Heartland Media Acquisition Corp. - Quarter Report: 2022 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022

OR

For the transition period from________________ to________________

Commission File Number: 001-41152

HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(470) 355-1944

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

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

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

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

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

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

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

As of May 23, 2022, 19,246,931 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 4,811,732 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, were issued and outstanding, respectively.

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HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

Form 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2022

Table of Contents

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

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

HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(UNAUDITED)

1. Excluding 219,518 shares of Class B common stock forfeited due to the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option.

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

HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY

(UNAUDITED)

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2022

HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY

(UNAUDITED)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 10, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MARCH 31, 2021

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

HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(UNAUDITED)

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

Note 1—Organization and Business Operations

Heartland Media Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on February 10, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific target business and the Company has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any target business regarding a Business Combination with the Company.

As of March 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from February 10, 2021 (inception) through March 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation and the IPO (as defined below), and since the IPO, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. 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 IPO. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The Company’s sponsor is Heartland Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”).

The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on January 20, 2022 (the “Effective Date”). On January 25, 2022, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) of 17,500,000 units (the “Units”). Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Public Shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (the “Public Warrants”). Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share of common stock at $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $175,000,000, which is discussed in Note 3.

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale (the “Private Placement”) of an aggregate of 9,875,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $9,875,000, which is discussed in Note 4.

On February 7, 2022, the Company issued an additional 1,746,931 Units in connection with the partial exercise by the underwriters of the IPO of their over-allotment option, generating gross proceeds of $17,469,310, which is discussed in Note 3. Simultaneously with the closing of the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option, the Company sold an additional 786,119 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, to the Sponsor in a private placement (the “Over-allotment Private Placement” and, together with the Private Placement, the “Private Placements”) generating gross proceeds of $786,119, which is discussed in Note 4.

Transaction costs amounted to $11,487,823 consisting of $3,849,386 of underwriting commissions, $6,736,426 of deferred underwriting commissions, $448,005 of incentives to two investors (see Note 4), and $891,506 of other offering costs, partially offset by the reimbursement of $437,500 of offering expenses by the underwriters. The Company’s remaining cash after payment of the offering costs is held outside of the Trust Account (as defined below) for working capital purposes.

The Company’s Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (net of taxes payable) at the time of the signing of an agreement to enter into a Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.

 

Following the closing of the IPO on January 25, 2022 and the partial exercise of the over-allotment option on February 7, 2022, an amount of $197,281,043 ($10.25 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a Trust Account (“Trust Account”) and invested only in U.S. “government securities” with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay taxes, the funds held in the Trust Account will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest to occur of: (1) the completion of the initial Business Combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption 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 18 months from the closing of the IPO or up to 21 months from the closing of the IPO at the election of the Company, subject to certain conditions, including the deposit of $1,924,693.10 (or $0.10 per unit) into the Trust Account or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of the public shares if the Company has not completed the initial Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO or during any Extension Period (as defined below), subject to applicable law. 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 stockholders.

The Company will provide the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either: (1) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial Business Combination; or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, 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 (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the Trust Account is anticipated to be $10.25 per public share.

The shares of common stock subject to redemption were recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the IPO, in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board's (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company’s Class A common stock is not a “penny stock” upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the issued and outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.

The Company has only 18 months from the closing of the IPO to complete the initial Business Combination (the “Combination Period”) or up to 21 months from the closing of the IPO, until July 25, 2023 (18 months) or up to October 25, 2023 (21 months), at the election of the Company, subject to certain conditions, including the deposit of $1,924,693.10 (or $0.10 per unit) into the Trust Account. If the Company has not completed the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period, the Company will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of 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 (net of taxes payable and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to: (1) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination; (2) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation; and (3) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any founder shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any extended time that the Company has to consummate a Business Combination beyond 18 months as a result of either (a) at the election of the Company, an additional three months, subject to certain conditions, including the deposit of $1,924,693.10 (or $0.10 per unit) into the Trust Account or (b) a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (any such additional period, an “Extension Period”) (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 the initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame).

The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than the 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 amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $10.25 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), 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 the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company has not independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnification obligations. Given that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company, the Sponsor may not be able to satisfy those indemnification obligations. The Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such obligations.

Liquidity and Going Concern

As of March 31, 2022, the Company had $794,127 in its operating bank account, and working capital of $884,192.

Subsequent to the annual period covered by the annual report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”), the Company consummated its IPO (see Note 3) and Private Placement (See Note 4). Of the net proceeds from the sale of the Units and Private Placement Warrants, $197,281,043 of cash was placed in the Trust Account and $1,567,447 of cash was held outside of the Trust Account and is available for the Company’s working capital purposes.

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial 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 Working Capital Loans, as defined below (see Note 5). As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.

Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company has alleviated the substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern and has 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 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.

Risks and Uncertainties

Note 2—Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

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

In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further the impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy are not determinable as of the date of these unaudited condensed financial statements and the specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

Emerging Growth Company Status

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section2(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 stockholder 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. 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 unaudited condensed financial statements in conformity with U.S. 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 unaudited condensed financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the unaudited condensed financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in the financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liability. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and, accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account.

Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account

At March 31, 2022, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. All of the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of investments held in the Trust Account are included in interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in Trust Account are determined using available market information.

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 had no cash equivalents as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. The Company held $794,127 and $25,722 in cash as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.

Offering Costs

Deferred offering costs consisted of legal expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the IPO. Deferred offering costs were allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the IPO based on a relative fair value basis compared to the total proceeds received. Upon completion of the IPO, offering costs associated with warrant liability were expensed and presented as non-operating expenses in the statement of operations, and offering costs associated with the common stock were charged to the stockholders’ equity.

Offering Costs associated with the Initial Public Offering

The Company complies with the requirements of ASC 340-10-S99-1, SEC Staff Accounting bulletin Topic 5A – “Expenses of Offering”, and SEC Staff Accounting bulletin Topic 5T – “Accounting for Expenses or Liabilities Paid by Principal Stockholder(s).” Offering costs consist principally of professional and registration fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the IPO. Offering costs directly attributable to the issuance of an equity contract to be classified in equity are recorded as a reduction of equity. Offering costs for equity contracts that are classified as assets and liabilities are expensed immediately. The Company incurred offering costs amounting to $11,487,823 as a result of the IPO (consisting of $3,849,386 of underwriting commissions, $6,736,426 of deferred underwriting commissions, $448,005 of incentives to two investors (see Note 4), and $891,506 of other offering costs, partially offset by the reimbursement of $437,500 of offering expenses by the underwriters). The Company immediately expensed $1,122,330 of offering costs in connection with the warrant liability and $448,005 of incentives to banker investors.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:

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

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”. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative 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.

The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record a derivative liability upon the closing of the IPO. Accordingly, the Company classified each warrant as a liability at its fair value and the warrants were allocated a portion of the proceeds from the issuance of the Units equal to their fair value determined by the Monte Carlo simulation. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. The Company will reassess the classification at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the warrants will be reclassified as of the date of the event that causes the reclassification.

Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company's Class A common stock that was sold as part of the Units in the IPO contains a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company's liquidation, or if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Company's initial Business Combination. In accordance with ASC 480-10-S99, the Company classifies such public shares subject to redemption outside of permanent equity as the redemption provisions are not solely within the control of the Company. The Public Shares sold as part of the Units in the IPO were issued with Public Warrants and as such, the initial carrying value of Public Shares classified as temporary equity were the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20.

As of March 31, 2022, the amount of Public Shares reflected on the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:

Net Loss Per Common stock

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per common stock is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common stock outstanding for the period. Remeasurement associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stock is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.

The calculation of diluted loss per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) IPO, and (ii) the Private Placement since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. The warrants are exercisable to purchase 20,284,585 shares of Class A common stock in the aggregate. As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted net loss per common stock is the same as basic net loss per common stock for the periods presented.

The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per common stock (in dollars, except per share amounts):

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.

ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position 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. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition.

The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.

The Company has identified the United States as its only “major” tax jurisdiction.

The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. These examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

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 continues to evaluate the impact of ASU 2020-06 on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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

Note 3—Initial Public Offering

On January 25, 2022, the Company sold 17,500,000 Units at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.

On February 7, 2022, the Company issued an additional 1,746,931 Units in connection with the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option, generating gross proceeds of $17,469,310.

Following the closing of the IPO on January 25, 2022 and the partial exercise of the over-allotment option on February 7, 2022, an amount of $197,281,043 ($10.25 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a Trust Account and invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 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.

Note 4—Private Placement

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company’s Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,875,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant ($9,875,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the IPO. Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share of common stock at $11.50 per share.

Simultaneously with the closing of the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option, the Company sold an additional 786,119 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, to the Sponsor in a private placement, generating gross proceeds of $786,119.

The Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and they will not be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. 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 sold in the IPO.

 

On December 9, 2021, two investors affiliated with an employee of an affiliate of an underwriter of the Company’s IPO committed to purchase a total of 85,800 units in the Sponsor (the “Sponsor Units”) at a price of $5.00 per Sponsor Unit, for total proceeds to the Sponsor of $429,000. Each Sponsor Unit relates to a membership interest in the Sponsor consisting of 1.75 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company and 4.9375 Private Placement Warrants of the Company. Upon the IPO, the excess of the fair value of the membership interests transferred over the purchase price of $448,005 were accounted for as offering costs in connection with the private placement and immediately expensed.

Note 5—Related Party Transactions

Founder Shares

On March 4, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On October 27, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 1,437,500 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in 5,750,000 shares outstanding of which 750,000 were subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised. On January 14, 2022, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in 5,031,250 shares outstanding of which 656,250 were subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by our Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the IPO. Up to 656,250 founder shares were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option on February 3, 2022, 436,732 shares of Class B common stock are no longer subject to forfeiture.

The initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination; or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination that results in all of the stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (the “Lock-up”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, 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, the founder shares will be released from the Lock-up.

Promissory Note—Related Party

The Company’s Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the IPO. The loan was non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of June 30, 2022 or the closing of the IPO.

The loan was repaid in full upon the closing of the IPO out of the offering proceeds that were allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions). The Company overpaid $16,055, which will be returned by the Sponsor.

Related Party Loans

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial 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 (the “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 may be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor. At March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding.

Administrative Support Agreement

Subsequent to the closing of the IPO, the Company pays an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company has incurred $47,742 administrative service fees. For the period from February 10, 2021 (inception) through March 31, 2021, the Company did not incur any fees for these services.

Note 6—Commitments and Contingencies

Registration Rights

The holders of the founder shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on the closing of the IPO requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to shares of Class A common stock). The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriters Agreement

The underwriters had a 45-day option from the date of the IPO to purchase up to an additional 2,625,000 Units to cover over-allotments, if any. The underwriters partially executed their over-allotment option on February 3, 2022 to purchase an additional 1,746,931 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit.

The underwriters received a cash underwriting discount of $3,500,000 upon the IPO and $349,386 upon the partial exercise of the over-allotment option.

Additionally, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of $6,736,426, upon the completion of the Company's initial Business Combination.

Note 7—Warrant Liability

As of March 31, 2022, there were 9,623,466 Public Warrants outstanding. No warrants were outstanding as of December 31, 2021. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed herein. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of the Class A common stock 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 share of the Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “newly issued price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the 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 Class A common stock during the 20-trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company consummates the 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 $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the market value and the newly issued price.

The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 12 months from the closing of the Company’s IPO 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 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available, subject to the Company’s satisfying its obligations described below with respect to registration, or such warrant may be exercised on a cashless basis in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement. No warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption is available. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and may expire worthless. In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrants. In the event that a warrant is not exercisable, the purchaser of a Unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the Unit solely for the share of Class A common stock underlying such Unit.

The Company is not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, 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, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement registering the issuance, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company 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 thereto, until the redemption or expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange and, as such, does not satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, requires holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business 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. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) the product of 0.361 and the number of warrants surrendered by such holder, subject to adjustment. The “fair market value” as used in this paragraph shall mean the average of the volume-weighted average price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.

Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:

The Company accounted for the 20,284,585 warrants issued in connection with the IPO and underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option (the 9,623,466 Public Warrants and the 10,661,119 Private Placement Warrants) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, the Company classified each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statements of operations.

Note 8—Stockholders’ Equity

Preferred Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 2,500,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

Class A Common Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 250,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At March 31, 2022, there were 19,246,931 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption and presented as temporary equity. At December 31, 2021, there were no shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding.

Class B Common Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 25,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On March 4, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On October 27, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 1,437,500 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in 5,750,000 shares outstanding of which 750,000 were subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised. On January 14, 2022, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in 5,031,250 shares outstanding of which 656,250 were subject to forfeiture in the event the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by our Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the IPO. As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option on February 3, 2022, 436,732 shares of Class B common stock are no longer subject to forfeiture.

HEARTLAND MEDIA ACQUISITION CORP.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

MARCH 31, 2022

The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment, as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities (as described herein), are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amount issued in the IPO and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the aggregate number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the IPO, plus the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination (net of the number of shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with the initial Business Combination), excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor or any of the Company’s officers or director.

Note 9 - Fair Value Measurements

The following table presents information about the Company’s liabilities that are measured at fair value on March 31, 2022, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:

The Private Placement Warrants and Public Warrants were accounted for as liability in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within liabilities on the balance sheet. The warrant liability is measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liability in the statements of operations.

Note 10—Subsequent Events

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the unaudited condensed 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 unaudited condensed financial statements.

References to the “Company,” “Heartland Media Acquisition Corp.,” “Heartland Media,” “Heartland,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Heartland Media Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the unaudited interim condensed 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), 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. 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 blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on February 10, 2021 and created for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, had any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering (“IPO”) and the sale of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our capital stock in connection with our initial business combination, shares of our capital stock issued to owners of the target, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.

The issuance of additional shares of our stock in connection with our initial business combination:

Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:

Results of Operations

Our entire activity since inception through March 31, 2022 related to our formation and IPO, and subsequent to our IPO, the search for a target for our initial Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination. We expect to generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held after our IPO. We expect that we will 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 in connection with searching for, and completing, a Business Combination.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022, we had a net income of $6,772,842, which mainly consisted of formation and operating costs, warrant issuance costs, change in fair value of warrant liability, change in fair value of over-allotment option liability, and income from marketable securities held in the trust account.

For the period from February 10, 2021 (inception) through March 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $860, which consisted of solely formation and operating costs.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of March 31, 2022, we had $794,127 in our operating bank account, and working capital of $884,192.

Subsequent to the annual period covered by the annual report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”), we consummated the IPO and private placement. Of the net proceeds from the sale of the units and private placement warrants, $197,281,043 of cash was placed in the trust account and $1,567,447 of cash was held outside of the trust account and is available for our working capital purposes.

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial Business Combination, the sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us working capital loans. As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loans.

Based on the foregoing, management believes that we have alleviated the substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern and has sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet our 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.

Contractual Obligations

We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay an affiliate of the sponsor a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

The holders of founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed upon the consummation of the IPO. These holders are entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

The underwriters had a 45-day option from the date of the IPO to purchase up to an additional 2,625,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any. The underwriters partially executed their over-allotment option on February 3, 2022 to purchase an additional 1,746,931 units at a price of $10.00 per unit.

The underwriters received a cash underwriting discount of $3,500,000 upon the IPO and $349,386 upon the partial exercise of the over-allotment option.

Additionally, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of $6,736,426, upon the completion of the Company's initial Business Combination.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“US GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reported period. In accordance with US GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our significant accounting policies are fully described in Note 2 to our financial statements appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022, and we believe those accounting policies are critical to the process of making significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our financial statements.

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. We continue to evaluate the impact of ASU 2020-06 on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.

JOBS Act

On April 5, 2012, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”) was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an "emerging growth company" and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an "emerging growth company", we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor's attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (3) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor's report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (4) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the chief executive officer's compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our IPO or until we are no longer an "emerging growth company," whichever is earlier.

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

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2022, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that during the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective because of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. As a result of this review, our management has concluded that we did not have adequate controls in place to prevent or detect material misstatements related to our accounting for complex financial instruments. As a result, on an initial review we did not identify certain transaction costs and over-allotment options forfeited in connection with our initial public offering, and, as a result, we booked adjusting entries to correct over-allotment liability, additional paid in capital and deal expense as of March 31, 2022.

 

As a result, our management performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. Accordingly, management believes that the condensed financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented, and we are in the process of remediating the material weakness identified above. Management understands that the accounting standards applicable to our consolidated financial statements are complex and has since the inception of the company benefited from the support of experienced third-party professionals with whom management has regularly consulted with respect to accounting issues. Management intends to continue to further consult with such professionals in connection with accounting matters.

 

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.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2022 covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

None.

Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in this Quarterly Report are any of the risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risk factors not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business or results of operations. Except as set forth below, as of the date of this Quarterly Report, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022, except we may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.

Our business, our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination may be negatively impacted as a result of Russian actions in Ukraine.

In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. The impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy are not determinable as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. These actions and related sanctions could adversely affect economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be, or may already have been, materially and adversely affected. The extent to which these actions and related sanctions impact our search for and ability to consummate a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

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

On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to, among other items, enhancing disclosures in business combination transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies and private operating companies; amending the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which special purpose acquisition companies could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. These rules, if adopted, whether in the form proposed or in revised form, may materially adversely affect our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto.

On March 4, 2021, Heartland Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, purchased 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On October 27, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 1,437,500 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in 5,750,000 founder shares outstanding. On January 14, 2022, our sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in 5,031,250 founder shares outstanding. On February 4, 2022, our sponsor surrendered 219,518 founder shares for no consideration, as a result of the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option in our initial public offering, resulting in 4,811,732 founder shares outstanding. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of our outstanding common stock upon completion of our initial public offering. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.

The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the Company’s initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth in our final prospectus, filed with the SEC on January 24, 2022.

On January 25, 2022, we consummated our initial public offering of 17,500,000 Units. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one Warrant, with each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $175,000,000. BofA Securities, Inc. and Moelis & Company LLC were joint book-running managers of our initial public offering. The securities sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1, as amended (Registration No. 333-261374). The registration statement became effective on January 20, 2022.

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 9,875,000 Private Placement Warrants to Heartland Sponsor LLC at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $9,875,000.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Warrants sold in the initial public offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants, so long as they are held by the purchasers thereof or their permitted transferees, (i) are not redeemable by the Company, (ii) may not (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such Private Placement Warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by such holders until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are entitled to registration rights. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sale. The issuance of the Private Placement Warrants was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

A total of $179,375,000, comprised of $171,500,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering (which amount includes $6,125,000 of the underwriters’ deferred discount) and $7,875,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.

On February 3, 2022, the underwriters of our initial public offering partially exercised their over-allotment option and on February 7, 2022, purchased an additional 1,746,931 Units, generating gross proceeds of $17,469,310. In connection with the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, our sponsor purchased an additional 786,119 Private Placement Warrants, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $786,119. In connection with the closing and sale of the 1,746,931 additional Units and 786,119 additional Private Placement Warrants, a total of approximately $17,906,043 comprised of approximately $17,119,924 of the proceeds from the closing and sale of the 1,746,931 additional Units (which amount includes approximately $611,426 of the underwriters deferred discount) and approximately $786,119 of the proceeds from the sale of the additional 786,119 Private Placement Warrants, was placed into the trust account.

We paid a total of $3,849,386 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $891,506 for other costs and expenses related to the initial public offering. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $6,736,426 in underwriting discounts and commissions.

There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our initial public offering as described in our final prospectus filed with the SEC on January 24, 2022.

For a description of the net proceeds and the use of the proceeds generated in the initial public offering, see Part I, Item 2 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which is incorporated in this Part II, Item 2 by reference.

None.

Not applicable.

None.

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

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** Furnished herewith.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

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