Elliott Opportunity II Corp. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
OR
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER
001-40549
Elliott Opportunity II Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)\
Cayman Islands |
98-1581385 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Phillips Point, East Tower
777 S. Flagler Drive, Suite 1000
West Palm Beach, 33401
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212)
974-6000
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Class A ordinary shares included as part of the Units, par value $0.0001 per share |
EOCW |
The New York Stock Exchange | ||
Redeemable warrants to acquire one Class A ordinary share included as part the Units |
EOCW WS |
The New York Stock Exchange | ||
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of a redeemable warrant to acquire one Class A ordinary share |
EOCW.U |
The New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Auditor Firm Id:
688
Auditor Name: Marcum LLP Auditor Location: West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation
S-T
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a
non-accelerated
filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act. (Check one): | Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer |
☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |||
| Emerging growth company | ☒ | |||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2
of the Act). Yes ☒ No ☐ The aggregate market value of the ordinary shares held by
non-affiliates
of the registrant, computed as of June 30, 2021 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was approximately $610,109,500
. As of
April 13, 2022
, 60,950,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 15,237,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, were issued and outstanding, respectively.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND SUMMARY RISK FACTORS
Some of the statements contained in this report may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward- looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form
10-K
may include, for example, statements about: | • | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| • | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| • | the use of proceeds not held in the Trust Account (as described herein) or available to us from interest income on the Trust Account balance; |
| • | the Trust Account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| • | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward- looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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PART I
References in this report to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Elliott Opportunity II Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Elliott Opportunity Sponsor II L.P., a Delaware limited partnership. References to our “initial shareholders” refer to the holders of Founder Shares.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
General
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on February 1, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets (the “Business Combination”). The Company’s sponsor is Elliott Opportunity Sponsor II L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the “Sponsor”). Elliott Investment Management L.P., a global investment management firm that manages approximately $46 billion in assets as of April 1, 2021, is an affiliate of our sponsor.
The registration statement for the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”) was declared effective on June 28, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On July 1, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 60,950,000 units (the “Units”), which included the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 7,950,000 Units, at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $609,500,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 10,793,333 warrants to the Sponsor (the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds of $16,190,000. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share.
Transaction costs of the IPO amounted to $34,844,966, comprised of $12,190,000 of underwriting discount, $21,332,500 of deferred underwriting discount, and $1,322,466 of other offering costs, and of which $1,053,837 were allocated to expense associated with the warrant liability.
Following the closing of the IPO on July 1, 2021, $609,500,000 (approximately $10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO, including a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, was deposited in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and is only invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay taxes, if any, the proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the Trust Account (1) to the Company, until the completion of the initial Business Combination, or (2) to the public shareholders, until the earliest of (a) the completion of the initial Business Combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholders properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a (A) shareholder vote to amend the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial public offering (the “Combination Period”), or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial
business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of the public shares if the Company has not consummated the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial public offering. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (b) 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 the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the public shareholders. 2
The Company will provide its public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations).
The Company will have 24 months from July 1, 2021, the closing of the IPO, to complete the initial Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company is unable to complete the initial 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 not more than ten business days, redeem the public shares, at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay the income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the 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 Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to consummate an initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering. The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares they hold in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after the Public Offering in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with its initial Business Combination or 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 Public Offering, (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity and , (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any founder shares or private placement warrants they hold if the Company fails to consummate the Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering). The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (excluding the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public 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 the Company’s tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Company’s sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve
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for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and the Company believes that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our Company
We are affiliated with Elliott. Launched in 1977 by Paul Singer, Elliott’s domestic fund is one of the oldest funds of its kind under continuous management. Elliott employs 480 people worldwide as of December 31, 2021, with nearly half dedicated to identifying and managing investments, trading and research. The six most senior investment professionals have an average of 30 years of investment experience and an average tenure of 25 years at Elliott. One of the key elements of Elliott’s investment approach is its focus on the creation—not just identification—of value.
Elliott has invested across a range of industries with a demonstrated aptitude for technology investments. Elliott’s technology team includes private equity and public equity investment professionals, and works alongside an experienced team of operating executives and other consultants. Elliott’s private equity team has closed more than $80 billion in technology and technology-enabled private equity transactions in their careers across approximately 30 platform companies and approximately 30
add-on
acquisitions. Elliott has built relationships with operating executives and other consultants, including six technology operating executives who have extensive technology experience with more than 150 years of cumulative leadership and operational roles in technology companies. These executives also possess, cumulatively, decades of experience advising private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Elliott’s private investments in technology and technology-enabled services include ASG Technologies, athenahealth, BMC Software, Coveo, Cubic, E2open, Gigamon, LogMeIn, Mitchell, MSC Software, Novell, Quest Software, SonicWall, Travelport and WorkForce Software. Additionally, Elliott’s public equity team has invested in more than 85 public technology, media or telecommunications companies. As one of the largest, most recognized and engaged investors, Elliott has extensive experience collaborating with management teams and boards of public companies to create value. Examples of public equity investments in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors include Akamai Technologies, ASM International, AT&T, CDK Global, Citrix, Dell, eBay, EMC, F5 Networks, Informatica, Juniper Networks, Mentor Graphics, NetApp, SAP, SoftBank, and Twitter. Our management expects to benefit from Elliott’s long history of investing in both public and private companies in the technology space, which has contributed to Elliott’s knowledge of the sector and a broad set of relationships, including with private equity sponsors, industry executives and board members, operating executives, bankers, and other advisors that it leverages to help source deals, conduct extensive due diligence on investment opportunities and work with companies to enhance value. Elliott’s network of relationships in the technology sector is unique and provides a distinct competitive advantage in completing an investment.
We are a portfolio investment indirectly owned by Elliott’s domestic fund and international fund (together, the “Funds”), which have provided all of the risk capital to fund our launch. As such, we will have access to Elliott’s platform of team members, deal prospects, and network, along with any necessary resources to aid in our identification, diligence, and operational support of a target for the initial business combination. Elliott’s professionals, including our
Co-Chief
Executive Officers, David Kerko and Isaac Kim, are required to dedicate substantially all of their business time to the affairs of Elliott and its affiliates. As a portfolio investment of the Funds, we expect we will receive substantial time and support from the Elliott platform. In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into an administrative services agreement with our sponsor providing for the reimbursement for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us by our sponsor, in the amount of up to $10,000 per month. Other than the administrative services agreement, there is no other agreement with the Funds or Elliott in respect of any services. Our Team
Our management team is led by Jesse Cohn,
Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors, Gordon Singer, Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors, David Kerko, Co-Chief
Executive Officer, Isaac Kim, Co-Chief
Executive Officer, Nabeel Bhanji, President, Steven Barg, Chief Financial Officer, and Terry Kassel, Chief Strategy Officer. 4
Mr.
Jesse Cohn
(Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors) Mr.
Gordon Singer
(Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors)Mr.
David Kerko
(Co-Chief
Executive Officer)Co-head
of the Technology Group from 2013 to 2015. Mr. Kerko joined KKR in 1998 and played an active role building the firm’s technology platform from 2006 to 2015. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Kerko was with Gleacher NatWest Inc. where he was involved in mergers and acquisition transactions and financing work. He holds a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S.E., summa cum laude, from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr.
Isaac Kim
(Co-Chief
Executive Officer)Mr.
Nabeel Bhanji
(President)
Mr.
Steven Barg
(Chief Financial Officer)
Co-head
of Asian Equity Capital Markets in Hong Kong. In 2013, he returned to New York to establish what became the firm’s Activism and Shareholder Advisory practice, which he led globally until 2019. In addition, while at Goldman, Mr. Barg served on both the Asian and the Global Equity Commitments Committees and was Global Head of Diversity for the Investment Banking Division. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Barg ran first the Asian equity and then the integrated capital markets business for UBS in Hong Kong beginning in 2006. Prior to UBS, Mr. Barg also served as a managing director in Equity Capital Markets at Credit Suisse in New York and London. In total, Mr. Barg had a 30 year career in investment banking prior to joining Elliott. Mr. Barg holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In addition, Mr. Barg was a Henry Luce Scholar in Hong Kong and a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs in New York. 5
Ms.
Terry Kassel
(Chief Strategy Officer)
Start-Up
Nation Central, a not-for-profit
Start-Up
Nation. She also serves as Director of the Paul E. Singer Foundation, and as Board Member of the Jewish Funders Network and Jewish Food Society. Ms. Kassel earned a J.D. from Seton Hall University and a B.A. in Political Science from New York University. Our Independent Directors
Our efforts to seek a suitable business combination target will be complemented and augmented by the expertise and network of the relationships of our independent directors, Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips and Val Rahmani, each of whom have extensive experience in business and financial matters.
Mr.
Michael Capellas
Ms.
Moira Kilcoyne
Co-Head
of Global Technology and member of the Firm’s Management Committee. In her time with Morgan Stanley, Moira held a number of leadership positions. These included Global Co-CIO
and Head of Technology for the Wealth and Investment Management organizations, where she was responsible for the overall Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Integration and Conversion efforts. She served as the COO of Global Operations, Technology and Data from 2008 to 2010 and International CIO based in London from 1996 to 2004. Her performance in mission critical roles eventually led to her serving as Global Co-CIO
from 2013 to 2016. Kilcoyne began her career at IBM, where she served in multiple technical roles, before moving on to Morgan Stanley. She currently serves on the board of UK-based Quilter PLC., Citrix Systems, Inc., Arch Capital Group and as a Trustee of Manhattan College. Ms. Kilcoyne holds a B.S. from Manhattan College. We believe that Ms. Kilcoyne’s extensive global technology and operations experience, especially in the financial services industry make her well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors. Mr.
Charles Phillips
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Ms.
Val Rahmani
non-executive
Director of the London Stock Exchange Group plc. She is a also a non-executive
Director of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-based reinsurance company. She is a non-executive
Director of CTG Inc, a Nasdaq-listed Technology solutions company. Val is a non-executive
Director of Entrust, a Minneapolis based private Trusted Identity company. From 2009-2012 Val served as Chief Executive Officer of Damballa, Inc., a venture capital-funded cybersecurity company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to this, Ms. Rahmani was with IBM in various managerial capacities for 28 years. Her last role with IBM was General Manager of IBM Internet Security Systems. Other IBM roles included General Manager of the $2.7 billion Global Technology Services business, head of the Sales and Services Strategy unit, General Manager of IBM’s $3.5 billion UNIX server business, General Manager of IBM’s Mobile business as well as serving as the Executive Assistant to Louis Gerstner, then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Rahmani holds an MA and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemistry from Oxford University, England. We believe that Ms. Rahmani’s experience in executive roles and a background of leading global organizations in the technology industry make her well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors. Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete a business combination that creates long-term value for our shareholders. We believe our investment team’s prior experience and track record of investing in public and private companies, along with our rigorous fundamental approach, will enable us to successfully identify and execute an initial business combination. We will leverage Elliott’s extensive network of relationships, ranging from senior management teams at public and private companies to investment partners and advisors, to assist in the identification of potential targets for the initial business combination.
We believe our management team will be able to execute on our business strategy by leveraging Elliott’s core competencies, including the following:
| • | Sourcing capabilities public-to-private |
| • | Fundamental analysis |
| • | Strong public shareholding stewardship |
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| • | Expertise in technology |
Market Opportunity
We intend to identify and acquire a business within the technology and technology-enabled services industry. We believe that these sectors represent attractive target markets given the size, breadth and prospects for growth, with global information technology spending projected to be $4.1 trillion in 2021 and expected to continue to grow in the future. Today, software drives competitive advantage. Organizations are undergoing digital transformations to remain competitive and stay relevant to their customers. To meet the demands of this transformation, they are adopting more software and doing so at an increasing pace. While historically deploying software was a manual process that took place episodically, innovation and competitive advantage now hinge upon the ability of organizations to automate via software. As a result, global enterprise application software is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 13% from 2021 to 2025 with spending forecasted to increase from $235 billion to $380 billion. Infrastructure software is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 11% in the same period with spending forecasted to increase from $282 billion to $423 billion. Information technology (IT) services, which include fast-growing segments such as managed services and cloud infrastructure services, represent a $1.1 trillion market that is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 8% over the next four years. We believe that such an addressable market paired with the current environment that stresses the consequent need to adapt to remote access environments will result in accelerated digitization trends and highlight areas where enterprises will need to enhance their investments.
Remote work, the proliferation of cloud computing, and increasing network speeds (including the advent of 5G) have all accelerated this digital transformation. How well a business can build, deliver and manage IT drives its ability to offer differentiated services and compete effectively in the global and online business environment. This evolution has elevated the strategic importance of IT resources in many enterprises and increased the scope of the digital services that they are expected to deliver and manage. Across many industries, IT organizations are adopting multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud IT strategies to achieve cost savings, improve security, enhance agility and gain greater flexibility. Digital-first organizations are better able to capture data and analytics via artificial intelligence and machine learning embedded within business workflows to make faster strategic and operational decisions. Today, 90% of companies use cloud-based services and these investments are set to double as a percentage of IT budgets over the next three years. CIOs are looking to modernize their technology stacks and applications in order to better partner with their business counterparts to innovate and scale.
As businesses continue to adapt to current working environments centered around increasingly higher adoption rates of remote work and digital touchpoints, we believe businesses will need to expedite their digital transformation plans in order to maintain a competitive advantage. The IT weaknesses exposed as a result of the
COVID-19
pandemic helped businesses better appreciate the full benefit of “cloud”-based computing and heightened their focus on digitization. As a result, we believe on-premises
enterprise applications will be evaluated with greater urgency, spurring businesses to rationalize their enterprise application portfolio and retire, replace or rebuild software products. These market trends also lead to an evolving landscape around cybersecurity and cyber-readiness for enterprises that need to be addressed by newer technologies. Initial Business Combination Criteria
We have identified the following attributes and guidelines to evaluate prospective target businesses. We may decide, however, to enter into our initial business combination with one or more businesses that do not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to pursue an initial business combination with companies that have the following characteristics:
| • | Strong and proven management team: |
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| • | Leading market position: |
| • | Large and growing TAM: |
| • | Track record of sustainable growth with numerous, identifiable upside opportunities that can be enhanced with our oversight: |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive and may exist in different proportions to each other. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as on other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in the prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Acquisition Process
In evaluating a potential target business, we intend to determine its quality and intrinsic value by drawing upon the full resources of the existing Elliott platform. That due diligence review may include, among other things, functions, financial statement analysis, detailed document reviews, numerous meetings with management, consultations with relevant industry experts, competitors, customers and suppliers, as well as a review of additional information that we will seek to obtain as part of our diligence of a target company. Our search for a business combination, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination may be materially adversely affected by the
in-depth
market studies, evaluation of product strategy, efficiency of the target’s current go-to-market
COVID-19
pandemic. (See “Risk Factors—Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19
pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.”) We will draw on Elliott’s expertise and experience to evaluate the potential partner’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to identify the relative risk and return profile. Given the breadth of Elliott’s investing experience, we will likely be familiar with the prospective partner’s
end-market,
competitive landscape and business model. Initial Business Combination
The NYSE rules and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount). We refer to this as the 80% net assets test. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses or we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion.
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While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, our board may be unable to do so if our board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets test, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We currently anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, as described above, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the 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 transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new 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% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to the completion of our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
Other Considerations
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, founders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or accounting firm that such initial business combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and private placement warrants following our initial public offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.002 per share and we offered units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our initial public offering; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. (See “Risk Factors—Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.002 per founder
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share. As a result of this low initial price, our sponsor and members of our board of directors stand to make a substantial profit even if an initial business combination subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders.” and “—Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after our initial public offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.”) Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers or directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor considered a target business nor have they had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. We are continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with our company. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any substantive measure, directly or indirectly, to select or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to select or locate any such acquisition candidate.
In addition, our sponsor and our directors and officers are, and may in the future become affiliated with other public blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. For example, our sponsor has also incorporated Elliott Opportunity I Corp., a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting its own initial business combination. Jesse Cohn and Gordon Singer are
co-Chairmen
of the Board of Directors, David Kerko and Isaac Kim are co-Chief
Executive Officers, and Steven Barg is the Chief Financial Officer of Elliott Opportunity I Corp. Each of our other officers is an officer of Elliott Opportunity I Corp., and each of the foregoing owe fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law to Elliott Opportunity I Corp. While we expect that the determination of whether to present a particular business opportunity to us or to another blank check company affiliated with our sponsor will be made based on the amount of capital needed to consummate such business opportunity and the size of the relevant blank check company, such determination will be made by our sponsor and our directors and officers in their sole discretion, subject to their applicable fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. 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 such other blank check companies, prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our sponsor and directors and officers and their respective affiliates are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. Moreover, certain of our directors and officers have time and attention requirements for investment funds of which affiliates of our sponsor are the investment managers. In addition, certain of our founders, officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities, including without limitation, Elliott Opportunity I Corp., investment funds, accounts and
co-investment
vehicles As a result, if any of our founders, officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity, which is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under applicable law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these funds or investment entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. In addition, our founders, officers and directors, are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, our founders, officers and directors have, and will have in the future, time and attention requirements for current and future investment funds, accounts and
co-investment
vehicles. 11
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at Phillips Point, East Tower, 777 S. Flagler Drive, Suite 1000, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. We maintain a corporate website at www.ElliottOpportunity.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, the prospectus or the registration statement of which the prospectus is a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to 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 of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a
non-binding
advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the last date of the prior fiscal year’s second quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible
debt during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act. Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible. Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to partner businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a partner business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the partner business may, for example, exchange their capital stock, shares or other equity interests in the partner business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
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Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions.
Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our founding team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business target, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $590,167,500 after payment of the estimated expenses of the initial public offering and $21,332,500 of deferred underwriting fees, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering, the sale of the private placements warrants, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-business combination company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We have not selected any business combination target. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in our initial public offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
Although our founding team will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
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Sources of Target Businesses
Our process of identifying acquisition targets will leverage our founding team’s unique industry experiences, proven deal sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships in numerous industries, including executives and management teams, private equity groups and other institutional investors, large business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers and other investment market participants, restructuring advisers, consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. We expect that the collective experience, capability and network of our founders, directors and officers, combined with their individual and collective reputations in the investment community, will help to create prospective business combination opportunities.
In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read the prospectus and know what types of businesses we are pursuing. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions.
While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our founding team determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our founding team determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us. We have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of up to $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-business combination company following our initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, founders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or accounting firm that such initial business combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with Elliott and/or one or more investors in the Funds. Any such parties may
co-invest
with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout the prospectus. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares) would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares), unless the holders of a 14
majority of the then-issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including Elliott Opportunity I Corp., any future special purpose acquisition companies we expect they may be involved in and entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, 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. All of our executive officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. In addition, we may pursue an acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may
co-invest
with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such entity a class of equity or equity-linked securities. 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 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. 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. See “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.” Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
The time required to identify and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our founding team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
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| • | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and |
| • | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our founding team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our founding team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our founding team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under the rules of NYSE and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| • | we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then issued and outstanding; |
| • | the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
The Companies Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.
The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
| • | the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; |
| • | the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; |
| • | the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; other time and budget constraints of the company; and |
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| • | additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders. |
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights may include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its shares, if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and our founding team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement warrants and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial
business combination activity. Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. 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, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial 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 we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange rule or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.
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The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on the NYSE. Such provisions may be amended if approved by holders of two thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment. If we held a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| • | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| • | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive approval pursuant to an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our founding team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 21,456,251, or 35.2%, of the 60,950,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. In addition, our sponsor and our founding team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity. If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| • | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| • | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule
10b5-1
to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5
under the Exchange Act. 18
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule
14e-1(a)
under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination. Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
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 provides 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 Excess Shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our founding to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our founding team at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
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.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/ Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which may include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
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The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us.
Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we will have only 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering to consummate an initial business combination. If we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, 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
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the 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 our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation 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. Our sponsor and each member of our founding team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering).
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Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A)that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or director nominee, or any other person. We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $2,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the
per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our founding team will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if our founding team believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. 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 our founding team to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where our founding team is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. The underwriters will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. 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. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor 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 and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust
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assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. 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. Our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public 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 tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the
per-share
redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share. We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $2,000,000 from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors; however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such shareholder. In the event that our offering expenses and other operating expenses exceed our estimate of $2,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses and other operating expenses are less than our estimate of $2,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per public share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy 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. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, 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.
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Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, (ii) 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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity, and (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. 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 we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies, operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Indemnity
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) 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 amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering 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. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at Phillips Point, East Tower, 777 S. Flagler Drive, Suite 1000, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The cost for our use of this space is included in the fee of up to $10,000 per month that we pay to our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
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Employees
We currently have five executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters 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 they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are registered under the Exchange Act and we have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the 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 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We have filed a Registration Statement on Form
8-A
with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination. We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to 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 periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a
non-binding
advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile. 24
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the last date of the prior fiscal year’s second quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible
debt during the prior three-year period. Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible. Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our founding team in their capacity as such.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form
10-K,
the IPO prospectus associated with our public offering and the Registration Statement, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.Risks Relating to Searching for and Consummating a Business Combination
Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable Cayman Islands law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the NYSE rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination.
Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 21,456,251, or 35.2%, of the 60,950,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares at the time of any such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if such persons agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.
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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and members of our founding team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our sponsor will own, on an
as-converted
basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of our initial public offering. Our sponsor and members of our founding team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive approval pursuant to an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 21,456,251, or 35.2%, of the 60,950,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and our founding team 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. The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the
per-share
value of shares held by non-redeeming
shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, 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 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
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.
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If a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, 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
per-share
amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial 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, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering, may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering.
Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus
(COVID-19)
pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared novel coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19)
a pandemic. The COVID-19
pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted global supply chains, lowered equity market valuations, created significant volatility and disruption in financial markets, and increased unemployment levels, all of which may become heightened concerns upon a second wave of infection or future developments. In addition, the pandemic has resulted in temporary closures of many businesses and the institution of social distancing and sheltering in place requirements in many states and communities. In addition to the COVID-19
pandemic, a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to
COVID-19
continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target business’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19
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 COVID-19
and the actions to contain COVID-19
or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19
or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19
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. Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by negative impacts on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent sanctions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities.
United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. In response to such invasion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine during the ongoing military conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions with Russia. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable, the conflict could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. Additionally, Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets.
Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, could adversely affect our search for a business combination and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination. The extent and duration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities, cross-border transactions or our ability to raise equity or debt financing in connection with any particular business combination. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
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As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
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. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions (including the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022), inflation or other changes in general economic conditions, 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.
We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial public offering. 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
COVID-19
pandemic continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the pandemic 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 COVID-19
pandemic may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not consummated 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 per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the 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 our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, 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 provides that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation 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 either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein. 29
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
If we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation 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.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
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 solely 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 may not 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. An investment in our units may not ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders 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.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not 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 may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our founders’ area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our founders’ area of expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our founding team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination target, we may not 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 initial public offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our founders’ expertise, our founders’ expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in the prospectus regarding the areas of our founders’ expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our founding team may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders 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.
Although we have identified general criteria that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria.
Although we have identified general criteria for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria, 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 applicable law or stock exchange rule, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other 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. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
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 valuation 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 of directors, 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.
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We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will provide us with up to $590,167,500 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $21,332,500 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and the estimated expenses of our initial public offering).
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:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
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.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
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.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. 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.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on our proposed business combination include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. 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, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public
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Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or 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 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we 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 may 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 founding 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.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
In connection with the recent restatement of our financial statements, our management has concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of September 30, 2021 due to a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting solely related to our accounting for complex financial instruments. If we are unable to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and financial results.
After consultation with our independent registered public accounting firm and our management team, our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued audited balance sheet as of July 1, 2021 filed as Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form
8-K
filed with the SEC on July 8, 2021. As part of such process, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, solely related to our accounting for complex financial instruments. 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 and corrected on a timely basis. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We expect to take steps to remediate the material weakness, but there is no assurance that any remediation efforts will ultimately have the intended effects.
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.
We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently incorporated company established under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through our initial public offering. 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 fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
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You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering. 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 we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or 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. NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE. Although we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in NYSE’s listing standards, our securities may not be, or may not continue to be, listed on NYSE in the future or prior to the completion of our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NYSE prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $1,100,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders). 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 NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NYSE. For instance, the share price of our securities would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5,000,000 and we would be required to have a minimum of 400
round-lot
holders. We may not be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time. If NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
over-the-counter
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
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 Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on NYSE, our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered 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
34
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 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.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form
8-K,
including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
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 provides 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 initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. 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. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any
35
of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 24 months following the closing of our initial public offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or founding team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of our initial public offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through our initial public offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of the prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
Of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only $2,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon the closing of our initial public offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, members of our founding team or any of their affiliates will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of our initial public offering; however, our estimate may not be accurate, and our sponsor, members of our founding team or any of their affiliates are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. 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
“no-shop”
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. In the event that our offering expenses and other operating expenses exceed our estimate of $2,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, unless funded by the proceeds of loans available from our sponsor, members of our founding team or any of their affiliates, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount.
Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses and other operating expenses are less than our estimate of $2,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, members of our founding team or any of their affiliates or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate.
Neither our sponsor, members of our founding team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, members of our founding team or any of their affiliates as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per public share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the share price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, this diligence may not surface all material issues with a particular target business. In addition, factors outside of the target business and outside of our control may later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or
write-off
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 non-cash
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 pre-existing
debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities.
Such holders 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.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share. Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our founders will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if our founding team believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
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 our founding team to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where our founding team 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 consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, 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 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the
per-share
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 registration statement of which the prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (excluding 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 37
share and (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 public 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 tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering 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. Our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
In accordance with NYSE corporate governance requirements and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NYSE. As an exempted company, there is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general 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 our founding team. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any appointment of directors we hold prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.
Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, the NYSE may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Prior to our initial business combination only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment 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:
| • | we have a board that includes a majority of ‘independent directors,’ as defined under the rules of the NYSE; |
| • | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter |
| • | addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| • | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable
phase-in
rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements. 38
Certain agreements related to our initial public offering may be amended without shareholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the underwriting agreement relating to our initial public offering offering, the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors, and the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders, may be amended without shareholder approval. Further, the warrant agreement contains provisions enabling amendments without shareholder or warrant holder approval that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents for initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies underwritten by bulge bracket investment banks) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements (provided that any modifications or amendments that would (i) increase the warrant price, (ii) shorten the exercise period, (iii) change the anti-dilution provisions of section 4.3.2 of the warrant agreement, or (iv) change the registration provisions in section 7.4.1 of the warrant agreement shall in each case require the approval of the warrantholders in accordance with the warrant agreement). These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any appointment or removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors or to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you will not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (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 public 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 tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per public share.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the
per-share
redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we do not to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata
share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share
redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share. 39
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/ creditor and/or bankruptcy 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 of directors 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 insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. We have not registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants and causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We did not register the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws in connection with our IPO. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We may not 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, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the 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. However, no 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, unless an exemption 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 they satisfy 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 use our reasonable best 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. 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 units sold in our initial public offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its
40
transferees (which may include our founding team) would be able to exercise their warrants and 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.
Our ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis if there is no effective registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants will cause holders to receive fewer Class A ordinary shares upon such exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.
The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; and (ii) if we have so elected and the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act. If we have so elected or if holders elect to exercise their warrants 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, 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 warrantholder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
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.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
one-to-one
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after our intial public offering, there were 113,019,167 and 4,762,500 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount includes shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, if any. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Immediately after our initial public offering offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares to redeem the warrants as described in this Annual Report or upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth herein. However, our amended and restated
one-to-one
41
memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
| • | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
Our initial shareholders may receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an
as-converted
basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering, plus (ii) the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, members of our founding team or any of their affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one to one. The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our initial shareholders, and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder 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 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 securities that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees are registered for resale.
42
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, 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 within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may issue notes or other debt, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of the prospectus to issue any notes or other debt, or to otherwise incur debt following our initial public offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account.
Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation, including interest rate changes; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). 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. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the Market Value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsors or their permitted transferees.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants
43
prior to redemption for a number of shares of our Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 shares of our Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued public warrants to purchase 15,237,500 of our Class A ordinary shares as part of the units offered by the prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in a private placement 10,793,333 private placement warrants at $1.50 per warrant. In addition, if the sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert up to $1,500,000 of such loans into up to an additional 1,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. Our public warrants are also redeemable by us for Class A ordinary shares as described in this Annual Report. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants 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 may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains
one-fourth
of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies. Each unit contains
one-fourth
of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-fourth
of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger target for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share. The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of our initial public offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to our initial public offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of our initial public offering, our founding team held customary organizational meetings with the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of our initial public offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:
| • | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; prior offerings of those companies; |
| • | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; a review of debt-to-equity |
| • | our capital structure; |
| • | an assessment of our founding team and their experience in identifying operating companies; general conditions of the securities markets at the time of our initial public offering; and |
| • | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
44
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following our initial public offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the
COVID-19
pandemic. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained. Risks Relating to Regulatory Compliance Requirements
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading 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-business combination 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.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our initial public offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial
business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. 45
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be 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.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
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.
Claims may 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 $18,292.68 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate a business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition. We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of the prospectus captioned “Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations”) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC
start-up
exception. Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up
exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up
exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year (and, in the case of the start-up
exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current taxable year). Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as 46
the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Act, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrantholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrantholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrantholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrantholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of
non-compliance.
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 seeking a business combination target.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
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 periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of last date of the prior fiscal year’s second quarter, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different 47
application dates for public or private companies, we, 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 our 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.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible. Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
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 and the rights of shareholders will be 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 will also be 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.
Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like the Company have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of the register of members of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
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 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.
48
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 our founding team, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench our founding team.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions will include a staggered board of directors, the ability of the board of directors 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, which have been issued to our sponsor, are entitled to vote on the appointment of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of our founding team and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
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.
Risks Relating to Our Sponsor, Founding Team and Their Respective Affiliates
Past performance by our sponsor, founding team or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our sponsor or its affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience of and performance by our sponsor or its affiliates, is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (2) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our sponsor or any of its affiliates’ as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. None of our sponsor, officers or directors has had experience with a blank check company or special purpose acquisition company in the past.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
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.
In particular, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or any other applicable jurisdictions would recognize and enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States or entertain original actions brought in the Cayman Islands or any other applicable jurisdiction’s courts against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
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We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or
key-man
insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us. Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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 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 negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
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. In addition, pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
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 holders who choose to retain their securities following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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.
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Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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 is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. 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. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of our initial public offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. 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, our sponsor and our directors and officers are, and may in the future become affiliated with other public blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. For example, our sponsor has also incorporated Elliott Opportunity I Corp., a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting its own initial business combination. Jesse Cohn and Gordon Singer are
co-Chairmen
of the Board of Directors, David Kerko and Isaac Kim are co-Chief
Executive Officers, and Steven Barg is the Chief Financial Officer of Elliott Opportunity I Corp. Each of our other officers is an officer of Elliott Opportunity I Corp., and each of the foregoing owe fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law to Elliott Opportunity I Corp. While we expect that the determination of whether to present a particular business opportunity to us or to another blank check company affiliated with our sponsor will be made based on the amount of capital needed to consummate such business opportunity and the size of the relevant blank check company, such determination will be made by our sponsor and our directors and officers in their sole discretion, subject to their applicable fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. 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 such other blank check companies, prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our sponsor and directors and officers and their respective affiliates are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination. Moreover, certain of our directors and officers have time and attention requirements for investment funds of which affiliates of our sponsor are the investment managers. Our directors and officers also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties, including Elliott Opportunity I Corp. 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 other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to our directors’ and officers’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
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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 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. 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.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
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. 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.
We may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of Elliott and/or one or more investors in the Funds. Any such acquisition may result in conflicts of interest as well as dilutive issuances of our securities.
We may pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity affiliated with Elliott and/or one or more investors in the Funds. Any such parties may
co-invest
with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such parties. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. In addition, any specified future issuance in connection with an Affiliated Joint Acquisition would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, which, unless waived, would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio of our Class B ordinary shares such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance. They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.
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We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
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 initial shareholders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Such entities, including Elliott Opportunity I Corp., 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 pursuing, 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 as set forth in this Annual Report 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 an independent valuation or 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 initial shareholders, 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.
Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.002 per founder share. As a result of this low initial price, our sponsor and members of our board of directors stand to make a substantial profit even if an initial business combination subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders.
As a result of the low acquisition cost of our founder shares, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit even if we select and consummate an initial business combination with an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders. Thus, such parties may have more of an economic incentive for us to enter into an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or financially unstable business, or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, than would be the case if such parties had paid the full offering price for their founder shares.
Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after our initial public offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On February 1, 2021 our initial shareholders paid $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share, to cover for certain offering costs in consideration for which they received 14,375,000 founder shares. On June 28, 2021, the Company issued an additional 862,500 shares in connection with the increase in the size of the offering, resulting in an aggregate of 15,237,500 founder shares issued and outstanding. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination and our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.002 per share and we offered units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our initial public offering; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has purchased, pursuant to a written agreement, 10,793,333 private placement warrants, at a purchase price of $16,190,000, in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. If we do not consummate an initial business within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering offering, the private placement warrants (and the underlying securities) will expire worthless. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the
24-month
anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering nears, which is the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination. 53
Certain of our directors hold interests in our sponsor that represent, in the aggregate, an indirect economic interest in 650,000 Class B ordinary shares. All of such securities would be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination within the required time period and our directors acquired such indirect economic interests for approximately $0.001 per share and we offered units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our initial public offering; as a result, our directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses. As a result, the personal and financial interests of our directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination, which may become more acute as the
24-month
anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering nears, which is the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination. Our founding team may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-business combination 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-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business 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-business combination company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the completion of 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 share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our founding team will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our initial public offering, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after our initial public offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our initial public offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of the prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with our initial public offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
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Risks Relating to Corporate Governance
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). 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 initial 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.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We may seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate a business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least
two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 65% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants (except for provisions of the warrant agreement enabling amendments without shareholder or warrant holder approval that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents for initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies underwritten by bulge bracket investment banks) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements (provided that any modifications or amendments that would (i) increase the warrant price, (ii) shorten the exercise period, (iii) change the anti-dilution provisions of section 4.3.2 of the warrant agreement, or (iv) change the registration provisions in section 7.4.1 of the warrant agreement shall require the approval of the warrantholders as described above)). In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial
business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. 55
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our
pre-business
combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support. Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s
pre-business
combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business
combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, meaning holders of at least two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment or removal of directors or to continuation of our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by holders representing at least two-thirds
of our issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted
basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of our initial public offering, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business
combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity; unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, this agreement and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of this agreement. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law. Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors may be amended without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors contain provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement may be amended without shareholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer the founder shares for 185 days following the date of the prospectus will require the prior written consent of the underwriters). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants 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
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proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either 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. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make 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 within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, 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.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of our initial public offering, our initial shareholders will own, on an
as-converted
basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchases any units in our initial public offering or if our initial shareholders purchases any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in the prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors and to remove directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants or for amendments necessary for the warrants to be classified as equity. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any shareholder or warrantholder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus, or defective provision, (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement or (iii) to make any amendments that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents for initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies underwritten by bulge bracket investment banks) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements (provided that any modifications or amendments that would (i) increase the warrant price, (ii) shorten the exercise period, (iii) change the anti-dilution provisions of section 4.3.2 of the warrant agreement, or (iv) change the registration provisions in section 7.4.1 of the
57
warrant agreement shall require the approval of the warrantholders described in the following clause (b)) and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants; provided that any amendment that solely affects the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement solely with respect to the private placement warrants will also require at least 65% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants (i) in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment or (ii) to the extent necessary for the warrants in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents for initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies underwritten by bulge bracket investment banks) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements without the consent of any shareholder or warrantholder (provided that any modifications or amendments that would (i) increase the warrant price, (ii) shorten the exercise period, (iii) change the anti-dilution provisions of Section 4.3.2 of the warrant agreement, or (iv) change the registration provisions in Section 7.4.1 of the warrant agreement shall require the approval of the warrantholders in accordance with the warrant agreement). Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant. Furthermore, our ability to make amendments to the extent necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents for initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies underwritten by bulge bracket investment banks) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements is also unlimited and there can be no assurance that such amendments would not have a material impact on the value of the warrants.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial shareholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance including any transfer or reissuance of such shares), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination, and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the Market Value, and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the Market Value, respectively. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrants are accounted for as a warrant liability and are recorded at fair value with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
We account for the 26,030,833 warrants issued in connection with our initial public offering (the 15,237,500 warrants included in the units and the 10,793,333 private placement warrants) in accordance with the guidance contained in
ASC 815-40.
Such guidance provides that because our warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we classify each of the warrants as a liability at its fair value which will be estimated using an internal valuation model. Our valuation model utilizes inputs such as assumed share prices, volatility, discount factors and other assumptions and may not be reflective of the price at which such warrants can be settled. Changes in the inputs and assumptions for the valuation model we use to determine the fair value of such liability may have a material impact on the estimated fair value of the embedded derivative liability. As a result, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations will fluctuate quarterly, based on various factors, such as the price of our Class A ordinary shares, many of which are outside of our control. The impact of changes in the fair value of our warrants on our earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek a blank check company that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business. In this case, we may seek to amend our warrant agreement with the goal of accounting for the warrants as equity. There can be no assurance that such amendment will be successful, or that the amendments we propose will achieve the desired accounting treatment. Any of these issues with our warrants may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business. 58
Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement will provide 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 will 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.
This provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. 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 founding team and board of directors.
choice-of-forum
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in
Non-U.S.
Countries If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
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:
| • | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
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| • | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to United States tax laws; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| • | corruption; |
| • | protection of intellectual property; |
| • | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| • | regime changes and political upheaval; |
| • | terrorist attacks, natural disasters, pandemics and wars; |
| • | and deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
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.
If our founding team following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our founding team 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.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
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 consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a
non-U.S.
target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction. 60
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
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.
ITEM IB. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
We currently maintain our executive offices at Phillips Point, East Tower. 777 S. Flagler Drive, Suite 1000, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
As of December 31, 2021, to the knowledge of our management, there was no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on the Nasdaq under the symbols “EOCW.U,” “EOCW” and “EOCW WS”, respectively.
Holders
As of December 31, 2021, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares, six holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares and two holders of record of our warrants. The number of holders of record does not include a substantially greater number of “street name” holders or beneficial holders whose units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
The sales of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Units to our Sponsor and our initial shareholders 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.
Use of Proceeds
Upon the closing of the initial public offering, the Private Placement and the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, $609,500,000 of the net proceeds of the initial public offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account.
We paid a total of $12.19 million in underwriting discounts and commissions and approximately $2 million for other offering costs related to the initial public offering.
There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the initial public offering and the Private Placement as is described in our final prospectus related to the initial public offering.
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item.
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
References to the “Company,” “Elliott Opportunity II Corp.,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Elliott Opportunity II Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the interim financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form
10-K
includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward- looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, possible business combinations and the financing thereof, and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-K.
Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings. Overview
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated on February 1, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company with a business purpose to effect a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets (the “Business Combination”).
Our sponsor is Elliott Opportunity Sponsor II L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for our initial public offering was declared effective on June 28, 2021. On July 1, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) of 60,950,000 Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 7,950,000 Units, at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $609,500,000. Transaction costs of the Initial Public Offering amounted to $34,844,966, comprised of $12,190,000 of underwriting discount, $21,332,500 of deferred underwriting discount, and $1,322,466 of other offering costs, and of which $1,053,837 were allocated to expenses associated with the warrant liability.
Substantially concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we completed the private sale (the “Private Placement”) of 10,793,333 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to our Sponsor at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds of $16,190,000.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $609,500,000 ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a U.S.-based trust account (the “Trust Account”) at UBS Financial Services Inc., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, and was invested in permitted United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under
Rule 2a-7 promulgated
under the Investment Company Act that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. 63
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering 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.
We will have 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or July 1, 2023, to complete the initial Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if we are unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination 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 per-share price,
payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay the income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the 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 Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares they hold in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of the Public Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Public Sharesor pre-initial business
combination activity and, (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares or Private Placement Warrants they hold if we fail to consummate the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within the Combination Period). In the event of any such liquidating distribution from the Trust Account, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit in the Initial Public Offering. Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021 we had approximately $0.7 million in cash, and working capital of approximately $0.3 million. Prior to the completion of the Initial Public Offering, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through receipt of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share, from the initial shareholders to cover certain offering costs in consideration for the Founder Shares, and the loan under an unsecured promissory note from the Sponsor of up to $300,000. The promissory note from the Sponsor was paid in full on July 23, 2021.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans. As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, we will be using these funds to pay existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
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Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic and
has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on our financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Results of Operations
All activity for the period from February 1, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to our formation, the Initial Public Offering and, since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination candidate. Except as set forth in the immediately preceding sentence, we have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial Business Combination, at the earliest.
We will generate non-operating income in the
form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. For the period from February 1, 2021 (inception) to December 31, 2021, we had net income of $2,897,675, which consisted of formation and operating expenses of $2,026,369, offering costs related to warrants of $1,053,836, fair value in excess of proceeds from private warrants of $188,584 offset by interest income of $112,192 and gain from change in fair market value of warrant liabilities of $6,054,272
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations or long-term liabilities.
Administrative Services Agreement
We pay the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our founding team. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying such monthly fees. For the three months ended December 31, 2021, $30,000 has been accrued as due to related party.
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants and Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of 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) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of the initial Business Combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
On July 1, 2021, we paid an underwriting discount of 2% of the per Unit offering price, or approximately $12,190,000 million in the aggregate at the closing of the Initial Public Offering, and the underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $21,332,500 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will be payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete an initial Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
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Critical Accounting Policies
Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All of the Class A Ordinary Shares sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s charter. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021, all of the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
ASC 480-10-S99, redemption
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Derivative instruments are initially recorded at fair value on the grant date
and re-valued at each
reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on
whether or not net-cash settlement or
conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. Warrant Liability
The Company evaluated the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, “Warrants”, which are discussed in Note 3, Note 4 and Note 7) in accordance
with ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and
Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity”, and concluded that a provision in the Warrant Agreement related to certain tender or exchange offers precludes the Warrants from being accounted for as components of equity. As the Warrants meet the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815, the Warrants are recorded as derivative liabilities on the Balance Sheet and measured at fair value at inception (on the date of the IPO) and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change. Net Income per Ordinary Share
The Company has two classes of shares, Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. The Company has not considered the effect of the outstanding warrants to purchase 26,030,833 Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income per share, since their exercise is contingent upon future events. As a result, diluted net income per ordinary share is the same as basic net income per ordinary share for the periods.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU
2020-06,
Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20)
and Derivatives and Hedging- Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40):
Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”),
which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06
from the Company’s inception on February 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. We do not believe that any other recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
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Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements As of December 31, 2021, we did not have
any off-balance sheet
arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
Inflation
We do not believe that inflation had a material impact on our business, revenues or operating results during the period presented.
Emerging Growth Company Status
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and 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 its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our 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. 67
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule
12b-2
of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information required under this item. ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
This information appears following Item 15 of this this Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2021 and is included herein by reference. ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our
co-chief
executive officers and chief financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e)
and 15d-15(e)
under the Exchange Act. Based on the foregoing, our Certifying Officers concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of the end of the period covered by this Report, due to a (i) need to restate financial statements to reclassify warrants and (ii) misapplication of accounting guidance for complex financial instruments and accruals. Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company,
(2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2021. In making these assessments, management used the criteria
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set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that as of December 31, 2021, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective based on those criteria, due to the reasons discussed above under “Disclosure Controls and Procedures”.
This Annual Report on Form
10-K
does not include an attestation report of internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting, other than discussed in the following paragraph, that occurred during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 covered by this Annual Report on Form
10-K
that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Under the supervision and with the participation of our co-chief executive officers and chief financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our co-chief executive officers and chief financial officer concluded that during the period from January 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective, due to the material weakness identified related to accounting for complex financial instruments, as described in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, which constituted a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. In light of this material weakness, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
Regarding the restatement to Company’s balance sheet included on the Company’s Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on July 8, 2021, certain redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. The Company had previously classified a portion of the Class A common stock in permanent equity. The Company restated its financial statements to classify all Class A common stock as temporary equity and any related impact, as the threshold in its charter would not change the nature of the underlying shares as redeemable and thus would be required to be disclosed outside of permanent equity. On January 26, 2021, the Company filed Amendment No. 1 on Form 8-K/A to amend and restate the Company’s audited balance sheet as of July 1, 2021 that had been filed with the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K originally filed with the SEC on July 8, 2021.
To respond to this material weakness, we have devoted, and plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements, we plan to enhance these processes to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
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PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Officers and Directors
Our officers and directors are as follows:
Name |
Age |
Position | ||
Directors |
||||
Michael Capellas |
67 | Director | ||
Moira Kilcoyne |
60 | Director | ||
Charles Phillips |
62 | Director | ||
Val Rahmani |
64 | Director | ||
Jesse Cohn |
41 | Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||
Gordon Singer |
48 | Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||
Officers |
||||
David Kerko |
49 | Co-Chief Executive Officer | ||
Isaac Kim |
40 | Co-Chief Executive Officer | ||
Nabeel Bhanji |
36 | President | ||
Steven Barg |
60 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
Terry Kassel |
71 | Chief Strategy Officer |
Our Founding Team
Our management team is led by Jesse Cohn,
Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors, Gordon Singer, Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors, David Kerko, Co-Chief
Executive Officer, Isaac Kim, Co-Chief
Executive Officer, Nabeel Bhanji, President, Steven Barg, Chief Financial Officer, and Terry Kassel, Chief Strategy Officer. Mr.
Jesse Cohn
(Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors) Mr.
Gordon Singer
(Co-Chairman
of the Board of Directors)Mr.
David Kerko
(Co-Chief
Executive Officer)Co-head
of the Technology Group from 2013 to 2015. Mr. Kerko joined KKR in 1998 and played an active role building the firm’s technology platform from 2006 to 2015. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Kerko was with Gleacher NatWest Inc. where he was involved in mergers and acquisition transactions and financing work. He holds a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S.E., summa cum laude, from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania. 70
Mr.
Isaac Kim
(Co-Chief
Executive Officer)Mr.
Nabeel Bhanji
(President)
Mr.
Steven Barg
(Chief Financial Officer)
Co-head
of Asian Equity Capital Markets in Hong Kong. In 2013, he returned to New York to establish what became the firm’s Activism and Shareholder Advisory practice, which he led globally until 2019. In addition, while at Goldman, Mr. Barg served on both the Asian and the Global Equity Commitments Committees and was Global Head of Diversity for the Investment Banking Division. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Barg ran first the Asian equity and then the integrated capital markets business for UBS in Hong Kong beginning in 2006. Prior to UBS, Mr. Barg also served as a managing director in Equity Capital Markets at Credit Suisse in New York and London. In total, Mr. Barg had a 30 year career in investment banking prior to joining Elliott. Mr. Barg holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In addition, Mr. Barg was a Henry Luce Scholar in Hong Kong and a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs in New York. Ms.
Terry Kassel
(Chief Strategy Officer)
Start-Up
Nation Central, a not-for-profit
Start-Up
Nation. She also serves as Director of the Paul E. Singer Foundation, and as Board Member of the Jewish Funders Network and Jewish Food Society. Ms. Kassel earned a J.D. from Seton Hall University and a B.A. in Political Science from New York University. Mr. Michael Capellas
71
Ms.
Moira Kilcoyne
Co-Head
of Global Technology and member of the Firm’s Management Committee. In her time with Morgan Stanley, Moira held a number of leadership positions. These included Global Co-CIO
and Head of Technology for the Wealth and Investment Management organizations, where she was responsible for the overall Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Integration and Conversion efforts. She served as the COO of Global Operations, Technology and Data from 2008 to 2010 and International CIO based in London from 1996 to 2004. Her performance in mission critical roles eventually led to her serving as Global Co-CIO
from 2013 to 2016. Kilcoyne began her career at IBM, where she served in multiple technical roles, before moving on to Morgan Stanley. She currently serves on the board of UK-based
Quilter PLC., Citrix Systems, Inc., Arch Capital Group and as a Trustee of Manhattan College. Ms. Kilcoyne holds a B.S. from Manhattan College. We believe that Ms. Kilcoyne’s extensive global technology and operations experience, especially in the financial services industry make her well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors. Mr.
Charles Phillips
Ms.
Val Rahmani
non-executive
Director of the London Stock Exchange Group plc. She is a also a non-executive
Director of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-based reinsurance company. She is a non-executive
director and chair of the Compensation Committee of CTG Inc, a Nasdaq-listed Technology solutions company. Val is a non-executive
Director of Entrust, a Minneapolis based private Trusted Identity company. From 2018-2019, Val was part-time CEO of the Innovation Panel of Standard Life Aberdeen plc, a global in investment company. From 2009-2012 Val served as Chief Executive Officer of Damballa, Inc., a venture capital-funded cybersecurity company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to this, Ms. Rahmani was with IBM in various managerial capacities for 28 years. Her last role with IBM was General Manager of IBM Internet Security Systems. Other IBM roles included General Manager of the $2.7 billion Global Technology Services business, head of the Sales and Services Strategy unit, General Manager of IBM’s $3.5 billon UNIX server business, General Manager of IBM’s Mobile business as well as serving as the Executive Assistant to Louis Gerstner, then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Rahmani holds an MA and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemistry from Oxford University, England. We believe that Ms. Rahmani’s experience in executive roles and a background of leading global organizations in the technology industry make her well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors. Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors 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) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Moira Kilcoyne and Val Rahmani, will expire at our first general annual meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Michael Capellas, will expire at our second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Jesse Cohn, Charles Phillips and Gordon Singer, will expire at our third annual general meeting.
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
72
Pursuant to an agreement entered into on or prior to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors 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 provides that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief business officer, president, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of our board of directors 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 with the company which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, could interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. We have five “independent directors” as defined in NYSE’s listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips and Val Rahmani are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the amount of up to $10,000 per month. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our founding 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
73
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 founding team maintain their positions with us after the consummation 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 founding team’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our founding team to remain with us after the consummation 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.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has four standing committees: an audit committee, a nominating and corporate governance committee, a compensation committee and an operating committee.
Subject to
phase-in
rules and a limited exception, the rules of NYSE and Rule 10A-3
of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in
rules and a limited exception, the rules of NYSE require that the compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that has been approved by our board and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website. Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips and Val Rahmani serve as members of our audit committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips and Val Rahmani are independent. Val Rahmani serves as the Chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee meets the financial literacy requirements of NYSE and our board of directors has determined that Val Rahmani qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in the applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
The audit committee is responsible for:
| • | meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
| • | monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit target having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit target responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
| • | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
| • | appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
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| • | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
| • | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of our initial public offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of our initial public offering; and |
| • | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips, and Val Rahmani. Charles Phillips serves as chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips and Val Rahmani are independent.
The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.
Guidelines for Selecting Directors
The guidelines for selecting directors, which are specified in a charter that we have adopted, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
| • | should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service; |
| • | should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and |
| • | should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders. |
The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The nominating and corporate governance committee does not distinguish among directors recommended by shareholders and other persons.
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips and Val Rahmani. Moira Kilcoyne serves as chairman of the compensation committee.
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Our board of directors has determined that each of Michael Capellas, Moira Kilcoyne, Charles Phillips and Val Rahmani are independent. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers; reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
| • | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also 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 will be 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 NYSE and the SEC.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
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 of directors.
Operating Committee
We have established an operating committee of our board of directors. The members of our operating committee are Michael Capellas, Jesse Cohn, Charles Phillips and Gordon Singer. Michael Capellas and Charles Phillips each serve as
co-chairman
of the operating committee. We have adopted an operating committee charter, which details the principal functions of the operating committee, including meeting on a regular basis to discuss our business and operations and any potential business combination targets. The charter also provides that the operating committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of legal counsel or other advisers and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and our website. In addition a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form
8-K.
If we make any amendments to our Code of Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive
amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or NYSE rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form S-1
or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only. 76
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
| • | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole; |
| • | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
| • | directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
| • | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
| • | duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and |
| • | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Certain of our officers and directors have fiduciary and contractual duties to Elliott and other affiliates of our sponsor and to certain companies in which the foregoing have invested or will invest. These entities, including Elliott Opportunity I Corp., may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. None of the members of our founding team who are also officers of our sponsor and/or employees of its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, investing or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies, including in connection with their initial business combinations, prior to us completing our initial business combination.
Our sponsor and founding team, in their capacities as members, 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, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. We expect that if an opportunity is presented to one of our officers or directors in his or her capacity as an officer or director of one of those other entities, such opportunity would be presented to such other entity and not to us. Such other entities would include the Funds or other affiliates of Elliott.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity, 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, and may only decide to present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity and consummating the same would not violate any restrictive covenants to which such officers and directors are subject. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may pursue an acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may
co-invest
with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such entity a class of equity or equity-linked securities. 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 77
director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to 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. 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.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations or other material management relationships:
| INDIVIDUAL |
ENTITY |
ENTITY’S BUSINESS |
AFFILIATION | |||
| Jesse Cohn | Elliott Investment Management L.P. (1) | Investment Management | Managing Partner | |||
| Elliott Opportunity I Corp. | Special Purpose Acquisition Company | Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||||
| Gigamon (3) | Technology | Director | ||||
| Ark Continuity | Technology | Director | ||||
| Travelport Worldwide Inc. | Technology | Director | ||||
| Gordon Singer | Elliott Investment Management L.P. (1) | Investment Management | Managing Partner | |||
| Elliott Opportunity I Corp. | Special Purpose Acquisition Company | Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||||
| Barnes & Noble, Inc. | Specialty Retail | Director | ||||
| Ember Alpha Ltd. | Director | |||||
| David Kerko | Elliott Investment Management L.P. (1) | Investment Management | Head of North America Private Equity | |||
| Elliott Opportunity I Corp. | Special Purpose Acquisition Company | Co-Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| Cubic Corporation | Technology | Director | ||||
| GlobalFoundries | Technology | Director | ||||
| Isaac Kim | Evergreen Coast Capital (1) (2) | Private Equity | Senior Managing Director | |||
| Elliott Opportunity I Corp. | Special Purpose Acquisition Company | Co-Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| Coveo | Technology | Director | ||||
| Dreambox Learning | Technology | Director | ||||
| Gigamon (3) | Technology | Director | ||||
| ScholarMatch | Non-Profit Organization |
Director | ||||
| SonicWall | Technology | Director | ||||
| WorkForce Software | Technology | Director | ||||
| Removery | Consumer Services | Director | ||||
| YANA Ministry | Non-Profit Organization |
Director | ||||
| Nabeel Bhanji | Elliott Investment Management L.P. (1) | Investment Management | Senior Portfolio Manager | |||
| Elliott Opportunity I Corp. | Special Purpose Acquisition Company | President | ||||
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| INDIVIDUAL |
ENTITY |
ENTITY’S BUSINESS |
AFFILIATION | |||
| Steven Barg | Elliott Investment Management L.P. (1) | Investment Management | Global Head of Corporate Engagement | |||
| Elliott Opportunity I Corp. | Special Purpose Acquisition Company | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| Terry Kassel | Elliott Investment Management L.P. (1) | Investment Management | Head of Strategic Human Resources | |||
| Elliott Opportunity I Corp. | Special Purpose Acquisition Company | Chief Strategy Officer | ||||
| Barnes & Noble, Inc. | Specialty Retail | Director | ||||
Start-Up Nation Central Ltd. |
Non-Profit Organization |
Director | ||||
| The Paul E. Singer Foundation | Foundation | Director | ||||
| Jewish Funders Network | Non-Profit Organization |
Director | ||||
| Jewish Food Society | Non-Profit Organization |
Director | ||||
| Michael Capellas | Capellas Strategic Partners | Private Equity | Founder/Chief Executive Officer | |||
| Flex Ltd | Technology | Chairman of the Board | ||||
| Blue Yonder Group | Technology | Chairman of the Board | ||||
| Cisco | Technology | Lead Independent Director | ||||
| Vesper Healthcare | Special Purpose | Director | ||||
| Acquisition Corp. | Acquisition Company | |||||
| OnSolve | Technology | Director | ||||
| Moira Kilcoyne | Quilter PLC. | Wealth Management | Director | |||
| Citrix Systems, Inc. | Technology | Director | ||||
| Arch Capital Group | Insurance | Director | ||||
| Hudson Valley Biomass | Agriculture | Owner | ||||
| Manhattan College | Higher Education | Trustee | ||||
| Charles Phillips | American Express | Financial Services | Director | |||
| Viacom CBS | Media | Director | ||||
| Compass Real Estate | Real Estate Company | Director | ||||
| Oscar Health Inc. | Health Insurance Company | Director | ||||
| Federal Reserve Bank of New York | Bank | Board Member | ||||
| Apollo Theater | Non-Profit Organization |
Board Member | ||||
| Business Executives for National Security | Non-Profit Organization |
Board Member | ||||
| New York Police Foundation | Foundation | Board Member | ||||
| Council of Foreign Relations | Independent Membership Organization | Member | ||||
| Val Rahmani | London Stock Exchange Group plc | Stock Exchange | Non-Executive Director | |||
| RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd | Insurance | Non-Executive Director | ||||
| Entrust Datacard | Technology | Non-Executive Director | ||||
| (1) | Includes its funds, their respective portfolio companies and other affiliates. |
| (2) | Evergreen Coast Capital is the private equity affiliate of Elliott Investment Management L.P. |
| (3) | Includes its affiliated holding companies and investment entities. |
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Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | 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 is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
| • | In the course of their other business activities, our directors and officers may become aware of investment and business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated, including Elliott Opportunity I Corp. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. In addition, our sponsor and our directors and officers are, and may in the future become affiliated with other public blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. For example, our sponsor has also incorporated Elliott Opportunity I Corp., a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting its own initial business combination. Jesse Cohn and Gordon Singer are co-Chairmen of the Board of Directors, David Kerko and Isaac Kim are co-Chief Executive Officers, and Steven Barg is the Chief Financial Officer of Elliott Opportunity I Corp. Each of our other officers is an officer of Elliott Opportunity I Corp., and each of the foregoing owe fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law to Elliott Opportunity I Corp. While we expect that the determination of whether to present a particular business opportunity to us or to another blank check company affiliated with our sponsor will be made based on the amount of capital needed to consummate such business opportunity and the size of the relevant blank check company, such determination will be made by our sponsor and our directors and officers in their sole discretion, subject to their applicable fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| • | Our sponsor and our directors subscribed for founder shares prior to the date of the prospectus and our sponsor will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that closed simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering and certain of our directors hold interests in our sponsor that represent, in the aggregate, an indirect interest in 650,000 Class B ordinary shares. Our sponsor and our founding team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity. Additionally, our sponsor and our founding team have agreed to waive their respective rights to liquidating distributions from the trust |
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| account with respect to their respective founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the required time period. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period, the private placement warrants and the underlying securities will expire worthless. In addition, our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.002 per share and we offered units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our initial public offering; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. (See “Risk Factors—Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.002 per founder share. As a result of this low initial price, our sponsor and members of our board of directors stand to make a substantial profit even if an initial business combination subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders.” and “—Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after our initial public offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.”) Except as described herein, our sponsor and our founding team have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our executive officers and directors will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly through interests in our sponsor, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| • | Our initial shareholders, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor, any initial shareholders or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. |
| • | Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination. |
| • | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, founders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of our founders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or accounting firm that such initial business combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, we pay our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the amount of up to $10,000 per month.
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We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
Elliott manages several investment vehicles. Elliott, the Funds or their respective affiliates, or other affiliates of Elliott may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these funds or affiliates decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Elliott may be suitable for both us and for the Funds or another affiliate of Elliott and may be directed to such fund or affiliate rather than to us, subject to applicable fiduciary duties. Neither Elliott nor members of our founding team who are also employed by Elliott have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware solely in their capacities as officers or managing directors of Elliott. The firm and/or our management, in their capacities as officers or managing directors of Elliott or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future Elliott investments or investment vehicles, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to applicable fiduciary duties.
We may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with Elliott and/or one or more investors in the Funds. Any such parties may
co-invest
with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout the prospectus. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares) would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance (including the forward purchase shares), unless the holders of a majority of the then-issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive approval pursuant to an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our founding team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by
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law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
We have purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We pay our sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to members of our management team. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the Trust Account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
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 initial 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 initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our 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 consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our 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 consummation 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 officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares available to us at
April 13, 2022
, with respect to our ordinary shares held by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
| • | each of our executive officers and directors; and |
| • | all our executive officers and directors, as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of
April 13, 2022
.
Class A ordinary shares |
Class B ordinary shares(2) |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Name of Beneficial Owners(1) |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Approximate Percentage of Ordinary Shares |
|||||||||||||||
| 5% Shareholders: |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Elliott Opportunity II Sponsor L.P.(2)(3) |
— | — | 14,862,500 | 97.5 | % | 19.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Entities affiliated with Citadel Advisors LLC(4) |
3,800,922 | 6.2 | % | — | — | 5.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Entities affiliated with Naya Capital Management UK Ltd.(5) |
5,000,000 | 8.2 | % | — | — | 6.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Directors and Officers: |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Michael Capellas(2)(6) |
— | — | 75,000 | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Moira Kilcoyne(2)(6) |
— | — | 75,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| Charles Phillips(2)(6) |
— | — | 75,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| Val Rahmani(2)(6) |
— | — | 75,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| All officers and directors as a group (10 individuals) |
— | — | 300,000 | 2.0 | % | * | ||||||||||||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | The business address of each of the following entities and individuals is Phillips Point, East Tower, 777 S. Flagler Drive, Suite 1000, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. |
| (3) | Elliott Opportunity II Sponsor L.P. is a Delaware limited partnership managed by affiliates of Elliott Investment Management L.P. (“EIM”). Elliott Opportunity II Sponsor GP LLC (“Sponsor GP”) is the general partner of Sponsor. Elliott International, L.P. (“Elliott International”) is the managing member of |
Sponsor GP and sole member of Sponsor GP. EIM, a Delaware limited partnership, is the investment manager of Elliott International with respect to the Class B ordinary shares held by our sponsor. Elliott Investment Management GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“EIM GP”), is the sole general partner of EIM. Paul E. Singer is the sole managing member of EIM GP. EIM may be deemed to have voting and dispositive control of the ordinary shares held of record by our sponsor. As a result, other than as set forth above, none of the
co-investors,
partners or members of our sponsor exercise voting or dispositive power with respect to the Class B ordinary shares or are deemed to have beneficial ownership of such shares. 85
| (4) | The information in the table above is based solely on information contained in this shareholder’s Schedule 13G under the Exchange Act filed by Citadel Advisors LLC (“Citadel Advisors”), Citadel Advisors Holdings LP (“CAH”), Citadel GP LLC (“CGP”), Citadel Securities LLC (“Citadel Securities”), Citadel Securities Group LP (“CALC4”), Citadel Securities GP LLC (“CSGP”) and Mr. Kenneth Griffin (collectively with Citadel Advisors, CAH, CGP, Citadel Securities, CALC4 and CSGP, the “Citadel Investors”) with respect to the shares owned by Citadel Multi-Strategy Equities Master Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands company (“CM”), and Citadel Securities. Such owned shares may include other instruments exercisable for or convertible into shares. Citadel Advisors is the portfolio manager for CM. CAH is the sole member of Citadel Advisors. CGP is the general partner of CAH. CALC4 is the non-member manager of Citadel Securities. CSGP is the general partner of CALC4. Mr. Griffin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of CGP, and owns a controlling interest in CGP and CSGP. The address of the principal business office of each of the Citadel Investors is 131 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603. |
| (5) | The information in the table above is based solely on information contained in this shareholder’s Schedule 13G under the Exchange Act filed by Naya Capital Management UK Ltd., a United Kingdom private limited company (“Naya”), with respect to the shares owned by certain funds (the “Naya Funds”) to which it serves as the investment manager and Masroor Siddiqui (“Mr. Siddiqui,” and together with Naya, the “Naya Investors”). The address of the business office of each of the Naya Investors is 103 Mount Street, London W1K 2TJ. |
| (6) | Does not include any shares indirectly owned by this individual as a result of his or her indirect ownership interest in our sponsor. |
Our initial shareholders beneficially own approximately 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founders shares have the right to vote on the election of directors, and holders of a majority of our founders shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions
In connection with our initial public offering, our sponsor and our founding team entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they waived their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity. Further, our sponsor and each member of our founding team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. Our sponsor is deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to
lock-up
provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and our founding team. Our sponsor and our founding team have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell (i) any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions,
share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) any of their private placement warrants and Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The foregoing restrictions are not applicable to transfers (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members or targets of our sponsor or its affiliates, any affiliates of our sponsor, or any employees of such affiliates; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to 86
a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the founder shares, private placement warrants or Class A ordinary shares, as applicable, were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of our sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of our sponsor; (g) to the Company for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination; (h) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; or (i) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement
Equity Compensation Plans
As of December 31, 2021, we had no compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which equity securities were authorized for issuance.
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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
On February 1, 2021, our initial shareholders paid $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share, to cover for certain offering costs, and in consideration received 14,375,000 founder shares. On June 28, 2021, the Company issued an additional 862,500 shares in connection with the increase in the size of the offering, resulting in an aggregate of 15,237,500 founder shares issued and outstanding. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. The founder shares (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. Prior to our initial public offering, our sponsor has transferred 75,000 of our founder shares to each of our five independent directors. In addition, certain of our directors hold interests in our sponsor that represent, in the aggregate, an indirect, economic interest in 650,000 Class B ordinary shares.
Our sponsor has purchased, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase 10,793,333 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $16,190,000 in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. As such, our sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at $16,190,000. The private placement warrants and Class A ordinary shares issued upon the exercise or conversion thereof may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any 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 opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We currently maintain our executive offices at Phillips Point, East Tower, 777 S. Flagler Drive, Suite 1000, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. The cost for our use of this space is included in the fee of up to $10,000 per month that we pay to our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended 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 an initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that the 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 at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, members of our founding team or any of their affiliates as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our founding team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to
88
our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We entered into a registration and shareholder rights agreement pursuant to which our initial shareholders, and their permitted transferees, if any, will be entitled to certain registration rights with respect to the private placement warrants, the securities issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares. Further, pursuant to an agreement entered into on or prior to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement, which is described under the section of the prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Registration and Shareholder Rights.”
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors have adopted a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation
S-K
as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee shall be provided with the details of each new, existing, or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction. 89
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm since inception include:
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
||||
| Audit Fees(1) |
$ | 114,235 | ||
| Audit-Related Fees(2) |
$ | 14,000 | ||
| Tax Fees(3) |
$ | |||
| All Other Fees(4) |
$ | |||
| Total Fees |
$ | 128,235 | ||
| (1) | Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. |
| (2) | Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. |
| (3) | Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. |
| (4) | All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. |
Policy on Board
Pre-Approval
of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit
Services of the Independent Auditors Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not exceptions for
pre-approve
all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve
all auditing services and permitted non-audit
services to be performed for us by Marcum LLP, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis
non-audit
services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit). 90
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this report: |
| (1) | Financial Statements |
Reference is made to the Index to Financial Statements of the Company under Item 8 of Part II above.
| (2) | Financial Statement Schedule |
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial, not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto in Item 8 of Part II above.
| (3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.
EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | Previously filed. |
| ** | Filed herewith. |
91
ITEM 16. FORM
10-K
SUMMARY Not applicable.
92
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
April 13, 2022
| Elliott Opportunity II Corp. | ||
| By: | /s/ Isaac Kim | |
| Name: Isaac Kim | ||
| Title: Co-Chief Executive Officer | ||
93
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated below.
NAME |
POSITION |
DATE | ||
| /s/ David Kerko David Kerko |
Co-Chief Executive Officer ( Principal Executive Officer and the Registrant’s authorized signatory in the United States |
April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Isaac Kim Isaac Kim |
Co-Chief Executive Officer ( Principal Executive Officer and the Registrant’s authorized signatory in the United States |
April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Steven Barg Steven Barg |
Chief Financial Officer ( Principal Financial and Accounting Officer |
April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Jesse Cohn Jesse Cohn |
Co-Chairman of the Board | April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Gordon Singer Gordon Singer |
Co-Chairman of the Board | April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Michael Capellas Michael Capellas |
Director | April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Moira Kilcoyne Moira Kilcoyne |
Director | April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Charles Phillips Charles Phillips |
Director | April 13, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Val Rahmani Val Rahmani |
Director | April 13, 2022 | ||
94
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
ELLIOTT OPPORTUNITY II CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| Page | ||||
| F - 2 | ||||
| F - 3 | ||||
| F - 4 | ||||
| F - 5 | ||||
| F - 6 | ||||
| F - 7 | ||||
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Elliot Opportunity II Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Elliot Opportunity II Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for the period from February 1, 2021 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 February 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
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/ Marcum
LLP
Marcum
LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
West Palm Beach, FL
April 13, 2022
F-2
ELLIOTT OPPORTUNITY II CORP.
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Assets |
||||
| Current assets: |
||||
| Cash |
$ | 720,480 | ||
| Prepaid expenses |
856,416 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Total Current Assets |
1,576,896 | |||
| Investments held in Trust Account |
609,610,629 | |||
| Prepaid Expenses |
413,554 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Total assets |
$ |
611,601,079 |
||
| |
|
|||
| Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit |
||||
| Current liabilities: |
||||
| Accrued expenses |
$ | 1,252,721 | ||
| Due to related party |
60,000 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Total current liabilities |
1,312,721 | |||
| Deferred underwriters’ discount |
21,332,500 | |||
| Warrant liability |
28,176,791 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Total liabilities |
50,822,012 | |||
| Commitments and contingencies (Note 6) |
||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, 60,950,000 at redemption value of $10.00 at December 31, 2021 |
609,500,000 | |||
| Shareholders’ Deficit: |
||||
| Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
— | |||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized |
— | |||
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 15,237,500 issued and outstanding |
1,524 | |||
| Additional paid-in capital |
— | |||
| Accumulated deficit |
(48,722,457 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Total shareholders’ deficit |
(48,720,933 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ deficit |
$ |
611,601,079 |
||
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
ELLIOTT OPPORTUNITY II CORP.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 1, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Formation and operating costs |
$ | 2,026,369 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Loss from operations |
(2,026,369 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Other income (expense) |
||||
| Interest income on investments held in trust account |
112,192 | |||
| Offering costs allocated to warrants |
(1,053,836 | ) | ||
| Fair value in excess of proceeds from sale of private warrants |
(188,584 | ) | ||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
6,054,272 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Total other income |
4,924,044 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Net income |
$ | 2,897,675 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
33,577,246 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | 0.06 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, Class B ordinary shares |
15,237,500 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B ordinary shares |
$ | 0.06 | ||
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
ELLIOTT OPPORTUNITY II CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 1, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Class A Ordinary Share |
Class B Ordinary Share |
Additional Paid-in Capital |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
Accumulated Deficit |
Shareholders’ Deficit) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of February 1, 2021 |
— | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Class B Ordinary Shares Issued to Sponsor |
— | — | 15,237,500 | 1,524 | 23,476 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of Class A ordinary shares to redemption amount |
— | — | — | — | (23,476 | ) | (51,620,132 | ) | (51,643,608 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net income |
— | — | — | — | — | 2,897,675 | 2,897,675 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 |
— | $ | — | 15,237,500 |
$ |
1,524 |
$ | — | $ |
(48,722,457 |
) |
$ |
(48,720,933 |
) | ||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
ELLIOTT OPPORTUNITY II CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 1, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Cash flows from operating activities: |
||||
| Net Income |
$ | 2,897,675 | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||
| Formation costs paid by Sponsor |
12,267 | |||
| Interest earned on investments held in trust account |
(110,629 | ) | ||
| Offering costs allocated to warrants |
1,053,837 | |||
| Fair value in excess of proceed from sale of private warrants |
188,584 | |||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability |
(6,054,272 | ) | ||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||
| Prepaid assets |
(856,416 | ) | ||
| Other assets |
(413,554 | ) | ||
| Accrued expenses |
672,221 | |||
| Due to related party |
60,000 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
(2,550,287 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: |
||||
| Investment of cash in Trust Account |
(609,500,000 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash used in investing activities |
(609,500,000 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discount |
597,310,000 | |||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants |
16,190,000 | |||
| Payment of promissory note |
(286,377 | ) | ||
| Payment of offering costs |
(442,856 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash provided by financing activities |
612,770,767 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Net change in cash |
720,480 | |||
| Cash, beginning of period |
— | |||
| |
|
|||
| Cash, end of the period |
$ | 720,480 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: |
||||
| Accretion of Class A ordinary shares to redemption amount |
$ | 51,643,608 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Offering costs in accrued offering costs and expenses |
$ | 580,500 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Initial measurement of Public Warrants |
$ |
17,852,479 |
||
| Initial measurement of Private Warrants |
$ |
16,378,584 |
||
| Initial classification of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption |
$ |
591,647,521 |
||
| Deferred underwriters’ discount payable charged to additional paid-in capital |
$ | 21,332,500 | ||
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
ELLIOTT OPPORTUNITY II CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations
Elliott Opportunity II Corp. (formerly known as Wood Hill Opportunity Corp., the “Company”) was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on February 1, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets (the “Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific Business Combination target and the Company has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target with respect to the Business Combination with it.
As of July 1, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from February 1, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate
non-operating
income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Initial public offering (as defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end. The Company’s sponsor is Elliott Opportunity Sponsor II L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Company’s initial public offering was declared effective on June 28, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On July 1, 2021, the Company consummated the initial public offering (the “Public Offering” or “IPO”) of 60,950,000 units (the “Units”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 7,950,000 Units, at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $609,500,000, which is discussed in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 10,793,333 warrants to the Sponsor (the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds of $16,190,000, which is discussed in Note 4. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share.
Transaction costs of the IPO amounted to $34,844,966, comprised of $12,190,000 of underwriting discount, $21,332,500 of deferred underwriting discount, and $1,322,466 of other offering costs, and of which $1,053,837 were allocated to expense associated with the warrant liability.
Following the closing of the IPO on July 1, 2021, $609,500,000 (approximately $10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO, including a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, was deposited in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and may only be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under
Rule 2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay taxes, if any, the proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the Trust Account (1) to the Company, until the completion of the initial Business Combination, or (2) to the public shareholders, until the earliest of (a) the completion of the initial Business Combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholders properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a (A) shareholder vote to amend the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial public offering (the “Combination Period”), or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial
business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of the public shares if the Company has not consummated the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the F-7
closing of the Initial public offering. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (b) 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 the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the public shareholders.
The Company will provide its public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations).
The Company will have 24 months from July 1, 2021, the closing of the IPO, to complete the initial Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company is unable to complete the initial 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 not more than ten business days, redeem the public shares, at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay the income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the 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 Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to consummate an initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering. The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares they hold in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after the Public Offering in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with its initial Business Combination or 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 Public Offering, (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity and , (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any founder shares or private placement warrants they hold if the Company fails to consummate the Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering). The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (excluding the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public 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 the Company’s tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial public offering against certain liabilities,
F-8
including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Company’s sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and the Company believes that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021 the Company had approximately $0.7 million in cash, and approximately $0.3 million in working
capital. which excludes taxes payable as such amounts can be paid from the interest earned in the Trust Account. As of December 31, 2021, approximately $0.1 million of the amount on deposit in marketable securities held in the Trust Account represented interest income, which is available to pay the Company’s tax obligations.
The Company’s liquidity needs up to December 31, 2021 were satisfied through a capital contribution from the Sponsor of $25,000 (see Note 5) for the founder shares and the loan under an unsecured promissory note from the Sponsor of up to $300,000, which was repaid in full on July 23, 2021 (see Note 5). Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO, the Company’s liquidity needs have been satisfied through the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (see Note 5). To date, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the
COVID-19
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 these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
F-9
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company 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. Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021.
Investment Held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2021, investment in the Company’s Trust Account consisted of cash of $1,396 and U.S. Treasury Securities of $609,610,629. All of the U.S. Treasury Securities in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 320 “Investments – Debt and Equity Securities”. securities are those securities which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.
matured
on March 31, 2022
. The Company classifies its U.S. Treasury Securities as held-to-maturity
Held-to-maturity
Held-to-maturity
The carrying value, excluding gross unrealized holding loss and fair value of held to maturity securities on December 31, 2021 are as follows:
| Carrying Value as of December 31, 2021 |
Gross Unrealized Gains |
Gross Unrealized Losses |
Fair Value as of December 31, 2021 |
|||||||||||||
| Cash |
1,396 | — | — | 1,396 | ||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury Securities |
609,609,233 | — | (30,488 | ) | 609,578,745 | |||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| $ | 609,610,629 | $ | — | $ | (30,488 | ) | $ | 609,580,141 | ||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering
The Company complies with the requirements of the FASB costs consisted of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the Initial Public Offering that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with warrant liabilities are expensed as incurred and are presented as
ASC 340-10-S99-1. Offering
non-operating
expenses in the statement of operations. Offering costs associated with the Class A ordinary shares were charged to temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Accordingly, on February 1, 2021 offering costs totaling $34,844,966 (consisting of $12,190,000 of underwriting fee, $21,332,500 of deferred underwriting fee and $1,322,466 of other offering costs) were recognized with $1,053,837 included in accumulated deficit as an allocation for the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants. F-10
Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All of the Class A Ordinary Shares sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s charter. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021, all of the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
480-10-S99,
The Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption reflected on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 is reconciled in the following table:
| Gross Proceeds |
$ | 609,500,000 | ||
| Less: |
||||
| Proceeds allocated to public warrants |
(17,852,479 | ) | ||
| Class A ordinary shares issuance costs |
(33,791,129 | ) | ||
| Plus: |
||||
| Accretion of carrying value to redemption value |
51,643,608 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | 609,500,000 | ||
| |
|
Net Income per Ordinary Share
The Company has two classes of shares, Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. The Company has not considered the effect of the outstanding warrants to purchase 26,030,833 Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income per share, since their exercise is contingent upon future events. As a result, diluted net income per ordinary share is the same as basic net income per ordinary share for the periods. The table below presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net income per share for each class of ordinary share:
For the period from February 1, 2021 (Inception) December 31, 2021 |
||||
| Net income per share for Class A common stock: |
||||
| Net income |
$ | 2,897,675 | ||
| Less: Allocation of income to Class A common stock |
(904,508 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Adjusted net income |
$ | 1,993,167 | ||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A common stock |
33,577,246 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share, Class A common stock |
$ | 0.06 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net income per share for Class B common stock: |
||||
| Net income |
$ | 2,897,675 | ||
| Less: Allocation of income to Class A common stock |
(1,993,167 | ) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Adjusted net income |
$ | 904,508 | ||
| |
|
|||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B common stock |
15,237,500 | |||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B common stock |
$ | 0.06 | ||
| |
|
|||
F-11
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature.
The Company follows the guidance in ASC 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are
re-measured
and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial
assets and liabilities that are re-measured
and reported at fair value at least annually.
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
| Level 1 | Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. Valuation adjustments and block discounts are not being applied. Since valuations are based on quoted prices that are readily and regularly available in an active market, valuation of these securities does not entail a significant degree of judgment. |
| Level 2 | Valuations based on (i) quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities, (ii) quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets, (iii) inputs other than quoted prices for the assets or liabilities, or (iv) inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by market through correlation or other means. |
| Level 3 | Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. |
See Note 7 for additional information on assets and liabilities measured at fair value.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Derivative instruments are initially recorded at fair value on the grant date and
re-valued
at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current
based on whether or not net-cash
settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. Warrant Liability
The Company evaluated the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, “Warrants”, which are discussed in Note 3, Note 4 and Note 7) in accordance with ASC
815-40,
“Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity”, and concluded that a provision in the Warrant Agreement related to certain tender or exchange offers precludes the Warrants from being accounted for as components of equity. As the Warrants meet the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815, the Warrants are recorded as derivative liabilities on the Balance Sheet and measured at fair value at inception (on the date of the IPO) and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change. Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in
F-12
the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2021, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction 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 period presented.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU
2020-06,
Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20)
and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40):
Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”),
which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06
from the Company’s inception on February 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Note 3 — Initial Public Offering
Public Units
On July 1, 2021, the Company sold 60,950,000 Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 7,950,000 Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A ordinary share, and
one-fourth
of one redeemable warrant (the “Public Warrants”). Public Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed herein. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and in the case of any such issuance to the Company’s sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the Company’s sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross
F-13
proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 12 months from the closing of the Initial public offering or 30 days after the completion of its initial Business Combination, and will expire five years after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination at, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if the Company’s Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so appoints, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $18.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the warrants for redemption (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and |
| • | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $10.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of Class A ordinary shares to be determined by reference to the redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares (as defined below); |
F-14
| • | if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted per share subdivisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
The “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings. The Company will provide the warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the
10-day
trading period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). Note 4 — Private Placement
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 10,793,333 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $16,190,000, in a private placement. A portion of the proceeds from the private placement was added to the proceeds from the IPO held in the Trust Account.
Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in the Initial public offering. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination to the Company’s officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants) and they will not be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by its sponsor or its permitted transferees. The Company’s sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. The Private Placement Warrants will be
non-redeemable
and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than the sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in the Initial public offering. The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and any public shares purchased during or after the Initial public offering in connection with (i) the completion of the initial Business Combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of the Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of the Class A ordinary shares or
pre-initial
business combination activity, and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period. In addition, the Company’s Sponsor, officers, and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and public shares purchased during or after the Initial public offering in favor of the Company’s initial Business Combination. Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On February 1, 2021, the initial shareholders paid $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share, to cover for certain formation costs and offering costs in consideration for which they received 14,375,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”). On June 28, 2021, the Company effected a stock dividend of 0.2 shares per outstanding share, which increased the Founder Shares outstanding to 15,237,500, including an aggregate of up to 1,987,500 Founder Shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. All shares have been restated retroactively. As a result of the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their over-allotment option on July 1, 2021, none of the Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture any longer.
F-15
The initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination, or (ii) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share
sub-divisions,
share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Promissory Note — Related Party
On February 1, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Initial public offering. These loans are
non-interest
bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of the Initial public offering. The Company had borrowed $286,377 under the promissory note and it repaid the Sponsor in full on July 23, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, the note is no longer available to be drawn upon. Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes the initial Business Combination, the Company may repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that the initial Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination company at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Service Fee
The Company pays the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of the Company’s founding team. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. As of December 31, 2021, $60,000 administrative fees had been accrued as due to related party.
Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of 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) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Initial public offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the Company’s completion of the initial Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
F-16
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriter had a
45-day
option from the date of the IPO to purchase up to an aggregate of 7,950,000 additional Units at the public offering price less the underwriting commissions to cover over-allotments, if any. On July 1, 2021, the underwriter fully exercised its over-allotment option. The underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering, or $21,332,500 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will be payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes an initial Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Note 7 — Fair Value Measurements
The following table presents information about the Company’s liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
December 31, 2021 |
Quoted Prices In Active Markets (Level 1) |
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) |
Significant Other Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) |
|||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Investments Held in Trust Account |
$ | 609,610,629 | — | $ | 609,610,629 | — | ||||||||||
| $ | 609,610,629 | — | $ | 609,610,629 | — | |||||||||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Public Warrants Liability |
$ | 16,304,125 | $ | 16,304,125 | — | $ | — | |||||||||
Private Placement Warrants Liability |
11,872,666 | — | — | 11,872,666 | ||||||||||||
| $ | 28,176,791 | $ | 16,304,125 | $ | 609,609,233 | $ | 11,872,666 | |||||||||
The Warrants are accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC
815-40
and are presented within warrant liabilities on the Balance Sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis. The Company established the initial fair value of the Public Warrants on July 1, 2021, the date of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, using an Option Pricing Method, incorporating a barrier option simulation through a modified Black Scholes framework, and as of December 31, 2021 by using the associated trading price of the Public Warrants. The Company established the initial fair value of the Private Placement Warrants on January 8, 2021 and on December 31, 2021 by using a Black-Scholes option pricing method. The Warrants were classified as Level 3 at the initial measurement date due to the use of unobservable inputs. The Public Warrants were subsequently classified as Level 1, as the subsequent valuation was based upon the trading price of the Public Warrants.
The key inputs into the Black Scholes option pricing methods for the Private Warrants were as follows at initial measurement and at December 31, 2021:
Inputs |
July 1, 2021 (Initial Measurement) |
December 31, 2021 |
||||||
Risk-free interest rate |
1.4 | % | 1.3 | % | ||||
Expected term remaining (years) |
5.0 | 5.0 | ||||||
Expected volatility |
30.1 | % | 17.1 | % | ||||
Implied Stock price |
$ | 9.60 | $ | 9.77 | ||||
Exercise price |
$ | 11.50 | $ | 11.50 | ||||
F-17
The change in the fair value of the derivative warrant liabilities, measured using Level 3 inputs is summarized as follows:
Warrant Liabilities |
||||
Fair Value as of February 1, 2021 (inception) |
$ | — | ||
Initial measurement on July 1, 2021 |
34,231,063 | |||
Change in fair value of Warrants |
(1,979,159 | ) | ||
Transfer of Public Warrants to Level 1 |
(20,379,238 | ) | ||
Fair Value as of December 31, 2021 |
$ | 11,872,666 | ||
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period in which a change in valuation technique or methodology occurs.
Note 8 — Shareholders’ Deficit
Preferred Shares
and
outstanding. Class
A Ordinary Shares
Class
B Ordinary Shares
Holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders except as required by law. Unless specified in the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the Company’s ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by its shareholders.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of the initial Business Combination at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an
as-converted
basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the consummation of the Initial public offering, plus the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, members of the Company’s founding team or any of their affiliates upon conversion of Working Capital Loans. Any conversion of Class B ordinary shares described herein will take effect as a compulsory redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.
Note 9 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-18