LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I - Annual Report: 2021 (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, 2021
OR
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-41053
LAMF GLOBAL VENTURES CORP. I
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Cayman Islands |
98-1616579 | |
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 515 West Hollywood, California |
90069 | |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) |
(Zip Code) | |
(424) 343-8760
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
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, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant |
LGVCU |
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value |
LGVC |
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
Redeemable warrants, each warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, each at an exercise price of $11.50 per share |
LGVCW |
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 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 (Section 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. (Check one):
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |||
| Emerging growth company | ☒ | |||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
Auditor PCAOB ID Number: 100 |
Auditor Name: WithumSmith+Brown, PC |
Auditor Location: New York, New York, United States of America |
The registrant was not a public company at June 30, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and therefore it cannot calculate the aggregate market value of its voting and non-voting shareholders’ equity held by non-affiliates at such date. The registrant’s units began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) on November 11, 2021, and the registrant’s ordinary shares began separate trading on Nasdaq on December 30, 2021. The aggregate market value of the registrant’s ordinary shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, at December 31, 2021, computed by reference to the closing price of the units reported on Nasdaq on such date, was approximately $254,012,000.
As of March 28,
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
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i
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K may include, for example, statements about:
• |
our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
• |
our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
• |
our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
• |
our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
• |
our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
• |
our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
• |
our pool of prospective target businesses; |
• |
the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) on our ability to consummate an initial business combination; |
• |
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
• |
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
• |
the lack of a market for our securities; |
• |
the use of proceeds not held in the Trust Account (as defined below) or available to us from interest income on the Trust Account balance; |
• |
the Trust Account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
• |
our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the section of this Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors.” 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.
ii
PART I
References in this report to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors.
Item 1. Business.
Introduction
We are a blank check company formed as a Cayman Islands exempted company on July 20, 2021 whose business purpose is to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “business combination”). While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry or geographic location, we intend to focus on opportunities in media, entertainment and sports, as well as within
e-commerce
and technology, leveraging the expansive professional network and operating expertise of our management team. On November 16, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 25,300,000 units (the “Units”), inclusive of 3,300,000 Units sold to the underwriters upon the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their over-allotment option, at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating total gross proceeds of $253,000,000. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Public Shares”), and
one-half
of one redeemable warrant (the “Public Warrants”), with each whole Public Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $11.50 per share. Prior to the consummation of the IPO, on September 3, 2021, our sponsor, LAMF SPAC Holdings I LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (our “Sponsor”), paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,666,667 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”). On November 10, 2021, we effected a share capitalization pursuant to which an additional 766,666 Founder Shares were issued to our Sponsor, resulting in an aggregate of 8,433,333 Founder Shares outstanding.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 1,106,000 private placement units (the “Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,060,000. Each Private Placement Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Private Placement Shares”), and
one-half
of one redeemable warrant (the “Private Placement Warrants”, and together with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”). The Private Placement Units are identical to the Units, subject to certain limited exceptions as described herein and in the registration statement relating to the IPO. Following the IPO, the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, and the sale of the Private Placement Units, a total of $258,060,000 (which amount includes $9,915,000 of deferred underwriting fees) was placed in a U.S.-based trust account (the “Trust Account”) at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
As of December 31, 2021, there was $258,060,000 in investments and cash held in the Trust Account, which includes interest income available to us for franchise and income tax obligations of approximately $15, and approximately $882,000 of cash held outside the Trust Account. As of December 31, 2021, we have not withdrawn any interest earned from the Trust Account to pay taxes.
As of February 3, 2022, the proceeds held in the Trust Account are invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), which only invest in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account, as described below. Our Business Strategy
Our strategy is to source and execute a business combination with a company that is growth-oriented and prioritizes its relationship directly with consumers in the dynamic world of media, entertainment, sports,
e-commerce
and technology. We intend to search globally for the right opportunity, with a focus on North America, Europe and Asia (excluding China and Hong Kong). We will not consummate an initial business combination with a target with its principal business operations in China or Hong Kong. 1
Our Acquisition Criteria
What follows are our general,
non-exhaustive,
investment criteria that will guide our selection of prospective target companies that are consistent with our investment themes and business strategy. These criteria will serve as an approximate framework as we evaluate acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target company that does not meet the below criteria. Our intention is to seek to acquire companies with a valuation of $750 million to $2 billion and with the following characteristics: Strong management teams, operational track records and corporate governance.
We intend to seek companies with high-performance management teams. They should have a track record of adapting to dynamic market conditions, exploring new avenues of growth and monetization and an acute awareness of technological advances within their ecosystem with an appetite and skill set to exploit such advances.
Supremely positioned to unlock long-term growth.
We intend to seek companies that are very well positioned to adopt new strategies, products and services which will unlock new avenues of growth, provide for first mover advantage and facilitate long-term investments.
Sustainable competitive advantages and formidable barriers to entry.
We intend to seek companies that have long-term competitive advantages with significant barriers to entry, including diversified consumer offerings, sizeable upfront investment costs, low risk of competitive disruption and unique brand equity / innovation or premium intellectual property.
Financial history of strong and steady free-cash-flow.
We intend to seek companies that have an enduring track record of growth, profitability and sound fundamentals. For companies that were heavily impacted by the
COVID-19
pandemic, we will look for early signals of recovery and fundamental strengths in the business to drive strong financial performance over time. Attractive value and valuation.
We intend to seek companies that are well-priced relative to their long-term value, which we seek to enhance, while offering an attractive risk-adjusted financial return for our shareholders.
Will benefit from being a publicly traded company.
We intend to seek companies that are ready to access the public markets and will use those markets to pursue growth opportunities, fortify the balance sheet as well as recruit and retain exceptional management and key personnel.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC. In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspections of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information which will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
2
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the Trust Account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the Trust Account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry or geographic location, we intend to focus on opportunities in media, entertainment and sports, as well as within
e-commerce
and technology, leveraging the expansive professional network and operating expertise of our management team. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibit us from entering into a business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation or opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects. In addition, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our Public Shareholders (as defined below) own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-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 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 initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination.
If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of a seeking shareholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable.
3
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspections of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The Company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in such an initial business combination is fair to our Company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders
We will provide the holders of the Public Shares (the “Public Shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at
a per-share price,
payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account described below as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein and in the registration statement relating to the IPO. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 18 months of the closing of the IPO, or by May 16, 2023, we will redeem 100% of the Public Shares at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described in the registration statement relating to the IPO. 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 law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial 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 substantial shareholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest earned on the Trust Account (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in 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. |
4
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 applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) 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; (ii) the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; (iii) the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; (iv) other time and budget constraints of the Company; and (v) additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders.
Submission of our Initial Business Combination to a Shareholder Vote
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our Public Shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive 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 accordance with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, a quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of ordinary shares of the Company representing at
least one-third of
the voting power of all outstanding ordinary shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Holders of our Founder Shares (our “Initial Shareholders”) will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any Founder Shares they hold and any Public Shares purchased during or after our IPO (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, Initial Shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or Public Warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. 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. In the event that our Sponsor, Initial Shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase Public Shares in privately negotiated transactions from Public Shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their Public Shares.
We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (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 comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to 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 initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of Public Warrants could be to reduce the number of Public Warrants outstanding or to vote such Warrants (as defined below) on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Public 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.
Conduct of Redemptions Pursuant to Tender Offer Rules
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule
14e-1(a)
under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on Public Shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of Public Shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem Public Shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If Public Shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination. 5
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our Sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule
10b5-1
to purchase our Public Shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5
under the Exchange Act. Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such Public Shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares (as defined below), 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 Public Shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a Public Shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s Public 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 Public Shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our IPO without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of Public Shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our Public Shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we will have only 18 months from the closing of our IPO, or May 16, 2023, to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining Public 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 in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our Warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023. Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our Public Shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding Warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
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Facilities
We currently utilize office space at 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 515, West Hollywood, California, 90069 from our Sponsor and the members of our management team. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers: Jeffrey Soros, Simon Horsman, and Morgan Earnest. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our Units, Public Shares and Public Warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, which is located at www.sec.gov. In addition, we will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request in writing at 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 515, West Hollywood, California 90069 or by telephone at (424)
343-8760.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we have taken and may take further 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
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comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a
non-binding
advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have taken advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of the IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible
debt securities during the prior three-year period. Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f) (1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. Item 1A. Risk Factors.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Form
10-K.
If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Summary of Risk Factors
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
| • | We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| • | Our Public Shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our Founder Shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our Public Shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| • | Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your Public Shares from us for cash. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our Initial Shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our Public Shareholders vote. |
| • | The ability of our Public Shareholders to redeem their Public Shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target. |
| • | The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our Public Shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure. |
| • | The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
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| • | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may elect to purchase Public Shares or Public Warrants from Public Shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities. |
| • | If a Public Shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our Public Shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for submitting or tendering its Public Shares, such Public Shares may not be redeemed. |
| • | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or Warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| • | Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions. |
| • | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
| • | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our Public Shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per Public Share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their Public Shares, and our Warrants will expire worthless. |
| • | If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months following the closing of the IPO, it could limit the amount of cash available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our Sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination. |
| • | Past performance by our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company. |
| • | Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our Initial Shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination. |
| • | We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors. |
| • | We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrantholders. |
| • | An investment in our securities may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. |
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our Founder Shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our Public Shareholders do not support such a combination.
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We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their Public Shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our Founder Shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if a majority of our Public Shareholders do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section entitled “”, “” and “” for additional information.
Risk Factors – Our Initial Shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support
Business – Submission of our Initial Business Combination to a Shareholder Vote
Business – Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our Initial Shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our Public Shareholders vote.
Our Initial Shareholders owned 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of the IPO. Our Initial Shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Public Shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the Founder Shares. As a result, in addition to our Initial Shareholders’ Founder Shares and Private Placement Shares, we would need 8,433,334 or 33.33% of the 25,300,000 Public Shares sold in the IPO to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted). Assuming that only
one-third
of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, are voted, we will not need any Public Shares in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have an initial business combination approved. However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds
of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our Initial Shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination. Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your Public Shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you may not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, Public Shareholders will not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding our initial business combination are limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our Public Shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our Public Shareholders to redeem their Public Shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many Public Shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our Public Shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
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The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our Public Shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many Public Shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of Public Shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of Public Shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Founder Shares in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than basis upon conversion of the Founder Shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any Public Shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to Public Shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in the Trust Account will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
one-to-one
The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your Public Shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your portion of the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your Public Shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
pro rata
pro rata
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus
(COVID-19)
outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets. Since it was first reported to have emerged in December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes
COVID-19,
has spread across the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19,
and on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The COVID-19
outbreak has adversely affected, and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) could adversely affect, the economies and financial markets worldwide, potentially including the business of any potential target business with which we intend to consummate a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination at all if concerns relating to COVID-19
continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or make it impossible or impractical to negotiate and consummate a transaction with the target 11
company’s personnel, vendors and services providers in a timely manner, if at all. The extent to which
COVID-19
impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19
and the actions to contain COVID-19
or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19
or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by
COVID-19
and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases), including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Finally, the outbreak of
COVID-19
may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions. We may not be able to complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our Public Shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating 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. If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, Initial Shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase Public Shares or Public Warrants from Public Shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, Initial Shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or Public Warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of Public Shares our Initial Shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the Nasdaq rules. However, other than as expressly stated herein, 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 Public Warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.
In the event that our Sponsor, Initial Shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase Public Shares in privately negotiated transactions from Public Shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling Public Shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their Public Shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such Public Shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to 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 initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of Public Warrants could be to reduce the number of Public Warrants outstanding or to vote such Warrant on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. We expect any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
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Please see “” for a description of how our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which Public Shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
Business – Submission of our Initial Business Combination to a Shareholder Vote
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Public Shares or Public Warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a Public Shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our Public Shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its Public Shares, such Public Shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a Public Shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such Public Shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its Public Shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our Public Shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit Public Shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our Public Shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their Public Shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a Public Shareholder seeking redemption of its Public Shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such Public Shares is included. In the event that a Public Shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its Public Shares may not be redeemed. Please see “” and “ ” for additional details.
Business - Submission of our Initial Business Combination to a Shareholder Vote
Business –
Conduct of Redemptions Pursuant to Tender Offer Rules
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or Warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our Public Shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023 or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or to complete an initial business combination by May 16, 2023, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if our plan to redeem our Public Shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by May 16, 2023 for any reason, compliance with Cayman Islands law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing shareholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our Trust Account. In that case, Public Shareholders may be forced to wait beyond 18 months from the closing of the IPO before they receive funds from our Trust Account. In no other circumstances will a Public Shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Account. Holders of Warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the Trust Account with respect to the Warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or Warrants, potentially at a loss.
pre-initial
business combination activity, and the redemption of our Public Shares if we are unableYou will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our Units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419.
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Moreover, if the IPO were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the Trust Account to us unless and until the funds in the Trust Account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such Public Shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares sold in the IPO without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our Public Shareholders’ ability to vote all of their Public Shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of Public Shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such Public Shares, would be required to sell your Public Shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our Public Shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per Public Share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their Public Shares, and our Warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our Public Shares the right to redeem their Public Shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our Public Shareholders may receive only their portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our Warrants will expire worthless.
pro rata
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
14
If the net proceeds of the IPO not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months following the closing of the IPO, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our Sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of the IPO, only $1,850,000 was available to us initially outside the Trust Account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, as of December 31, 2021, the funds available to us outside of the Trust Account will be sufficient to allow us to operate until May 16, 2023; however we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a
“no-shop”
provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we enter into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. The amount held in the Trust Account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our Sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our Sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances 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 $1,200,000 of such loans may be convertible into Units of the post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per Unit at the option of the lender. Such Units would be identical to the Private Placement Units.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. Consequently, our Public Shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.20 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our Public Shares, and our Warrants will expire worthless.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by Public Shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share. Our placing of funds in the Trust Account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (except for our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our Public Shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the Company under the circumstances. The underwriters of the IPO as well as our registered independent public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. Upon redemption of our Public Shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for
15
payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our Sponsor’s only assets are securities of our Company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per Public Share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your Public Shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
per-share
redemption amount received by Public Shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per Public Share initially held in the Trust Account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, 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, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public Shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per Public Share and the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.20 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public Shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per Public Share.
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.
Recently, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims
(“run-off
insurance”). The need for run-off
insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors. 16
The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the Trust Account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by Public Shareholders may be less than $10.20 per Public Share.
The net proceeds from the IPO and certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units, in the amount of $258,060,000, are held in an interest-bearing Trust Account. The proceeds held in the Trust Account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income would be reduced. As described herein, we will be required in certain circumstances to redeem our Public Shares for their
pro-rata
share of the proceeds held in the Trust Account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the Trust Account is reduced below $258,060,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public Shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per Public Share. If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or
winding-up
petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages. If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or
winding-up
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. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, by paying Public Shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages. If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or
winding-up
petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our Public Shareholders and the per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or
winding-up
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 estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities, |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
17
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the Trust Account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our securities are not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The Trust Account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO; and (iii) absent an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity, our return of the funds held in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders as part of our redemption of the Public Shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our Public Shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our Warrants will expire worthless. Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our Company to claims, by paying Public Shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of $18,292.68 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
18
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to elect directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, Public Shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to elect directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors elected prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibit us from effectuating a business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our Units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders or warrantholders who choose to remain shareholders or warrantholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrantholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of Public Shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our Public Shareholders may only receive their portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our Warrants will expire worthless.
pro rata
19
We may not be required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the consideration we are paying for the business is fair to our Company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the consideration we are paying is fair to our Company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Form
10-K
to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the Trust Account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the Trust Account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including: | • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units provided us with $248,145,000 (after taking into account $9,195,000 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the Trust Account) that we may use to complete our initial business combination. We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
pro forma
20
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence 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. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders or warrantholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our Public Shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our Public Shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their Public Shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their Public Shares to our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Public 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 in connection with such initial business combination, all Public Shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
21
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their Warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the Warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of at least
two-thirds
of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the Public Warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the Private Placement Warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by May 16, 2023 or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through the registration statement relating to the IPO, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination. The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our
pre-business
combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account) may be amended with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds
of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to
pre-business
combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units into the Trust Account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to Public Shareholders as described herein) and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account may be amended if approved by special resolution, under Cayman Islands law which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds
of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company. Our Initial Shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 25% of our ordinary shares, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business
combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our Sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees 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) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 16, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our Sponsor, officers, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law. 22
Certain agreements related to the IPO may be amended without shareholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to the IPO to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreement entered into between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us, and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without shareholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our Initial Shareholders, Sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our Initial Shareholders; the purchase agreement regarding the Private Placement Units between us and our Sponsor; and the administrative services agreement among us, our Sponsor and an affiliate of our Sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our Public Shareholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain
lock-up
provisions with respect to the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and other securities held by our Initial Shareholders, Sponsor, officers and directors. Amendments to such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our board of directors, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement. Any amendment entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. For example, amendments to the lock-up
provision discussed above may result in our Initial Shareholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities. We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the Trust Account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by Public Shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our Public Shareholders may only receive their portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our Warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders are required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
pro rata
Our Initial Shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our Initial Shareholders own 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In addition, prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of our Founder Shares will have the right to vote to continue the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands. This provision of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than 90% of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at our general meeting. As a result, you may not have any influence over our continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination.
If our Initial Shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our Initial Shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Form
10-K.
Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our Sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term for three years with only one class 23
of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual or extraordinary general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our Initial Shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our Initial Shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, US GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
pro forma
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination. Our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be
tax-efficient
to our shareholders and warrantholders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain. Although we will attempt to structure our initial business combination in a
tax-efficient
manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to any requisite shareholder approval, we may structure our business combination in a manner that requires shareholders and/or warrantholders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, or reincorporate in a different jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrantholders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a shareholder or a warrantholder may need to satisfy any liability resulting from our initial business combination with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of the shares or Warrants received. In addition, shareholders and warrantholders may also be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination. In addition, we may effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the United States, and possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions. If we effect such a business combination, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in other jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by U.S. federal, state, local and
non-U.S.
taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax
profitability and financial condition. 24
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or
write-off
assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash
items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing
debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders or warrantholders who choose to remain shareholders or warrantholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrantholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission. Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our Public Shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our Warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our Public Shareholders may only receive their portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our Warrants will expire worthless.
pro rata
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
25
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our Company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders or warrantholders who choose to remain shareholders or warrantholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrantholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the Company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
26
Risks Relating to Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| • | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| • | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| • | corruption; |
| • | protection of intellectual property; |
| • | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| • | regime changes and political upheaval; |
| • | terrorist attacks, natural disasters, widespread health emergencies and wars; and |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
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We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the Company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination may remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a
non-U.S.
target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction. We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
We are subject to changing laws and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of
non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
28
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
Risks Relating to our Management Team
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account and to not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team or businesses associated with them as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our Company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our Units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in the IPO than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in the registration statement relating to the IPO regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors and the members of our advisory board. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers, directors and members of our advisory board, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or
key-man
insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us. 29
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “ – .”
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Officers and Directors
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that 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 the Company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. In particular, affiliates of our Sponsor are currently sponsoring another blank check company, 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. II (“10X II”) and 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. III (“10X III”). 10X II and 10X III may seek to complete a business combination in any location and is focusing on business combinations in the consumer internet, ” and “ – .”
e-commerce,
software, healthcare and financial services industries. Any such companies, businesses or investments, including 10X II and 10X III, may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance –
Officers and Directors
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Conflicts of Interest
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
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We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our Sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “”. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our Sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in the registration statement relating to the IPO and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm regarding the fairness to our Company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our Public Shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance – Conflicts of Interest
We may engage one or more of our underwriters to the IPO or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the Trust Account only on 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 IPO, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters to the IPO or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of the prospectus for the IPO, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with the IPO. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
Since our Sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to Public Shares they may acquire during or after the IPO), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On September 3, 2021, our Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain expenses on our behalf in consideration of 7,666,667 Founder Shares. In October 2021, our Sponsor transferred 10,000 Founder Shares to Keith Harris, our senior advisor following the completion of the IPO, and 20,000 Founder Shares to each of Christina Spade, Adriana Machado and Michael Brown, our director nominees, resulting in our Sponsor holding 7,596,667 Founder Shares. On November 10, 2021, we effected a share capitalization pursuant to which an additional 766,666 Founder Shares were issued to our Sponsor, resulting in an aggregate of 8,433,333 Founder Shares outstanding. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by our Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the Company by the number of Founder Shares issued. The number of Founder Shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of the IPO would be a maximum of 25,300,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised in full, and therefore that such Founder Shares would represent 25% of the outstanding shares after the IPO.
31
(not including the Private Placement Shares). Up to 1,100,000 of the Founder Shares were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. In connection with the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option on November 16, 2021, the 1,100,000 Founder Shares were no longer subject to forfeiture. The Founder Shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 1,160,000 Private Placement Units for an aggregate purchase price of $11,600,000 that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the
18-month
anniversary of the closing of the IPO, or May 16, 2023, nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination. Risks Relating to our Securities
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our Units, Public Shares and Warrants are currently listed on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to the IPO we expect to meet, on a basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum market value of our listed securities of $50 million and a minimum number of holders of our securities (300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, unless we decide to list on a different Nasdaq tier, such as the Nasdaq Capital Market, which has different initial listing requirements, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, the market value of our listed securities would be required to be at least $75 million, the market value of our unrestricted publicly held shares would be required to be at least $20 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our securities, with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
pro forma
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
over-the-counter
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our Units, Public Shares and Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq, we expect that our Units, Public Shares and Public Warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
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You will not be permitted to exercise your Warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the Warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of Warrants will not be entitled to exercise such Warrants and such Warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their Warrants as part of a purchase of Units will have paid the full Unit purchase price solely for the Public Shares.
In the IPO, we registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants because the Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, which may be within one year of the IPO. However, because the Warrants will be exercisable until their expiration date of up to five years after the completion of our initial business combination, in order to comply with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act following the consummation of our initial business combination under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement relating to the IPO or a new registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants until the expiration of the Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of Warrants who seek to exercise their Warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
In no event will Warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their Warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of Warrants who seek to exercise their Warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the Warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the Warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any Warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the Warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the Warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
You may only be able to exercise your Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such Warrants for cash.
Our warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of Warrants who seek to exercise their Warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a Warrants not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the Public Warrants for redemption. If you exercise your Public Warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the Warrant exercise price by surrendering the Warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants,
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multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the Warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of Warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such Warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our Initial Shareholders and holders of our Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares and Private Placement Warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the IPO, our Initial Shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which Founder Shares are convertible, holders of our Private Placement Warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, and holders of Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (as defined below) may demand that we register such Warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such Warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the Founder Shares and the Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares and Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such Private Placement Warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our Initial Shareholders, holders of our Private Placement Warrants or holders of our Working Capital Loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the Founder Shares at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
one-to-one
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after the IPO, there were 474,700,000 and 41,567,000 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding Warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Founder Shares. The Founder Shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Immediately after IPO, there were no preference shares issued and outstanding.
one-for-one
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Founder Shares at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the Trust Account or (ii) vote as a class with our Class A ordinary shares on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares:
one-to-one
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the IPO; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
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| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Units, Class A ordinary shares and/or Warrants. |
Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our Initial Shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a basis, subject to adjustment for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than basis. This is different than some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies in which the Initial Shareholders will only be issued an aggregate of 25% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to our initial business combination.
one-for-one
as-converted
basis, 25% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders and not including the Private Placement Shares), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any Private Placement Units issued to our Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, provided that
one-for-one
We may amend the terms of the Warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of Public Warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your Warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our Warrants are issued in registered form under the warrant agreement, which provides that the terms of the Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of Public Warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the Public Warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the Public Warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the Warrants, convert the Warrants into cash or share (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your Warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem all of the outstanding Warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per Warrants; the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and for certain issuances of Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination as described elsewhere in the registration statement relating to the IPO) for any 20 trading days within a 30 on the date we give notice of redemption. We will not redeem the Warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the
provided that
trading-day
period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption provided that
30-day
redemption period, except if the Warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the Warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding Warrants could force you to (i) exercise your Warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your Warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your Warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding Warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your Warrants. 35
Our Warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued Warrants to purchase 12,650,000 Class A ordinary shares as part of the Units offered in the IPO and, simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 1,160,000 Private Placement Units, which included Private Placement Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 580,000 Class A ordinary shares at $11.50 per share. In addition, if our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors makes any Working Capital Loans, such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 120,000 Private Placement Units, at the price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these Warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such Warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our Warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each Unit contains
one-half
of one Warrant and only a whole Warrant may be exercised, the Units may be worth less than Units of other special purpose acquisition companies. Each Unit contains
one-half
of one Warrants. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units, and only whole Warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrantholder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose Units include one ordinary share and one Warrant to purchase one whole Class A ordinary share. We have established the components of the Units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the Warrants upon completion of a business combination since the Warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half
of the number of shares compared to Units that each contain a whole Warrants to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this Unit structure may cause our Units to be worth less than if it included a Warrants to purchase one whole Class A ordinary share. Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our Warrants, which could limit the ability of warrantholders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our Company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our Warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our Warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”) and (y) having service of process made upon such warrantholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrantholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrantholders.
This provision may limit a warrantholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our Company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
choice-of-forum
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Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP, Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, our shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as shareholders of a United States company.
General Risk Factors
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a beneficial owner of our Units, Public Shares or Public Warrants who or that is (i) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (ii) a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of
37
Columbia, (iii) an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust, if (a) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons (as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (b) it has a valid election in effect under Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person (a “U.S. Holder”), such U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC
start-up
exception. Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up
exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up
exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our Warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. An investment in our securities may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the Units we issued in the IPO, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a Unit between the Public Shares and the
one-half
of a Public Warrant included in each Unit could be challenged by the IRS or the courts. In addition, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of Warrants included in the Units issued in the IPO is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our Public Shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Public Shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrantholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination or otherwise and subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act (with respect to which only holders of Founder Shares will have the right to vote), reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrantholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrantholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrantholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrantholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure
38
obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
equals to or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible. Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forums for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
39
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provides that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum.
This choice of forum provision may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provision to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
Our executive offices are located at 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 515, West Hollywood, California, 90069. We pay our Sponsor (and/or its affiliates or designees) an aggregate of $20,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
Item 4. Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Shareholders’ equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our Units, Public Shares and Warrants are traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “LGVCU,” “LGVC” and “LGVCW,” respectively.
Holders
As of January 30, 2022, there was one holder of record of our Units, one holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares and two holders of record of our Warrants.
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 a 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 a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
40
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Prior to the consummation of the IPO, on September 3, 2021, our Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,666,667 Founder Shares. On November 10, 2021, we effected a share capitalization pursuant to which an additional 766,666 Founder Shares were issued to our Sponsor, resulting in an aggregate of 8,433,333 Founder Shares outstanding.
On November 16, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 25,300,000 Units, inclusive of 3,300,000 Units sold to the underwriters upon the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their over-allotment option, at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating total gross proceeds of $253,000,000. Each Unit consists of one Public Share and
one-half
of one Public Warrant, with each whole Public Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $11.50 per share. Wells Fargo Securities acted as sole book-running manager of the IPO. The securities in the IPO were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form
S-1
(File Nos. 333-259998
and 333-260987).
The SEC declared the registration statement effective on November 10, 2021. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 1,106,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,060,000.
The Private Placement Units are identical to the Units sold in the IPO except that the Private Placement Warrants are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Of the gross proceeds received from the IPO including the over-allotment option, and the sale of the Private Placement Units, $258,060,000 ($10.20 per Unit) was placed in the Trust Account.
We paid a total of $4,000,000 in underwriting discounts and $1,736,363 for other offering costs related to the IPO. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $9,915,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions until the consummation of the initial business combination.
Item 6.
[Reserved.]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
References to the “Company,” “LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form
10-K
includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other SEC filings. 41
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on July 20, 2021 for the purpose of effecting a business combination. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry or geographic location, we intend to focus on opportunities in media, entertainment and sports, as well as within
e-commerce
and technology, leveraging the expansive professional network and operating expertise of our management team. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. The issuance of additional shares in connection with a business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the IPO, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Founder Shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A ordinary shares and/or Warrants. Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in: |
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for the IPO. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We have generated
non-operating
income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after the IPO. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. For the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $212,235, which consisted of interest income of $15 offset by formation costs of $25,000 and other expenses of $187,250.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, we had cash of $881,842 and working capital of $788,829.
On November 16, 2021, we consummated the IPO of 25,300,00 Units, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,300,000 Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $253,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the sale of 1,106,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,060,000.
Following the IPO, the full exercise of the over-allotment option, and the sale of the Private Placement Units, a total of $258,060,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $15,651,363 in transaction costs, including $4,000,000 of underwriting fees, $9,915,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $1,736,363 of other offering costs.
The proceeds of $258,060,000 ($10.20 per Unit) from the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units are held in the Trust Account, which includes the deferred underwriting commissions of $9,915,000, are held in the Trust Account and are invested or bear interest since February 3, 2022. Previously, the proceeds were held in cash. The proceeds are only invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under
Rule 2a-7
under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. $881,842 are not held in the Trust Account. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the Trust Account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes, if any. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,850,000 of proceeds held outside the Trust Account. We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking
in-depth
due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. 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 funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the 43
working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,200,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Units of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit at the option of the lender. Such Units would be identical to the Private Placement Units. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $140,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $37,500 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $75,000 for the Nasdaq and other regulatory fees; $37,500 for consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the search for a business combination target; and approximately $1,200,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves. We also pay our Sponsor (and/or its affiliates or designees) an aggregate of $20,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a
“no-shop”
provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop”
provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses. We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the Trust Account. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the Trust Account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by Public Shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the Trust Account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our Sponsor, officers, directors or shareholders are required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units held in the Trust Account are invested and bear interest since February 3, 2022. Previously, the proceeds were held in cash. The proceeds are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under
Rule 2a-7
under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk. 44
Related Party Transactions
On September 3, 2021, our Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,666,667 Founder Shares. On November 10, 2021, we effected a share capitalization pursuant to which an additional 766,666 Founder Shares were issued to our Sponsor, resulting in an aggregate of 8,433,333 Founder Shares outstanding. The number of Founder Shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of the IPO would be a maximum of 25,300,000 Units and therefore that such Founder Shares would represent 25% of the outstanding shares after the IPO. Up to 1,100,000 Founder Shares were subject to forfeiture by our Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. In connection with the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option on November 16, 2021, the 1,100,000 shares were no longer subject to forfeiture.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO and the full exercise of the over-allotment option, we consummated the private placement of an aggregate of 11,060,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating total proceed of $11,060,000. The issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
We currently utilize office space at 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 515, West Hollywood, California, 90069 from our Sponsor and the members of our management team. Commencing on November 16, 2021, we agreed to pay our Sponsor $20,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the Company to our Sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
out-of-pocket
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes the initial business combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,200,000 of the Working Capital Loans may be convertible into Units of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per Unit at the option of the lender. Such Units would be identical to the Private Placement Units. On December 31, 2021, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account.
Any of the foregoing payments to our Sponsor, repayments of loans from our Sponsor or repayments of Working Capital Loans prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the Trust Account.
After our initial 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 proxy solicitation or tender offer 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 initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation and forward purchase securities.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results As of December 31, 2021, we did not have any
off-balance
sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K
and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We have elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for
non-emerging
growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. 45
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of
non-emerging
growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions apply for a period of five years following the completion of our IPO or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier. Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
LAMF GLOBAL VENTURES CORP. I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page |
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F-1 |
||||
| Financial Statements: |
||||
F-2 |
||||
F-3 |
||||
F-4 |
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F-5 |
||||
F-6 |
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46
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
New York, New York
March 30, 2022
PCAOB ID Number 100
F-1
LAMF GLOBAL VENTURES CORP. I
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Assets |
||||
| Current assets |
||||
| Cash |
$ | 881,842 | ||
| Prepaid assets |
487,573 | |||
| Total current assets |
1,369,415 |
|||
| Other assets |
||||
| Cash held in Trust Account |
258,060,000 | |||
| Reimbursement receivable |
2,974,500 | |||
| Total Assets |
$ |
262,403,915 |
||
| Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit |
||||
| Current liabilities: |
||||
| Accrued expenses |
$ | 17,815 | ||
| Due to related party |
75,198 | |||
| Total current liabilities |
93,013 |
|||
| Deferred advisory fees payable |
2,974,500 | |||
| Deferred underwriting discount |
9,915,000 | |||
| Total liabilities |
12,982,513 |
|||
| Commitments |
||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, 25,300,000 shares at redemption value of $10.20 per share |
258,060,000 | |||
| Shareholders’ Deficit: |
||||
| Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
— | |||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 1,106,000 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 25,300,000 shares subject to possible redemption) |
110 | |||
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 8,433,333 shares issued and outstanding |
843 | |||
| Additional paid-in capital |
— | |||
| Accumulated deficit |
(8,639,551 | ) | ||
| Total shareholders’ deficit |
(8,638,598 |
) | ||
| Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit |
$ |
262,403,915 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-
2
LAMF GLOBAL VENTURES CORP. I
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Formation and operating costs |
$ | 212,250 | ||
| Loss from operations |
(212,250 |
) | ||
| Other income (expense) |
||||
| Interest Income |
15 | |||
| Total other income |
15 |
|||
| Net loss |
$ |
(212,235 |
) | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares |
7,245,549 | |||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A ordinary shares |
$ | (0.01 | ) | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares |
6,119,309 | |||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B ordinary shares |
$ | (0.01 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
LAMF GLOBAL VENTURES CORP. I
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Class A Ordinary Shares |
Class B Ordinary Shares |
Additional Paid-In Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of July 20, 2021 (inception) |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
— |
||||||||||||||
| Class B ordinary shares issued to Sponsor |
— | — | 8,433,333 | 843 | 24,157 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Consideration received for purchase of Private Placement Units by Sponsor |
1,106,000 | 110 | — | — | 11,059,890 | — | 11,060,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants |
— | — | — | — | 14,294,500 | — | 14,294,500 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of carrying value to redemption value of Class A ordinary shares |
— | — | — | — | (25,378,547 | ) | (8,427,316 | ) | (33,805,863 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | — | — | (212,235 | ) | (212,235 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 |
1,106,000 |
$ |
110 |
8,433,333 |
$ |
843 |
$ |
— |
$ |
(8,639,551 |
) |
$ |
(8,638,598 |
) | ||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
LAMF GLOBAL VENTURES CORP. I
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
||||
| Net loss |
$ | (212,235 | ) | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||
| Formation costs paid by Sponsor |
25,000 | |||
| Operating costs paid by Sponsor |
75,198 | |||
| Changes in current assets and current liabilities: |
||||
| Prepaid assets |
(487,573 | ) | ||
| Accrued expenses |
17,815 | |||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
(581,795 |
) | ||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: |
||||
| Investment of cash into Trust Account |
(258,060,000 | ) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities |
||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
||||
| Proceeds from Initial Public Offering, net of underwriters’ fees |
249,000,000 | |||
| Proceeds from private placement |
11,060,000 | |||
| Reimbursement of offering costs |
1,175,000 | |||
| Payments of offering costs |
(1,711,363 | ) | ||
| Net cash provided by financing activities |
259,523,637 |
|||
| Net Change in Cash |
881,842 | |||
| Cash - Beginning |
— | |||
| Cash - Ending |
$ | 881,842 | ||
| Supplemental Disclosure of Non-cash Financing Activities: |
||||
| Deferred offering costs funded from reimbursement from underwriter |
$ |
25,000 |
||
| Offering costs paid by the Sponsor in exchange for Class B ordinary shares |
$ |
25,000 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
LAMF GLOBAL VENTURES CORP. I
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2021
Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations
Organization and General
LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I (the “Company”) was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on July 20, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a business combination (the “Business combination”). 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 Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). The Company’s efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic location.
The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity for the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the Initial Public Offering (“IPO”), and subsequent to the
IPO
, the search for a prospective target business. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial business combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash from the proceeds derived from the IPO.
Financing
The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on November 10, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On November 16, 2021, the Company consummated the sale of 25,300,000 Units, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option (the “Units” and, with respect to the ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), in the amount of 3,300,000 Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $253,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 1,106,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,060,000.
Transaction costs amounted to $15,651,363, including $4,000,000 of underwriting fees, $9,915,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $1,736,363 of other offering costs.
Trust Account
Following the closing of the IPO on November 16, 2021, $258,060,000 ($10.20
per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units was placed in a Trust Account. As of December 31, 2021, the proceeds held in the Trust Account were held in cash.
Initial Business Combination
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a business combination.
The Company must complete one or more initial business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into 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 the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance the Company will be able to successfully effect a business combination.
F-6
The Company will provide the holders (the “Public Shareholders”) of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A ordinary shares”), included in the Units sold in the IPO (the “Public Shares”) 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 the means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. 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 $10.20 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest then in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable). There will be no redemption rights with respect to the Warrants.
All of the Public Shares contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Articles”). In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification(“ASC”) 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the Public Shares were issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., the Public Warrants (as defined in Note 3)), the initial carrying value of Class A ordinary shares classified as temporary equity will be the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20. The Class A ordinary shares are subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company has elected to recognize the changes immediately. While redemptions cannot cause the Company’s net tangible assets to
fall
below $5,000,001, the Public Shares are redeemable and are classified as such on the balance sheet until such date that a redemption event takes place. If the Company seeks shareholder approval of the Business Combination, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination, or such other vote as required by law or stock exchange rule. If a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to the Articles, conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other 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. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased by them during or after the IPO in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares without voting, and if they do vote irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Articles provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from 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 Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors (the “Initial Shareholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Articles (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if it does not complete a Business Combination within18 months from the closing of the IPO or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by 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 business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish the Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligation sunder Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
F-7
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. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the 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) will be only$10.20 per share 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 third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account(whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). 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 (except the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary share 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) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholder’s equity. The Company’s Class A 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.
The Company has until May 16, 2023 (the “Combination Period”) to complete the initial business combination. If the Company is unable to complete the initial business combination within the Combination Period, the Company will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, 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.
On December 30, 2021, the Company announced that holders of the Units sold in the Company’s IPO may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and Public Warrants included in the Units commencing on or about December 30, 2021. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable Warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Any Units not separated will continue to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “LGVCU,” and the Class A ordinary shares and Public Warrants will separately trade on Nasdaq under the symbols “LGVC” and “LGVCW,” respectively. No fractional Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Warrants will trade. Holders of Units will need to have their brokers contact Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the Company’s transfer agent, in order to separate the Units into Class A ordinary shares and Warrants.
F-8
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had cash outside the Trust Account of $881,842
and working capital of $788,829. All remaining cash held in the Trust Account is generally unavailable for the Company’s use, prior to an initial business combination, and is restricted for use either in a business combination or to redeem ordinary shares. As of December 31, 2021, none of the amount in the Trust Account was available to be withdrawn as described above.
Until the consummation of the IPO, the Company’s only source of liquidity was an initial purchase of Founder Shares by the Sponsor and a promissory note from the Sponsor. On November 16, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 25,300,000 Units, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,300,000 Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $253,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 1,106,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,060,000.
The Company anticipates that the $881,842 outside of the Trust Account as of December 31, 2021, will be sufficient to allow the Company to operate until May 16, 2023, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time. Until the consummation of its business combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the Trust Account, and any additional Working Capital Loans from the Initial Shareholders, the Company’s officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination.
The Company does not believe it will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating its business. However, if the Company’s estimates of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to the business combination. Moreover, the Company will need to raise additional capital through loans from its Sponsor, officers, directors, or third parties. None of the Sponsor, officers or directors are under any obligation to advance funds to, or to invest in, the Company. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of its business plan, and reducing overhead expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all.
Note 2 — Summary of 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, as modified by 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.
F-9
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 revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021.
Cash Held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2021, the proceeds held in the Trust Account were held in cash. The Company subsequently invested the proceeds on February 3, 2022. Securities held in Trust Account may consist of United States Treasury securities. The Company classifies its United States Treasury securities, if any, as held-to-maturity in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC Topic 320 “Investments - Debt and Equity Securities.” Held-to-maturity securities are those securities which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. Held-to-maturity treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.
A decline in the market value of held-to-maturity securities below cost that is deemed to be other than temporary, results in an impairment that reduces the carrying costs to such securities’ fair value. The impairment is charged to earnings and a new cost basis for the security is established. To determine whether an impairment is other than temporary, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until a market price recovery and considers whether evidence indicating the cost of the investment is recoverable outweighs evidence to the contrary. Evidence considered in this assessment includes the reasons for the impairment, the severity and the duration of the impairment, changes in value subsequent to year-end, forecasted performance of the investee, and the general market condition in the geographic area or industry the investee operates in.
Premiums and discounts are amortized or accreted over the life of the related held-to-maturity security as an adjustment to yield using the effective-interest method. Such amortization and accretion is included in the “interest income” line item in the statements of operations. Interest income is recognized when earned.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. At December 31, 2021, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All of the 25,300,000 Public Shares contain a redemption feature which allows for their redemption in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the business combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Therefore, all Public Shares have been classified outside of permanent equity.
F-10
In accordance with the ASC 480-10-S99-3A, “Classification and Measurement of Redeemable Securities”, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require the security to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480. The Company classified all of the Class A ordinary shares as redeemable. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized a one-time charge against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit for the difference between the initial carrying value of the Class A ordinary shares and the redemption value.
As of December 31, 2021, the Class A ordinary shares reflected on the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds from IPO |
$ | 253,000,000 | ||
| Less: |
||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants |
14,294,500 | |||
| Class A ordinary shares issuance costs |
14,451,363 | |||
| Plus: |
||||
| Accretion of carrying value to redemption value |
33,805,863 | |||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | 258,060,000 |
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Net loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. As of December 31, 2021, 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 ordinary share is the same as basic loss per ordinary share for the periods presented. The table below presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net loss per share for each class of ordinary shares:
For the period from July 20, 2021 (Inception) through December 31, 2021 |
||||||||
Class A |
Class B |
|||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share: |
||||||||
| Numerator: |
||||||||
| Allocation of net loss |
($ | 99,511 | ) | ($ | 84,043 | ) | ||
| Denominator: |
||||||||
| Weighted-average shares outstanding |
7,245,549 | 6,119,309 | ||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share |
($ | 0.01 | ) | ($ | 0.01 | ) | ||
Offering Costs associated with the Initial Public Offering
Deferred offering costs consist of professional fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the IPO. Offering costs amounting to $15,651,363 were charged to temporary shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the IPO.
Income Taxes
ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statements recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2021, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
F-11
The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the period presented. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Company’s management does not believe that any recent accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB (including its Emerging Issues Task Force) and the SEC, if currently adopted, would have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
Note 3 — Initial Public Offering
Pursuant to the IPO, the Company sold 25,300,000 Units, including 3,300,000 Units as a result of the underwriters’ full exercise of the over-allotment option, at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable Warrant (each whole warrant, a “Public Warrant” and, together with the Private Placement Warrants (as defined in Note 4), the “Warrants”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (Note 7). The Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, which may be within one year of the IPO, and will expire five years after the completion of the initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
Note 4 — Private Placement
On November 16, 2021, simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO and the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, the Company consummated the issuance and sale of (“Private Placement”) 1,106,000 Private Placement Units in a private placement transaction at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating gross proceeds of $11,060,000. Each whole Private Placement Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share (each, a “Private Placement Share”) and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Private Placement Warrant”). Each whole Private Placement Warrant will be exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Units was 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 will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Private Placement Units and all underlying securities will be worthless.
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On September 3, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,666,667 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”). On November 10, 2021, the Company effected a share capitalization pursuant to which an additional 766,666 Founder Shares were issued to the Sponsor. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the share capitalization, resulting in an aggregate of 8,433,333 Founder Shares outstanding as of December 31, 2021.
The Initial Shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earliest to occur of: (i) (x) with respect to one-third of such shares, until consummation of the initial Business Combination, (y) with respect to one-third of such shares, until the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of the initial Business Combination and (z) with respect to one-third of such shares, until the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares exceeds $15.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of the initial Business Combination; (ii) two years after the consummation of the initial Business Combination; and (iii) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital share exchange or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the Initial Shareholders with respect to any Founder Shares.
F-12
Promissory Note – Related Party
On September 3, 2021, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company, pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses related to the IPO. No amounts were borrowed from our Sponsor under the promissory note, and it expired on November 16, 2021.
Due to Affiliate
An affiliate of the Company advanced $75,198 for the cost of certain regulatory fees incurred by the Company. Management intends to reimburse these amounts to the affiliate subsequent to December 31, 2021.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes the initial business combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,200,000 of the Working Capital Loans may be convertible into Units of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per Unit at the option of the lender. Such Units would be identical to the Private Placement Units. As of December 31, 2021, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding.
Administrative Services Agreement
On November 10, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement to pay our Sponsor (and/or its affiliates or designees) an aggregate of $20,000 per month for office space and, secretarial, and administrative services. For the period from July 20, 2021 to December 31, 2021, the Company incurred $40,000 of administrative services under the arrangement. Upon the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a business combination or its liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.
Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies
Risks and Uncertainties
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the World Health Organization classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Company’s financial position will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and related advisories and restrictions. These developments and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the financial markets and the overall economy are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If the financial markets and/or the overall economy are impacted for an extended period, the Company’s financial position may be materially adversely affected. Additionally, the Company’s ability to complete an initial business combination may be materially adversely affected due to significant governmental measures being implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or treat its impact, including travel restrictions, the shutdown of businesses and quarantines, among others, which may limit the Company’s ability to have meetings with potential investors or affect the ability of a potential target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers to negotiate and consummate an initial business combination in a timely manner. The Company’s ability to consummate an initial business combination may also be dependent on the ability to raise additional equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting market downturn.
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares, Private Placement Warrants, the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants and Private Placement Units that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans will have registration rights to require the Company to register a sale of any of the Company’s securities held by them pursuant to the registration rights agreement signed on the effective date of the IPO. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short-form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial business combination.
F-13
Underwriters Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the IPO to purchase up to an additional 3,300,000 Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the IPO price less underwriting discounts. On November 16, 2021, the underwriters elected to fully exercise the over-allotment option and purchased 3,300,000 Units.
The underwriters received a cash underwriting discount of two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of 20,000,000 of the Units sold in the IPO, or $4,000,000. The underwriters are entitled to deferred underwriting discounts of 2% of the gross proceeds of 2,000,000 Units, 3.5% of the gross proceeds of 22,000,000 Units, and 5.5% of the gross proceeds of all Units sold in the IPO ($9,915,000 in the aggregate) held in the Trust Account upon the completion of the initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Advisors’ Agreement
The Company entered into a consulting and advisory agreement. The agreement provides for a fee of 0.6% of the IPO proceeds, of which $1,200,000 was paid at the closing of the IPO with the remainder deferred until the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination. Such amount was included in as part of the offering costs for the IPO. The underwriter agreed to reimburse the Company for this cost; a total of $1,175,000 was received from the underwriter at the time of closing of the IPO, and an additional $25,000 was paid by the underwriter to cover legal fees that were part of the offering costs. An additional fee of 1.05% of the IPO proceeds is to be paid upon consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination. All fees under this agreement are subject to reimbursement to the Company from the underwriters. Accordingly, a reimbursement receivable and deferred advisory fees of $2,974,500 have been reflected in the accompanying balance sheet.
Note 7 — Shareholders’ Equity
Preference Shares
Class A Ordinary Shares
Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, all of which are classified in temporary equity.
Class B Ordinary Shares
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 25% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders and not including the Private Placement Shares), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any Private Placement Units issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Prior to the closing of the initial business combination, only holders of Founder Shares will have the right to vote on continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of the initial business combination, including any vote in connection with the initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of the Founder Shares and holders of the Public Shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
F-14
Warrants
The Warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of the initial business combination, and will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of the initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current. No Warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a Warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such Warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the Warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a Warrant, the holder of such Warrant will not be entitled to exercise such Warrant and such Warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any Warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised Warrants, the purchaser of a Unit containing such Warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the Unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such Unit.
Once the Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Warrants for cash:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per Warrant; |
| • | upon a minimum of a 30-day redemption period; and |
if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and for certain issuances of Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial business combination) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrantholders.
If the Company calls the Warrants for redemption as described above, the management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their Warrants on a “cashless basis,” the management will consider, among other factors, the Company’s cash position, the number of Warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on the shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the Warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares over the exercise price of the Warrants by (y) the fair market value.
F-15
The “fair market value” will mean the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of Warrants.
The Private Placement Warrants, as well as any Warrants underlying additional Units the Company may issue upon the conversion of Working Capital Loans, are identical to the Public Warrants.
F-16
Note 8 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-17
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
47
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have 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
None
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Officers and Directors
Our officers and directors are as follows:
| Name |
Age |
Position | ||
| Jeffrey Soros |
61 | Chairman | ||
| Simon Horsman |
54 | Director and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Morgan Earnest |
33 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Mike Brown |
52 | Director | ||
| Adriana Machado |
53 | Director | ||
| Christina Spade |
53 | Director |
Jeffrey Soros
Simon Horsman
Morgan Earnest
The Morning Show
48
Mike Brown
Adriana Machado
Christina Spade
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of five members and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Brown, will expire at our first annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mses. Spade and Machado, will expire at the second annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Horsman and Soros, will expire at the third annual meeting of shareholders.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
49
Director Independence
The Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our IPO. Our board of directors has determined that each of Adriana Machado, Michael Brown and Christina Spade are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors currently has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
Our board of directors established an audit committee of the board of directors. The members of our audit committee are Mr. Brown and Mses. Spade, and Machado. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent, subject to the exception described below. Each of Mr. Brown and Mses. Spade and Machado are independent.
Ms. Spade serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
The audit committee is responsible for:
| • | meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
| • | monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
| • | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
| • | appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent registered public accounting firm regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
| • | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
| • | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of the IPO and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of the IPO; and |
| • | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
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Compensation Committee
Our board of directors established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Mr. Brown and Mses. Spade, and Machado, and Ms. Machado serves as chairman of the compensation committee. We adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers; |
| • | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
| • | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by 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(e)(2) of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by our board of directors. Our 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 that participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Adriana Machado, Michael Brown and Christina Spade. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) 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 also considers director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election 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, our 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.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees (“Code of Ethics”). We have filed a copy of our form Code of Ethics and our audit committee and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the IPO registration statement. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at . In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
www.sec.gov
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Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
| (i) | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the Company as a whole; |
| (ii) | (ii) duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
| (iii) | (iii) directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
| (iv) | (iv) duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
| (v) | (v) duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the Company and their personal interests; and |
| (vi) | (vi) duty to exercise independent judgment. |
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the Company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
provided that
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
| Individual |
Entity |
Entity’s Business |
Affiliation | |||
| Jeffrey Soros | LAMF | Media and Entertainment | Co-founder and Co-CEO | |||
| JPS Capital LLC | Investment | Investor | ||||
| Beyond Athlete Management | Sports | Partner | ||||
| InventTV | Media and Entertainment | Co-Chair | ||||
| Almanack Screenwriters | Media and Entertainment | Board member | ||||
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| Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans | Non-profit | President | ||||
| Simon Horsman | LAMF | Media and Entertainment | Co-founder and Co-CEO | |||
| Beyond Athlete Management | Sports | Partner | ||||
| InventTV | Media and Entertainment | Co-Chair | ||||
| Morgan Earnest | LAMF | Media and Entertainment | Chief Operating Officer | |||
| JPS Capital LLC | Investment | Senior Advisor | ||||
| Mike Brown | Golden State Warriors | Sports | Associate Head Coach | |||
| Nigerian National Basketball Team | Sports | Head Coach | ||||
| Adriana Machado | Briyah Institute | Benefit Corporation | Founder | |||
| WOMB Group | Hiring/Recruitment | Strategic partner | ||||
| DBA Securitas Biosciences Uruguay | Biotechnology | Advisory Board member | ||||
| Serving the Americas Foundation | Non-profit | Board member | ||||
| Christina Spade | AMC Networks | Television/Entertainment | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer | |||
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | Our Initial Shareholders purchased Founder Shares prior to the date of the IPO’s prospectus and purchased Private Placement Units in a transaction that closed simultaneously with the closing of the IPO. The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of the initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete the initial business combination within the Combination Period, and (iv) vote any Founder Shares held by them and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of the initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the Private Placement Units will expire worthless. Furthermore, our Initial Shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earliest to occur of: (i) (x) with respect to one-third of such shares, the consummation of our initial business combination, (y) with respect to one-third of such shares, until the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination, and (z) with respect to one-third of such shares, until the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares exceeds $13.50 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of our initial business combination; (ii) two years after the consummation of our initial business combination; and (iii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our Initial Shareholders with respect to any Founder Shares. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the Private Placement Units, Private Placement Shares and Private Placement Warrants, and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such Warrants, will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our executive officers and director nominees will own ordinary shares or Warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| • | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm, that such initial business combination is fair to our Company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our Sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the Company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we also pay our Sponsor (and/or its affiliates or designees) an aggregate of $20,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our Public Shareholders for a vote, our Initial Shareholders have agreed to vote their Founder Shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote any Founder Shares they hold and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We have purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we pay our Sponsor (and/or its affiliates or designees) an aggregate of $20,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. In addition, our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be 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 will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the Trust Account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by us to our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of December 31, 2021 by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
| • | each of our executive officers, directors and director nominees; and |
| • | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the Private Placement Warrants as they are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Form 10-K.
The beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares is based on 26,406,000 Class A ordinary Shares and 8,433,333 Founder Shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021.
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) |
Number of Class A Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares |
Number of Class B Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned (2) |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class B Ordinary Shares |
||||||||||||
| LAMF SPAC Holdings I LLC (3) |
9,469,333 | 4.51 | % | 8,363,333 | 99 | % | ||||||||||
| Jeffrey Soros |
— | — | — | — | % | |||||||||||
| Simon Horsman |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Morgan Earnest |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Mike Brown |
— | — | 20,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| Adriana Machado |
— | — | 20,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| Christina Spade |
— | — | 20,000 | * | ||||||||||||
| All officers and directors as a group (six individuals) |
— | — | 8,423,333 | 99 | % | |||||||||||
| Five Percent Holders |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Saba Capital Management, L.P. (4) |
1,700,000 | 6.40 | % | — | — | % | ||||||||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
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| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 9255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 515 West Hollywood, California, 90069. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of Founder Shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
| (3) | LAMF SPAC Holdings I LLC is the record holder of the shares reported herein. LAMF SPAC I LLC is the managing member of LAMF SPAC Holdings I LLC. LAMF SPAC I LLC has voting and investment discretion with respect to the ordinary shares held of record by LAMF SPAC Holdings I LLC. There are three managing members of LAMF SPAC I LLC. Each managing member has one vote, and the approval of a majority is required to approve an action. Under the so-called “rule of three,” voting and dispositive decisions regarding an entity’s securities are made by three or more individuals, and voting or dispositive decisions require the approval of a majority of those individuals, then none of the individuals is deemed a beneficial owner of the entity’s securities. Based on the foregoing, no individual managing member of LAMF SPAC I LLC exercises voting or dispositive control over any of the shares held by the entity, even those in which he holds a pecuniary interest. Accordingly, none of them will be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership of such shares. |
| (4) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on November 19, 2021, Saba Capital Management, L.P., Saba Capital Management GP, LLC and Boaz R. Weinstein each have voting and investing control with respect to the 1,700,000 Class A ordinary shares. The business address of each reporting person is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Founder Shares
On September 3, 2021, our Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,666,667 Founder Shares. On November 10, 2021, we effected a share capitalization pursuant to which an additional 766,666 Founder Shares were issued to our Sponsor, resulting in an aggregate of 8,433,333 Founder Shares outstanding. The number of Founder Shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of the IPO would be a maximum of 25,300,000 Units and therefore that such Founder Shares would represent 25% of the outstanding shares after the IPO. Up to 1,100,000 Founder Shares were subject to forfeiture by our Sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. In connection with the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option on November 16, 2021, the 1,100,000 shares were no longer subject to forfeiture.
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earliest to occur of: (i) (x) with respect to one-third of such shares, until consummation of the initial business combination, (y) with respect to one-third of such shares, until the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares exceeds $12.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of the initial business combination and (z) with respect to one-third of such shares, until the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares exceeds $15.00 for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of the initial business combination; (ii) two years after the consummation of the initial business combination; and (iii) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital share exchange or other similar transaction after the initial business combination that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the Initial Shareholders with respect to any Founder Shares.
Promissory Note - Related Party
On September 3, 2021, our Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company, pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses related to the IPO. No amounts were borrowed from our Sponsor under the promissory note.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required. If the Company completes the initial business combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,200,000 of the Working Capital Loans may be convertible into Units of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per Unit at the option of the lender. Such Units would be identical to the Private Placement Units. As of December 31, 2021, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding.
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Due to Affiliate
An affiliate of the Company advanced $33,581 for the cost of certain regulatory fees incurred by the Company. Management reimbursed this amount to the affiliate as of December 31, 2021.
Administrative Services Agreement
On November 10, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement to pay our Sponsor (and/or its affiliates or designees) an aggregate of $20,000 per month for office space and, secretarial, and administrative services. Upon the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a business combination or its liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to WithumSmith+Brown, PC for services rendered.
Audit Fees
Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by WithumSmith+Brown, PC in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by WithumSmith+Brown, PC for audit fees, inclusive of required filings with the SEC for the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) to December 31, 2021 and of services rendered in connection with our IPO, totaled $105,750.
Audit-Related Fees
Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) to December 31, 2021, we did not pay WithumSmith+Brown, PC any audit-related fees.
Tax Fees
Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. During the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) to December 31, 2021, we did not pay WithumSmith+Brown, PC any tax fees.
All Other Fees
All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. During the period from July 20, 2021 (inception) to December 31, 2021, we did not pay WithumSmith+Brown, PC any other fees.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our IPO. 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).
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K: |
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| 1. | Financial Statements: See “Index to Financial Statements” at “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | Financial Statement Schedules. All schedules are omitted for the reason that the information is included in the financial statements or the notes thereto or that they are not required or are not applicable. |
| (c) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index below are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. |
Exhibit Index
58
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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, 2022
LAMF Global Ventures Corp. I | ||
| By: | /s/ Simon Horsman | |
| Name: Simon Horsman | ||
| Title: Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Simon Horsman and Morgan Earnest and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or his or her substitutes or substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name |
Position |
Date | ||
| /s/ Jeffrey Soros |
Chairman | March 30, 2022 | ||
| Jeffrey Soros | ||||
| /s/ Simon Horsman |
Director and Chief Executive Officer | March 30, 2022 | ||
| Simon Horsman | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Morgan Earnest |
Chief Financial Officer | March 30, 2022 | ||
| Morgan Earnest | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Mike Brown |
March 30, 2022 | |||
| Mike Brown | Director | |||
| /s/ Adriana Machado |
March 30, 2022 | |||
| Adriana Machado | Director | |||
| /s/ Christina Spade |
March 30, 2022 | |||
| Christina Spade | Director | |||
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