Keyarch Acquisition Corp - Annual Report: 2022 (Form 10-K)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022
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: 001-41243
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Cayman Islands | 98-16000074 | |
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.) | |
275
Madison Avenue, 39th Floor New York, New York |
10016 | |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip code) |
Cayman Islands | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer |
275 Madison Avenue, 39th Floor New York, New York | 10016 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code:
(914) 434-2030
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, one-half of one redeemable warrant and one right | KYCHU | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share | KYCH | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | KYCHW | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
Rights to receive one-tenth of one Class A ordinary share included as part of the units | KYCHR | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
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 ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange 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 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.
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 Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b) ☐
The aggregate market value of the outstanding shares of the registrant’s Class A ordinary shares, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price for the Class A ordinary shares on June 30, 2022, as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market was $113,376,810.00.
As of March 30, 2023, there were 12,245,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of the registrant issued and outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Report (as defined below), including, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act (as defined below) and Section 21E of the Exchange Act (as defined below). These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:
● | our ability to complete our initial business combination (as defined below); |
● | 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, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
● | 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 defined below) or available to us from interest income on the Trust Account balance; 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. Future developments affecting us may not 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. 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.
Unless otherwise stated in this Report, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
● | “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the Company’s (as defined below) amended and restated memorandum and articles of association adopted on January 12, 2022; |
● | “ASC” are to the FASB (as defined below) Accounting Standards Codification; |
● | “board of directors,” “board” or “directors” are to the board of directors of the Company; |
● | “business combination” are to a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses; |
● | “Business Combination Marketing Fee” are to the cash fee of approximately $4.0 million payable by the Company to EarlyBirdCapital (as defined below) in connection with its provision of business combination marketing services; |
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● | “Class A ordinary shares” are to the Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share; |
● | “Class B ordinary shares” are to the Class B ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share; |
● | “Combination Period” are to the eighteen-month period, from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (as defined below) to July 27, 2023, that the Company has to consummate an initial business combination; |
● | “Company,” “our Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” are to Keyarch Acquisition Corporation, a Cayman Islands exempted company; |
● | “Continental” are to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, trustee of our Trust Account and warrant agent of our public warrants (as defined below); |
● | “DWAC System” are to the Depository Trust Company’s Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian System; |
● | “EarlyBirdCapital” are to EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., the representative of the underwriters (as defined below) of the Initial Public Offering; |
● | “EBC Founder Shares” are to the 200,000 Class A ordinary shares issued by the Company to EarlyBirdCapital and its designees (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares” (as defined below)); |
● | “Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; |
● | “FASB” are to the Financial Accounting Standards Board; |
● | “FINRA” are to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; |
● | “Founder Shares” are to the Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor (as defined below) in the private placement (as defined below) and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our business combination as described herein (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares” ); |
● | “GAAP” are to the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; |
● | “IFRS” are to the International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board; |
● | “Initial Public Offering” are to the initial public offering that was consummated by the Company on January 27, 2022; |
● | “initial shareholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to our Initial Public Offering; |
● | “Investment Company Act” are to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; |
● | “IPO Closing Date” are to the closing date of the Initial Public Offering, January 27, 2022; |
● | “IPO Note” are to the promissory note we issued to the sponsor of up to $150,000 on June 16, 2021 in connection with the expenses related to the Initial Public Offering; |
● | “JOBS Act” are to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012; |
● | “Keywise” are to Keywise Capital Management (HK) Limited, an affiliate of our Company; |
● | “Management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors; |
● | “Nasdaq” are to the Nasdaq Global Market; |
● | “ordinary shares” are to the Class A ordinary shares and the Class B ordinary shares; |
● | “Over-Allotment Option” are to the additional 1,500,000 units we issued on February 8, 2022 in connection with the closing of the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option; |
● | “PCAOB” are to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States); |
● | “private placement” are to the private placement of units (as defined below) that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering; |
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● | “private placement units” are to the units issued to our sponsor in the private placement; |
● | “private placement rights” are to the right, sold as part of the units in our private placement, to receive one-tenth of one Class A ordinary share upon the completion of a business combination; |
● | “private placement warrants” are to the redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our private placement (whether they were subscribed for in our Initial Public Offering or purchased in the open market); |
● | “public shares” are to the Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering (whether they were purchased in our Initial Public Offering or thereafter in the open market); |
● | “public right” are to the right, sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering, to receive one-tenth of one Class A ordinary share upon the completion of a business combination; |
● | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and management team to the extent our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
● | “public warrants” are to the redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering (whether they were subscribed for in our Initial Public Offering or purchased in the open market); |
● | “Registration Statement” are to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 initially filed with the SEC (as defined below) on December 3, 2021, as amended, and declared effective on January 24, 2022 (File No. 333-261500); |
● | “Report” are to this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022; |
● | “Sarbanes-Oxley Act” are to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; |
● | “SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; |
● | “Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
● | “SPACs” are to special purpose acquisition companies; |
● | “sponsor” are Keyarch Global Sponsor Limited, a Cayman Islands limited liability company; |
● | “Trust Account” are to the U.S.-based trust account in which an amount of $116.2 million from the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the Initial Public Offering and the private placement was placed following the closing of the Initial Public Offering; |
● | “UHY” are to UHY LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm; |
● | “underwriters” are to EarlyBirdCapital, Haitong International Securities (USA) Inc. and Revere Securities LLC; |
● | “units” are to the units sold in our Initial Public Offering, which consist of one public share, one half of one public warrant and one public right; |
● | “warrants” are to the public warrants and the private placement warrants; and |
● | “Working Capital Loans” are to funds that, in order to provide working capital or finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the initial shareholders or an affiliate of the initial shareholders or certain of the Company’s directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company. |
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PART I
Item 1. Business.
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on April 23, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company and formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or more businesses or entities.
In July 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.009 per share, to cover certain expenses on our behalf in consideration of 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. The per share price of the Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to us by the number of Founder Shares issued. We have also issued to EarlyBirdCapital and its designees an aggregate of 200,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 = for nominal consideration.
On the IPO Closing Date, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 10,000,000 units. Each unit consists of one public share, one half of one public warrant and one public right. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one of our Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, and only whole warrants are exercisable. Each public right entitles its holder to receive one-tenth of one Class A ordinary share upon the completion of a business combination. On February 8, 2022, we issued an additional 1,500,000 units in connection with the closing of the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating aggregate gross proceeds to us from the Initial Public Offering and the Over-Allotment Option of approximately $115.0 million.
On the IPO Closing Date, we completed the private sale of 500,000 private placement units (at a price of $10.00 per unit. Each private placement unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, one-half of one private placement warrant and one private placement right. Each whole private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one of our Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, and only whole warrants are exercisable. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of our business combination. Each private placement right entitles its holder to receive one-tenth of one Class A ordinary share upon the completion of a business combination. Of the 500,000 private placement units sold, 450,000 were purchased by our sponsor and 50,000 were purchased by EarlyBirdCapital. On February 8, 2022, we completed the private sale of an additional 45,000 private placement units in connection with the closing of the Over-Allotment Option. Of these additional 45,000 private placement units, 40,500 were purchased by our sponsor and 4,500 were purchased by EarlyBirdCapital. In total, the sales of private placement units in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the Over-Allotment Option generated aggregate gross proceeds to us of $5.5 million.
The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our business combination; provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their public warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreements), and will expire five years after the completion of our business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
Approximately $116.2 million of the net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering, the Over-Allotment Option and the private placement has been deposited in the Trust Account established for the benefit of our public shareholders. The amount to be distributed to public shareholders who redeem their public shares will not be reduced by the cash fee of approximately $4.0 million payable to EarlyBirdCapital (for services which include assisting us in holding meetings with our shareholders to discuss the potential business combination and the target business’ attributes, introducing us to potential investors that are interested in purchasing our securities in connection with our business combination and assisting us with our press releases and public filings in connection with the business combination. We have also agreed to pay EarlyBirdCapital a cash fee in an amount equal to 1.0% of the total consideration payable in the business combination if it introduces us to the target business with whom we complete our business combination. Of the gross proceeds from our Initial Public Offering, the Over-Allotment Option and the private placement that were not deposited in the Trust Account, approximately $2.3 million was used to pay underwriting discounts and commissions in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the balance was reserved to pay accrued offering and formation costs, business, legal and accounting due diligence expenses on prospective acquisitions and continuing general and administrative expenses.
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The Founder Shares that we issued prior to the IPO Closing Date will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-division, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in our Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of the business combination, the ratio at which the Founder Shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Founder Shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all issued and outstanding Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of our Initial Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the business combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination).
On March 1, 2022, we announced that, commencing on March 3, 2022, holders of the units sold in our Initial Public Offering and the Over-Allotment Option may elect to separately trade the public shares, public warrants and public rights included in the units. The public shares, public warrants and public rights that are separated trade on Nasdaq under the symbols “KYCH,” “KYCHW” and “KYCHR” respectively. Those units not separated will continue to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “KYCHU.”
Our Company
Keyarch Acquisition Corporation is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on April 23, 2021 for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or more businesses or entities. We have not selected any specific business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to a business combination with us.
While we may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, we have targeted and expect to continue to target global disruptive technology and innovative services companies. Innovation has been a major driving force in the global economy. In areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and advanced manufacturing, innovative technology and services companies are changing the competitive space of existing industries and creating new industries at a record pace. For example, Level 4 autonomous driving is expected to become a reality in the next few years as a result of innovations such as remote sensing methods like Lidar (light detection and radar) and other AI technologies; and 3D printing technologies are transforming traditional manufacturing from mass production to mass customization. Innovative companies such as Tesla and Luminar have been growing significantly faster than companies in traditional industries, rewarding investors who have recognized the vision and conviction of such companies. Looking ahead, we expect disruptive technology and innovative services businesses to play even bigger roles in driving the global economy. Investors who have the expertise to find and evaluate such opportunities will continue to benefit from the trend.
While we may target disruptive technology and innovative services companies anywhere in the world, we are focused on companies in developed economies such as the U.S. and Israel, and Southeast Asia. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we shall not undertake our business combination with any entity that is based in, located in or with its principal business operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). Developed economies such as the U.S. have been dominating in disruptive technology and services business innovations. Major breakthroughs in last several decades such as the internet, semiconductors, e-commerce, autonomous driving, electric cars, artificial intelligence and 3D printing all originated in the U.S. In addition to access to mature capital markets to fund innovations, developed countries such as the U.S. enjoy a vast talent pool and a long-established culture of entrepreneurships. They also have one of the largest markets to reward innovations once such innovations achieve commercial production. Going forward, we believe that countries such as the U.S. will continue to lead innovations and provide great opportunities for investors to take advantage of the trend.
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Southeast Asia is another region we intend to target for acquisition opportunities. Driven by factors such as a stable political environment, attractive demographics and solid talent pool, Southeast Asian countries have seen accelerating growth in innovative technology and services. For example, companies such as Sea Limited, which is based in Singapore, and engages in the digital entertainment, e-commerce, and digital financial service businesses in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and internationally, have established themselves as regional and potentially global leaders in their specific industries. They have shown strong innovative capabilities on the same level as companies based in the U.S. and China.
We are confident that the expertise and capabilities of our management team will enable us to identify companies that can best capture such opportunities and create long-term value for our shareholders. Our team has successfully invested in disruptive technologies and innovative services companies in developed economies such as the U.S. and Israel. We believe our sourcing and industry expertise will continue to enable us to find significant business combination opportunities that will deliver substantial value to shareholders in the public markets.
Our Team
Several members of our management team are affiliated with Keywise, including our chairman, who is the Founder, Managing Partner, and the Chief Investment Officer of Keywise, and our CEO, who is a Managing Partner and has been with Keywise for more than 10 years. We intend to utilize Keywise’s experience and expertise to help us identify quality target opportunities.
Keywise is a leading alternative investment management firm with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Keywise has been managing investments for global prominent financial institutions such as sovereign wealth funds, pensions, endowments and family offices for over 15 years. Keywise is fully licensed in Hong Kong and mainland China for investment management and is also a registered investment adviser with the SEC. Keywise employs a bottom-up fundamental approach to investments, generating investment ideas through top-down sector screening, extensive industry contacts and proprietary in-house research. This investment process includes on-site visits of targeted companies, channel check with suppliers and clients, verification with competitors and industry experts, extensive due diligence on management teams, and valuation using our internal proprietary models. Since inception, Keywise has established a strong track record in both public and private market investments. Leveraging its reputation and an experienced investment team, Keywise has invested in a number of private companies with disruptive technology and innovative services both in China and globally including Luminar — a leading LiDAR company in Silicon Valley; Carbon 3D — a leading 3D printing technology company in Silicon Valley; Zoox — a pioneer autonomous driving company in Silicon Valley; and Xjet — a leading 3D printing company in Israel.
Our management team is led by Mr. Fang Zheng, who is based in Hong Kong, Dr. Kai Xiong, who is based in Hong Kong and the U.S. and Dr. Jing Lu, who is based in the U.S. They have decades of experience in investing in and building companies. Our independent directors, Mr. Mark Taborsky and Mr. Doug Rothschild, who are based in the U.S. and Dr. Mei Han, who is based in Singapore, will also provide additional insights into our target sectors and extensive experience in investing in the U.S., Southeast Asia and globally.
We believe that our management team’s significant investment and transaction experience, combined with their strong relationships, give us key competitive strengths in the following areas:
● | Deep industry insights: investment expertise to understand technology trends and evaluate market potential of disruptive innovations in sectors we intend to focus on. |
● | Strong sourcing capabilities: broad network and relationships providing access to acquisition opportunities globally. |
● | Established research process: research methodology developed across multiple cycles and to generate returns consistently. |
● | Long-term value creation: strong track record in collaborating with target management teams, forming strategic partnerships to enhance value for shareholders. |
● | Execution and structuring capabilities: experience in both public and private markets in structuring and executing complicated deals with key stakeholders and service providers. |
We believe that our team will add significant value to target companies. They have a strong track record in helping companies grow, and we believe this will give us a competitive edge when negotiating and structuring fair terms in a transaction with a target business. We intend to add value to target companies through engagement in multiple areas:
● | Strategic advice: leverage our deep industry insights, broad industry and transaction expertise and extensive network to provide strategic advice for the target’s organic growth and acquisitions. |
● | Talent enhancement: identify and recruit management talent to support the target’s long-term success. |
● | Geographic expansion: leverage our global network and relationships to help the target to expand beyond their initial and home markets. |
● | Partnership expansion: leverage our industry know-how and broad reach to help create new strategic partnerships and collaborations. |
● | Enabling capital market access: help optimize capital structure and secure funding from reputable investors and lenders for the target. |
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Permission Required from the Chinese Authorities to Operate and for a Business Combination
As a Cayman Islands company with no operations or subsidiaries in China and expected to conduct a target search outside of China, we are not required to obtain permission from any Chinese authorities to operate nor have we been contacted by any Chinese authorities in connection with our operations, and we do not expect that permission will be required from the Chinese authorities in the future in connection our business combination since our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association forbids us from undertaking our business combination with any entity that is based in, located in or with its principal business operations in China.
Initial Business Combination
We have until 18 months from the IPO Closing Date, or such later time as our shareholders may approve in accordance with our articles of association, to consummate our business combination. If we are unable to consummate our business combination within the Combination Period, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than five business days thereafter, redeem the public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the Trust Account and 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. In such event, the warrants will be worthless.
Nasdaq rules provide that our 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 (less any taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our business combination. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. If our securities are not listed on Nasdaq, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% requirement even if our securities are not listed on Nasdaq at the time of our business combination.
We anticipate structuring our business combination so that the post-transaction 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 business combination such that the post-transaction 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, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction 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-transaction 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 securities 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 our business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing a business combination with a company that is affiliated with our initial shareholders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our business combination with a company that is affiliated with our initial shareholders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions that our business combination is fair to our company (or shareholders) from a financial point of view.
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Members of our management team and our independent directors and their affiliates directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and private placement units, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our 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 and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our business combination. Additionally, 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, including other blank check companies similar to our company, pursuant to which such officer or director may be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Specifically, certain of our executive officers are affiliated with our sponsor and other entities that make, or are looking to make, investments in companies. 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 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 only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. For additional information regarding our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and potential conflicts of interest, see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.” Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, subject to fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
The past performance of our management team or of their affiliates is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or their affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance.
Some of our executive officers and directors may be located in or have significant ties to China. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States on our company, executive officers and directors, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our company, executive officers and directors.
Status as a Public Company
We believe that our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to a traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our ordinary shares or for a combination of our ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration used in the transaction to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe that target businesses might find this avenue a more certain and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than a typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, roadshow and public reporting efforts that will likely not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us. Furthermore, once the business combination is consummated, the target business will have effectively become a public company, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions that could prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests than it would have as a privately-held company. Public company status can offer further benefits by enhancing a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and attracting talented employees. While we believe that our status as a public company will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view the inherent limitations in our status as a blank check company as a deterrent and may prefer to effect a business combination with a more established entity or with a private company. These limitations include constraints on our available financial resources, which may be inferior to those of other entities pursuing the acquisition of similar target businesses; the requirement that we seek shareholder approval of a business combination or conduct a tender offer in relation thereto, which may delay the consummation of a transaction; and the existence of our outstanding warrants, which may represent a source of future dilution.
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Effecting a Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any substantive commercial business for an indefinite period of time. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the private placement of private placement units, our equity, debt or a combination of these in effecting a business combination which has not yet been identified. Accordingly, our shareholders are investing without first having an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any one or more business combinations. A business combination may involve the acquisition of, or merger with, a company which does not need substantial additional capital but which desires to establish a public trading market for its shares, while avoiding what it may deem to be adverse consequences of undertaking a public offering itself. These include time delays, significant expense, loss of voting control and compliance with various federal and state securities laws. In the alternative, we may seek to consummate a business combination with a company that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth. While we may seek to effect simultaneous business combinations with more than one target business, we will probably have the ability, as a result of our limited resources, to effect only a single business combination.
We Have Not Identified a Target Business
To date, we have not selected any target business on which to concentrate our search for a business combination. Our management has evaluated several prospective targets and has been conducting substantive discussions with a prospective target regarding the possibility of a potential business combination with us. However, no definitive agreement has been reached with any prospective target as of the date of this Report. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate such companies. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to locate a target business or that we will be able to engage in a business combination with a target business on favorable terms or at all.
Subject to our management team’s pre-existing fiduciary obligations and the fair market value requirement described below, we have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective acquisition candidate. We have not established any specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses other than that we may target disruptive technology and innovative services companies anywhere in the world and that we intend to focus on companies in developed economies such as the U.S. and Israel, and Southeast Asia. Accordingly, there is no basis for our investors to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete a business combination. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
Sources of Target Business
While we have not yet selected a target business with which to consummate our business combination, we believe based on our management’s business knowledge and past experience that there are numerous potential candidates. We expect that our principal means of identifying potential target businesses will be through the extensive contacts and relationships of our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers and directors. While our officers and directors are not required to commit any specific amount of time in identifying or performing due diligence on potential target businesses, our officers and directors believe that the relationships they have developed over their careers and their access to our sponsor’s contacts and resources will generate a number of potential business combination opportunities that will warrant further investigation. We also anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, venture capital funds, private equity funds, leveraged buyout funds, management buyout funds and other members of the financial community. 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 they think we may be interested in on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this Annual Report and know what types of businesses we are targeting.
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Our officers and directors must present to us all target business opportunities that have a fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding taxes payable on the income accrued in the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the business combination, subject to any pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis (other than EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. as described elsewhere in this Report), 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. In no event, however, will our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers, directors or their respective affiliates be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is) other than the up to $10,000 monthly administrative services fee paid by us to the sponsor, the $5,000 per month paid by the sponsor to Jing Lu, our Chief Financial Officer, for administrative services she performs for us and for the sponsor, the payment of consulting, success or finder fees to our sponsor, officers, directors, initial shareholders or their affiliates in connection with the consummation of our business combination, the repayment of the IPO Note and reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses. Our audit committee reviews and approves all reimbursements and payments made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their respective affiliates, with any interested director abstaining from such review and approval. We have no present intention to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with any of our officers, directors or sponsor. However, we are not restricted from entering into any such transactions and may do so if (i) such transaction is approved by a majority of our disinterested independent directors and (ii) we obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated shareholders from a financial point of view.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of a Business Combination
Subject to our management team’s pre-existing fiduciary obligations and the limitations that a target business have a fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (excluding taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our business combination, as described below in more detail, and that we must acquire a controlling interest in the target business, our management has virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective target business. We have not established any specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses other than that we may target disruptive technology and innovative services companies anywhere in the world and we intend to focus on companies in developed economies such as the U.S. and Israel, and Southeast Asia. In evaluating a prospective target business, our management may consider a variety of factors, including one or more of the following:
● | financial condition and results of operation; |
● | growth potential; |
● | brand recognition and potential; |
● | experience and skill of management and availability of additional personnel; |
● | capital requirements; |
● | competitive position; |
● | barriers to entry; |
● | stage of development of the products, processes or services; |
● | existing distribution and potential for expansion; |
● | degree of current or potential market acceptance of the products, processes or services; |
● | proprietary aspects of products and the extent of intellectual property or other protection for products or formulas; |
● | impact of regulation on the business; |
● | regulatory environment of the industry; |
● | the target business’s compliance with U.S. federal law; |
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● | costs associated with effecting the business combination; |
● | industry leadership, sustainability of market share and attractiveness of market industries in which a target business participates; and |
● | macro competitive dynamics in the industry within which the company competes. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular business combination will be based, to the extent relevant, on the above factors as well as other considerations deemed relevant by our management in effecting a business combination consistent with our business objective. In evaluating a prospective target business, we conduct an extensive due diligence review which encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and inspection of facilities, as well as review of financial and other information that are made available to us. This due diligence review is conducted either by our management or by unaffiliated third parties we may engage, although we have no current intention to engage any such third parties.
The time and costs required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete the business combination cannot presently be ascertained with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which a business combination is not ultimately completed will result in a loss to us and reduce the amount of capital available to otherwise complete a business combination.
Fair Market Value of Target Business
Nasdaq listing rules require that the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance of the funds in the Trust Account (excluding taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our business combination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% fair market value test.
We currently anticipate structuring a business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our business combination where we merge directly with the target business or where we acquire 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, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction 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-transaction 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 could 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 our business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our 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-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of Trust Account balance test.
The fair market value of the target will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public shareholders with our analysis of the fair market value of the target business, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board is not able to independently determine that the target business has a sufficient fair market value, we will obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated, independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
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We will not be required to obtain an opinion from an investment banking firm as to the fair market value if our board of directors independently determines that the target business complies with the 80% threshold. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
Lack of Business Diversification
We may seek to effect a business combination with more than one target business, although we expect to complete our business combination with just one business. Therefore, at least initially, the prospects for our success may be entirely dependent upon the future performance of a single business operation. Unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations of entities operating in multiple industries or multiple areas of a single industry, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses. By consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
● | subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to a business combination; and |
● | result in our dependency upon the performance of a single operating business or the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses and such businesses 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 acquisitions, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the business combination. With multiple acquisitions, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (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.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target Business’ Management
Although we intend to scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting a business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of the target business’ management will prove to be correct. In addition, we cannot assure you that the future management will have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of our officers and directors, if any, in the target business following a business combination cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that some of our key personnel will remain associated in senior management or advisory positions with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that they will devote their full time efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination. Moreover, they would only be able to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination 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 them to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to the company after the consummation of the business combination. While the personal and financial interests of our key personnel may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, their ability to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. Additionally, we cannot assure you that our officers and directors will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
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 any such additional managers we do recruit will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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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 listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under the Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would typically be required for our business combination if, for example:
● | We issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then-outstanding (other than in a public offering); | |
● | Any of our directors, officers or 5% or greater shareholder has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target company or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or | |
● | The issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
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 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 | |
● | additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders. |
Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, executive officers, or their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the Trust Account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
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The purpose of any such transaction could be to (i) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (ii) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our business combination or (iii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, or their affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the Trust Account or vote against our business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors, or their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. We expect any such purchases would be reported by such person pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
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 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 business combination, including interest and other income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the Trust Account as of December 31, 2022 was $10.25 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the cash fee payable to EarlyBirdCapital for services performed in connection with the business combination. The redemption rights will 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 business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would affect our public shareholders’ ability to convert or sell their shares to us in connection with a business combination as described herein or that would modify our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-business combination activity.
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Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides 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 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 where we do not survive 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 listing requirement or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons. So long as we maintain a listing for our securities on the Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with the Nasdaq rules.
If we held a shareholder vote to approve our 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 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 business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our business combination only if we obtain the approval of 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 management team have agreed to vote their Founder Shares and public shares in favor of our business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial purchaser’s Founder Shares, we would need 3,940,001, or approximately 34.3% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted) of the 11,500,000 public shares to be voted in favor of a business combination in order to have our business combination approved. 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 each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would affect our public shareholders’ ability to convert or sell their shares to us in connection with a business combination as described herein or that would modify our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-business combination activity.
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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 business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the 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 business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
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 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 such business combination.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our 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 redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the public shares(“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 management 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 public shares could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management 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 public shares 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 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 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 DWAC 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 business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will 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. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
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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 $100.00 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.
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 a 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 or as otherwise provided in the proxy statement. 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 business combination.
If our 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 the end of the Combination Period.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we have only until the end of the Combination Period to consummate a business combination. If we have not consummated a 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 and other income 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 a business combination within the Combination Period. 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 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.
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Our sponsor and each member of our management 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 a 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 business combination within the prescribed time frame).
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 business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-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 and other income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our 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 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 $115,171 held outside the Trust Account as of December 31, 2022, 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 private placement, 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 $10.25. 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 $10.25. 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.
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Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than 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 management 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 management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. An example of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver includes the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. 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 third-party for services rendered or products sold to us (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), 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) $10.25 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 $10.25 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 that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our 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 the company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would 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) $10.25 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 $10.25 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which 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 $10.25 per public share.
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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 (other than 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 have access to up to $115,171 as of December 31, 2022with which to pay any such potential claims. 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.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy 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 or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the Trust Account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.25 per public share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy 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 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.
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 complete our business combination within the Combination Period, (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 business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-business combination activity., or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the 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 a business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated a business combination within the Combination Period, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. However, 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). 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 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.
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Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain certain requirements and restrictions that apply to us until the completion of our business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains a provision which provides that, if we seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would affect our public shareholders’ ability to convert or sell their shares to us in connection with a business combination as described herein or to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that:
● | prior to the completion of our business combination, we shall either (1) seek shareholder approval of our business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which public shareholders may elect to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our business combination by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote), in each in cash, for an amount payable in cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the completion of our business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein and provided that we shall not repurchase public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 immediately prior to or upon consummation of such business combination. Such obligation to repurchase public shares is subject to the completion of the proposed business combination to which it relates; |
● | we will consummate our business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon completion of our business combination and, solely if we seek shareholder approval, we obtain the approval of 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; |
● | if our business combination is not consummated within the Combination Period, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the Trust Account; and |
● | prior to our business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the Trust Account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any business combination. |
These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we may consummate our business combination only if approved by a majority of the ordinary shares voted by our shareholders at a duly held general meeting.
Additionally, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, prior to our business combination, only holders of our Founder Shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and that holders of a majority of our Founder Shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our business combination, except as required by law, holders of our Founder Shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Website
We do not have a website. Our public filings, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K, our proxy statements and reports filed by our executive officers and directors under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, and any amendments to those filings, are available free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors.
As a smaller reporting company under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, we are not required to include risk factors in this Report. However, below is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the Company and its operations:
● | we are a blank check company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target; |
● | we may not be able to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame; |
● | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized; |
● | we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
● | our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
● | we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of shareholders requesting redemption; |
● | we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time; |
● | you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination; |
● | Trust Account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy; |
● | an active market for our public securities may not develop and you will have limited liquidity and trading; |
● | the availability to us of funds from interest income on the Trust Account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the business combination; |
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● | our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management; |
● | there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial business combination, which could increase the costs associated with completing our initial business combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target; |
● | changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an 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; |
● | we may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the Initial Public Offering, which may include acting as a 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 the Initial Public Offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination; |
● | 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; |
● | our warrants are accounted for as derivative liabilities and are recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination; |
● | since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire during or after the Initial Public Offering), and because our sponsor, officers and directors may profit substantially even under circumstances in which our public shareholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination; |
● | changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations; |
● | the value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares at such time is substantially less than $10.25 per share; |
● | 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 have not completed our initial business combination within the Combination Period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.25 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless; |
● | in March 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to certain activities of SPACs. Certain of the procedures that we, a potential business combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with such proposals may increase our costs and the time needed to complete our initial business combination and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete an initial business combination. The need for compliance with such proposals may cause us to liquidate the funds in the Trust Account or liquidate the Company at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose; |
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● | if we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we would be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities would be severely restricted. As a result, in such circumstances, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead liquidate the Company; |
● | to mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we expect that we will, on or prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of our Registration Statement, instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in an interest bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. As a result, following the liquidation of investments in the Trust Account, we would likely receive less interest on the funds held in the Trust Account, which would likely reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders would receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company; |
● | we may not be able to complete an initial business combination with certain potential target companies if a proposed transaction with the target company may be subject to review or approval by regulatory authorities pursuant to certain U.S. or foreign laws or regulations, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Fang Zhang, our Chairman and a member of our sponsor, and Kai Xiong, our Chief Executive Officer and director and a member of our sponsor, each holds a Hong Kong special administrative region passport and resides in Hong Kong; |
● | recent increases in inflation and interest rates in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination; |
● | military conflict in Ukraine or elsewhere may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, which could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination; and |
● | there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.” |
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, or our prospects.
The funds in our operating account and our trust account are held in banks or other financial institutions. Our cash held in non-interest bearing and interest-bearing accounts would exceed any applicable Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. Should events, including limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments occur with respect to the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds, or that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, our liquidity may be adversely affected. For example, on March 10, 2023, the FDIC announced that Silicon Valley Bank had been closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Although we did not have any funds in Silicon Valley Bank or other institutions that have been closed, we cannot guarantee that the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds will not experience similar issues.
In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on terms favorable to us in connection with a potential business combination, or at all, and could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity, our business, financial condition or results of operations, and our prospects. Our business may be adversely impacted by these developments in ways that we cannot predict at this time, there may be additional risks that we have not yet identified, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to avoid negative consequences directly or indirectly from any failure of one or more banks or other financial institutions.
For the complete list of risks relating to our operations, see the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our Registration Statement, (ii) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022, and (iii) Quarterly Report on form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2022, as filed with the SEC on August 11, 2022. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risks could arise that may also affect our business or ability to consummate an initial business combination. We may disclose changes to such risk factors or disclose additional risk factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not applicable.
Item 2. Properties.
Our executive offices are located at 275 Madison Avenue, 39th floor New York, New York 10016. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
To the knowledge of our management team, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
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.
(a) Market Information
Our units began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “KYCHU” on January 25, 2022. Commencing on March 3, 2022, holders of the units could elect to separately trade the public shares, public warrants and public rights comprising the units. The public shares, public warrants and public rights that are separated trade on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “KYCH,” “KYCHW” and “KYCHR” respectively. Those units not separated continue to trade on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “KYCHU.”
(b) Holders
At March 23, 2022, there were four holders of record of our units, two holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares, four holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares, one holder of record of our public warrants and two holders of record of our private placement units.
(c) Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
(e) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
(f) Use of Proceeds from the Initial Public Offering
For a description of the use of proceeds generated in our Initial Public Offering and private placement, see Part II, Item 5 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and private placement as described in the Registration Statement. Our specific investments in our Trust Account may change from time to time.
(g) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6. [Reserved].
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Report including, without limitation, statements under this “section regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward- looking statements. When used in this Report, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in our filings with the SEC. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or more businesses. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business are not be limited to a particular industry or geographic location. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of incorporation provides that we shall not undertake our initial business combination with any entity that is based in, located in or with its principal business operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private units, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
Our sponsor is Keyarch Global Sponsor Limited, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. We are an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
If we are unable to complete a 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 income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from April 23, 2021 (date of inception) to December 31, 2022 were organizational activities and those necessary to consummate the Initial Public Offering, described below. Following our Initial Public Offering , we do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our business combination. We expect to generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and marketable securities held after 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 year ended December 31, 2022, we had a net profit of $843,672, which consists of loss of $860,419 derived from general and administrative expenses offset by income earned on investment held in Trust Account of $1,701,869 and bank interest income of $2,222.
For the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $11,632, which consists of loss of $11,632 derived from general and administrative expenses.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
On January 27, 2022, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 10,000,000 units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $100,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering , we consummated the sale of 500,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit in the private placement to the sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital, generating total gross proceeds of $5,000,000.
On February 8, 2022, the underwriters in our Initial Public Offering purchased an additional 1,500,000 units to exercise its over-allotment option in full at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $15,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment Option, we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 45,000 private placement units to the sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital, at a purchase price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating gross proceeds of $450,000. Offering costs amounted to $3,471,734 consisting of $2,300,000 of underwriting discount and $1,171,734 of other offering costs. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we received discounts amounting to $131,420 on outstanding offering costs included within accounts payable and accrued expenses. This has been treated as a reversal of offering costs adjusted through additional paid-in capital considering the related offering costs charged against additional paid-in capital at the time of Initial Public Offering.
Following the closing of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of over-allotment units, an aggregate of $116,150,000 ($10.00 per unit) from the net proceeds and the private placement was held in the Trust Account.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or 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 Working Capital Loans as may be required. Any such Working Capital Loans would be on an interest-free basis and would 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 Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit, at the option of the lender. These units would be identical to the private units issued to our sponsor. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account.
As of December 31, 2022, we had marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $117,851,869 consisting of securities held in a treasury trust fund that invests in United States government treasury bills, bonds or notes with a maturity of 180 days or less. Income earned on the balance in the Trust Account may be used by us to pay taxes. Through December 31, 2022, we did not withdraw any income earned on the Trust Account to pay our taxes. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, to acquire a target business and to pay our expenses relating thereto. To the extent that our capital stock is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect a business combination, the remaining funds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business. Such working capital funds could be used in a variety of ways including continuing or expanding the target business’ operations, for strategic acquisitions and for marketing, research and development of existing or new products. Such funds could also be used to repay any operating expenses or finders’ fees which we had incurred prior to the completion of our business combination if the funds available to us outside of the Trust Account were insufficient to cover such expenses.
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had cash of $115,171 and $9,168, respectively and working capital/(deficit) of $116,657 and ($918,810), respectively. The Company’s liquidity needs prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering had been satisfied through proceeds from notes payable and advances from related party and from the issuance of our ordinary shares. Subsequent to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, we expect that we will need additional capital to satisfy our liquidity needs beyond the net proceeds from the consummation of the Initial Public Offering and the proceeds held outside of the Trust Account for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective 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 initial business combination. Although certain of the our initial shareholders, officers and directors or their affiliates have committed to loan the us funds from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, there is no guarantee that we will receive such funds.
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Accordingly, the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report have been prepared in conformity with GAAP, which contemplates continuation of the Company as a going concern and the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management plans to address this uncertainty during period leading up to the initial business combination. We cannot provide any assurance that its plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. Based on the foregoing, management believes that we will not have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of the initial business combination or one year from this filing. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On June 27, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, to cover certain offering costs in consideration for 2,875,000 of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. Up to 375,000 Founder Shares were subject to forfeiture by the sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. On February 8, 2022, the underwriter exercised its over-allotment option in full, hence, the 375,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture since then. On March 18, 2022, the sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to each of our three independent directors.
Private Placement Units
On January 27, 2022, our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital purchased an aggregate of 500,000 private units (including 450,000 private units purchased by our sponsor and 50,000 private units purchased by EarlyBirdCapital) at a price of $10.00 per unit, for a purchase price of $5,000,000 in the aggregate.
On February 8, 2022, our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital purchased an aggregate of 45,000 private units (including 40,500 private units purchased by our sponsor and 4,500 private units purchased by EarlyBirdCapital) at a price of $10.00 per unit, for a purchase price of $450,000 in the aggregate. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, one-half of one redeemable warrant and one right. Each whole private warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Ten rights will entitle the holder to one Class A ordinary share at the closing of the business combination.
Administrative Services Agreement
We entered into an agreement that provides, commencing on the effective date of the registration statement for the Initial Public Offering and through the earlier of consummation of the initial business combination or our liquidation, we agree to pay the sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for administrative and support services. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we incurred $110,000 for administrative and support services.
Other Contractual Obligations
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares and any underlying Class A ordinary shares, EBC Founder Shares, private placement units (and their component parts and securities underlying those component parts) and any units that may be issued on conversion of Working Capital Loans (and their component parts and securities underlying those component parts) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering requiring us to register such securities for resale. The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, EarlyBirdCapital may only make a demand on one occasion and only during the 5-year period beginning on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act; provided, however, that EarlyBirdCapital may participate in a “piggy-back” registration only during the 7-year period beginning on the effective date of the Registration Statement. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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Underwriting Agreement
We granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 1,500,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters exercised the over-allotment option in full on February 8, 2022.
EarlyBirdCapital were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $2 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Additionally, we have engaged EarlyBirdCapital as an advisor in connection with our business combination to assist us in holding meetings with our shareholders to discuss the potential business combination and the target business’ attributes, introduce us to potential investors that are interested in purchasing our securities in connection with our initial business combination and assist us with our press releases and public filings in connection with the business combination. We will pay EarlyBirdCapital the Business Combination Marketing Fee, a cash fee for such services upon the consummation of our initial business combination in an amount equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of our Initial Public Offering. In addition, we may engage EarlyBirdCapital as an advisor in connection with introducing a target business to us. If we engage EarlyBirdCapital and it introduces us to the target business with whom we complete our initial business combination, EarlyBirdCapital will receive a cash fee equal to 1% of the total consideration payable in the initial business combination.
Deferred Legal Fee
On April 1, 2022, we entered into letter agreement with Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP (“EGS”) as legal counsel in connection with our efforts to identify, evaluate, negotiate, finance and consummate an initial business combination with an operating company or business to be determined by the Company. According to the engagement, we are billed on a monthly basis, with fifty percent (50%) of all fees being due on a rolling basis, up to a total of $350,000, and the balance of all fees being due upon consummation of a business combination. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, we had $10,092 and $0, respectively as deferred legal fee.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of the financial statements contained elsewhere in this Report related disclosures in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the period reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our ordinary shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, ordinary shares subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption of $10.25 per share (plus any income earned on investment held in Trust Account) as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet. We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid in capital or accumulated deficit if additional paid in capital equals to zero.
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Net Income (Loss) per Share
We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” The statements of operations in the financial statements contained elsewhere in this Report include a presentation of income (loss) per redeemable share and income (loss) per non-redeemable share following the two-class method of income (loss) per share. In order to determine the net income (loss) attributable to both the redeemable shares and non-redeemable shares, we first considered the undistributed income (loss) allocable to both the redeemable shares and non-redeemable shares and the undistributed income (loss) is calculated using the total net loss less any dividends paid. We then allocated the undistributed income (loss) ratably based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding between the redeemable and non-redeemable shares. Any remeasurement of the accretion to redemption value of the ordinary shares subject to possible redemption was considered to be dividends paid to the public shareholders.
Offering Costs
Offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting, registration and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the IPO. The Company complies with the requirements of ASC Topic 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A, “Expenses of Offering.” Offering costs are allocated between the public shares, public warrants and public rights based on the estimated fair values of public shares, public warrants and public rights at the date of issuance.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Factors That May Adversely Affect our Results of Operations
Our results of operations and our ability to complete an initial business combination may be adversely affected by various factors that could cause economic uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets, many of which are beyond our control. Our business could be impacted by, among other things, downturns in the financial markets or in economic conditions, increases in oil prices, inflation, increases in interest rates, supply chain disruptions, declines in consumer confidence and spending, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including resurgences and the emergence of new variants, and geopolitical instability, such as the military conflict in Ukraine. We cannot at this time fully predict the likelihood of one or more of the above events, their duration or magnitude or the extent to which they may negatively impact our business and our ability to complete an initial business combination.
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 otherwise required under this Item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Reference is made to pages F-1 through F-18 comprising a portion of this Report, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
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Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (together, the “Certifying Officers”), or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Certifying Officers, we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as 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 effective as of the end of the period covered by this Report.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Controls 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 as of December 31, 2022. In making these assessments, management used the criteria 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 we did maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022.
This Report does not include an attestation report of our 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
Other than as discussed above, there have been no changes to our internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information.
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Directors and Executive Officers
As of the date of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows:
Name | Age | Position | ||
Fang Zhang | 58 | Director (Chairman) | ||
Kai Xiong | 55 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
Jing Lu | 58 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
Mark Taborsky | 56 | Director | ||
Doug Rothschild | 46 | Director | ||
Mei Han | 54 | Director |
The experience of our directors and executive officers is as follows:
Fang Zheng has served as the Founder and Chairman since inception. He is the Founder, Managing Director & CIO of Keywise, where he has served since July 2006. In his career, Mr. Zheng has been applying an institutional approach to investment, with a focus on information technology and services industries. He has developed deep insights and built strong industry connections in the global markets. Before Keywise, Mr. Zheng was a co-founder and portfolio manager at Neon Liberty Capital Management, an asset management firm based in New York City, investing in the Greater China markets on behalf of institutional investors in the U.S. Prior to co-founding Neon Liberty in 2002, Mr. Zheng was a Vice President and portfolio manager at the JP Morgan Emerging Market Equity Group. Mr. Zheng was responsible for the team’s investment strategy in the Asian small cap markets. An employee of JP Morgan for more than six years, Mr. Zheng began his career as an equity research analyst in Singapore, covering the financial and property sectors. Prior to joining JP Morgan, Mr. Zheng worked at the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics Industries and CITIC in China, and Rockefeller & Co., Inc. in New York as an equity analyst. Mr. Zheng holds a BA degree from the University of International Business & Economics in Beijing and an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a CFA charter holder. Mr. Zheng holds a Hong Kong special administrative region passport and resides in Hong Kong.
We believe Mr. Zheng is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his substantial investment and experience and background.
Dr. Kai Xiong has served as our Chief Executive Officer and director since inception. He has more than two decades of experience in investments, risk management, marketing and operations in the financial services industry. Dr. Xiong joined Keywise in 2010 and is currently a Managing Partner, responsible for multiple management functions, including capital market deal sourcing, management due diligence, new business development, regulatory policy assessment, investor relations, and personnel and culture development within the firm, splitting his time among Hong Kong, Beijing and the U.S. Dr. Xiong works closely with Mr. Zheng in the daily management of the firm and building a strong culture for the firm’s long-term success. Prior to joining Keywise, Dr. Xiong worked in New York City as a Senior Vice President at Citigroup, a Senior Director at E*Trade, and a Vice President at JPMorgan Chase for more than over 10 years combined, responsible for developing risk management, marketing and sales strategies for various financial products using advanced quantitative methodology and statistical modeling. Before moving to the United States, Dr. Xiong worked at National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) in Beijing for five years. Since June 2022, Dr. Xiong has served as a member of the compensation committee of the board of directors of UBS Securities Co. Ltd (China). Dr. Xiong holds a B.A. in Economics from Peking University, an MBA from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Xiong is a U.S. permanent resident with a Hong Kong special administrative region passport residing in the United States and in Hong Kong.
We believe Dr. Xiong is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his significant investment, risk management, marketing and operations experience.
Dr. Jing Lu has served as our Chief Financial Officer since inception. She has more than 20 years of experience in the financial service industry. Dr. Lu has served as a Managing Director and then Chief Operating Officer of China Bridge Capital USA, a PE/VC investment advisory company specialized in innovative technologies from January 2017 to July 2019 and then from March 2021 to January 2022. She also served as Chief Investment Officer for the New Hope Fertility Center (NHFC) from August 2019 to February 2021, sourcing and managing PE investments, bank loans and government PPP loans. Prior to China Bridge Capital, Dr. Lu was President of ACE AV Consulting Inc. from 2005 to 2017.
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Dr. Lu was an Executive Director at CIBC World Markets in 2001 working on corporate securities. Between 1998 and 2001, Dr. Lu worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a bank regulator and supervisor, working on Basel Capital Accords as well as examining banks’ implementation of the Basel Accords. Before moving to New York, Dr. Lu was a professor of economics at York University in Canada for four years, specializing her teaching and research in Macroeconomics, Institutional Economics, and Econometrics. Dr. Lu holds Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Western University in Canada, B.A in World Economy from Fudan University in China. Dr. Lu is a U.S. citizen and resident of the State of New York.
Mr. Mark Taborsky has served as one of our independent directors since inception. He is the founder and managing partner of MarkerTree Capital, LLC, an investment firm he started in August 2016 specializing in creating and managing custom and thematic investment portfolios for institutional investors. Mr. Taborsky has over 25 years of investment experience as a senior investment professional, most recently at Stanford Management Company, Harvard Management Company, PIMCO, and BlackRock, Inc. At BlackRock, Inc., from August 2011 to July 2016, he was a Managing Director and the CIO for global asset allocation clients in the US and Asia. At PIMCO, from 2008 to 2011, he led the successful buildout of its liquid asset allocation strategy. At Harvard Management Company, from 2006 to 2008, he was a Managing Director and head of external investments. At Stanford Management Company, from 2001 to 2006, he was a Managing Director and oversaw the absolute return and fixed income portfolios and internal trading. He was also their first CFO. Mr. Taborsky is a CFA charter holder. Mr. Taborsky holds an MBA in Finance and Policy with honors from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.Comm. in Joint Honors Economics and Finance with first-class honors from McGill University. Mr. Taborsky is a U.S. citizen and is a resident of Massachusetts.
We believe that Mr. Taborsky is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his significant investment experience and leadership skills
Mr. Doug Rothschild has served as one of our independent directors since inception. He is a portfolio manager at Scoggin Management LP, a privately owned hedge fund sponsor, assisting in the management of its investment portfolio. Since joining Scoggin Management in February 2002, he has focused on analyzing and investing in both public and private securities across all asset sectors. Mr. Rothschild was a senior advisor for MTech Acquisition Corp. from January 2018 to June 2019. Prior to joining Scoggin Management, Mr. Rothschild was an associate in the asset management group of Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2002, where he focused on the real estate, lodging and gaming sectors. He served on the board of Akerna Corp. (Nasdaq: KERN), a technology company. Mr. Rothschild is an active supporter of various charities specifically Sinai Schools for children with special needs, where he previously served as a Board Member and on the Executive Committee. Mr. Rothschild received a B.A. in Finance from the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University and is a CFA charter holder. Mr. Rothschild is a U.S. citizen and is a resident of the State of New Jersey.
We believe Mr. Rothchild is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his substantial investment and securities analysis experience.
Dr. Mei Han has served as one of our independent directors since inception. She is an experienced business professional, with a successful 27 years career in global investment and wealth management. For 20 years, Dr. Han held various senior management roles with Capital Group, one of the world’s largest investment management firms with assets under management of USD2 trillion as of December 31, 2020, including Managing Director for Strategic Solutions. She was responsible for business development and strategic partnerships in major Asian markets, helping clients design strategic solutions and asset allocation recommendations. The key clients were sovereign wealth funds, central banks, pension funds, insurance companies, large commercial banks and securities companies. Dr. Han was a founding member of Capital Group’s China Committee and was one of the key members who planned and organized the opening of Capital Group’s representative office in Beijing in 2009. She was also the leader of Capital Group’s Asian Women Leadership Program. Since leaving Capital Group in 2017, Dr. Han has been advising and assisting several industry leading firms from China and Singapore, including Ucommune International Ltd. (co-working) and MCP Payment (digital payment), mainly on strategy, business network building and fund raising. From November 2020 to February 2022, Dr. Han served as an independent director of Ucommune International Ltd. (Nasdaq: UK), the largest co-working company in China. Dr. Han holds a Bachelor Degree of Law from Peking University, an MBA degree from European University (now the EU Business School), and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from University of South Australia. Dr. Han is a citizen and resident of Singapore.
We believe Dr. Han is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive global investment and wealth management experience.
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Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of five members. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each (except for those directors appointed prior to our first general meeting of shareholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors will expire at our first general meeting of shareholders, the term of office of the second class of directors will expire at our second general meeting of shareholders, and the term of office of the third class of directors will expire at our third general meeting of shareholders. We may not hold a general meeting of shareholders until after we consummate our business combination (unless required by Nasdaq). The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Doug Rothschild, will expire at our first general meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mark Taborsky and Mei Han, will expire at our second general meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Fang Zhang and Kai Xiong, will expire at our third general meeting of shareholders. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board or by a majority of the holders of our ordinary shares (or, prior to our business combination, holders of our Founder Shares).
Our officers are elected 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 a Chairman, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Investment Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
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Committees of the Board of Directors
Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules we have established two standing committees, an audit committee in compliance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act, and a compensation committee, each comprised of independent directors.
Subject to phase in-rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised of solely independent directors.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Mr. Taborsky, Mr. Rothschild and Dr. Han serve as members of our audit committee. Mr. Taborsky chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. We believe that each of Mr. Taborsky, Mr. Rothschild and Dr. Han meet the independent director standards under Nasdaq listing standards and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Taborsky qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
● | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors; |
● | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
● | reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
● | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors; |
● | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
● | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or |
● | investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations;” |
● | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
● | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the FASB, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
32
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Mr. Taborsky, Mr. Rothschild and Dr. Han serve as members of our compensation committee. Dr. Han chairs the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. We believe that each of Mr. Taborsky, Mr. Rothschild and Dr. Han meet the independent director standards under Nasdaq listing standards and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibility 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 making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other 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 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, independent 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 considers the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Mr. Taborsky, Mr. Rothschild and Dr. Han. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for a at the next annual general meeting (or, if applicable, an extraordinary general meeting). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for appointment to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. Our code of ethics is a “code of ethics,” as defined in Item 406(b) of Regulation S-K. We have filed a copy of our code of ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the Registration Statement. You will be able to review these documents accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. Any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our code of ethics will be disclosed in a current report on Form 8-K.
Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our common stock and other equity securities. These executive officers, directors, and greater than 10% beneficial owners are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms filed by such reporting persons. Based solely on our review of such forms furnished to us and written representations from certain reporting persons, we believe that during the year ended December 31, 2022, all reports applicable to our executive officers, directors and greater than 10% beneficial owners were filed in a timely manner in accordance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, except that each of Messrs. Taborsky and Rothschild and Dr. Han did not timely file a report relating to their acquisition of Founder Shares in March 2022.
33
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
Except as set forth herein, none of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities were first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our business combination and our liquidation, we pay our sponsor up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services. The sponsor pays Jing Lu, our Chief Financial Officer, $5,000 per month, from the time of our IPO through the earlier of consummation of our business combination and our liquidation, for administrative services she performs for us and for the sponsor. Additionally, certain of our directors have received Founder Shares from our sponsor. For more information, please see “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.” In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket 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 reviews 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 a business combination are 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 officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating a business combination. Other than the payments and reimbursements described above, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, are paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our business combination.
After the completion of our 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 or tender offer materials (as applicable) furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining 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 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 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 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.
34
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 as of March 30, 2023 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of ordinary shares, by:
● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
● | each of our named executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our ordinary shares; and |
● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 15,120,000 shares of our ordinary shares, consisting of (i) 12,245,000 shares of our Class A ordinary shares and (ii) 2,875,000 shares of our Class B ordinary shares, issued and outstanding as of March 30, 2023. On all matters to be voted upon, except for the election of directors of the board, holders of the shares of Class A ordinary shares and shares of Class B ordinary shares vote together as a single class, unless otherwise required by applicable law. Currently, all of the shares of Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis.
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 public warrants or the private placement warrants.
Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares | Approximate | ||||||||||||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class | Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Shares | |||||||||||||||
Keyarch Global Sponsor Limited | 490,500 | (3) | 4.00 | % | 2,800,000 | (2)(3) | 97.39 | % | 21.76 | % | ||||||||||
Fang Zheng | 490,500 | (3) | 4.00 | % | 2,800,000 | (2)(3) | 97.39 | % | 21.76 | % | ||||||||||
Kai Xiong | - | (4) | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||
Jing Lu | - | (4) | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||
Mark Taborsky | - | - | 25,000 | (4) | * | * | ||||||||||||||
Doug Rothschild | - | - | 25,000 | (4) | * | * | ||||||||||||||
Mei Han | - | - | 25,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
All officers and directors as a group (6 individuals) | 490,500 | 4.00 | % | 2,875,000 | 100 | % | 22.26 | % | ||||||||||||
Highbridge Capital Management, LLC(5) | -1,033,538 | -8.44 | % | - | 6.84 | % | ||||||||||||||
AQR Parties(6) | 711,971 | 5.81 | % | - | 4.70 | % |
* | less than 1% |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is 275 Madison Avenue, 39th floor, New York, New York 10016. |
(2) | Interests shown consist solely of Founder Shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following our business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
(3) | Represents the shares directly held by Keyarch Global Sponsor Limited, our sponsor and the record holder of such shares. Mr. Fang Zheng is the majority shareholder of our sponsor. As such, he may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the Founder Shares held directly by our sponsor. Mr. Zheng disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
(4) | Does not include any shares indirectly owned by this individual as a result of his or her partnership interest in our sponsor or its affiliates. |
(5) | According to a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 2, 2023, Highbridge Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Highbridge”), holds 1,033,538 Class A ordinary shares. The principal business offices of Highbridge are at 275 Madison Avenue, 39th Floor, New York, New York 10016.(6) |
(6) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2023, AQR Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC , a Delaware limited liability company, and AQR Arbitrage, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “AQR Parties”) hold 711,971 Class A ordinary shares. The principal business office address of the AQR Parties is One Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830. |
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Changes in Control
None.
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Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Founder Shares
In July 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or $0.009 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for 2,875,000 Founder Shares. On March 18, 2022, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to each of our three independent directors Our initial shareholders collectively own approximately 22.26% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. The initial shareholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earliest to occur of: (A) 180 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
On August 12, 2021, we issued to EarlyBirdCapital and/or its designees 200,000 Class A ordinary shares at a price of $0.0001 per share. We estimated the fair value of the EBC Founder Shares to be $1,800 based upon the price of the Founder Shares issued to the sponsor. The holders of the EBC Founder Shares have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any such shares until the completion of a business combination. In addition, the holders have agreed (i) to waive their conversion rights (or right to participate in any tender offer) with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of a business combination and (ii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such shares if we fail to complete a business combination within the Combination Period.
Private Placement Units
In connection with our initial public offering and the Over-Allotment Option, our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital and their designees purchased an aggregate of 545,000 private placement units (including 490,500 private placement units purchased by our sponsor and 54,500 private placement units purchased by EarlyBirdCapital) at $10.00 per unit in the private placement, generating gross proceeds to us of approximately $5.5 million in the aggregate.
Conflicts of Interest
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.
Administrative Services Agreement
We currently maintain our executive offices at 275 Madison Avenue, 39th floor New York, New York 10016. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq and through the earlier of the consummation of our business combination and our liquidation, we pay our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to us in the amount of $10,000 per month.
Related Party Loans and Advances
Prior to the IPO Closing Date, our sponsor agreed to loan us the IPO Note, a promissory note up to $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our Initial Public Offering. We borrowed approximately $150,000 under the IPO Note. The IPO Note was non-interest bearing, unsecured and was due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 and the IPO Closing Date. The IPO Note was repaid at the IPO Closing Date out of the offering proceeds not held in the Trust Account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us Working Capital Loans as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we may repay such Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to us. In the event that the business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such Working Capital Loans 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 $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units. The terms of such Working Capital 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, its affiliates or our management team 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 business combination, members of our management 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 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 business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
36
Registration Rights
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital with respect to any Class A ordinary shares underlying the Founder Shares, any private placement units (and their component parts and securities underlying those component parts), any EBC Founder Shares and any units issued upon conversion of working capital loans (their component parts and securities underlying those component parts).
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our Initial Public Offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. Taborsky, Mr. Rothschild and Dr. Han is an “independent director” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to UHY, for services rendered.
Audit Fees
Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by UHY in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of UHY for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 totaled approximately $148,730 and $92,250, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
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 financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021we did not pay UHY any audit-related fees.
Tax Fees
We did not pay UHY for tax services, planning or advice for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
All Other Fees
We did not pay UHY for any other services for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not 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 our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
37
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Report:
(1) Financial Statements:
(2) Financial Statements Schedules
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto beginning on page F-1 of this Report.
(3) Exhibits:
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits that are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
Not applicable.
38
Index to Financial Statements
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and
Shareholder of Keyarch Acquisition Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Keyarch Acquisition Corporation (the Company) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ (deficit) equity, and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Substantial Doubt about the Company’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, as of December 31, 2022, the Company does not have sufficient cash and working capital to sustain its operations which raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to this matter are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
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 audits. 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 audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits 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 audits, 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 audits 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 audits 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 audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ UHY LLP | |
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021. | |
New York, New York | |
March 30, 2023 |
F-2
KEYARCH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
BALANCE SHEET
December 31, 2022
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2022 | 2021 | |||||||
Assets: | ||||||||
Current assets: | ||||||||
Cash | $ | 115,171 | $ | 9,168 | ||||
Prepaid expenses | 166,889 | |||||||
Total current assets | 282,060 | 9,168 | ||||||
Investments held in Trust Account | 117,851,869 | |||||||
Deferred offering costs | 933,978 | |||||||
Total Assets | $ | 118,133,929 | $ | 943,146 | ||||
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity: | ||||||||
Current liabilities: | ||||||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 165,403 | $ | 394,126 | ||||
Due to affiliates | 383,852 | |||||||
Note payable—related party | 150,000 | |||||||
Total current liabilities | 165,403 | 927,978 | ||||||
Commitments and Contingencies | ||||||||
117,851,869 | ||||||||
Shareholders’ Equity: | ||||||||
Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; | issued and outstanding||||||||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 180,000,000 shares authorized; 745,000 and 200,000 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 11,500,000 and no shares subject to possible redemption) as of December 31, 2022, and December 31, 2021, respectively | 75 | 20 | ||||||
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 2,875,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022, and December 31, 2021 | 287 | 287 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital | 986,124 | 26,493 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit | (869,829 | ) | (11,632 | ) | ||||
Total Shareholders’ Equity | 116,657 | 15,168 | ||||||
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity | $ | 118,133,929 | $ | 943,146 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
KEYARCH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021
Year Ended December 31, 2022 | From April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
General and administrative expenses | $ | 860,419 | $ | 11,632 | ||||
Total Expenses | 860,419 | 11,632 | ||||||
Loss from Operations | (860,419 | ) | (11,632 | ) | ||||
Other Income: | ||||||||
Interest income | 2,222 | |||||||
Income earned on investment held in Trust Account | 1,701,869 | |||||||
Net Profit/(Loss) | $ | 843,672 | $ | (11,632 | ) | |||
Weighted average shares outstanding of redeemable ordinary shares | 10,631,507 | |||||||
0.49 | ||||||||
Weighted average shares outstanding of non-redeemable ordinary shares | 3,579,699 | 2,612,253 | ||||||
(1.21 | ) | $ | (0.00 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
KEYARCH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For the year ended December 31, 2022 and for the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021
Ordinary Shares | Additional | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A | Class B | Paid-In | Accumulated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of April 23, 2021 (inception) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor | 2,875,000 | 287 | 24,713 | 25,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class A ordinary shares to underwriter | 200,000 | 20 | 1,780 | 1,800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net Loss | — | — | (11,632 | ) | (11,632 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2021 | 200,000 | 20 | 2,875,000 | 287 | 26,493 | (11,632 | ) | 15,168 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Proceeds from sale of public units | 11,500,000 | 1,150 | 114,998,850 | 115,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Proceeds from sale of private placement units | 545,000 | 55 | 5,449,945 | 5,450,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Underwriters’ commission on sale of public units | — | — | (2,300,000 | ) | (2,300,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Other offering costs | — | — | (1,171,734 | ) | (1,171,734 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Allocation of offering costs to ordinary shares subject to redemption, adjusted for reversal allocation | — | — | 2,987,577 | 2,987,577 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Initial measurement of Ordinary Shares Subject to Redemption under ASC 480-10-S99 against additional paid-in capital | (11,500,000 | ) | (1,150 | ) | (102,854,850 | ) | (102,856,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Deduction for increases of carrying value of redeemable shares, adjusted for reversal of offering costs | — | — | (16,281,577 | ) | (16,281,577 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Reversal of offering costs | — | — | 131,420 | 131,420 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subsequent measurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption (income earned on investment held in Trust Account) | — | — | (1,701,869 | ) | (1,701,869 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Net profit | — | — | 843,672 | 843,672 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2022 | 745,000 | $ | 75 | 2,875,000 | $ | 287 | $ | 986,124 | $ | (869,829 | ) | $ | 116,657 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements
F-5
KEYARCH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the year ended December 31, 2022, and for the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021
Year ended December 31, 2022 | From April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
Net profit/(loss) | $ | 843,672 | $ | (11,632 | ) | |||
Adjustments to reconcile net profit/(loss) to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
Income earned on investment held in Trust Account | (1,701,869 | ) | ||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | 321,403 | 622 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses | (166,889 | ) | ||||||
Due to affiliates | 606 | |||||||
Net cash used in operating activities | (703,683 | ) | (10,404 | ) | ||||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||
Purchase of investment held in Trust Account | (116,150,000 | ) | ||||||
Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (116,150,000 | ) | $ | ||||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||
Proceeds from sale of public units through public offering | 115,000,000 | |||||||
Proceeds from sale of private placement units | 5,450,000 | |||||||
Proceeds from issuance of Class A ordinary shares to underwriter | 1,800 | |||||||
Proceeds from issuance of Class B ordinary shares to sponsor | 25,000 | |||||||
Payment of underwriters’ commissions | (2,300,000 | ) | ||||||
Payment of offering costs | (1,040,314 | ) | (157,228 | ) | ||||
Repayment on promissory note to related party | (150,000 | ) | ||||||
Proceeds from note payable to related party | 150,000 | |||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | 116,959,686 | $ | 19,572 | ||||
Net change in cash | $ | 106,003 | $ | 9,168 | ||||
Cash—beginning of the period | 9,168 | |||||||
Cash—end of the period | $ | 115,171 | $ | 9,168 | ||||
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
Allocation of offering costs to ordinary shares subject to redemption | $ | 2,987,577 | $ | |||||
Reclassification of ordinary shares subject to redemption | $ | 102,856,000 | $ | |||||
Remeasurement adjustment on redeemable ordinary shares | $ | 16,281,577 | $ | |||||
Subsequent measurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption (income earned on investment held in Trust Account) | $ | 1,701,869 | $ | |||||
Reversal of offering cost adjusted from additional paid in capital | $ | 131,420 | $ | |||||
Deferred offering costs included in due to affiliate | $ | $ | 383,246 | |||||
Deferred offering costs included in accrued expenses | $ | $ | 393,504 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
KEYARCH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 – Organization and Business Operation
Keyarch Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) was incorporated in Cayman Islands on April 23, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations within 18 months of its initial public offering (“IPO”). Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus its search on global disruptive technology and innovative services companies. However, the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation provides that it shall not undertake its initial Business Combination with any entity that is based in, located in or with its principal business operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2022, relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“IPO”) described below, and following the IPO, the search for a target to consummate a 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 Keyarch Global Sponsor Limited, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Sponsor”).
Financing
The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on January 24, 2022 (the “Effective Date”). On January 27, 2022, the Company consummated the IPO of 10,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $100,000,000, which is discussed in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 500,000 private placement units (“Private Placement Units”) (450,000 Private Placement Units purchased by the Sponsor and 50,000 Private Placement Units purchased by EarlyBirdCapital, Inc., the representative of the underwriters of the IPO (“EarlyBirdCapital”)) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $5,000,000, in a private placement.
On February 8, 2022, the underwriters purchased an additional 1,500,000 Units by exercising its over-allotment option in full at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $15,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the full exercise of the over-allotment option, the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 45,000 Private Placement Units (40,500 Private Placement Units purchased by the Sponsor and 4,500 Private Placement Units purchased by EarlyBirdCapital) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating gross proceeds of $450,000.
Offering costs amounted to $3,471,734 consisting of $2,300,000 of underwriting discount and $1,171,734 of other offering costs. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company negotiated for a discount amounting to $131,420 on outstanding offering costs included within accounts payable and accrued expenses. This has been treated as an adjustment to offering costs.
As of December 31, 2022, cash of $ 115,171 was held outside of the Trust Account (as defined below) and is available for the payment of offering costs and for working capital purposes.
Trust Account
Following the closing of the IPO and the sale of over-allotment units, an aggregate of $116,150,000 ($10.10 per Unit) from the net proceeds and the sale of the Private Placement Units was held in a Trust Account (“Trust Account”), and has been invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay income tax obligations, the proceeds from the IPO will not be released from the Trust Account until the earlier of the completion of a Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation.
F-7
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of Private Placement Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully.
Business Combination
The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations within 18 months of IPO (the “Combination Period”), having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the definitive agreement for the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of a target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in a 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”).
The Company will provide the holders of its outstanding Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (“Class A ordinary shares”), sold in the IPO (the “public shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion, subject to applicable law. The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.10 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to public shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the cash fee payable to EarlyBirdCapital for services performed in connection with the initial Business Combination (as discussed in Note 6). In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of a Business Combination.
Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO, the Company adopted an insider trading policy which requires insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) to clear all trades with the Company’s legal counsel prior to execution. In addition, the initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Class A ordinary shares sold in the IPO, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “initial shareholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
F-8
Liquidation
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months of IPO (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 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 income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay the Company’s franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The initial shareholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders should acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. EarlyBirdCapital has agreed to waive its rights to the cash fee payable to EarlyBirdCapital for services performed in connection with the initial Business Combination (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) could be less than $10.10 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor 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. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or 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 will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern and Management Liquidity Plans
As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had cash of $115,171 and $9,168, respectively and working capital/(deficit) of $116,657 and ($918,810), respectively. The Company’s liquidity needs, prior to the consummation of the IPO, had been satisfied through proceeds from notes payable and advances from related party and from the issuance of ordinary shares. Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO, the Company expects that it will need additional capital to satisfy its liquidity needs beyond the net proceeds from the consummation of the IPO and the proceeds held outside of the Trust Account for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective 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 Initial Business Combination. Although certain of the Company’s initial shareholders, officers and directors or their affiliates have committed to loan the Company funds from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, there is no guarantee that the Company will receive such funds.
Accordingly, the accompanying financial statements has been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which contemplates continuation of the Company as a going concern and the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The financial statement does not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management plans to address this uncertainty during period leading up to the Initial Business Combination. The Company cannot provide any assurance that its plans to raise capital or to consummate an Initial Business Combination will be successful. Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will not have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of the Initial Business Combination or one year from this filing. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
F-9
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
In the beginning of February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action against 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 these financial statements.
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 SEC.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is 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 the 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.
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.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash 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, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
F-10
Investments Held in Trust Account
The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account is comprised of investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities and generally have a readily determinable fair value, or a combination thereof. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in income earned on investment held in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.
As per ASC 230, operating cash flows include interest and dividend income receipts related to investments in other reporting entities or deposits with financial institutions (i.e., returns on investment). Interest income earned on Investments held in Trust Account is fully reinvested into the Trust Account and therefore considered as an adjustment to reconcile net profit/(loss) to net cash used in operating activities in the Statements of Cash Flows. Such interest income reinvested will be used to redeem all or a portion of the Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of business combination.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the trust account had balance of $117,851,869 and $0, respectively, comprised of U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of 180 days or less. The interests earned from trust account were $1,701,869 for the year ended December 31, 2022, which were fully reinvested into the trust account as earned and therefore presented as an adjustment to the operating activities in the Statements of Cash Flows.
Offering Costs
Offering costs were $3,471,734 consisting principally of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the IPO and are charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the IPO. The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A – “Expenses of Offering”. The Company allocates offering costs between the Public Shares, Public Warrants (as defined below in Note 3) and Public Rights (as defined below in Note 3) based on the relative fair values of the Public Shares, Public Warrants and Public Rights. Accordingly, $3,105,119 was allocated to the Public Shares and charged to temporary equity, and $366,615 was allocated to Public Warrants and Public Rights and charged to shareholders’ equity. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company received discounts amounting to $131,420 on outstanding offering cost included within accounts payable and accrued expenses. This has been treated as reversal of offering cost adjusted through additional paid-in capital considering the related offering cost charged against additional paid-in capital at the time of IPO.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB ASC 825, “Financial Instruments,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature.
Warrants
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, whether they meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of equity at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as liabilities at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations.
Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s ordinary shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2022, 11,500,000 ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value of $10.10 per share (plus any income earned on investment held in Trust Account) as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit. The Company allocates gross proceeds between the Public Shares, Public Warrants and Public Rights based on the relative fair values of the Public Shares, Public Warrants and Public Rights.
F-11
At December 31, 2022, the ordinary shares reflected in the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
Gross proceeds | $ | 115,000,000 | ||
Less: | ||||
Proceeds allocated to Public Rights | (9,257,500 | ) | ||
Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | (2,886,500 | ) | ||
Allocation of offering costs related to redeemable shares (net of allocation of offering cost amounting to $117,542 related to redeemable shares reversed*) | (2,987,577 | ) | ||
Plus: | ||||
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value (net of decrease of $117,542 in carrying value of redeemable shares due to reversal of offering costs*) | 16,281,577 | |||
Subsequent measurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption (income earned on investment held in Trust Account) | 1,701,869 | |||
Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 117,851,869 |
* | During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company received discounts amounting to $131,420 on outstanding offering cost included within accounts payable and accrued expenses. This has been treated as reversal of offering cost adjusted through additional paid-in capital considering the related offering cost charged against additional paid-in capital at the time of IPO. This reversal of offering cost has been proportionately allocated to redeemable shares based on the fair value of Public Shares leading to a corresponding decrease in carrying value by $117,542 to arrive at the redemption value of Ordinary Shares subject to possible redemption. |
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration 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. At December 31, 2022, the Company had not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Net Profit/(Loss) Per Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. In order to determine the net income (loss) attributable to both the redeemable shares and non-redeemable shares, the Company first considered the undistributed income (loss) allocable to both the redeemable shares and non-redeemable shares and the undistributed income (loss) is calculated using the total net loss less any dividends paid. The Company then allocated the undistributed income (loss) rateably based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding between the redeemable and non-redeemable shares. Any remeasurement of the accretion to redemption value of the ordinary shares subject to possible redemption was considered to be dividends paid to the public shareholders. As of December 31, 2022, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
The net profit (loss) per share presented in the statement of operations is based on the following:
Year ended | For the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through | |||||||
December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2022 | |||||||
Net Profit/ (Loss) | $ | 843,672 | $ | (11,632 | ) | |||
Income earned on investment held in Trust Account | (1,701,869 | ) | ||||||
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | (16,399,119 | ) | ||||||
Decrease in carrying value of redeemable shares due to reversal of offering costs | 117,542 | |||||||
Net loss including accretion of equity into redemption value | $ | (17,139,774 | ) | $ | (11,632 | ) |
F-12
Year ended
December 31, 2022 | For
the period from April 23, 2021(inception) through December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||
Redeemable | Non-Redeemable | Non-Redeemable | ||||||||||
Shares | Shares | Shares | ||||||||||
Basic and diluted net profit/(loss) per share: | ||||||||||||
Numerators: | ||||||||||||
Allocation of net loss including accretion of temporary equity | $ | (12,822,390 | ) | $ | (4,317,384 | ) | $ | (11,632 | ) | |||
Income earned on investment held in Trust Account | 1,701,869 | |||||||||||
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | 16,399,119 | |||||||||||
Decrease in carrying value of redeemable shares due to reversal of offering costs | (117,542 | ) | ||||||||||
Allocation of net profit/(loss) | 5,161,056 | (4,317,384 | ) | (11,632 | ) | |||||||
Denominators: | ||||||||||||
Weighted-average shares outstanding | 10,631,507 | 3,579,699 | 2,612,253 | |||||||||
$ | 0.49 | $ | (1.21 | ) | $ | (0.00 | ) |
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under 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. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes”, prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company is not currently aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals, or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. There is currently no taxation imposed by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
There is currently no taxation imposed by the Government of the Cayman Islands. The Company has 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. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
F-13
Note 3 – Initial Public Offering
On January 27, 2022, the Company sold 10,000,000 Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”) and one right (“Public Right”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. Ten Public Rights will entitle the holder to one Class A ordinary share at the closing of the Business Combination.
On February 8, 2022, the underwriters purchased an additional 1,500,000 Units to exercise its over-allotment option in full at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $15,000,000.
The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and will expire
years after the completion of the initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation (see Note 7).
Note 4 – Private Placement
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital purchased an aggregate of 500,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit (450,000 Private Placement Units purchased by the Sponsor and 50,000 Private Placement Units purchased by EarlyBirdCapital), for an aggregate purchase price of $5,000,000, in a private placement. Each whole Private Placement Unit consisted of one Class A ordinary share, one-half of one warrant (the “Private Warrant”) and one right (the “Private Rights”). On February 8, 2022, the underwriters fully exercised the over-allotment option and the Company completed the private sale of an aggregate of 45,000 Private Placement Units (40,500 Private Placement Units purchased by the Sponsor and 4,500 Private Placement Units purchased by EarlyBirdCapital) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating gross proceeds of $450,000. Certain of the proceeds from the Private Placement Units were added to the proceeds from the IPO held in the Trust Account.
If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Units will expire worthless.
Note 5 – Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On June 27, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000, to cover certain offering costs in consideration for 2,875,000 of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”). Up to 375,000 Founder Shares were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. On February 8, 2022, the underwriter exercised its over-allotment option in full, hence, the 375,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture since then. On March 18, 2022, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to each of the Company’s three independent directors.
The initial shareholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earliest to occur of: (A) 180 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
EBC Founder Shares
On August 12, 2021, the Company issued to EarlyBirdCapital and/or its designees 200,000 Class A ordinary shares (the “EBC Founder Shares”) at a price of $0.0001 per share. The Company estimated the fair value of the EBC Founder Shares to be $1,800 based upon the price of the founder shares issued to the Sponsor. The holders of the EBC Founder Shares have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any such shares until the completion of a Business Combination. In addition, the holders have agreed (i) to waive their conversion rights (or right to participate in any tender offer) with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The EBC Founder Shares have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement related to the IPO pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1). Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statements related to the IPO, nor may they be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statements related to the IPO except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the IPO and their officers or partners, associated persons or affiliates.
F-14
Related Party Loans and Due to Affiliate
On June 16, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $150,000 to cover expenses related to the IPO pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of March 31, 2022, or the completion of the IPO. During the month of September 2021, the Sponsor transferred the outstanding sponsor line of credit of $15,625 to Keywise Capital Management (HK) Limited (the “Affiliate”). Prior to July 6, 2021, the Sponsor had an arrangement with the Affiliate regarding payment to be made by the Affiliate for certain costs of the Company on behalf of the Sponsor which will be adjusted with the Note. However, once the bank account of the Sponsor and the Company was open, the Affiliate agreed with the Sponsor and the Company that such amount will be paid directly to them.
On October 4, 2021, the Sponsor funded $150,000 to the Company pursuant to the promissory note executed by the Company on June 16, 2021. The note was paid in full on January 27, 2022.
Further, during the period up to December 31, 2021, the Affiliate paid for the offering costs and other general and administration expenses of $368,227. The Company settled the amount due to affiliates with the IPO proceeds. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had no outstanding balance due to Affiliate.
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, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans.
Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the Private Placement Units. As of December 31, 2022, no Working Capital Loans were outstanding.
Administrative Services
The Company pays the Sponsor a fee of approximately $10,000 per month, beginning from the date of the consummation of the IPO until the earlier of the consummation of the Business Combination or liquidation for office and administrative support services. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred $110,000 for administrative and support services. No such expenses were incurred during the period April 23, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
Note 6 – Commitments and Contingencies
Risk and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s future financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, there has not been a significant impact as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the future outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Units and Units that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, are entitled to registration rights (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares to Class A ordinary shares) pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed on January 24, 2022. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
F-15
Underwriters Agreement
The underwriters had a 45-day option beginning January 24, 2022, to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the IPO price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On February 8, 2022, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in full and purchased an additional 1,500,000 units at $10.00 per unit.
On January 27, 2022, the Company paid a fixed underwriting discount of $2,000,000 and on February 8, 2022, it paid an additional $300,000 of underwriting fees arising from the sale of the over-allotment units.
Business Combination Marketing Agreement
The Company has engaged EarlyBirdCapital as an advisor in connection with a Business Combination to assist the Company in holding meetings with its shareholders to discuss the potential Business Combination and the target business’ attributes, introduce the Company to potential investors that are interested in purchasing the Company’s securities in connection with a Business Combination, assist the Company in obtaining shareholder approval for the Business Combination and assist the Company with its press releases and public filings in connection with the Business Combination. The Company will pay EarlyBirdCapital a cash fee for such services upon the consummation of a Business Combination in an amount equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of IPO (exclusive of any applicable finders’ fees which might become payable). In addition, the Company may engage EarlyBirdCapital as an advisor in connection with introducing a target business to us. If we engage EarlyBirdCapital and it introduces us to the target business with whom we complete our initial Business Combination, EarlyBirdCapital will receive a cash fee equal to 1% of the total consideration payable in the initial Business Combination.
Note 7 – Shareholder’s Equity
Preferred shares - The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 preferred shares with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were
preferred shares issued or outstanding.
Ordinary Shares
Class A Ordinary Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 180,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were 745,000 and 200,000 Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding, excluding 11,500,000 and no shares subject to possible redemption, respectively.
Class B Ordinary Shares - The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, there were 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. Of the 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares, an aggregate of up to 375,000 shares were subject to forfeiture to the Company for no consideration to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the initial shareholders would collectively own approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the IPO. On February 8, 2022, the underwriter exercised its over-allotment option in full, hence, the 375,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture since then.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of shareholders except as required by law.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares 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.
F-16
Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share commencing 30 days after the completion of its initial Business Combination and expiring five years from after the completion of an initial Business Combination. No fractional warrant will be issued and only whole warrants will trade.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional 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 Sponsor, initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by them 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 our initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of our initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our 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 greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price.
The Company may redeem the warrants at a price of $0.01 per warrant upon 30 days’ notice, only in the event that the last sale price of the ordinary shares is at least $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third day prior to the date on which notice of redemption is given, provided there is an effective registration statement and current prospectus in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants during the 30 day redemption period. If a registration statement is not effective within 60 days following the consummation of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall 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 we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Note 8 – Fair Value Measurements
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: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. |
Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. |
Level 3: Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
F-17
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2022 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
As of December 31, | Quoted Prices in Active Markets | Significant Other Observable Inputs | Significant Other Unobservable Inputs | |||||||||||||
2022 | (Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | |||||||||||||
Assets: | ||||||||||||||||
Investment held in Trust Account | $ | 117,851,869 | $ | 117,851,869 | $ | $ |
As of December 31, 2021, there was no investment held in Trust Account.
Note 9 – Subsequent Events
The Company has evaluated subsequent events through March 30, 2023, which was the date these financial statements were available for issuance and determined that there were no significant unrecognized events through that date.
F-18
EXHIBIT INDEX
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* | Filed herewith. |
** | Furnished herewith. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: March 30, 2023 | KEYARCH ACQUISITION CORPORATION | |
By: | /s/ Kai Xiong | |
Kai Xiong | ||
Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Kai Xiong | Chief Executive Officer and Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
Kai Xiong | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Jing Lu | Chief Financial Officer | March 30, 2023 | ||
Jing Lu | (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Fang Zheng | Chairman of the Board of Directors | March 30, 2023 | ||
Fang Zheng | ||||
/s/ Mei Han | Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
Mei Han | ||||
/s/ Doug Rothschild | Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
Doug Rothschild | ||||
/s/ Mark Taborsky | Director | March 30, 2023 | ||
Mark Taborsky |
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