or more tenants to lease all or part of the property upon its completion. We may enter into such a contract with our development company affiliate even if at the time of contracting we have not yet raised sufficient proceeds in our offering to enable us to close the purchase of such property. However, we will not be required to close a purchase from our development company affiliate, and will be entitled to a refund of our earnest money, in the following circumstances:

 

 

The obligation of our development company affiliate to refund our earnest money will be unsecured, and no assurance can be made that we would be able to obtain a refund of such earnest money deposit from it under these circumstances since our development company affiliate may be an entity without substantial assets or operations. However, our development company affiliate’s obligation to refund our earnest money deposit may be guaranteed by Cole Realty Advisors, our property manager, which will enter into contracts to provide property management and leasing services to various Cole-sponsored programs, including us, for substantial monthly fees. As of the time Cole Realty Advisors may be required to perform under any guaranty, we cannot assure that Cole Realty Advisors will have sufficient assets to refund all of our earnest money deposit in a lump sum payment. If we were forced to collect our earnest money deposit by enforcing the guaranty of Cole Realty Advisors, we will likely be required to accept installment payments over time payable out of the revenues of Cole Realty Advisors’ operations. We cannot assure you that we would be able to collect the entire amount of our earnest money deposit under such circumstances. See “Investment Objectives and Policies — Acquisition and Investment Policies.”

Competition with third parties in acquiring properties and other investments may reduce our profitability and the return on your investment.

 

We compete with many other entities engaged in real estate investment activities, including individuals, corporations, bank and insurance company investment accounts, other REITs, real estate limited partnerships, and other entities engaged in real estate investment activities, many of which have greater resources than we do. Larger REITs may enjoy significant competitive advantages that result from, among other things, a lower cost of capital and enhanced operating efficiencies. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable investments may increase. Any such increase would result in increased demand for these assets and therefore increased prices paid for them. If we pay higher prices for properties and other investments, our profitability will be reduced and you may experience a lower return on your investment.

 

Our properties face competition that may affect tenants’ ability to pay rent and the amount of rent paid to us may affect the cash available for distributions and the amount of distributions.

 

Our properties typically are, and we expect will be, located in developed areas. Therefore, there are and will be numerous other retail properties within the market area of each of our properties that will compete with us for tenants. The number of competitive properties could have a material effect on our ability to rent space at our properties and the amount of rents charged. We could be adversely affected if additional competitive properties are built in locations competitive with our properties, causing increased competition for customer traffic and creditworthy tenants. This could result in decreased cash flow from tenants and may require us to make capital improvements to properties that we would not have otherwise made, thus affecting cash available for distributions, and the amount available for distributions to you.

 

Costs of complying with governmental laws and regulations, including those relating to environmental matters, may adversely affect our income and the cash available for any distributions.

 

All real property and the operations conducted on real property are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and human health and safety. These laws and regulations generally govern wastewater discharges, air emissions, the operation and removal of underground and above-ground storage tanks, the use, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of solid and hazardous materials, and the remediation of contamination associated with disposals. Some of these laws and regulations may impose joint and several liability on tenants, owners or operators for the costs to investigate or remediate contaminated properties, regardless of fault or whether the acts causing the contamination were legal. This liability could be substantial. In addition, the presence of hazardous substances, or the failure to properly remediate these substances, may adversely affect our ability to sell, rent or pledge such property as collateral for future borrowings.

 

Some of these laws and regulations have been amended so as to require compliance with new or more stringent standards as of future dates. Compliance with new or more stringent laws or regulations or stricter interpretation of existing laws may require material expenditures by us. Future laws, ordinances or regulations may impose material environmental liability. Additionally, our tenants’ operations, the existing condition of land when we buy it, operations in the vicinity of our properties, such as the presence of underground storage tanks, or activities of unrelated third parties may affect our properties. In addition, there are various local, state and federal fire, health, life-safety and similar regulations with which we may be required to comply, and that may subject us to liability in the form of fines or damages for noncompliance. Any material expenditures, fines, or damages we must pay will reduce our ability to make distributions and may reduce the value of your investment.

 

State and federal laws in this area are constantly evolving, and we intend to monitor these laws and take commercially reasonable steps to protect ourselves from the impact of these laws, including obtaining environmental assessments of most properties that we acquire; however, we will not obtain an independent third-party environmental assessment for every property we acquire. In addition, we cannot assure you that any such assessment that we do obtain will reveal all environmental liabilities or that a prior owner of a property did not create a material environmental condition not known to us. The cost of defending against

claims of liability, of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements, of remediating any contaminated property, or of paying personal injury claims would materially adversely affect our business, assets or results of operations and, consequently, amounts available for distribution to you.

 

If we sell properties by providing financing to purchasers, defaults by the purchasers would adversely affect our cash flows.

 

If we decide to sell any of our properties, we intend to use our best efforts to sell them for cash. However, in some instances we may sell our properties by providing financing to purchasers. When we provide financing to purchasers, we will bear the risk that the purchaser may default, which could negatively impact our cash distributions to stockholders. Even in the absence of a purchaser default, the distribution of the proceeds of sales to our stockholders, or their reinvestment in other assets, will be delayed until the promissory notes or other property we may accept upon the sale are actually paid, sold, refinanced or otherwise disposed of. In some cases, we may receive initial down payments in cash and other property in the year of sale in an amount less than the selling price and subsequent payments will be spread over a number of years. If any purchaser defaults under a financing arrangement with us, it could negatively impact our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders.

 

Our recovery of an investment in a mortgage that has defaulted may be limited.

 

There is no guarantee that the mortgage, loan or deed of trust securing an investment will, following a default, permit us to recover the original investment and interest that would have been received absent a default. The security provided by a mortgage, deed of trust or loan is directly related to the difference between the amount owed and the appraised market value of the property. Although we intend to rely on a current real estate appraisal when we make the investment, the value of the property is affected by factors outside our control, including general fluctuations in the real estate market, rezoning, neighborhood changes, highway relocations and failure by the borrower to maintain the property.

 

Our costs associated with complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act may affect cash available for distributions.

 

Our properties will be subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Disabilities Act). Under the Disabilities Act, all places of public accommodation are required to comply with federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The Disabilities Act has separate compliance requirements for “public accommodations” and “commercial facilities” that generally requires that buildings and services, including restaurants and retail stores, be made accessible and available to people with disabilities. The Disabilities Act’s requirements could require removal of access barriers and could result in the imposition of injunctive relief, monetary penalties, or, in some cases, an award of damages. We will attempt to acquire properties that comply with the Disabilities Act or place the burden on the seller or other third party, such as a tenant, to ensure compliance with the Disabilities Act. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to acquire properties or allocate responsibilities in this manner. If we cannot, our funds used for Disabilities Act compliance may affect cash available for distributions and the amount of distributions to you.

 

We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, mortgage indebtedness and other borrowings, which may increase our business risks.

 

As of October 30, 2006, we had total outstanding indebtedness of approximately $180 million. We expect to incur additional indebtedness even if we raise significant proceeds in this offering. We expect that in most instances, we will acquire real properties by using either existing financing or borrowing new funds. In addition, we may incur mortgage debt and pledge all or some of our real properties as security for that debt to obtain funds to acquire additional real properties. We may borrow if we need funds to satisfy the REIT tax qualification requirement that we distribute at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income to our

stockholders. We may also borrow if we otherwise deem it necessary or advisable to assure that we maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes.

 

Our advisor believes that utilizing borrowing is consistent with our investment objective of maximizing the return to investors. There is no limitation on the amount we may borrow against any single improved property. However, under our charter, we are required to limit our borrowings to 60% of the greater of cost (before deducting depreciation or other non-cash reserves) or fair market value of our gross assets, unless excess borrowing is approved by a majority of the independent directors. We expect that during the period of this offering we will request that our independent directors approve borrowings in excess of this limitation since we will then be in the process of raising our equity capital to acquire our portfolio. As a result, we expect that our debt levels will be higher until we have invested most of our capital.

 

If there is a shortfall between the cash flow from a property and the cash flow needed to service mortgage debt on a property, then the amount available for distributions to stockholders may be reduced. In addition, incurring mortgage debt increases the risk of loss since defaults on indebtedness secured by a property may result in lenders initiating foreclosure actions. In that case, we could lose the property securing the loan that is in default, thus reducing the value of your investment. For tax purposes, a foreclosure of any of our properties would be treated as a sale of the property for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the property, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure, but would not receive any cash proceeds. In such event, we may be unable to pay the amount of distributions required in order to maintain our REIT status. We may give full or partial guarantees to lenders of mortgage debt to the entities that own our properties. When we provide a guaranty on behalf of an entity that owns one of our properties, we will be responsible to the lender for satisfaction of the debt if it is not paid by such entity. If any mortgages contain cross-collateralization or cross-default provisions, a default on a single property could affect multiple properties. If any of our properties are foreclosed upon due to a default, our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders will be adversely affected, which could result in our losing our REIT status and would result in a decrease in the value of your investment.

 

High mortgage rates may make it difficult for us to finance or refinance properties, which could reduce the number of properties we can acquire and the amount of cash distributions we can make.

 

If we place mortgage debt on properties, we run the risk of being unable to refinance the properties when the loans come due, or of being unable to refinance on favorable terms. If interest rates are higher when the properties are refinanced, we may not be able to finance the properties and our income could be reduced. If any of these events occur, our cash flow would be reduced. This, in turn, would reduce cash available for distribution to you and may hinder our ability to raise more capital by issuing more stock or by borrowing more money.

 

Lenders may require us to enter into restrictive covenants relating to our operations, which could limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

In connection with providing us financing, a lender could impose restrictions on us that affect our distribution and operating policies and our ability to incur additional debt. Loan documents we enter into may contain covenants that limit our ability to further mortgage the property, discontinue insurance coverage or replace Cole Advisors II as our advisor. These or other limitations may adversely affect our flexibility and our ability to achieve our investment and operating objectives.

 

Increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our debt payments and adversely affect our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

 

As of October 30, 2006, we had approximately $180 million of indebtedness, including approximately $3.9 million of variable-rate debt. We expect that we will incur variable-rate indebtedness in the future. To the extent that we incur variable rate debt, increases in interest rates would increase our interest costs, which could reduce our cash flows and our ability to pay distributions to you. In addition, if we need to repay existing debt

during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our investments in properties at times that may not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments.

 

We have broad authority to incur debt, and high debt levels could hinder our ability to make distributions and could decrease the value of your investment.

 

Our charter generally limits us to incurring debt no greater than 60% of the greater of cost (before deducting depreciation or other non-cash reserves) or fair market value of all of our assets, unless any excess borrowing is approved by a majority of our independent directors and disclosed to our stockholders in our next quarterly report, along with a justification for such excess borrowing. We expect that during the period of this offering we will request that our independent directors approve borrowings in excess of this limitation since we will then be in the process of raising our equity capital to acquire our portfolio. As a result, we expect that our debt levels will be higher until we have invested most of our capital. High debt levels would cause us to incur higher interest charges, would result in higher debt service payments, and could be accompanied by restrictive covenants. These factors could limit the amount of cash we have available to distribute and could result in a decline in the value of your investment.

 

Our participation in a co-ownership arrangement would subject us to risk that otherwise may not be present in other real estate investments.

 

We may enter in co-ownership arrangements with respect to a portion of the properties we acquire. Co-ownership arrangements involve risks generally not otherwise present with an investment in real estate such as the following:

 

 

Any of the above might subject a property to liabilities in excess of those contemplated and thus reduce the amount available for distribution to our stockholders.

 

In the event that our interests become adverse to those of the other co-owners, we will not have the contractual right to purchase the co-ownership interests from the other co-owners. Even if we are given the

opportunity to purchase such co-ownership interests in the future, we cannot guarantee that we will have sufficient funds available at the time to purchase co-ownership interests from the co-owners.

 

We might want to sell our co-ownership interests in a given property at a time when the other co-owners in such property do not desire to sell their interests. Therefore, because we anticipate that it will be much more difficult to find a willing buyer for our co-ownership interests in a property than it would be to find a buyer for a property we owned outright, we may not be able to sell our interest in a property at the time we would like to sell.

 

Failure to qualify as a REIT would adversely affect our operations and our ability to make distributions.

 

We elected to be taxed as a REIT beginning with the tax year ended December 31, 2005. In order for us to continue to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy certain requirements set forth in the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations and various factual matters and circumstances that are not entirely within our control. We intend to structure our activities in a manner designed to satisfy all of these requirements. However, if certain of our operations were to be recharacterized by the Internal Revenue Service, such recharacterization could jeopardize our ability to satisfy all of the requirements for qualification as a REIT. Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, our legal counsel, has rendered its opinion that we will qualify as a REIT, based upon our representations as to the manner in which we are and will be owned, invest in assets and operate, among other things. However, our qualification as a REIT will depend upon our ability to meet, through investments, actual operating results, distributions and satisfaction of specific rules, the various tests imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP will not review these operating results or compliance with the qualification standards on an ongoing basis. This means that we may fail to satisfy the REIT requirements in the future. Also, this opinion represents Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP’s legal judgment based on the law in effect as of the date of this prospectus. Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP’s opinion is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service or the courts and we will not apply for a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service regarding our status as a REIT. Future legislative, judicial or administrative changes to the federal income tax laws could be applied retroactively, which could result in our disqualification as a REIT.

 

If we fail to qualify as a REIT for any taxable year, we will be subject to federal income tax on our taxable income at corporate rates. In addition, we would generally be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year of losing our REIT status. Losing our REIT status would reduce our net earnings available for investment or distribution to stockholders because of the additional tax liability. In addition, distributions to stockholders would no longer qualify for the dividends paid deduction, and we would no longer be required to make distributions. If this occurs, we might be required to borrow funds or liquidate some investments in order to pay the applicable tax.

 

Re-characterization of the Section 1031 programs may result in a 100% tax on income from a prohibited transaction, which would diminish our cash distributions to you.

 

The Internal Revenue Service could re-characterize transactions under the Section 1031 program such that Cole OP II, rather than the co-owner in the program (Section 1031 Participant), is treated as the bona fide owner, for tax purposes, of properties acquired and resold by a Section 1031 Participant in connection with the Section 1031 program. Such characterization could result in the fees paid to Cole OP II by a Section 1031 Participant as being deemed income from a prohibited transaction, in which event the fee income paid to us in connection with the Section 1031 programs would be subject to a 100% penalty tax. If this occurs, our ability to pay cash distributions to you will be adversely affected. We to obtain a legal opinion in connection with each co-ownership program to the effect that the program will qualify as a like-kind exchange under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. However, the Internal Revenue Service may take a position contrary to such an opinion.

Re-characterization of sale-leaseback transactions may cause us to lose our REIT status.

 

We may purchase properties and lease them back to the sellers of such properties. While we will use our best efforts to structure any such sale-leaseback transaction so that the lease will be characterized as a “true lease,” thereby allowing us to be treated as the owner of the property for federal income tax purposes, the IRS could challenge such characterization. In the event that any sale-leaseback transaction is challenged and re-characterized as a financing transaction or loan for federal income tax purposes, deductions for depreciation and cost recovery relating to such property would be disallowed. If a sale-leaseback transaction were so recharacterized, we might fail to satisfy the REIT qualification “asset tests” or the “income tests” and, consequently, lose our REIT status effective with the year of recharacterization. Alternatively, the amount of our REIT taxable income could be recalculated which might also cause us to fail to meet the distribution requirement for a taxable year.

 

You may have tax liability on distributions you elect to reinvest in our common stock.

 

If you participate in our distribution reinvestment plan, you will be deemed to have received, and for income tax purposes will be taxed on, the amount reinvested in common stock to the extent the amount reinvested was not a tax-free return of capital. As a result, unless you are a tax-exempt entity, you may have to use funds from other sources to pay your tax liability on the value of the common stock received.

 

In certain circumstances, we may be subject to federal and state income taxes as a REIT, which would reduce our cash available for distribution to you.

 

Even if we qualify and maintain our status as a REIT, we may be subject to federal income taxes or state taxes. For example, net income from the sale of properties that are “dealer” properties sold by a REIT (a “prohibited transaction” under the Internal Revenue Code) will be subject to a 100% tax. We may not be able to make sufficient distributions to avoid excise taxes applicable to REITs. We may also decide to retain income we earn from the sale or other disposition of our property and pay income tax directly on such income. In that event, our stockholders would be treated as if they earned that income and paid the tax on it directly. However, stockholders that are tax-exempt, such as charities or qualified pension plans, would have no benefit from their deemed payment of such tax liability. We may also be subject to state and local taxes on our income or property, either directly or at the level of Cole OP II or at the level of the other companies through which we indirectly own our assets. Any federal or state taxes we pay will reduce our cash available for distribution to you.

 

Legislative or regulatory action could adversely affect investors.

 

Because our operations are governed to a significant extent by the federal tax laws, new legislative or regulatory action could adversely affect investors.

 

You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor with respect to the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on an investment in our common stock. You should also note that our counsel’s tax opinion assumes that no legislation will be enacted after the date of this prospectus that will be applicable to an investment in our shares.

 

Foreign purchasers of our common stock may be subject to FIRPTA tax upon the sale of their shares.

 

A foreign person disposing of a U.S. real property interest, including shares of a U.S. corporation whose assets consist principally of U.S. real property interests, is generally subject to a tax, known as FIRPTA tax, on the gain recognized on the disposition. Such FIRPTA tax does not apply, however, to the disposition of stock in a REIT if the REIT is “domestically controlled.” A REIT is “domestically controlled” if less than 50% of the REIT’s stock, by value, has been owned directly or indirectly by persons who are not qualifying U.S. persons during a continuous five-year period ending on the date of disposition or, if shorter, during the entire period of the REIT’s existence. We cannot assure you that we will qualify as a “domestically controlled” REIT. If we were to fail to so qualify, gain realized by foreign investors on a sale of our shares would be subject to FIRPTA tax, unless our shares were traded on an established securities market and the foreign

investor did not at any time during a specified testing period directly or indirectly own more than 5% of the value of our outstanding common stock. See “Federal Income Tax Considerations — Special Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Stockholders — Sale of our Shares by a Non-U.S. Stockholder.”

 

In order to avoid triggering additional taxes and/or penalties, if you intend to invest in our shares through pension or profit-sharing trusts or IRAs, you should consider additional factors.

 

If you are investing the assets of a pension, profit-sharing, 401(k), Keogh or other qualified retirement plan or the assets of an IRA in our common stock, you should satisfy yourself that, among other things:

 

 

For a more complete discussion of the foregoing risks and other issues associated with an investment in shares by retirement plans, please see the “Investment by Tax-Exempt Entities and ERISA Considerations” section of this prospectus.

 

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. Such statements include, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies and prospects. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “should” and variations of these words and similar expressions. Although we believe that our expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, these expectations may not prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements include those set forth under “Risk Factors” above, as well as general economic, business and market conditions, changes in federal and local laws and regulations and increased competitive pressures.

 

These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those discussed above under “Risk Factors,” that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement we make. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

The following table sets forth information about how we intend to use the proceeds raised in this offering, assuming that we sell the maximum offering of 150,000,000 shares of common stock pursuant to this offering. Many of the figures set forth below represent management’s best estimate since they cannot be precisely calculated at this time. Assuming a maximum offering, we expect that approximately 89.0% of the money that stockholders invest will be used to buy real estate or make other investments, while the remaining approximately 11.0% will be used for working capital, and to pay expenses and fees including the payment of fees to Cole Advisors II, our advisor, and Cole Capital Corporation, our dealer manager.

 

 

 

 

We operate under the direction of our board of directors, the members of which are accountable to us and our stockholders as fiduciaries. The board is responsible for the management and control of our affairs. The board has retained Cole Advisors II to manage our day-to-day affairs and the acquisition and disposition of our investments, subject to the board’s supervision. Our charter has been reviewed and ratified by at least a majority of our board of directors, including the independent directors. This ratification by our board of directors is required by the Statement of Policy Regarding Real Estate Investment Trusts published by the North American Securities Administrators Association, also known as the NASAA REIT Guidelines.

 

Our charter and bylaws provide that the number of our directors may be established by a majority of the entire board of directors but may not be fewer than three nor more than 15, provided, however, that there may be fewer than three directors at any time that we have only one stockholder of record. We have a total of three directors, including two independent directors. Our charter provides that a majority of the directors must be independent directors. An “independent director” is a person who is not one of our officers or employees or an officer or employee of Cole Advisors II or its affiliates or any other real estate investment trust organized by our sponsor or advised by Cole Advisors II, has not otherwise been affiliated with such entities for the previous two years and does not serve as a director of more than three REITs organized by Christopher H. Cole or advised by Cole Advisors II. Of our three directors, two are considered independent directors. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or officers, or officers of our advisor. Each director who is not an independent director must have at least three years of relevant experience demonstrating the knowledge and experience required to successfully acquire and manage the type of assets being acquired by us. At least one of the independent directors must have at least three years of relevant real estate experience. Currently, each of our directors has substantially in excess of three years of relevant real estate experience.

 

During the discussion of a proposed transaction, independent directors may offer ideas for ways in which transactions may be structured to offer the greatest value to us, and our management will take these suggestions into consideration when structuring transactions. Each director will serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified. Although the number of directors may be increased or decreased, a decrease will not have the effect of shortening the term of any incumbent director.

 

Any director may resign at any time and may be removed with or without cause by the stockholders upon the affirmative vote of at least a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at a meeting properly called for the purpose of the proposed removal. The notice of the meeting will indicate that the purpose, or one of the purposes, of the meeting is to determine if the director shall be removed. Neither our advisor, any member of our board of directors nor any of their affiliates may vote or consent on matters submitted to the stockholders regarding the removal of our advisor or any director after we accept any subscriptions for the purchase of shares in this offering. In determining the requisite percentage in interest required to approve such a matter after we accept any subscriptions for the purchase of shares in this offering, any shares owned by such persons will not be included.

 

Any vacancy created by an increase in the number of directors or the death, resignation, removal, adjudicated incompetence or other incapacity of a director may be filled only by a vote of a majority of the remaining directors. Independent directors shall nominate replacements for vacancies in the independent director positions. If at any time there are no directors in office, successor directors shall be elected by the stockholders. Each director will be bound by the charter and the bylaws.

 

The directors are not required to devote all of their time to our business and are only required to devote the time to our affairs as their duties require. The directors meet quarterly or more frequently if necessary. Our directors are not required to devote a substantial portion of their time to discharge their duties as our directors. Consequently, in the exercise of their responsibilities, the directors heavily rely on our advisor. Our directors have a fiduciary duty to our stockholders to supervise the relationship between us and our advisor. The board

is empowered to fix the compensation of all officers that it selects and approve the payment of compensation to directors for services rendered to us in any other capacity.

 

Our board of directors has written policies on investments and borrowing, the general terms of which are set forth in this prospectus. The directors may establish further written policies on investments and borrowings and monitor our administrative procedures, investment operations and performance to ensure that the policies are fulfilled and are in the best interest of our stockholders.

 

The board also is responsible for reviewing our fees and expenses on at least an annual basis and with sufficient frequency to determine that the expenses incurred are in the best interest of the stockholders. In addition, a majority of the directors, including a majority of the independent directors who are not otherwise interested in the transaction, must approve all transactions with Cole Advisors II or its affiliates. The independent directors also are responsible for reviewing the performance of Cole Advisors II and determining that the compensation to be paid to Cole Advisors II is reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of services to be performed and that the provisions of the advisory agreement are being carried out. Specifically, the independent directors consider factors such as:

 

 

Neither our advisor nor any of its affiliates will vote or consent to the voting of shares of our common stock they now own or hereafter acquire on matters submitted to the stockholders regarding either (1) the removal of Cole Advisors II, any non-independent director or any of their respective affiliates, or (2) any transaction between us and Cole Advisors II, any non-independent director or any of their respective affiliates.

 

Our entire board of directors considers all major decisions concerning our business, including property acquisitions. However, our bylaws provide that our board may establish such committees as the board believes appropriate. The board will appoint the members of the committee in the board’s discretion. Our bylaws require that a majority of the members of each committee of our board is to be comprised of independent directors.

 

Our board of directors has established an audit committee, which consists of our two independent directors. The audit committee, by approval of at least a majority of the members, selects the independent registered public accounting firm to audit our annual financial statements, reviews with the independent registered public accounting firm the plans and results of the audit engagement, approves the audit and non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm, reviews the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm, considers the range of audit and non-audit fees and reviews the adequacy of our internal accounting controls. Our board of directors has adopted a charter for the audit committee that sets forth its specific functions and responsibilities.

 

Our board of directors has established a compensation committee, which consists of our two independent directors. The primary purpose of the compensation committee will be to oversee our compensation programs. Our board of directors has adopted a charter for the compensation committee that sets forth its specific functions and responsibilities.

 

We have provided below certain information about our executive officers and directors.

 

 

Christopher H. Cole has served as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of our company since our formation. He also has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of Cole Advisors II since its formation. Mr. Cole also has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cole Capital Partners since 2003 and has been engaged as a general partner in the structuring and management of real estate limited partnerships since February 1979. He also is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Cole Capital Advisors, Inc. (Cole Capital Advisors), Equity Fund Advisors, Inc. (Equity Fund Advisors), and Cole Advisors. Mr. Cole is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Treasurer of Cole Realty Advisors. He is the President of CHC Partners, which has served as the general partner in prior real estate programs, since 1985. Mr. Cole has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cole Equities Incorporated (Cole Equities), a consulting company since 1980. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of Cole Capital Corporation. He has served as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Cole REIT I since its formation in March 2004. Mr. Cole served as the President of Cole Partnerships, Inc. from its formation to August 1995 and currently serves as chief executive officer.

 

Blair D. Koblenz has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of our company since its formation. He has been active in the structuring and financial management of commercial real estate investments for over 20 years. He is also Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cole Capital Partners, Cole Capital Advisors, Equity Fund Advisors, Cole Advisors and Cole Advisors II. Mr. Koblenz is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Cole Realty Advisors. He has served as President of Cole Capital Corporation since December 2002 and previously served as Vice President. He also serves as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cole Partnerships, Partnership Advisors, Cole Real Estate Services, Inc., and CHC Partners. He serves as Secretary of Cole Equities. Mr. Koblenz has served as a Director and Executive Vice President/ Chief Financial Officer of Cole REIT I since its formation in March 2004. Prior to joining Cole in 1994, he practiced in public accounting at Toback & Company, CPA from 1979 to 1982 with an emphasis in taxation and business planning. He then served in a financial officer capacity for real estate investment companies and operators in Arizona from 1982 to 1994. Mr. Koblenz received his B.S. degree in Accounting from Arizona State University and is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the State of Arizona. He holds the designation of Certified Financial Planner as authorized by the CFP Board of Standards and holds securities licenses. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Arizona Society of CPAs, the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT).

 

John M. Pons has served as Secretary of our company since its formation. He also is Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Cole Capital Partners, Cole Capital Advisors and Equity Fund Advisors, and

is Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of Cole Advisors and Cole Advisors II. Mr. Pons also has served as a director and Secretary of Cole REIT I since its formation in March 2004. From December 2001 until joining Cole in September 2003, Mr. Pons was Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of GE Capital Franchise Finance Corporation. Prior to December 2001, Mr. Pons was engaged in a private legal practice. Mr. Pons has over eleven years experience in all aspects of real estate law, including the acquisition, sale, leasing, development and financing of real property. Before attending law school, Mr. Pons was a Captain in the United States Air Force where he served from 1988 until 1992. Mr. Pons received a B.S. degree in Mathematics from Colorado State University and a M.S. degree in Administration from Central Michigan University before attending the University of Denver where he earned his J.D. (Order of St. Ives) in 1995.

 

Marcus E. Bromley has been a member of our board of directors, Chairman of our board’s compensation committee and a member of our board’s audit committee since May 2005. Mr. Bromley has served as a member of the board of trustees of Gables Residential Trust (GBP), a $2 billion multi-family residential REIT with operations in Texas, Atlanta, South Florida, Washington, D.C. and Southern California that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, since December 1993. From December 1993 until June 2000, Mr. Bromley also served as the chief executive officer of Gables Residential Trust. Prior to joining Gables Residential Trust, Mr. Bromley was a division partner of Trammell Crow Residential from 1982 until 1993. Mr. Bromley holds a B.S. in Economics from Washington & Lee University and a M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina.

 

Elizabeth L. Watson has been a member of our board of directors, the chairperson of our board’s audit committee and a member of our board’s compensation committee since May 2005. Since September 2003, Ms. Watson has been a partner in and has served as the Chief Operating Officer for NGP Capital Partners III, LLC (NGP Capital). Prior to joining NGP Capital, she was a retail research analyst for Legg Mason Wood Walker from June 2002 until September 2003. From November 1997 until June 2002, Ms. Watson was a partner in and served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of National Government Properties (NGP). Before joining NGP, Ms. Watson served as the Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Government Properties Investors, Inc. (GPI) from June 1994 until March 1997. From 1992 until 1994, Ms. Watson served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Prime Retail, Inc., a publicly traded REIT that developed and owned factory outlet centers, and its predecessor company, The Prime Group. Ms. Watson received her B.S. Accounting and M.B.A. from the University of Maryland. She holds a Masters of Real Estate from John Hopkins University and an International Executive M.B.A. from Georgetown University. For the past ten years, she has been a lecturer for Johns Hopkins University’s Real Estate Masters Program and has taught real estate accounting and taxation, real estate finance and real estate investments. She is a licensed certified public accountant and is a member of the Maryland Association of CPAs, NAREIT and the National Association of Real Estate Companies.

 

We pay to each of our independent directors a retainer of $25,000 per year, plus $2,000 for each board or board committee meeting the director attends in person ($2,500 for attendance by the chairperson of the audit committee at each meeting of the audit committee) and $250 for each meeting the director attends by telephone. In the event there is a meeting of the board and one or more committees in a single day, the fees will be limited to $2,500 per day ($3,000 for the chairperson of the audit committee if there is a meeting of such committee). In addition, we have reserved 1,000,000 shares of common stock for future issuance upon the exercise of stock options that may be granted to our independent directors pursuant to our stock option plan (described below). We have granted each of our independent directors two options to purchase 5,000 shares of common stock. The first options were granted to them on the date such independent director was elected as a director and the second options were granted on the date of our annual meeting of stockholders. Such options have an exercise price equal to $9.15 per share (or greater, if such higher price is necessary so that such option shall not be considered a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code) and vest after one year from the date of grant. We expect that the independent directors will continue to receive an additional 5,000-share option grants on the date of each annual meeting of stockholders, each with an exercise price equal to $9.15 per share during such time as we

are offering shares to the public at $10.00 per share and thereafter at 100% of the then-current fair market value per share. All directors receive reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at meetings of our board of directors. If a director is also an employee of Cole REIT II or Cole Advisors II or their affiliates, we do not pay compensation for services rendered as a director. We do not compensate Mr. Cole for his service to us on the board of directors.

 

We have adopted an independent directors’ stock option plan that is designed to attract and retain independent directors by providing them with the opportunity to purchase our shares. Options granted to our independent directors under the plan provide these directors an incentive to increase the value of our shares, and a stake in our future that corresponds to the stake of each of our stockholders. A total of 1,000,000 shares have been authorized and reserved for issuance under the plan. As of the date of this prospectus, we have issued options to purchase a total of 20,000 shares of common stock to our independent directors pursuant to this plan.

 

The plan is administered by our board of directors. All of our independent directors will be eligible to participate in the plan. The plan authorizes the grant of non-qualified stock options to our independent directors, subject to the absolute discretion of the board and the applicable limitations of the plan. We intend to grant options under our stock option plan to each qualifying director annually. The initial option grant generally will be made on the date the qualifying director first becomes a director. Annual grants are expected to be made on the date of each annual stockholder meeting in which the respective independent director is re-elected. The exercise price for the options granted under our independent director stock option plan initially will be $9.15 per share (or greater, if such higher price is necessary so that such options shall not be considered a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code). It is intended that the exercise price for future options granted under our independent director stock option plan will be at least 100% of the fair market value of our common stock as of the date that the option is granted.

 

Options granted to independent directors under the plan will become exercisable on the first anniversary of the date of grant. Options granted under our stock option plan will lapse and no longer be exercisable on the first to occur of (1) the tenth anniversary of the date they are granted or (2) immediately following the date the director ceases to be a director for cause. Options granted under the plan may be exercised by payment of cash or through the delivery of shares of our common stock with a fair market value equal to the exercise price to be paid. No options issued under our stock option plan may be exercised if such exercise would jeopardize our status as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code.

 

The term of the plan is ten years. Upon the earlier of our dissolution or liquidation, upon our reorganization, merger or consolidation with one or more corporations as a result of which we are not the surviving corporation, or upon the sale of all or substantially all of our properties, the plan will terminate, and any outstanding options will be forfeited. Alternatively, the board of directors may provide in writing in connection with any such transaction for any or all of the following alternatives:

 

 

In no event shall an option be granted under our stock option plan to an independent director if the shares available for purchase subject to such grant, when added to all other shares available for purchase and all other shares purchased pursuant to other issued and outstanding options, would exceed 9.8% of the issued and

outstanding shares of common stock determined as of the date of grant of such option. Except as otherwise provided in an option agreement, if a change of control occurs and the agreements effectuating the change of control do not provide for the assumption or substitution of all options granted under the plan, the board in its sole and absolute discretion, may, with respect to any or all of such options, take any or all of the following actions to be effective as of the date of the change of control (or as of any other date fixed by the board occurring within the 30-day period immediately preceding the date of the change of control, but only if such action remains contingent upon the change of control):

 

 

 

 

If the number of our outstanding shares is changed into a different number or kind of shares or securities through a reorganization or merger in which we are the surviving entity, or through a combination, recapitalization or otherwise, an appropriate adjustment will be made in the number and kind of shares that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of options granted under the plan. A corresponding adjustment to the exercise price of such options granted prior to any change will also be made. Any such adjustment, however, will not change the total payment, if any, applicable to the portion of the options not exercised, but will change only the exercise price for each share.

 

As part of our strategy for compensating our independent directors, we have issued, and we intend to issue, options to purchase our common stock under our independent directors’ stock option plan, which is described above. This method of compensating individuals may possibly be considered to be a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (including amendment by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004).

 

Under Section 409A, “nonqualified deferred compensation plans” must meet certain requirements regarding the timing of distributions or payments and the timing of agreements or elections to defer payments, and must also prohibit any possibility of acceleration of distributions or payments, as well as certain other requirements. Currently, based on the statutory language and the committee reports accompanying the statute, it is possible that some stock options (those with an exercise price that is ever less than the fair market value of the underlying stock as of the date of grant) could be considered as “nonqualified deferred compensation plans.”

 

If Section 409A applies to any of the awards issued under the plan, or if Section 409A applies to any other arrangement or agreement that we may make, and if such award, arrangement or agreement does not meet the timing and prohibition requirements of Section 409A, then (i) all amounts deferred for all taxable years under the award, arrangement or agreement would be currently includible in gross income to the extent

not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture and not previously included in the gross income of the affected individual, (ii) interest at the underpayment rate plus one percent would be imposed on the underpayments that would have occurred had the compensation been includible in income when first deferred (or, if later, when not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture), and (iii) a 20% additional tax would be imposed on the amounts required to be included in income. Furthermore, if the affected individual is our employee, we would be required to withhold federal income taxes on the amount deferred but includible in income due to Section 409A, although there may be no funds being paid to the individual from which we could withhold taxes. We will also be required to report on an appropriate form (W-2 or 1099) amounts which are deferred, whether or not they meet the requirements of Section 409A, and if we fail to do so, penalties could apply.

 

We do not intend to issue any award, or enter into any agreement or arrangement that would be considered a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” under Section 409A, unless such award, agreement or arrangement complies with the timing and prohibition requirements of Section 409A. It is our current belief, based upon the statute and legislative history, the options we have granted, and that the awards, agreements and arrangements that we currently intend to implement will not be subject to taxation under Section 409A either because the options, award, agreement or arrangement will not be considered a “nonqualified deferred compensation plan,” or our expectation that the Internal Revenue Service will provide guidance or regulations clarifying that Section 409A would not apply to such option, award, agreement or arrangement. Furthermore, if this belief is not correct, we intend to either terminate or modify such option, award, agreement or arrangement (during a transitional period that the Internal Revenue Service is required to provide by Section 885(f) of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which enacted Section 409A) so that Section 409A would not apply to such option, award, agreement or arrangement, or so that such option, award, agreement or arrangement complies with Section 409A’s timing and prohibition requirements. Nonetheless, there can be no assurances that any options award, agreement or arrangement which we have entered into will not be affected by Section 409A, or that any such award, agreement or arrangement will not be subject to income taxation under Section 409A.

 

We are permitted to limit the liability of our directors, officers and other agents, and to indemnify them, only to the extent permitted by Maryland law and the NASAA REIT Guidelines.

 

Our charter contains a provision that eliminates directors’ and officers’ liability subject to the limitations of Maryland law and the NASAA REIT Guidelines. However, both Maryland law and the NASAA REIT Guidelines limit our ability to exonerate and indemnify our directors and officers, as set forth in our charter. Maryland law permits us to include in our charter a provision limiting the liability of our directors and officers to our stockholders and us for money damages, except for liability resulting from (i) actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (ii) active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment and that is material to the cause of action.

 

The Maryland General Corporation Law requires us (unless our charter provides otherwise, which our charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful in the defense of any proceeding to which he is made a party by reason of his service in that capacity. The Maryland General Corporation Law allows directors and officers to be indemnified against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and expenses actually incurred in a proceeding unless the following can be established:

 

 

Our charter provides that we will indemnify and hold harmless a director, an officer, an employee, an agent, Cole Advisors II or an affiliate against any and all losses or liabilities reasonably incurred by such party in connection with or by reason of any act or omission performed or omitted to be performed on our behalf in such capacity. This provision does not reduce the exposure of directors and officers to liability under federal or state securities laws, nor does it limit the stockholders’ ability to obtain injunctive relief or other equitable remedies for a violation of a director’s or an officer’s duties to us, although the equitable remedies may not be an effective remedy in some circumstances.

 

In addition to the above provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law, and as set forth in the NASAA REIT Guidelines, our charter further limits our ability to indemnify and hold harmless our directors, our officers, our employees, our agents, Cole Advisors II and our affiliates for losses arising from our operation by requiring that the following additional conditions are met:

 

 

We have agreed to indemnify and hold harmless Cole Advisors II and its affiliates performing services for us from specific claims and liabilities arising out of the performance of their obligations under the advisory agreement. As a result, our stockholders and we may be entitled to a more limited right of action than they and we would otherwise have if these indemnification rights were not included in the advisory agreement.

 

The general effect to investors of any arrangement under which we agree to insure or indemnify any persons against liability is a potential reduction in distributions resulting from our payment of premiums associated with insurance or indemnification payments in excess of amounts covered by insurance. In addition, indemnification could reduce the legal remedies available to our stockholders and us against the officers and directors.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission takes the position that indemnification against liabilities arising under the Securities Act is against public policy and unenforceable. Indemnification of our directors, our officers, our employees, our agents, Cole Advisors II or our affiliates and any persons acting as a broker-dealer will not be allowed for liabilities arising from or out of a violation of state or federal securities laws, unless one or more of the following conditions are met:

 

 

Our charter provides that the advancement of our funds to our directors, officers, employees, agents, advisor or affiliates for legal expenses and other costs incurred as a result of any legal action for which indemnification is being sought is permissible only if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (i) the legal action relates to acts or omissions with respect to the performance of duties or services on behalf of us; (ii) our directors, officers, employees, agents, advisor or affiliates provide us with written affirmation of their good faith belief that they have met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification; (iii) the legal action is initiated by a third party who is not a stockholder or, if the legal action is initiated by a stockholder acting in his or her capacity as such, a court of competent jurisdiction specifically approves such advancement; and (iv) our directors, officers, employees, agents, advisor or affiliates agree in writing to repay the advanced funds to us together with the applicable legal rate of interest thereon, in cases in which such persons are found not to be entitled to indemnification.

 

Indemnification will be allowed for settlements and related expenses of lawsuits alleging securities laws violations and for expenses incurred in successfully defending any lawsuits, provided that a court either:

 

 

Our advisor is Cole Advisors II. Our officers and one of our directors also are officers, key personnel and/or members of Cole Advisors II. Cole Advisors II has contractual responsibility to us and our stockholders pursuant to the advisory agreement. Cole Advisors II is wholly-owned by Christopher H. Cole.

 

The officers and key personnel of our advisor are as follows:

 

 

The backgrounds of Messrs. Cole, Koblenz and Pons are described in the “Management — Executive Officers and Directors” section of this prospectus. Below is a brief description of the other officers and key employees of Cole Advisors II.

 

Christopher P. Robertson is Senior Vice President, Acquisitions for Cole Capital Partners, Cole Advisors and Cole Advisors II. Prior to joining Cole in October 2003, Mr. Robertson worked for Shell Capital, Inc., an investment banking division of Shell Oil Company, as Vice President of Business Development. From 1998 until joining Shell Capital in 2000, he was employed at Franchise Finance Corporation of America as its Vice President of Corporate Finance. While at Franchise Finance Corporation he structured numerous sale-leaseback and senior debt transactions in the restaurant, convenience store/gas, and automotive aftermarket industries. Mr. Robertson received a B.B.A. degree from Baylor University with majors in both Finance and Real Estate in 1988. In 1993, Mr. Robertson received a M.B.A. degree in Finance from Pepperdine University.

 

D. Kirk McAllaster, Jr. is Vice President, Finance and Accounting of Cole Capital Partners, Cole Advisors and Cole Advisors II. Prior to joining Cole in May 2003, Mr. McAllaster worked for six years with Deloitte & Touche LLP, most recently as Audit Senior Manager. He has over 16 years of accounting and

finance experience in public accounting and private industry. Mr. McAllaster received a B.S. degree from California State Polytechnic University — Pomona with a major in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Arizona Society of CPAs.

 

Sean D. Leahy is Director of Real Estate and Portfolio Management of Cole Capital Partners, Cole Capital Advisors, Cole Advisors and Cole Advisors II. Prior to joining Cole in September 2003, Mr. Leahy spent four years as Assistant Vice President with the Phoenix office of Lowe Enterprises, Inc., a national pension fund advisor, where he was involved with acquisitions and dispositions, and leasing and asset management for the company’s Arizona portfolio of commercial properties. Prior to joining Lowe Enterprises, Mr. Leahy spent five years with the Phoenix office of Ernst & Young, LLP, most recently as a Real Estate Consulting Manager. Mr. Leahy is a licensed real estate broker and Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Leahy received a B.S. degree with majors in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona.

 

Marc T. Nemer is Legal Counsel — Securities of Cole Capital Partners, Cole Advisors and Cole Advisors II. Prior to joining Cole in February 2006, Mr. Nemer was an attorney with the international law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, where he specialized in securities offerings (public and private), corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions, from July 2000 to February 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Nemer worked at the international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he worked as an attorney in a similar capacity from August 1998 to July 2000. Mr. Nemer earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1998 and a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1995.

 

In addition to the directors and executive officers listed above, Cole Advisors II employs personnel who have extensive experience in selecting and managing commercial properties similar to the properties sought to be acquired by us. As of the date of this prospectus our advisor is the sole limited partner of Cole OP II.

 

Many of the services to be performed by Cole Advisors II in managing our day-to-day activities are summarized below. This summary is provided to illustrate the material functions that we expect Cole Advisors II will perform for us as our advisor, and it is not intended to include all of the services that may be provided to us by third parties. Under the terms of the advisory agreement, Cole Advisors II will undertake to use its commercially reasonable best efforts to present to us investment opportunities consistent with our investment policies and objectives as adopted by our board of directors. In its performance of this undertaking, Cole Advisors II, either directly or indirectly by engaging an affiliate, shall, among other duties and subject to the authority of our board of directors:

 

 

 

The advisory agreement has a one-year term ending May 23, 2007, and may be renewed for an unlimited number of successive one-year periods. Additionally, either party may terminate the advisory agreement without penalty immediately upon a change of control of us, or upon 60 days’ written notice without penalty. If we elect to terminate the agreement, we must obtain the approval of a majority of our independent directors. In the event of the termination of our advisory agreement, our advisor is required to cooperate with us and take all reasonable steps requested by us to assist our board of directors in making an orderly transition of the advisory function.

 

We pay Cole Advisors II a monthly asset management fee equal to 0.02083% of the aggregate asset value of our assets. We also pay Cole Advisors II acquisition and advisory fees equal to 2% of the contract purchase price of each property or asset that we acquire, along with reimbursement of acquisition expenses. We also pay to Cole Advisors II a finance coordination fee equal to 1% of the amount available and/or outstanding under any debt financing that we obtain and use for the acquisition of properties and other investments or that is assumed, directly or indirectly, in connection with the acquisition of properties. Additionally, we are required to pay to Cole Advisors II fees based on a percentage of proceeds or stock value upon our sale of assets or the listing of our common stock on a national securities exchange, but only if, in the case of our sale of assets, our investors have received a return of their net capital invested and an 8% annual cumulative, non-compounded return or, in the case of the listing of our common stock, the market value of our common stock plus the distributions paid to our investors exceeds the sum of the total amount of capital raised from investors plus the amount of cash flow necessary to generate an 8% annual cumulative, non-compounded return to investors. Upon termination of the Advisory Agreement, we may be required to pay to Cole Advisors II a similar performance fee if Cole Advisors II would have been entitled to a subordinated participation in net sale proceeds had the portfolio been liquidated (based on an independent appraised value of the portfolio) on the date of termination.

 

Cole Advisors II and its officers, employees and affiliates engage in other business ventures and, as a result, their resources are not dedicated exclusively to our business. However, pursuant to the advisory agreement, Cole Advisors II is required to devote sufficient resources to our administration to discharge its obligations. Cole Advisors II currently has no paid employees; however, as of October 30, 2006, its affiliates had approximately 80 full-time employees, each of whom may dedicate a portion of his or her time providing services to our advisor. Our advisor is responsible for a pro rata portion of each employee’s compensation based upon the approximate percentage of time the employee dedicates to our advisor. Cole Advisors II may assign the advisory agreement to an affiliate upon approval of a majority of our independent directors. We may assign or transfer the advisory agreement to a successor entity; provided that at least a majority of our independent directors determines that any such successor advisor possesses sufficient qualifications to perform the advisory function and to justify the compensation payable to the advisor. Our independent directors will base their determination on the general facts and circumstances that they deem applicable, including the overall experience and specific industry experience of the successor advisor and its management. Other factors that will be considered are the compensation to be paid to the successor advisor and any potential conflicts of interest that may occur.

 

The fees payable to Cole Advisors II under the advisory agreement are described in further detail in the section captioned “Management Compensation” below. We also describe in that section our obligation to reimburse Cole Advisors II for organization and offering expenses, administrative and management services, and payments made by Cole Advisors II to third parties in connection with potential acquisitions.

 

Property Manager

 

Our properties are managed and leased initially by Cole Realty Advisors, our property manager. Cole Capital Advisors is the sole shareholder of Cole Realty Advisors, and Cole Holdings Corporation is the sole owner of Cole Capital Advisors. Christopher H. Cole is the sole owner of Cole Holdings Corporation. Mr. Cole serves as Chief Executive Officer, President and Treasurer of Cole Realty Advisors, and Blair D. Koblenz serves as its Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary. See the “Conflicts of Interest” section of this prospectus.

 

Cole Realty Advisors was organized in 2002 to lease and manage properties that we or our affiliated entities acquire. In accordance with the property management and leasing agreement, we pay to Cole Realty Advisors a property management fee up to (i) 2% of gross revenues from our single tenant properties and (ii) 4% of gross revenues from our multi-tenant properties. In addition, we pay leasing commissions to Cole Realty Advisors based upon the customary leasing commission applicable to the geographic location of the property; provided however, that the aggregate of all property management and leasing fees paid to the property manager plus all payments to third parties may not exceed the amount that other nonaffiliated management and leasing companies generally charge for similar services in the same geographic location. Cole Realty Advisors derives substantially all of its income from the property management and leasing services it performs for us and other Cole-sponsored programs.

 

In the event that Cole Realty Advisors assists a tenant with tenant improvements, a separate fee may be charged to, and payable by, us. This fee will not exceed 5% of the cost of the tenant improvements. The property manager will only provide these services if it does not cause any of our income from the applicable property to be treated as other than rents from real property for purposes of the applicable REIT requirements described under “Federal Income Tax Considerations” below.

 

Our property management agreement with Cole Realty Advisors has a one-year term ending       ,2007, and is subject to successive one-year renewals unless Cole Realty Advisors provides written notice of its intent to terminate 30 days’ prior to the expiration of the initial or renewal term. We may also terminate the agreement upon 30 days’ prior written notice in the event of gross negligence or willful misconduct by the property manager.

 

Cole Realty Advisors hires, directs and establishes policies for employees who have direct responsibility for the operations of each property we acquire, which may include, but is not be limited to, on-site managers and building and maintenance personnel. Certain employees of the property manager may be employed on a part-time basis and also may be employed by our advisor or certain companies affiliated with it.

 

The property manager also directs the purchase of equipment and supplies, and supervises all maintenance activity, for our properties. The management fees paid to the property manager cover, without additional expense to us, all of the property manager’s general overhead costs. The principal office of the property manager is located at 2555 East Camelback Road, Suite 400, Phoenix, Arizona 85016.

 

Dealer Manager

 

Cole Capital Corporation, our dealer manager, is a member firm of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD). Cole Capital Corporation was organized in December 1992 for the purpose of participating in and facilitating the distribution of securities of real estate programs sponsored by Cole Capital Partners, its affiliates and its predecessors.

 

Cole Capital Corporation provides certain wholesaling, sales, promotional and marketing assistance services to us in connection with the distribution of the shares offered pursuant to this prospectus. It may also sell a limited number of shares at the retail level. The compensation we will pay to Cole Capital Corporation in connection with this offering is described in the section of this prospectus captioned “Management Compensation.” See also “Plan of Distribution — Compensation We Will Pay for the Sale of Our Shares.”

Cole Capital Corporation is wholly-owned by Cole Capital Advisors which, in turn, is wholly-owned by Cole Holdings Corporation, which is wholly-owned by Christopher H. Cole. Cole Capital Corporation is an affiliate of both our advisor and the property manager. See “Conflicts of Interest.”

 

The current officers of Cole Capital Corporation are:

 

 

The backgrounds of Messrs. Koblenz and Cole are described in the “Management — Executive Officers and Directors” section of this prospectus.

 

The primary responsibility for the investment decisions of Cole Advisors II and its affiliates, the negotiation for these investments, and the property management and leasing of these investment properties resides with Christopher H. Cole, Blair D. Koblenz, John M. Pons, Sean D. Leahy and Christopher P. Robertson. Cole Advisors II seeks to invest in commercial properties on our behalf that satisfy our investment objectives. Our board of directors, including a majority of our independent directors, must approve all acquisitions of real estate properties.

 

We lease our office space from an affiliate of our advisor and share the space with other Cole-related entities. The amount we will pay under the lease will be determined on a monthly basis based upon on the allocation of the overall lease cost to the approximate percentage of time, size of the area that we utilize and other resources allocated to us.

 

 

Cole Advisors II cannot earn both the subordinated participation in net sale proceeds and the subordinated incentive listing fee. The subordinated participation in net sale proceeds or the subordinated listing fee, as the case may be, will be paid in the form of an interest bearing promissory note that will be repaid from the net sale proceeds of each sale after the date of the termination or listing. At the time of such sale, we may, however, at our discretion, pay all or a portion of such promissory note with shares of our common stock. If shares are used for payment, we do not anticipate that they will be registered under the Securities Act and, therefore, will be subject to restrictions on transferability. Any portion of the subordinated participation in net sale proceeds that Cole Advisors II receives prior to our listing will offset the amount otherwise due pursuant to the subordinated incentive listing fee.

In no event will the amount paid to Cole Advisors II under the promissory note, if any, including interest thereon, exceed the amount considered presumptively reasonable by the NASAA REIT Guidelines.

 

 

At least a majority of our independent directors must determine, from time to time but at least annually, that our total fees and expenses are reasonable in light of our investment performance, net assets, net income and the fees and expenses of other comparable unaffiliated REITs. Each such determination will be reflected in the minutes of our board of directors. Our independent directors shall also supervise the performance of our advisor and the compensation that we pay to it to determine that the provisions of our advisory agreement are being carried out.

 

Each such determination will be recorded in the minutes of our board of directors and based on the factors set forth below and other factors that the independent directors deem relevant:

 

 

Since Cole Advisors II and its affiliates are entitled to differing levels of compensation for undertaking different transactions on our behalf, such as the property management fees for operating our properties and the subordinated participation in net sale proceeds, our advisor has the ability to affect the nature of the compensation it receives by undertaking different transactions. However, Cole Advisors II is obligated to exercise good faith and integrity in all its dealings with respect to our affairs pursuant to the advisory agreement. See “Management — The Advisory Agreement.”

 

The following table shows, as of the date of this prospectus, the amount of our common stock beneficially owned by (1) any person who is known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares, (2) members of our board of directors and proposed directors, (3) our executive officers, and (4) all of our directors and executive officers as a group.