Ahren Acquisition Corp. - Quarter Report: 2022 September (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2022

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                  to                  

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Boundary Hall, Cricket Square

Grand Cayman, KY1-1102

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (646) 480-0033

Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒  No ☐

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes ☒  No ☐

As of November 14, 2022, there were 29,999,800 shares of Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share and 7,499,950 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, of the registrant issued and outstanding.

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
Form 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended September 30, 2022

Table of Contents 

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE
REDEMPTION AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

FOR THE THREE AND NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

(Unaudited)

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

FOR THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 1, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)

Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations and Liquidity

Ahren Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on April 1, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.

As of September 30, 2022, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation and the preparation of the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) described below, and since the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on investments from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.

The Company’s sponsor is AACS LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on December 13, 2021. On December 17, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 29,999,800 units (the “Units”), including 2,499,800 additional Units to cover over-allotments, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $299,998,000, and incurring $1,191,286 in offering costs, $5,999,960 in upfront underwriting fees and $10,499,930 in deferred underwriting fees. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share (the “Class A ordinary shares” or “Public Shares”) of the Company, par value $0.0001, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (the “Public Warrants”) of the Company, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 15,249,920 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of $15,249,920.

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $305,997,960 ($10.20 per Unit) of the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement were deposited into a trust account (the “Trust Account”) in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, to be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any money market funds meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), which invest only in direct U.S, government treasury obligations until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s shareholders, as described below.

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. Nasdaq rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting fees and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.

The Company will provide holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholders meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. In connection with a Business Combination, the Company may seek shareholder approval at a meeting called for such purpose at which Public Shareholders may seek to redeem their Public Shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.

If the Company seeks shareholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to 15% or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.

The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.20 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting fees the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 5). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. These Class A ordinary shares were recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”

If a shareholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.

The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors agreed (a) to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination, (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association with respect to the Company’s pre-Business Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) for cash from the Trust Account in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek shareholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to shareholders’ rights of pre-Business Combination activity and (d) that the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or June 17, 2023 (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirement of applicable law. The underwriter agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting fees held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).

The Sponsor agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

Risks and uncertainties

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

The credit and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruptions due to the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The conflict is expected to have further global economic consequences, including but not limited to the possibility of severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in inflation rates and uncertainty about economic and political stability. In addition, the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions on Russia which increases the risk that Russia, as a retaliatory action, may launch cyberattacks against the United States, its government, infrastructure and businesses. Any of the foregoing consequences, including those we cannot yet predict, may cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and the price of our ordinary shares to be adversely affected.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At September 30, 2022, the Company had $911,606 of cash, and $307,117,522 in Marketable securities held in the Trust Account to be used for an initial Business Combination or to repurchase its public shares in connection therewith and a working capital surplus of $868,174. 

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide Working Capital Loans, as defined below, to the Company. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.

Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for information and in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X of the SEC. Certain information or footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been or omitted, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes necessary for a comprehensive presentation of financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of a normal recurring nature, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, operating results and cash flows for the periods presented.

The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC on April 1, 2022. The interim results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2022 or for any future periods.

Emerging Growth Company

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is either not an emerging growth company or an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the federal depository insurance coverage. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account

The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account are comprised solely of U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Marketable securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of the period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these investments are included in Interest on marketable securities held in the gain on marketable securities (net), dividends and interest, held in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations.

As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in U.S. Treasury Bills and money market funds which invest in U.S. Treasury securities. The fair value for these securities is determined using quoted market prices in active markets.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value.

The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:

In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the carrying values of cash, accounts payable, and accrued expenses, which qualify as financial instruments under the ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature.

The fair value of warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering were initially measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants. The fair value of the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants are now measured based on the listed market price of the Public Warrants since they began separate trading on February 4, 2022 on a recurring basis since these are marked to market each period. The Company transferred the Private Placement Warrants from Level 3 to Level 2 during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, as the inputs significant to the valuation became observable as they are benchmarked to those used for the Public Warrants.

Offering Costs

Offering costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering, the offering costs were allocated using the relative fair values of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares and its Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants. The costs allocated to warrants were recognized in other expenses and those related to the Company’s Class A ordinary shares were charged against the carrying value of Class A ordinary shares. The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1, “Other Assets and Deferred Costs”.

Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

All of the Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Class A ordinary shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In accordance with ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Therefore, all Class A ordinary shares have been classified outside of permanent equity.

The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Such changes are reflected in additional paid-in-capital, or in the absence of additional capital, in accumulated deficit. The Company presents all redeemable Class A ordinary shares as temporary equity and recognizes accretion from the initial book value to redemption value at the time of its Initial Public Offering and in accordance with ASC 480.

The reconciliation of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 is as follows:

Net Income (loss) Per Ordinary Share

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of ordinary share outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares sold in the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement in the calculation of diluted income per share, since their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted income per share is the same as basic income (loss) per share for the period presented.

The Company has two classes of ordinary share, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of net income (loss) per share. With respect to the accretion of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption and consistent with ASC 480-10-S99-3A, the Company has elected to treat only the portion of the accretion that reflects a redemption in excess of fair value in the same manner as dividends in the calculation of net income/(loss) per ordinary share.

Derivative Warrant Liabilities

The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge its exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. Management evaluates all of the Company’s financial instruments, including issued warrants to purchase its Class A ordinary shares, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480-10-35-5, “all other financial instruments recognized under the guidance in Section 480-10-25 shall be measured subsequently at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in earnings, unless either this Subtopic or another Subtopic specifies another measurement attribute” and ASC 815-15, “Derivatives and Hedging.” The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period.

The Company issued 14,999,900 Public Warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares to investors in the Company’s Initial Public Offering and simultaneously issued 15,249,920 Private Placement Warrants. All of the Company’s outstanding warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging.” Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The fair value of warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering were initially measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants. The fair value of Public Warrants were subsequently measured based on the listed market price of such warrants, a Level 1 measurement, since February 4, 2022. The Private Warrants were subsequently measured by reference to the fair value of the Public Warrants, as such a Level 2 measurement.

Income Taxes

ASC 740, “Income Taxes” prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.

There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company adopted ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation, guidance to account for its stock-based compensation. It defines a fair value-based method of accounting for an employee share option or similar equity instrument. The Company recognizes all forms of stock-based payments at their fair value on the grant date, which are based on the estimated number of awards that are ultimately expected to vest. Grants of stock-based payment awards issued to nonemployees for services rendered have been recorded at the fair value of the stock-based payment, which is the more readily determinable value. The grants are amortized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods, which is generally the vesting period. If an award is granted, but vesting does not occur, any previously recognized compensation cost is reversed in the period related to the termination of service. Stock-based compensation expenses are included in operating expenses depending on the nature of the services provided in the statements of operations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-06 “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity,” to reduce the complexity of accounting for convertible debt and other equity-linked instruments. For certain convertible debt instruments with a cash conversion feature, the changes are a trade-off between simplifications in the accounting model (no separation of an “equity” component to impute a market interest rate, and simpler analysis of embedded equity features) and a potentially adverse impact to diluted EPS by requiring the use of the if-converted method. The new standard will also impact other financial instruments commonly issued by both public and private companies. For example, the separation model for beneficial conversion features is eliminated simplifying the analysis for issuers of convertible debt and convertible preference shares. Also, certain specific requirements to achieve equity classification and/ or qualify for the derivative scope exception for contracts indexed to an entity’s own equity are removed, enabling more freestanding instruments and embedded features to avoid mark-to-market accounting. The new standard is effective for companies that are SEC filers (except for Smaller Reporting Companies) for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 and interim periods within that year, and two years later for other companies. Companies can early adopt the standard at the start of a fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2020. The standard can either be adopted on a modified retrospective or a full retrospective basis. The Company adopted the standard at incorporation and there was no impact to the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements.

The Company’s management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statement.

Note 3 — Initial Public Offering

Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering consummated on December 17, 2021, the Company sold 29,999,800 Units at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one Public Warrant. Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment).

The Company paid an underwriting discount of 2% of the per Unit offering price to the underwriter at the closing of the Initial Public Offering, based upon the number of Units sold. An additional 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering will be payable to the underwriter upon the Company’s completion of a Business Combination (the “Deferred Discount”). The Deferred Discount will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event the Company completes its Business Combination.

Note 4 — Related Party Transactions

Class B Founder Shares

In April, 2021, the Sponsor (AACS LP) paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of the Company’s offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Founder Shares”), with up to 937,500 Founder Shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised. On July 31, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 50,000 Founder Shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and BDTCP Investments 2018, LLC, resulting in the Sponsor holding 6,987,500 Founder Shares. On December 14, 2021, the Company effected a 1.1 to 1 share recapitalization with respect to the Founder Shares, as a result of which, each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and BDTCP Investments 2018, LLC hold 55,000 Founder Shares and the Sponsor held 7,686,250 Founder Shares, up to 1,031,250 of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised. On December 17, 2021 following the underwriter’s partial exercise of the over-allotment option, 406,300 Founder Shares were surrendered by the Sponsor such that it now holds 7,279,950 Founder Shares. The Company has recognized this transfer as a compensation expense in accordance with ASC 718. The fair value of the Founder Shares issued in this arrangement was determined using the implied stock price as of July 31, 2021 (grant date) and the probability of the success of the Business Combination. The Company amortizes the stock-based compensation expense using the straight-line method. Stock-based compensation expense recognized for the transfer of Founder Shares for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 was $1,139,389 and for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 was $0. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, no shares were vested and there was $329,240 of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense as of September 30, 2022.

The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the Company’s Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

Private Placement Warrants

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 15,249,920 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of $15,249,920.

Each warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share. Certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirement of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.

Promissory Note

The Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Initial Public Offering. The loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of the Initial Public Offering. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had no borrowings under the promissory note. The Company is not able to borrow additional amounts under the promissory note.

Administrative Services Agreement

On December 17, 2021, the Company entered into an administrative services agreement pursuant to which it will pay its Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month, until the earlier of the completion of its Business Combination and the liquidation of the trust assets, for administrative and support services. Upon completion of the Business Combination or liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. The administrative services agreement fees were $90,000 and $30,000 for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2022, respectively, which have been included in general and administrative expenses in the condensed statements of operations.

Advisory Fee

Lazard Frères & Co., LLC (“Lazard”) acted as the Company’s independent financial advisor in connection with the Initial Public Offering, for which it received customary fees. The Company also agreed to pay Lazard a fee in an amount equal to 20% of the underwriting commission payable to the underwriter. The fee to Lazard was paid in part at the closing of the Initial Public Offering and will also be paid in part at the closing of a Business Combination, in the same proportion as the non-deferred and deferred underwriting fees payable to the underwriter. The underwriter has agreed to reimburse the Company for the fee to Lazard as it becomes payable out of the underwriting commission.

Working Capital Loans

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post- Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

Note 5 — Commitments & Contingencies

Registration and Shareholder Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any (and any shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans), are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

The Company granted the underwriter a 45-day option from the date of the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to an additional 4,125,000 Units to cover over-allotments. The underwriter partially exercised its over-allotment option concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, purchasing 2,499,800 Units. The remainder of the over-allotment option was forfeited. The underwriter was entitled to a cash underwriting discount of 2% (or $5,999,960) of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering. Additionally, the underwriter is entitled to a Deferred Discount of 3.5% (or $10,499,930) of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering upon the completion of the Company’s Business Combination. The Deferred Discount will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Note 6 — Derivative Warrant Liabilities

The Company accounted for the 30,249,820 warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (the 14,999,900 Public Warrants and the 15,249,920 Private Placement Warrants) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that, because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, the Company classifies each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. Offering costs were allocated to the Class A ordinary shares and Public Warrants, and the amounts allocated to the Public Warrants were expensed immediately.

Additionally, certain adjustments to the settlement amount of the Private Placement Warrants are based on a variable that is not an input to the fair value of a “fixed-for-fixed” option as defined under ASC 815-40, and thus the Private Placement Warrants are not considered indexed to the Company’s own stock and not eligible for an exception from derivative accounting.

The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments required the Company to record a derivative liability upon issuance of the warrants at the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Accordingly, the Company classifies each warrant as a liability at its fair value. The Public Warrants were allocated a portion of the proceeds from the issuance of the Units equal to fair value determined with the assistance of a professional independent valuation firm. The warrant liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. The Company will reassess the classification of the warrants at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the warrants will be reclassified as of the date of the event that causes the reclassification.

Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination provided that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under certain circumstances as a result of (i) the Company’s failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60^th business day after the closing of the Business Combination or (ii) a notice of redemption described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00”). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of its Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement for the Initial Public Offering or a new registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the Company’s Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, the Company will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if the Company’s Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A ordinary shares (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the Business Combination (net of redemptions) and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants, except that, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the Business Combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.

If a tender offer, exchange or redemption offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the Class A ordinary shares and upon completion of such offer, the offeror owns beneficially more than 50% of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares the holder of the warrant shall be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant had been exercised, accepted such offer and all of the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to the offer. If less than 65% of the consideration receivable by the holders of the Class A ordinary shares in the applicable event is payable in the form of common equity in the successor entity that is listed on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, and if the holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following the public disclosure of the consummation of the applicable event by the Company, the warrant price shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference (but in no event less than zero) of (i) the warrant price in effect prior to such reduction minus (ii) (A) the Per Share Consideration (as defined in the warrant agreement) minus (B) the value of the warrant based on the Black-Scholes Warrant Value for a Capped American Call on Bloomberg Financial Markets.

Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00:    Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a cashless basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.

Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:

In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

Note 7 — Shareholders’ Deficit

Preference shares – The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.

Class A ordinary shares – The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding (excluding 29,999,800 of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption).

Class B ordinary shares – The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, 7,499,950 Class B ordinary shares were issued and outstanding.

Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares shall have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of the Company’s directors prior to the Business Combination or continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands).

The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the Company’s Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

Note 8 — Fair Value Measurements

The following table presents information about the Company’s financial assets and financial liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2022 by level within the fair value hierarchy:

The following table presents the fair value hierarchy for financial assets and financial liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2021:

Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2, and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Public and Private warrants were transferred out of Level 3 into Level 1 and Level 2, respectively.

The fair value of the Public Warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement Warrants were initially measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The fair value of Public Warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering have been measured based on the listed market price of such warrants, a Level 1 measurement, since February 4, 2022. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants has subsequently been measured by reference to the trading price of the Public Warrants, which is considered to be a Level 2 fair value measurement. The Company recognized a charge to the statement of operations resulting from a decrease in the fair value of liabilities of $12,568,800 and $604,996 presented as change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities on the accompanying statement of operations for the nine months and three months ended September 30, 2022.

 The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements inputs at their measurement:

The change in the fair value of the derivative warrant liabilities measured with Level 3 inputs for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2022 is summarized as follows:

The changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 is shown below:

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

References in this report (the “Quarterly Report”) to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Ahren Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, references to the “Sponsor” refer to AACS LP. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the condensed financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Quarterly Report including, without limitation, statements in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “seek” and variations and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, but reflect management’s current beliefs, based on information currently available. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward- looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC. The Company’s securities filings can be accessed on the EDGAR section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated on April 1, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. While we may pursue a Business Combination opportunity in any geography, we seek to identify differentiated opportunities in Europe and the UK, where deep technology and deep science are very strong, and enterprise valuations are in many cases currently attractive relative to other global locations. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement of the Private Placement Warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our Business Combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, other securities issuances, or a combination of the foregoing.

The issuance of additional shares in connection with a Business Combination to the owners of the target or other investors:

Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:

We expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our Business Combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our Business Combination will be successful.

Results of Operations

We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for and consummate the Initial Public Offering, and since the completion of the Initial Public Offering, searching for a Business Combination. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our Business Combination. We have generated non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after the Initial Public Offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. We incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.

For the three months ended September 30, 2022, we had a net income of $462,063, which consists of general and administrative expense and stock-based compensation expenses of $(971,928), offset by a gain on marketable securities of $828,995, and change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities of $604,996.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, we had a net income of $11,437,218, which consists of general and administrative expense and stock-based compensation expenses of $(2,251,144), offset by a gain on marketable securities of $1,119,562, and change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities of $12,568,800.

For the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, we had a net loss of $17,986, which related to formation costs. For the three months ended September 30, 2021, we had no net income.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At September 30, 2022, the Company had $911,606 of cash, and $307,117,522 in Marketable securities held in the Trust Account to be used for an initial Business Combination or to repurchase its public shares in connection therewith and a working capital surplus of $868,174.

The net proceeds of $305,997,960 ($10.20 per Unit) from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, comprised of $293,998,040 of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering (which includes $10,499,930 of deferred underwriting fees) and $11,999,920 of the proceeds of the sale of Private Placement Warrants, was placed in the Trust Account and are invested or bear interest since December 20, 2021. The proceeds are invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (excluding deferred underwriting fees) to complete a Business Combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the Trust Account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following the Initial Public Offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our Business Combination. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended Business Combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into additional Private Placement Warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our Business Combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account.

These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not held in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed Business Combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific Business Combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.

Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our Business Combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our Trust Account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon completion of the Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. In addition, we target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the Trust Account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by Public Shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed Business Combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our Business Combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our Business Combination. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our Business Combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.

Registration Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants and Private Placement Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

We granted the underwriter a 45-day option from the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 4,125,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On December 17, 2021, the underwriter partially exercised its over-allotment option.

As of September 30, 2022, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations.

Related Party Transactions

Founder Shares

In April 2021, the Sponsor (AACS LP) paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of the Company’s offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 Founder Shares, with up to 937,500 Founder Shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised. On July 31, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 50,000 Founder Shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and BDTCP Investments 2018, LLC (an affiliate of Donald McLellan), resulting in the Sponsor holding 6,987,500 Founder Shares. On December 14, 2021, the Company effected a 1.1 to 1 share recapitalization with respect to the Founder Shares, as a result of which, each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and BDTCP Investments 2018, LLC hold 55,000 Founder Shares and the Sponsor held 7,686,250 Founder Shares, up to 1,031,250 of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised. On December 17, 2021 following the underwriter’s partial exercise of the over-allotment option, 406,300 Founder Shares were surrendered by the Sponsor such that it now holds 7,279,950 Founder Shares.

The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the Company’s Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

Our Sponsor, other initial shareholders, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of the Business Combination, or (ii) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after the Business Combination that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances (the “lock-up”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Business Combination or (2) if the Company consummates a transaction after the Business Combination which results in the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.

Private Placement Warrants

The Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 15,249,920 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or $15,249,920 in the aggregate, in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment). A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. While they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable (except when the reference price is between $10.00 and $18.00 per share). The Sponsor agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Private Placement Warrants (except to permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of the Business Combination.

Related Party Loans

On April 9, 2021, we issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor, pursuant to which we could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The promissory note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The promissory note was paid in full on December 21, 2021.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, make Working Capital Loans to the Company as may be required. If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be converted into Private Placement Warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had no borrowings under Working Capital Loans.

Administrative Services Agreement

We entered into an agreement with the Sponsor whereby, commencing on December 14, 2021 through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination and our liquidation, we agreed to pay the Sponsor $10,000 per month for administrative and support services provided to members of our management team.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and the three months ended September 30, 2022, the Company incurred $90,000 and $30,000 in administrative fees under this arrangement, respectively, which have been included in general and administrative expenses in the unaudited condensed statements of operations.

Critical Accounting Estimates

This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to fair value of financial instruments and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We have identified the following as its critical accounting estimates:

Derivative Warrant Liabilities

We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480-10-35-5, “all other financial instruments recognized under the guidance in Section 480-10-25 shall be measured subsequently at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in earnings, unless either this Subtopic or another Subtopic specifies another measurement attribute” and ASC 815-15, “Derivatives and Hedging.” The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period.

We issued 14,999,900 Public Warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares to investors in our Initial Public Offering and issued 15,249,920 Private Placement Warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the Private Placement. All of our outstanding warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The fair value of warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement were initially measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model.

The Public Shares and Public Warrants comprising the Units began trading separately on February 4, 2022. Unit holders have the option to continue to hold Units or separate their Units into the component securities. Unit holders need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the Units into Public Shares and Public Warrants. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade.

Additionally, the Units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our Business Combination.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Please see recent accounting pronouncements in Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the financial statements for recent accounting pronouncements.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2022. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of September 30, 2022, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter of 2022 covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings.

None.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in this report include the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on April 1, 2022. As of the date of this Quarterly Report, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on April 1, 2022, except for the following:

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete an initial business combination, and results of operations.

On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to, among other items, enhancing disclosures in business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; amending the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; and increasing the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions. These rules, if adopted, whether in the form proposed or in revised form, may materially adversely affect our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our Business Combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including, without limitation, restrictions on the nature of our investments, restrictions on the issuance of securities, and restrictions on the enforceability of agreements entered into by us, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our Business Combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including, without limitation, registration as an investment company with the SEC (which may be impractical and would require significant changes in, among other things, our capital structure); adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and compliance with other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business is to identify and complete a Business Combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

The 2022 Proposed Rule under the Investment Company Act would provide a safe harbor for SPACs from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, provided that they satisfy certain conditions that limit a SPAC’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities. The duration component of the proposed safe harbor rule would require a SPAC to file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC announcing that it has entered into an agreement with the target company (or companies) to engage in an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the SPAC’s registration statement for its initial public offering. The SPAC would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of its registration statement for its initial public offering. Although the 2022 Proposed Rules, including the proposed safe harbor rule, have not yet been adopted, there is uncertainty in the SEC’s view of the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC that does not complete its initial business combination within the proposed time frame set forth in the proposed safe harbor rule or otherwise falls outside of the other provisions of the safe harbor.

The proceeds held in the trust account have been invested only in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long-term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we do not believe we are an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The Initial Public Offering was not intended for persons seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window; and (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. Because we have invested only in permitted instruments, we believe we are not an investment company.

We may be subject to U.S. federal excise tax in connection with repurchases or redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, which may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law in the U.S. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new 1% U.S. federal excise tax on certain repurchases (including redemptions) of stock by publicly traded U.S. domestic corporations and certain U.S. domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations occurring on or after January 1, 2023. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from whom the shares are repurchased (although it may reduce the amount of cash distributable in a current or subsequent redemption). The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to this excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the excise tax, but it has not issued any guidance as of the date hereof.

Any redemption or other repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2022, in connection with a business combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to this excise tax. Whether and to what extent we would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a business combination will depend on a number of factors, including (i) whether the business combination closes after December 31, 2022, (ii) the structure of the business combination, (iii) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the business combination, (iv) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with the business combination (or any other equity issuances not in connection with the business combination but issued within the same taxable year of the business combination) and (v) the content of any regulations and other guidance issued by the Treasury.

Because any such excise tax would be payable by us and not by the redeeming holder, the mechanics of any required payment of the excise tax have not been determined and it could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete a business combination and in the value of our Class A ordinary shares and inhibit our ability to complete a business combination.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

On April 12, 2021, AACS LP, our Sponsor, paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of the Company’s offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 Founder Shares, with up to 937,500 Founder Shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised. On July 31, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 50,000 Founder Shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and BDTCP Investments 2018 (an affiliate of Donald McLellan), resulting in the Sponsor holding 6,987,500 Founder Shares. On December 14, 2021, the Company effected a 1.1 to 1 share recapitalization with respect to the Founder Shares, as a result of which, each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and BDTCP Investments 2018 hold 55,000 Founder Shares and the Sponsor held 7,686,250 Founder Shares, up to 1,031,250 of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option was exercised. On December 17, 2021 following the underwriter’s partial exercise of the over-allotment option, 406,300 Founder Shares were surrendered by the Sponsor such that it now holds 7,279,950 Founder Shares.

The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the Company’s Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

The foregoing issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

On December 17, 2021, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 29,999,800 Units, including the issuance of 2,499,800 Units as a result of the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option in part. The Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating total gross proceeds of $299,998,000. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as sole book-running manager. The securities sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-261334). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on December 14, 2021. Transaction costs amounted to $17,614,593, including $10,499,930 in deferred underwriting fees, $5,999,960 in upfront underwriting fees and $1,191,286 in offering costs, of which $482,930 was allocated to fair value instruments and $17,131,663 charged to additional paid-in capital in connection with the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the underwriter agreed to defer $10,499,930 in underwriting fees.

Simultaneously with the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement of 15,249,920 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or $15,249,920 in the aggregate. Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

The Private Placement Warrants are the same as the Public Warrants sold as part of the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis and are non-redeemable (except when the reference price is between $10.00 and $18.00 per share) so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.

Of the gross proceeds received from the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement of Private Placement Warrants, $305,997,960 was placed in the Trust Account.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.

None.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not Applicable.

Item 5. Other Information.

None.

Item 6. Exhibits

The following exhibits are filed as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

SIGNATURES

In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

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