Mason Industrial Technology, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2021 September (Form 10-Q)

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a filer, 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 of the Exchange Act.

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

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation, its Initial Public Offering (the “IPO”) and identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate income in the form of interest income on cash from the proceeds derived from the IPO (see below for more information on the IPO), and recognizes changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities and forward purchase agreement as other income (expense).

On February 2, 2021, the Company consummated its IPO of 50,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, raising $500.0 million of gross proceeds. Of the 50,000,000 units issued, 45,000,000 Units were included in the Company’s initial offering, and 5,000,000 Units resulted from the underwriter partially exercising its over- allotment option. The net proceeds of the IPO were $472.1 million, after deducting expenses and underwriting discounts and commissions of approximately $27.9 million, which includes $17.5 million in deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 9, , for more information).

Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant” and, collectively, the “Public Warrants”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the Company’s Initial Business Combination at an issue or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or their affiliates, without taking into account any shares of Class B common stock held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the amount that is the total equity proceeds (and interest thereon) , available for the funding of the Initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation (net of redemptions) and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock during the period starting on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company consummates its Initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the Public Warrants will be adjusted, to the nearest cent, to 115% of the higher of the Newly Issued Price and the Market Value, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below will be adjusted, to the nearest cent, to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Newly Issued Price and the Market Value.

Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Public Warrants in whole and not in part at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, if and only if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Public Warrant holders.

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated a private sale (the “Private Placement”) of 8,813,334 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants” and together with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) to the Sponsor at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds of approximately $13.2 million (see Note 6, , for more information). The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Warrants included in the Units sold in the IPO, except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sale.

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company entered into a Forward Purchase Agreement (the “FPA”) with the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Sponsor committed that it will purchase up to 8,000,000 forward purchase units (the “FPA Units”), consisting of one share of Class A common stock (the “FPA Share”) and of one warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock (the “FPA Warrant”) for $10.00 per unit, or an aggregate amount of up to $80,000,000, in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of the initial Business Combination (see Note 6, , for more information). In addition, the Sponsor’s commitment under the FPA will be subject to approval, prior to entering into a definitive agreement for the initial Business Combination, of Mason Capital Management LLC, an affiliate of the managing member of the Sponsor. The FPA Shares will be identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that they will be subject to transfer restrictions and registration rights. The FPA Warrants will have the same terms as the Private Placement Warrants so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted assignees and transferees.

Following the closing of the IPO, $500.0 million of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units and the Private Placement Warrants were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”). The funds in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of one hundred eighty (180) days or less or in money market funds that meet certain conditions under Rule under the Investmnt Company Act of 1940 and that invest only in direct U.S. government obligations. Funds will remain in the Trust Account until the earlier of (i) the consummation of the Initial Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account proceeds as described below. The remaining proceeds outside the Trust Account may be used to pay for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisitions and continuing general and administrative expenses.

Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, the proceeds from the IPO and the Private Placement will not be released from the Trust Account until the earlier of: (i) the completion of the Company’s Initial Business Combination; (ii) the redemption of any shares of the Public Shares that have been properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of Public Shares if the Company does not complete its Initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO (or 30 months from the closing of the IPO if the Company has executed a letter of intent, agreement in principle or definitive agreement for the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO but has not completed the initial Business Combination within such 24 month period) (the “Combination Periodor (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ right for Business Combination activity; and (iii) the redemption of 100% of the Public Shares if the Company is unable to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, subject to the requirements of law. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Company’s public stockholders.

Pursuant to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay the Company’s taxes (less $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

In connection with the preparation of the Company’s financial statements as of September 30, 2021, management determined it should revise its previously reported financial statements. The Company determined, at the closing of the Company’s IPO and shares sold pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment, it had improperly valued its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption. The Company previously determined the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption to be equal to the redemption value of $10.00 per Class A ordinary share while also taking into consideration a redemption cannot result in net tangible assets being less than $5,000,001. Management determined that the Class A ordinary shares issued during the IPO and pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered outside the Company’s control. Therefore, management concluded that the redemption value should include all Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, resulting in the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption being equal to their redemption value. As a result, management has noted a reclassification adjustment related to temporary equity and permanent equity. This resulted in an adjustment to the initial carrying value of the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption with the offset recorded to (to the extent available), accumulated deficit and Class A ordinary shares.

Level 2—inputs are based upon quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model-based valuation techniques (e.g., the Black-Scholes model) for which all significant inputs are observable in the market or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. Where applicable, these models project future cash flows and discount the future amounts to a present value using market-based observable inputs including interest rate curves, credit spreads, foreign exchange rates, and forward and spot prices for currencies. Examples of Level 2 inputs include nonexchange-traded derivatives such as forwards, swaps, and options.

The Company evaluated the Public Warrants, the Private Placement Warrants, and the FPA (which are discussed in Note 4, Note 5 and Note 6) in accordance with ASC and concluded that each contained provisions related to certain tender or exchange offers which precludes them from being accounted for as a component of equity. As the Warrants and FPA meet the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815, the Warrants and FPA were measured at fair value at inception (on the date of the IPO) and recorded as assets or liabilities on the condensed balance sheets. The Warrants and FPA are subject to remeasurement at each reporting date until exercised in accordance with ASC 820, , with changes in fair value recognized on the statement of operation in the period of change. See Note 4, for more information regarding the methods used to fair value the Warrants and the FPA.

The Company accounts for the allocation of its issuance costs to its Warrants using the guidance in ASC applied by analogy. Under this guidance, if debt or stock is issued with detachable warrants, the proceeds need to be allocated to the two instruments using either the fair value method, the relative fair value method, or the residual value method. The guidance also requires companies to use a consistent approach in allocating issuance costs between the instruments. Accordingly, the Company allocated its issuance costs of $27,903,259—consisting of $10,000,000 of underwriting fees, $17,500,000 of deferred underwriting commissions, and $403,259 of other offering costs—to the issuance of its Class A shares and Warrants in the amount of $26,581,907 and $1,321,352, respectively. Issuance costs attributed to the Warrants were expensed to the condensed statements of operations.

At September 30, 2021, the investments held in Trust Account were entirely comprised of U.S. Treasury Bills. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company did not withdraw any interest income from the Trust Account.

The Warrants are accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC and are presented within derivative warrant liabilities on the condensed balance sheets. The derivative warrant liabilities were measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the condensed statements of operations.

The FPA is accounted for as a derivative instrument in accordance with ASC and is presented as a derivative forward purchase agreement asset or liability on the condensed balance sheets. The FPA was measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of forward purchase agreement in the condensed statements of operations.

— The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s Board of Directors. At September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

— The Company is authorized to issue 400,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of September 30, 2021, there were 0 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding (excluding 50,000,000 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption). There was no Class A Common Stock outstanding as of December 31, 2020.

In addition, 50,000,000 shares of Class A common stock are redeemable upon the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination, subject to limitation described in Note 1, . In addition, if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and redeem the shares of Class A common stock at a price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares (see Note 1, , for more information). The Company classified the shares of Class A common stock subject to redemption rights as temporary equity in the event of the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination is not solely within the control of the Company.

— The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2020, 12,937,500 shares of Class B common stock were issued and outstanding, of which 1,687,500 shares were subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised. These amounts have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the January 28, 2021 stock dividend of 0.125 shares, described in Note 6, .

Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the IPO; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available. The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its best efforts to file with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Company will use its best efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the Public Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the IPO, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.

The Founder Shares are identical to the Class A common stock included in the Units being sold in the IPO except that the Founder Shares automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the Company’s initial Business Combination, on a basis, subject to adjustments pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, and the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions.

The Company’s initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any day period commencing at least 180 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.

1one 11.50

The Private Placement Warrants are and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. The Private Placement Warrants are not transferrable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.

As described in Note 1, , the Company entered into an FPA with the Sponsor simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, pursuant to which the Sponsor committed that it will purchase up to 8,000,000 FPA Units, consisting of one share of Class A common stock and of one warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $10.00 per unit, or an aggregate amount of up to $80,000,000, in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of the initial Business Combination. In addition, the Sponsor’s commitment under the FPA will be subject to approval, prior to entering into a definitive agreement for the initial Business Combination, of Mason Capital Management LLC, an affiliate of the managing member of the Sponsor. The proceeds from the sale of the FPA Units, together with the amounts available to the Company from the Trust Account (after giving effect to any redemptions of Public Shares) and any other equity or debt financing obtained by the Company in connection with the initial Business Combination, will be used to satisfy the cash requirements of the initial Business Combination, including funding the purchase price and paying expenses and retaining specified amounts to be used by the post-business combination company for working capital or other purposes. To the extent that the amounts available from the Trust Account and other financing are sufficient for such cash requirements, the Sponsor may purchase less than 8,000,000 FPA Units. In addition, the Sponsor’s commitment under the FPA will be subject to approval, prior to entering into a definitive agreement for the initial Business Combination, of Mason Capital Management LLC, an affiliate of the managing member of the Sponsor. The FPA Shares will be identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that they will be subject to transfer restrictions and registration rights. The FPA Warrants will have the same terms as the Private Placement Warrants so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted assignees and transferees.

On May 1, 2021, Mason Capital Management LLC, an affiliate of the managing member of the Sponsor, entered into a (the “Initial Term”) consulting agreement with Philip Whitehead, the Vice Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors, pursuant to which Mason Capital Management LLC agreed to pay Mr. Whitehead a consulting fee of $250,000 per year in exchange for his consulting services to assist Mason Capital Management LLC in evaluating investment opportunities.

The Company’s Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the IPO pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This Note was bearing and payable on the earlier of September 30, 2021 or the completion of the IPO. The outstanding balance under the Note of $300,000 was repaid in full on February 16, 2021. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with the initial Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes the initial Business Combination, the Company 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 proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1.5 million of the Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. To date, the Company has had no Working Capital Loans outstanding.

As described in Note 3, , in “Part 1. Financial Information – Item 1. Financial Statements,” we account for (i) the Warrants issued in connection with our IPO and Private Placement and (ii) the forward purchase agreement as derivative instruments which were initially recorded at their fair value. These derivative instruments are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statements of operations.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $1,156,581. Net income of $16,649,091 was impacted by the changes in fair value of the derivative warrant liability and forward purchase agreement of $18,374,401 and $462,191, respectively, and the issuance costs attributed to the warrant liabilities of $1,321,353. Additionally, changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $270,393 of cash used in operating activities.

Please refer to Note 6, , in “Part 1. Financial Information – Item 1. Financial Statements” for a discussion of our related party transactions.

Our management makes a number of significant estimates, assumptions and judgments in the preparation of our financial statements. See “Note 3—Summary of Significant Account Policies” in our 2020 Form for a discussion of the estimates and judgments necessary in our accounting for common stock subject to possible redemption, and net income (loss) per common share. Any new accounting policies or updates to existing accounting policies as a result of new accounting pronouncements have been included in the notes to our condensed financial statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form The application of our critical accounting policies may require management to make judgments and estimates about the amounts reflected in the condensed financial statements. Management uses historical experience and all available information to make these estimates and judgments. Different amounts could be reported using different assumptions and estimates.

Please refer to Note 3, , in “Part 1. Financial Information – Item 1. Financial Statements” for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements and their anticipated effect on our business.

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

As an “emerging growth company”, we are not 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 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 will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

As of September 30, 2021, we were not subject to any significant market or interest rate risk. The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and Over- Allotment, respectively, included in the Trust Account, have been invested in cash and may be invested in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds that meet certain conditions under Rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, that 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.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021, as such term is defined in Rules and under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, and in light of the material weakness in internal controls described below, our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer has concluded that during the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of September 30, 2021.

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021 covered by this Quarterly Report on Form that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, with the exception of the below.

As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our annual report on Form filed with the SEC on March 17, 2021, except for the below risk factor. We may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.

As a result, included on our condensed balance sheet as of September 30, 2021 contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report are derivatives related to embedded features contained within our warrants and forward purchase agreement. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statements of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize gains or losses on our warrants and forward purchase agreement each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.