Austerlitz Acquisition Corp II - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of (§ 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 filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☑    No  ☐

The aggregate market value of the Class A ordinary shares held by of the registrant as of June 30, 2021, was $1,342,243,770 based on the closing price of $9.73 as reported by the New York Stock Exchange.

Following the closing of the IPO and Private Placement on March 2, 2021, an amount of $1,380,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) of the proceeds from the IPO were placed in a U.S.-based, trust account at JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, acting as trustee (the “Trust Account”). Except with respect to interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account, if any, that may be released to the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes and expenses relating to the administration of the trust account, the proceeds from the IPO and the Private Placement held in the Trust Account will not be released until the earliest of (a) the completion of a Business Combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of its obligation to redeem 100% of its public shares if the Company does not complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of all of the Company’s public shares if it is unable to complete its business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, subject to applicable law.

The forgoing is a summary of the Company’s history and general business purpose. For a complete discussion of the development of the Company’s business refer to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form (File filed with the SEC on February 22, 2021 (the “IPO Prospectus”), which is incorporated by reference herein.

The Company’s Annual Reports on Form Quarterly Reports on Form Current Reports on Form and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company is subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and files or furnishes reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Our website address is www.Austerlitz2.com. We make available free of charge on or through our website our Annual Report on Quarterly Reports on Current Reports on and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. However, the information found on our website is not part of this or any other report.

Our executive offices are located at 1701 Village Center Circle, Las Vegas, NV 89134 and our telephone number at that location is (702)

Our initial shareholders own, on an basis, 30% of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares. In addition, Cannae Holdings is expected to purchase Class A ordinary shares in an aggregate share amount equal to 12,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus an aggregate of 3,125,000 redeemable warrants to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. Our initial shareholders and members of our management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including our Class B and Class C ordinary shares. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, pursuant to the terms of letter agreements entered into with us, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their Class B and Class C ordinary shares and any public shares purchased during or after our IPO, in favor of our initial business combination. In addition, pursuant to the terms of the forward purchase agreement, Cannae Holdings has agreed to vote any shares purchased, in favor of our initial business combination. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and each member of our management team, and Cannae Holdings to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.

We have entered into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which Cannae Holdings agreed to purchase Class A ordinary shares in an aggregate share amount equal to 12,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus an aggregate of 3,125,000 redeemable warrants to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $125,000,000, or $10.00 per Class A ordinary share and of one warrant, in a private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination (the “Forward Purchase Agreement” or “FPA”). The funds from the sale of the securities pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. The obligations under the Forward Purchase Agreement do not depend on whether any public shareholders elect to redeem their shares and provide us with a minimum funding level for the initial business combination. However, if the sale of the securities pursuant to the FPA does not close by reason of the failure by Cannae Holdings to fund the purchase price, for example, we may lack sufficient funds to complete our initial business combination. Additionally, the obligation of Cannae Holdings to fund the FPA is subject to termination prior to the closing of the sale of the securities thereunder by mutual written consent of the Company and Cannae Holdings, respectively, or, automatically: (a) if the initial business combination is not completed within 24 months of the closing of our IPO or such later date as may be approved by the company’s shareholders; (b) if William P. Foley, II dies; (c) if William P. Foley, II, the Sponsor or the Company become subject to any voluntary or involuntary petition under the United States federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law, in each case which is not withdrawn within sixty (60) days after being filed, or a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer is appointed by a court for business or property of William P. Foley, II, the Sponsor or the Company, in each case which is not removed, withdrawn or terminated within sixty (60) days after such appointment; or (d) if William P. Foley, II is convicted in a criminal proceeding for a crime involving fraud or dishonesty. The obligation of Cannae Holdings to purchase securities pursuant to the FPA will be subject to fulfillment of customary closing conditions and other conditions as set forth in the Forward Purchase Agreement, including: (a) the initial business combination shall be consummated substantially concurrent with, and immediately following, the purchase of the securities thereunder; and (b) the Company must have delivered to Cannae Holdings a certificate evidencing the Company’s good standing as a Cayman Islands exempted company, as of a date within ten (10) business days of the closing of the sale of the securities. In the event of any such failure to fund by Cannae Holdings, any obligation is so terminated or any such condition is not satisfied and not waived by Cannae Holdings, we may not be able to obtain additional funds to account for such shortfall on terms favorable to us or at all. Any such shortfall would also reduce the amount of funds that we have available for working capital of the post-business combination company. While Cannae Holdings will represent to us that it has sufficient funds to satisfy its obligations under the Forward Purchase Agreement, we will not obligate Cannae Holdings to reserve funds for such obligations.

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.

Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from our IPO. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our IPO. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of coronavirus continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed an initial business combination within such applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, 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 liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.

The pandemic, together with resulting voluntary and U.S. federal and state and governmental actions, including, without limitation, mandatory business closures, public gathering limitations, restrictions on travel and quarantines, has meaningfully disrupted the global economy and markets since its outbreak in 2020. Although the long-term economic fallout of is difficult to predict, it has had and is expected to continue to have ongoing material adverse effects across many, if not all, aspects of the regional, national and global economy. The pandemic has adversely

affected the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we complete a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to continue to restrict travel or limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which the coronavirus impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to complete a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.

In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

The funds available to us outside of the trust account to fund our working capital requirements may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least 24 months following our IPO, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our Sponsor will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least 24 months following our IPO; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we expect to use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a provision (a provision in letters of intent 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 a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation.

Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming debt held by a

Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the IPO Registration Statement, our Sponsor has agreed that they will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if the funds in the trust account are held in an interest-bearing account, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and investors would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of Public Shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, the amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

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 of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be 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.

non-interest

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 our initial business combination, and results of operations.

We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in our Public Shares than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in our IPO Prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholder who choose to remain shareholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

 

11

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses and our strategy will be to identify, acquire and build a company in our target investment area, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have attributes consistent with our general criteria and guidelines. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting firm or independent investment banking firm that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our Board, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 800,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 80,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 80,000,000 Class C ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 580,000,000, 50,428,572 and 50,428,572 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants and the forward purchase warrants, shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, Class C ordinary shares or shares issued pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement. Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.

 

 

 

12

 

 

sub-divisions,

as-converted

We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Trasimene Capital may become aware of a potential business combination opportunity that may be an attractive opportunity for our company. However, Trasimene Capital is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services to our company. Trasimene Capital’s role with respect to our company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Trasimene

 

13

Capital may offer business combination opportunities to certain companies in which Trasimene Capital has invested or managed, as applicable, before other parties, including our company, and may seek to engage in transactions with businesses that could have otherwise been attractive business combination opportunities for us. Additionally, certain companies in which Trasimene Capital has invested or managed may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because Trasimene Capital may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction.

Of the net proceeds from our IPO and the Private Placement and the sale of securities pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement, $1,456,700,000 is available to complete our business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which excludes up to approximately $48,300,000, after taking into account the deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).

We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

 

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. By definition, very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction 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 us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-

 

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transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger portion of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.

We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we would intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination might not be as successful as we anticipate.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

two-thirds

 

15

pre-initial

pre-business

pre-business

two-thirds

pre-business

per-share

Although we believe that the net proceeds from our IPO, the Private Placement and from the sale of securities pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds from our IPO, the Private Placement and the sale of securities pursuant to the FPA prove to be insufficient, either

 

16

because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.

2014-15,

wind-up,

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of approximately $18,292 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.

 

17

In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until the year after our first fiscal year end in which our ordinary shares were listed on the NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management.

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B and Class C ordinary shares, voting together as a single class, will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors of directors. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares and alignment shares will have the right to vote on continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the completion of an initial business combination.

We registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case the number of Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum number of shares equal to 0.3611 Class A ordinary shares per whole warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no such warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we 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 state registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our 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 we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of the Units. In such an instance, Cannae Holdings, LLC and its transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

 

18

If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option, in our sole discretion, to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis in certain circumstances. If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of Class A ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his or her warrant for cash. For example, if the holder is exercising 875 public warrants at $11.50 per share through a cashless exercise when the Class A ordinary shares have a fair market value of $17.50 per share when there is no effective registration statement, then upon the cashless exercise, the holder will receive 300 Class A ordinary shares. The holder would have received 875 Class A ordinary shares if the exercise price was paid in cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.

In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.

Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our IPO, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which our Class B and Class C ordinary shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights are exercisable with respect to the founder shares, alignment shares and the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, we have agreed to use our reasonable best efforts (i) to file within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination a resale shelf registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of the ordinary shares and warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants) sold pursuant to the FPA, (ii) to cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, (iii) to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement until the earliest of (A) the date on which Cannae Holdings, or its respective assignees cease to hold the securities covered thereby, and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act and (iv) after such registration statement is declared effective, cause us to conduct underwritten offerings, subject to certain limitations. In addition, the forward purchase agreement provides for certain “piggy-back” registration rights to the holders of securities sold pursuant to the FPA to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees are registered.

We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure

 

19

you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

tax-transparent

It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In addition, if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO is not completed for any reason, compliance with Cayman Islands law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing shareholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of our IPO before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders).

 

20

Additionally, our units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $4.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

 

 

 

 

 

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units and Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute, and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

8-K,

In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.

In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms.

 

21

Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.

In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination entity’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.

(“run-off

run-off

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our 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 Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. An investor in our Public Shares inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and could suffer a material loss on investment in us if such investor sells Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, an investor will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, an investor will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

per-share

 

 

 

 

22

 

 

 

 

 

as-converted

Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but solely with respect to the terms of the public warrants, any change to the terms of such warrants that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of the then outstanding public warrants requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants and, solely with respect to the terms of the private placement warrants and warrants expected to be issued pursuant to the FPA, any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of the then outstanding private placement warrants and forward purchase warrants requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement warrants and forward purchase warrants, voting together as a single class. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants, and the private placement warrants and the warrants expected to be issued pursuant to the FPA, respectively, in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants, and holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement warrants and warrants expected to be issued pursuant to the FPA, voting together as a single class, respectively, approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants, and the private placement warrants and the warrants expected to be issued pursuant to the FPA, respectively, with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants, and at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement warrants and warrants expected to be issued pursuant

 

23

to the FPA, voting together as a single class, respectively, is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of such warrants, convert such warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of such a warrant.

Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.

The provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and Board.

sub-divisions,

sub-divisions,

 

24

To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants when exercised will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants, founder shares and alignment shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the Units except that, so long as they are held by Cannae Holdings, LLC or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (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 Cannae Holdings, LLC until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.

one-fourth

Unlike most blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted 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 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. This may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination with a target business.

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

 

25

10-K

10-Q/A

10-Q

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. As a result of the misstatement and restatement of our financial statements, management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that there was a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021.

We have implemented a remediation plan, described under Part II, Item 9 Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report, to remediate the material weakness, but can give no assurance that the measures we have taken will prevent any future material weaknesses or deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting. Even though we have strengthened our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are also subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.

We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands

 

26

will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the Board or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered Board and the ability of the Board to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares, voting together as a single class and which have been issued to our sponsor, are entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

one-fourth

Only holders of our Class B and Class C ordinary shares, voting together as a single class, have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a ‘controlled company’ and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:

 

 

 

phase-in

 

27

key-man

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management, director or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.

Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement.

The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

 

28

The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.

Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, certain of our executive officers and directors are employed by affiliates of Trasimene Capital, which is an external manager of Cannae Holdings. Our independent directors also serve as officers and Board members for other entities, and certain of our officers and directors intend to devote time and attention to Austerlitz I, a blank check company sponsored by Trasimene Capital, focused on a business combination with a target business in financial technology or information and business services. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Until we complete our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. All of our officers and certain of our directors have duties to Trasimene Capital and to certain companies in which Trasimene Capital has invested or managed. These entities, including Austerlitz I, may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing that opportunity. Subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, none of the members of our management team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. As a result, all of our officers and certain of our directors may offer acquisition opportunities to companies that they are officers or directors of and to certain companies in which Trasimene Capital has invested or managed, as applicable, before we can pursue such opportunities.

In addition, Trasimene Capital or its affiliates may sponsor other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination, and members of our management team may participate in such blank check companies. In particular, Trasimene Capital is currently sponsoring another blank check company, Austerlitz I, which is a blank check company focusing on a business combination with a target business in the financial technology or information and business services sector. Although Austerlitz I intends to seek a business combination with a target business in the financial technology or information and business services sector, it may seek to complete a business combination in any industry or location. Any such companies, including Austerlitz I, may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among the management teams, like in Austerlitz I. However, we do not believe that any potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations prior to completion of our initial business combination. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors may have a greater financial interest in the performance of such other affiliated entities than our performance. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to other blank check companies with which they may become involved. Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, Trasimene Capital or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to

 

29

refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.

In particular, an affiliate of our sponsor is currently sponsoring one other blank check company, Austerlitz I. Austerlitz I may seek to complete a business combination in any sector and is focusing on business combinations in the financial technology industry or information and business services sector. Further, Mr. Foley, our founder and director, serves as a director of Austerlitz I, Mr. Massey, our Chief Executive Officer and director, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Austerlitz I, Mr. Coy, our Chief Financial Officer, serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Austerlitz I, Mr. Ducommun, our President, serves as President of Austerlitz I, and Mr. Gravelle, our General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Austerlitz I. In addition, each of Mr. Massey, Mr. Harris, Mr. Linehan and Ms. Meinhardt serves as a director of Austerlitz I. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.

In addition to the above, our founder, officers and directors are not required to commit any specific amount of time to our affairs, but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process. Accordingly, our founder, officers and directors may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us, including the formation or participation in one or more other blank check companies. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and Board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described in Item 10 to this Annual Report. Such entities, including Austerlitz I, may compete with us for business combination opportunities. In addition, our founder and our directors and officers, Trasimene Capital or their affiliates may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our Sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

 

30

The Sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.001 per share, to cover certain of our expenses in consideration of 29,571,428 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 and 29,571,428 Class C ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. Our initial shareholders collectively own 30% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. The number of founder shares and alignment shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares and alignment shares would represent 15% and 15%, respectively, of the issued and outstanding shares. In February 2021, our Sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares and 25,000 alignment shares to each of our independent directors at their original per share purchase price. The founder shares and alignment shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, Cannae Holdings has purchased an aggregate of 19,733,333 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, for a purchase price of approximately $29,600,000, or $1.50 per whole warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination.

24-month

If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to complete our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.

non-U.S.

In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.

 

32

We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue generating activities to compliance activities.

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.

We are a recently incorporated company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we did not commence operations until obtaining funding through our IPO. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

start-up

non-interest

start-up

start-up

start-up

start-up

start-up

start-up

start-up

start-up

start-up

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we 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 auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our

 

33

non-affiliates

non-emerging

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

 

None.

 

We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. We currently maintain our executive offices at 1701 Village Center Circle, Las Vegas, NV 89134. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

 

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity.

 

None.

 

34

 

Our Units began trading on the NYSE under the symbol “ASZ.U” on February 26, 2021. Commencing on April 19, 2021, holders of the Units could elect to separately trade our Class A ordinary shares and Warrants included in the Units. The Class A ordinary shares and Warrants that are separated, trade on the NYSE under the symbols “ASZ” and “ASZ WS,” respectively. Those Units not separated continue to trade on the NYSE under the symbol “ASZ.U”.

At February 28, 2022, there was 1 holder of record of our Units, 1 holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares, 5 holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares, 5 holders of our Class C ordinary shares, 2 holders of record of our Public Warrants and 1 holder of record of our Private Placement Warrants.

We have not paid any cash dividends on our Class A, Class B or Class C ordinary shares and currently do not expect to pay any such dividends.

None.

The sales of our Class B and Class C ordinary shares to our Sponsor and Private Placement Warrants to Cannae as described herein and in our IPO Prospectus were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act, in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering.

S-1

333-252933).

Of the gross proceeds received from the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $1,380,000,000 was placed in the Trust Account.

We paid a total of $27,600,000, in underwriting discounts and commissions and $819,142 for other offering costs and expenses related to the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $48,300,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions.

There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from the Initial Public Offering as described in our IPO Prospectus.

 

 

35

We are a blank check company incorporated on January 5, 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. We intend to effectuate a Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO and the Private Placement, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with a Business Combination, shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.

one-fourth

Following our IPO, the full exercise of the over-allotment option and the Private Placement, a total of $1,380,000,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $28,359,571 in transaction costs, including $27,600,000 of underwriting fees and $759,571 of other offering costs.

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete its initial Business Combination with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions held in the Trust Account) at the time the Company signs a definitive agreement in connection with 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 issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial Business Combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.

COVID-19

COVID-19

COVID-19

COVID-19,

COVID-19

COVID-19

non-operating

non-cash

 

36

non-cash

As of December 31, 2021, we had cash of $259,366 outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with our initial 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 initial Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial 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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants identical to the Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender.

in-depth

non-cash

As of December 31, 2021, we had cash of $1,380,000,000 held in the Trust Account. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account (less taxes paid and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete a Business Combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete a 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.

See discussion under the header “Liquidity and Going Concern Consideration” in Note 1 to our financial statements included in Item 8 of Part II of this Annual Report for discussion of management’s consideration of the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Sheet Financing Arrangements

off-balance

off-balance

non-financial

We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a monthly fee up to $5,000 for office space and administrative support services. We began incurring these fees on March 2, 2021 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion a Business Combination and our liquidation.

The Company will provide its 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 general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The shareholders will be entitled to redeem

 

37

The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the period reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting estimates effecting our financial statements:

paid-in

non-cash

815-40

We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.

two-class

 

38

Refer to Note 2 to our financial statements included in Item 8 of Part 1 of this Annual Report for discussion of management’s consideration of recently issued accounting pronouncements.

 

None.

 

39

 

 

 

40

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of

Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation II (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

As described in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company’s previously issued March 2, 2021 financial statement has been restated herein to correct certain misstatements.

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to complete a business combination by March 2, 2023, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.

New York, New York

March 16, 2022

PCAOB ID Number 100

 

41

Following the closing of the IPO and Private Placement on March 2, 2021, an amount of $1,380,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) of the proceeds from the IPO were placed in a U.S.-based, trust account at JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, acting as trustee (the “Trust Account”). Except with respect to interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account, if any, that may be released to the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes and expenses relating to the administration of the trust account, the proceeds from the IPO and the Private Placement held in the Trust Account will not be released until the earliest of (a) the completion of a Business Combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of its obligation to redeem 100% of its public shares if the Company does not complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or initial business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of all of the Company’s public shares if it is unable to complete its business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, subject to applicable law.

The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares, Alignment Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment and (iii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares and Alignment Shares if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination.

The Company has until 24 months from the closing of the IPO (the “Combination Period”) to consummate a Business Combination. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 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 100% of the outstanding Public Shares, at a price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned, if such funds are held in an interest-bearing account (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), 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 (the “Board”), liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to its obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

Management continues to evaluate the impact of the pandemic 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 the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to growth companies but any such 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 and 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 which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

The Company accounts for the Warrants and forward purchase agreement (FPA) as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the specific terms of the Warrants and FPA and the applicable authoritative guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 480 and ASC 815. The assessment considers whether the Warrants and FPA are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of an asset or liability pursuant to ASC 480, and meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the Warrants and FPA are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of issuance of the Warrants and execution of the FPA and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the Warrants and FPA are outstanding. For issued or modified instruments such as warrants and forward purchases of equity that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, such instruments are required to be recorded as a component of additional capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified instruments that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, such instruments are required to be recorded as liabilities at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of liability-classified instruments are recognized as a gain or loss on the statements of operations.

The Company accounts for the Warrants and FPA in accordance with ASC under which the Warrants and FPA do not meet the criteria for equity classification and must be recorded as an asset or liability. The Warrant liability and FPA liability are included in Warrant liability and Forward purchase liability, respectively, on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2021. See Note 8 for further discussion of the pertinent terms of the Warrants and Note 9 for further discussion of the methodology used to determine the fair value of the Company’s Warrants liability and FPA liability.

The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, , which 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 to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company is considered an exempted Cayman Islands Company and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the periods presented.

In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update , which among other things adds 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 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 is currently reviewing the newly issued standard and does not believe it will materially impact the Company.

disclosed in our Quarterly Report on Form for the period ended September 30, 2021, in connection with the preparation of the Company’s financial statements as of and for the period ended September 30, 2021, management determined it should restate its previously reported financial statements. The Company previously valued its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption by adjusting the balance presented in temporary equity such that the Company’s total equity was not less than $5,000,001 in order to satisfy certain requirements of its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (“Articles”). Upon further review of the Articles and listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, management determined that, as of any given balance sheet date, the number of Class A ordinary shares which can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered outside the Company’s control is not impacted by the requirement of the Articles to maintain $5,000,001 of net tangible assets. Therefore, management concluded that the redemption value should include all Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, resulting in the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption being equal to their redemption value. As a result, management made a reclassification adjustment between temporary and permanent equity as of September 30, 2021. This resulted in an adjustment to the initial carrying value of the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption with the offset recorded to additional capital (to the extent available), accumulated deficit and Class A ordinary shares.

Pursuant to the IPO, the Company sold 138,000,000 Units at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit, including 18,000,000 Units sold pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional Units to cover over-allotments. Each Unit consists of one Public Shares and of one redeemable 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 (see Note 8).

The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its (1) Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination; and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any day period commencing at least 150 days after the completion of a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, amalgamation, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction 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; and (2) Alignment Shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier of: (A) their conversion into Class A ordinary shares; and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, the date on which the Company completes a merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in both a change in control and all of the Company’s public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

On January 5, 2021, the Company issued a promissory note (the “Promissory Note”) to the Sponsor and an affiliate of the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $800,000. The Promissory Note was bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) September 30, 2021, or (ii) the completion of the IPO. The outstanding balance under the Promissory Note of $388,152 was repaid upon consummation of the IPO.

An affiliate of the Sponsor paid certain operating costs on behalf of the Company. These advances are due on demand and bearing. For the period from January 5, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the related party paid $22,116 of operating costs on behalf of the Company. As of December 31, 2021, the amount due to the related party was $149,707.

On February 25, 2021, the Company entered into a forward purchase agreement (the “FPA”) with Cannae Holdings, Inc. Pursuant to the FPA, Cannae Holdings, Inc. agreed to purchase 12,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, plus an aggregate of 3,125,000 redeemable warrants to purchase Class A ordinary shares at $11.50 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $125,000,000, or $10.00 for one Class A ordinary share and of one warrant, in a private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of a Business Combination. The warrants to be sold as part of the FPA will be identical to the Public Warrants.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the business day following the completion of a Business Combination, on a basis, subject to adjustment.

The Class C ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the earlier of (i) a time after the completion of a Business Combination in which the last reported sale price of Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a day period equals or exceeds $15.25 if occurring before the third anniversary of a Business Combination, $23.00 if occurring before the sixth anniversary of a Business Combination or $35.00 if occurring before the ninth anniversary of a Business Combination, and (ii) subsequent to the completion of the Business Combination, the date on which the Company

completes a merger, exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in both a change of control and all of its public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, in each case, on a basis, subject to adjustment. The Class C ordinary shares will be returned to the Company for cancellation in the event that they have not converted into Class A ordinary shares nine years after a Business Combination.

If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. However, the Company will not redeem the warrants 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 redemption period.

As of December 31, 2021, there were 19,733,333 Private Placement Warrants outstanding. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the IPO, except that (x) the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of 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, (y) the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees and (z) the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will be entitled to registration rights. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.

The Warrants and FPA are accounted for as liabilities pursuant to ASC and measured at fair value as of each reporting period. Changes in the fair value of the Warrants and FPA are recorded in the statement of operations each period.

None.

 

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

13a-15

15d-15

13a-15

15d-15

10-Q/A

10-Q

10-K

Other than the material weakness identified and further described below, there was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021 covered by this Annual Report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

10-Q/A

 

None.

Not applicable.

 

58

 

Our directors and executive officers are as follows:

 

co-Executive

 

59

Holdings. Mr. Massey is also a director of the Oxford American Literary Project and the Chairman of the board of directors of the Arkansas Razorback Foundation. Mr. Massey formerly served as a director of FIS and Chairman of Bear State Financial, Inc. We are a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a business combination, and we will have no operations for Mr. Massey to oversee until we complete our initial business combination.

 

60

Our Board is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting of shareholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Hugh R. Harris, will expire at our first annual general meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mark D. Linehan and Erika Meinhardt, will expire at our second annual general meeting of the shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of William P. Foley, II and Richard N. Massey, will expire at our third annual general meeting of shareholders. We may not hold an annual general meeting of shareholders until after we complete our initial business combination.

Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the Board may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares and alignment shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares and alignment shares may remove a member of the Board for any reason.

Our officers are appointed by the Board and serve at the discretion of the Board, rather than for specific terms of office. Our Board is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the Board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the Board.

There are no family relationships among any of our executive officers or directors.

NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our Board be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s Board, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our Board has determined that each of Hugh R. Harris, Mark D. Linehan and Erika Meinhardt are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

 

61

phase-in

phase-in

We established an audit committee of the Board. Hugh R. Harris, Mark D. Linehan and Erika Meinhardt serve as members of our audit committee. Our Board has determined that each of Hugh R. Harris, Mark D. Linehan and Erika Meinhardt is independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Mark D. Linehan serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our Board has determined that each of Hugh R. Harris, Erika Meinhardt and Mark D. Linehan qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.

The primary functions of the audit committee include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The audit committee is a separately designated standing committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act.

We established a compensation committee of our Board. The members of our compensation committee are Hugh R. Harris, Erika Meinhardt and Mark D. Linehan, and Erika Meinhardt serves as chairman of the compensation committee.

Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors has determined that each of Frank R. Martire, Jr. and Thomas M. Hagerty are independent.

The principal functions of the compensation committee include:

 

62

 

 

 

 

 

 

The charter of the compensation committee provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.

None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our Board.

We established a corporate governance and nominating committee of our Board. The members of our corporate governance and nominating committee are Mark D. Linehan, Erika Meinhardt and Hugh R. Harris, and Hugh R. Harris serves as chairman of the corporate governance and nominating committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a corporate governance and nominating committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our Board has determined that each of Hugh R. Harris, Mark D. Linehan and Erika Meinhardt is independent.

The primary functions of the corporate governance and nominating committee include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

63

The guidelines for selecting nominees, generally provide that persons to be nominated:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each year in connection with the nomination of candidates for election to the board of directors, the corporate governance and nominating committee will evaluate the background of each candidate, including candidates that may be submitted by our shareholders.

8-K.

Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsors, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

 

64

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the completion of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.

 

65

We have no compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance.

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of March 15, 2022, by:

 

 

 

The following table is based on 197,142,856 class A ordinary shares outstanding at March 15, 2022, of which 138,000,000 were Class A ordinary shares, 29,571,428 were Class B ordinary shares and 29,571,428 were Class C ordinary shares. Unless otherwise indicated, it is believed that all persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them.

 

* Less than one percent

 

 

66

The Company’s policy is for our Audit Committee to review and approve all transactions with related persons (as defined in Item 404(a) of the Exchange Act) in amounts in excess of $120,000.

During the period ended January 5, 2021, the Sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.001 per share, to cover certain of our expenses in consideration of 24,642,857 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 and 24,642,857 Class C ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. The number of founder shares and alignment shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares and alignment shares would represent 15% and 15%, respectively, of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. On February 25, 2021, we effected a share dividend with respect to our Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares of 9,857,142 aggregate shares thereof, resulting in our initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 29,571,428 founder shares and 29,571,428 alignment shares. In February 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares and 25,000 alignment shares to each of our independent directors at their original per share purchase price.

lock-up.

sub-divisions,

30-trading

lock-up.

30-trading

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 19,733,333 private placement warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) for a purchase price of $1.50 per whole warrant or $29,600,000. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.

one-fourth

 

67

Under the forward purchase agreement, we have provided a right of first offer to Cannae Holdings, if we propose to raise additional capital by issuing any equity, or securities convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for equity securities, other than the units and certain excluded securities. In addition, if we seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination, Cannae Holdings has agreed under the forward purchase agreement to vote any Class A ordinary shares owned by Cannae Holdings in favor of any proposed initial business combination.

Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on March 2, 2021, the holders of our Class B and C ordinary shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) are entitled to registration rights. The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Commencing on March 2, 2021, we agreed to pay an affiliate of the Sponsors up to $5,000 per month for office space and administrative support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

 

Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm since inception through December 31, 2021 include:

 

 

pre-approve

pre-approve

non-audit

non-audit

 

68

 

(a) (2) All other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or not required, or because the required information is included in the Financial Statements or notes thereto.

Form 10-K:

 

 

 

69

(3) The instance document does not appear in the interactive data file because its XBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document.

 

None.

 

70

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: March 16, 2022

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.