MoonLake Immunotherapeutics - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
OR
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM __________ TO ________
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 001-39630
HELIX ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Cayman Islands | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |
Cormorant Asset Management, LP | ||
200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor | ||
Boston, MA | 02116 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (857) 702-0370
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbols | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share | HLXA | 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 (1) has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ |
Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the issuer as of June 30, 2021 the last business day of the Company’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $119,025,000 based on the last time common stock was sold.
As of February 17, 2022, the Registrant had 11,930,000 of its Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share, and 2,875,000 of its Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
Some of the statements contained in this Annual Report on 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K may include, for example, statements about:
● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; | |
● | our expectations around the performance of 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 ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account (as described herein) or available to us from interest income on the Trust Account balance; |
● | the Trust Account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
● | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on 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 heading “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
● | While we intend to submit the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake to a vote of our shareholders, if we are not able to complete the proposed Business Combination or seek an alternate initial business combination, cur 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, including the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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, as we expect to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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 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 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 within the completion window 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. |
● | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, including MoonLake, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets. |
● | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, as we expect to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares 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 a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our Public Shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. | |
● | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
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● | If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering (as defined below) and the sale of the Private Placement Shares (as defined below) not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate until at least 24 months after the completion of our Initial Public Offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination. | |
● | 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 reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders. |
● | 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 (as defined below), 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. | |
● | We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
● | 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. | |
● | Helix has no operating history and is subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement if it does not complete an initial business combination by October 22, 2022. As such, there is a risk that Helix will be unable to continue as a going concern if it does not consummate an initial business combination by the applicable deadline. If Helix is unable to effect an initial business combination by the deadline, it will be forced to liquidate. | |
● |
Helix identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect Helix’s ability to report its results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
|
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PART I
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Helix Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Helix Holdings LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. References to our “initial shareholders” refer to the holders of founder shares.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on August 13, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. On October 4, 2021, Helix entered into a Business Combination Agreement (as may be amended and restated from time to time, the “Business Combination Agreement”) with MoonLake Immunotherapeutics AG, a Swiss stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) registered with the commercial register of the Canton of Zug, Switzerland under the number CHE-433.093.536 (“MoonLake”), the existing securityholders of MoonLake set forth on the signature pages thereto (collectively, the “ML Parties”), Helix Holdings LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company and the sponsor of Helix (the “Sponsor”), and the representative of the ML Parties (in such capacity, the “ML Parties’ Representative”). The terms of the Business Combination Agreement and the business combination contemplated thereby (the “Business Combination”) are discussed in more detail below. Prior to executing the Business Combination Agreement, our activities were limited to organization activities, the completion of our initial public offering, and the evaluation of possible business combination candidates. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
Formation and Initial Public Offering
On October 22, 2020, we consummated our initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) of 11,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Ordinary Shares” and with respect to the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Public Share, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 1,500,000 Public Shares, at $10.00 per Public Share, generating gross proceeds of $115,000,000. Prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, on August 19, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 3,593,750 Class B ordinary shares. On September 30, 2020, the Sponsor surrendered, for no consideration, 718,750 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in the Sponsor holding 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “founder shares”). In September 2020, the Sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of its independent directors. The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 375,000 shares that were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised, so that the number of founder shares would equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Initial Public Offering (assuming the Sponsor did not purchase any Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering and excluding the Private Placement Shares). As a result of the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their over-allotment option, 375,000 founder shares were no longer subject to forfeiture.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company completed the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 430,000 Class A Ordinary Shares (the “Private Placement Shares”) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Private Placement Share, to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $4,300,000. The Private Placement Shares are identical to the shares of Class A Ordinary Shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that, so long as they are held by the Sponsor and its permitted transferees: (i) they may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of a business combination and (ii) they are entitled to registration rights.
A total of $115,000,000 comprised of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”), located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, the funds held in the Trust Account will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any of the Company’s Public Shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of its obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial business combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s Public Shares if it does not complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares if it is unable to complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, subject to applicable law. As of December 31, 2021 there was $115,042,608 in investments and cash held in the Trust Account and $666,790 of cash held outside the Trust Account available for working capital purposes.
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Proposed Business Combination
On October 4, 2021, Helix entered into the Business Combination Agreement with MoonLake, the ML Parties, the Sponsor, and the ML Parties’ Representative.
Following completion (the “Closing” and the date of Closing, the “Closing Date”) of the Business Combination, (i) the existing securityholders of MoonLake (except as noted below with respect to the BVF Shareholders (as defined below)) will retain their equity interests in MoonLake and will receive a number of non-economic voting shares in Helix determined by multiplying the number of common shares of MoonLake with a par value of CFH 0.10 per share (“MoonLake Common Shares”) held by them immediately prior to the Closing by the Exchange Ratio (as defined below); (ii) the BVF Shareholders will assign all of their MoonLake Common Shares to Helix and Helix will issue to the BVF Shareholders an aggregate number of Class A Ordinary Shares (as defined below) equal to the product of such number of assigned MoonLake Common Shares and the Exchange Ratio; and (iii) Helix will receive a controlling equity interest in MoonLake in exchange for making a cash contribution in the amount of the aggregate cash available to Helix at Closing, based on the amount of cash in the Trust Account, less amounts required to satisfy redemptions and expenses, plus the aggregate proceeds of the PIPE. The “Exchange Ratio” is the quotient obtained by dividing (a) 360,000,000 by (b) the fully diluted shares of MoonLake prior to the Closing by (c) 10. Substantially all of the assets and business of MoonLake and Helix will be held by MoonLake as the operating company following the Closing.
The ML Parties (other than the BVF Shareholders) will be issued, for nominal consideration, Class C ordinary shares of Helix, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class C Ordinary Shares”), with each ML Party (other than the BVF Shareholders) receiving a number of Class C Ordinary Shares equal to the number of MoonLake Common Shares it owns following a pre-Closing restructuring of MoonLake’s share capital multiplied by the Exchange Ratio. Beginning six months after the Closing Date, each ML Party (other than the BVF Shareholders) will have the option to exchange its MoonLake Common Shares for a number of Class A Ordinary Shares equal to the product of (i) the number of MoonLake Common Shares then held by (ii) the Exchange Ratio, and, upon such exchange, will surrender for no consideration a number of Class C Ordinary Shares equal to the number of Class A Ordinary Shares issued to the ML Party pursuant to the exchange.
On October 4, 2021, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, Helix entered into subscription agreements (collectively, the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors (collectively, the “PIPE Investors” which include an affiliate of the Sponsor and the BVF Shareholders and their affiliates) pursuant to, and on the terms and subject to the conditions of which, the PIPE Investors have collectively subscribed for 11,500,000 Class A Ordinary Shares at a price of $10.00 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $115,000,000 (the “PIPE”).
At the Closing, Helix will change its name to “MoonLake Immunotherapeutics.” We anticipate the post-Business Combination equity ownership of Helix, on a fully diluted share basis, will be as follows: Helix’s public shareholders will hold approximately 18.5%, the Sponsor and initial shareholders will hold approximately 5.3%, the PIPE Investors (including an affiliate of the Sponsor and certain existing securityholders of MoonLake) will hold approximately 18.5%, and the ML Parties will hold approximately 57.8%, which pro forma ownership: assumes: (i) no holders of Helix’s Public Shares exercise their redemption rights, (ii) the exchange of MoonLake Common Shares and simultaneous surrender of Class C Ordinary Shares for Class A Ordinary Shares by the ML Parties (other than the BVF Shareholders) and calculating the Exchange Ratio based on MoonLake’s Fully Diluted Shares as of September 30, 2021, (iii) none of the parties purchase Class A Ordinary Shares in the open market, and (iv) there are no other issuances of equity securities of Helix prior to or in connection with the Closing. If the maximum number of Public Shares are redeemed which would still allow Helix to satisfy the requirement that Helix have at least $5,000,001 of net tangible assets immediately prior to or upon the Closing, such percentages will be approximately 0%, 6.5%, 22.6%, and 70.9%, respectively.
Consummation of the proposed business combination is subject to customary closing conditions and covenants of the respective parties, including approval of the Company’s shareholders. Further information regarding the proposed business combination, the proposed business of the combined company following the consummation of the Business Combination, and the risks relating to the proposed business of the combined company can be found in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 4, 2021 and the definitive proxy statement filed by the Company with the SEC on February 14, 2022 (the “Definitive Proxy”).
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Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following the Initial Public Offering. We intend to effectuate the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, or an alternate initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the private placement of the Private Placement Shares, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination, shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, other securities issuances, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity, as we plan to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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 initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the Trust Account following the closing 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.
We entered into Subscription Agreements with certain institutional investors to raise additional funds through the PIPE in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake. We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of any other initial business combination, and we may effectuate such initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the Trust Account. In addition, we have targeted, and may in the future target, businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, 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 stockholders, we may be required to seek additional financing. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we expect to complete the PIPE simultaneously with the completion of the Business Combination with MoonLake, and we would expect to complete any other financing 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, such as the Business Combination with MoonLake, our proxy materials or tender offer documents would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, as in the case of the Business Combination with MoonLake, we would seek stockholder 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 any other initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements. At this time, except for the Subscription Agreements we entered into in connection with the PIPE, 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.
Selection of Target Businesses
We have evaluated a number of target businesses, including MoonLake. When evaluating each prospective target business, we conducted a thorough due diligence review that encompassed, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, and a review of financial and other information that made available to us.
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The rules of Nasdaq require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors determined that the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake satisfied this requirement and, in connection with such determination, relied on the opinion of an independent financial advisory firm. A copy of such opinion is included as an annex to the Definitive Proxy Statement. If we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake and we seek an alternate business combination, our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of an alternate initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of such other 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 FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of such other 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, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board of directors determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. If required by Schedule 14A of the Exchange Act, any proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with our initial business combination will include such opinion. Unless our board of directors is unable to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination or we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity as described below, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent valuation or appraisal firm that regularly prepares fairness opinions that the price 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 solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination. In addition, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We have structured the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake so that we will obtain a controlling equity interest in MoonLake. If we do not complete the proposed Business Combination and search for an alternate initial business combination, we anticipate structuring such alternate initial business combination so that the post transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. Alternately, we may 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, as we did with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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 of 1940, as amended, or 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. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a controlling interest in MoonLake. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to the proposed Business Combination will own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to the closing of the Business Combination. If we instead complete an alternate initial business combination in which 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 Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company 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. MoonLake is not affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors. In the event we do not complete the proposed Business Combination, and instead seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team and our independent directors directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or Private Placement Shares and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. See the Definitive Proxy Statement for a discussion of potential conflicts of interest in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake.
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Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to at least one other 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 other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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 it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. 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 with MoonLake or any other potential target business.
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. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination with MoonLake or any other potential target business.
In evaluating MoonLake, we conducted a due diligence review of MoonLake, which included: (i) research on the industry in which MoonLake operates; (ii) meetings with MoonLake’s management team and representatives regarding MoonLake’s operations, major customers, financial prospects and other customary due diligence matters; (iii) legal and commercial review of MoonLake’s material business contracts, books and records, government regulations and filings, intellectual property and information technology; and (iv) financial due diligence and analysis of MoonLake with the assistance of our financial advisors. In evaluating any other 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, inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. We may also retain consultants with expertise relating to a prospective target business.
We have expended considerable time, and incurred considerable costs, to select and evaluate MoonLake and to structure and pursue completion of the proposed Business Combination. The time required to select and evaluate any other target business and to structure and complete any other 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.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their 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 calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. For illustrative purposes, the amount in the Trust Account as of December 31, 2021, was approximately $10.00 per Public Share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, Private Placement Shares and any Public Shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Such persons did not receive separate consideration for their waiver of redemption rights.
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Conduct of Redemptions Pursuant to Tender Offer Rules
In the event we do not complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, and instead pursue an alternate business combination and conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
Upon the public announcement of such alternate 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 Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
Submission of Our Initial Business Combination to a Shareholder Vote
We will seek shareholder approval of the MoonLake business combination as discussed in more detail in the Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022. If we do not complete the business combination with MoonLake and seek an alternate business combination, and we seek shareholder approval of such alternate 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, as we will in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, we will complete our initial business combination only if it is approved by an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of the holders of the shares present in person or by proxy at a general meeting of the Company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of a majority of issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, Private Placement Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 4,312,501, or 37.5%, of the 11,500,000 Public Shares sold in the Initial Public Offering 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). These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreement of our sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, as we will in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the Trust Account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. 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. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will not make any purchases if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
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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. Any such purchases of our shares 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 Class A ordinary shares may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our Class A ordinary shares may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our Class A ordinary shares on a national securities exchange.
Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
We will seek shareholder approval of the MoonLake business combination as discussed in more detail in the Definitive Proxy Statement. If we do not complete the business combination with MoonLake and seek an alternate business combination and 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 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 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 20% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 20% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (less 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), 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.
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Competition
If we are unable to complete our business combination with MoonLake, we expect to encounter competition in identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for an alternate business combination, 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 the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may have placed us at a competitive disadvantage in negotiating the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, or may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an alternate initial business combination.
Employees
We currently have two officers: Bihua Chen, our Chief Executive Officer, and Andrew J. Phillips, our Chief Financial Officer. 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.
Available Information
We are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events (e.g., changes in corporate control, acquisitions or dispositions of a significant amount of assets other than in the ordinary course of business and bankruptcy) in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains an internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website is located at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, MA 02116 or by telephone at (857) 702-0370.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks set forth below do not include specific risks relating to our proposed business combination with MoonLake, or the risks inherent in MoonLake’s business, which are included in the Definitive Proxy Statement which we filed with the SEC on January 20, 2022. The risks presented below assumes that we will not consummate the proposed business combination with MoonLake, and that we will seek to find an alternative target with which to consummate an initial business combination.
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RISKS RELATING TO RESTATEMENT OF OUR PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management also evaluates the effectiveness of our internal controls and we will disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As described elsewhere in this Form 10-K, we have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting classification of the Public Shares issued as part of the units sold in our Initial Public Offering on October 22, 2020. Historically, a portion of the Public Shares was classified as permanent equity to maintain shareholders’ equity greater than $5 million on the basis that we will not redeem its Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, as described in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Pursuant to such re-evaluation, management has determined that the Public Shares include certain provisions that require classification of all of the Public Shares as temporary equity regardless of the net tangible assets redemption limitation contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In addition, in connection with the change in presentation for the Public Shares, management determined it should restate its earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of shares share pro rata in the income and losses of the Company. Management concluded that the control deficiency that resulted in the incorrect classification of temporary and permanent equity constituted a material weakness as of December 31, 2020 and September 30, 2021. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of our temporary and permanent equity, additional paid-in capital, accumulated deficit, and earnings (loss) per share and related financial disclosures in the (i) audited balance sheet as of October 22, 2020, (ii) audited financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, (iii) unaudited interim financial statements included in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021; (iv) unaudited interim financial statements included in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2021; and (v) unaudited interim financial statements included in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021. See Note 2 to the notes to the financial statements included herein.
We have implemented a remediation plan, described under Item 9A, Controls and Procedures, to remediate the material weakness surrounding our historical presentation of our complex financial instruments but can give no assurance that the measures we have taken will prevent any future material weaknesses or deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting. Even though we have strengthened our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements. In addition, any such failures could result in litigation or regulatory action by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, loss of investor confidence, delisting of Helix’s securities, and harm to Helix’s reputation and financial condition, or diversion of financial and management resources from the operation of Helix’s business.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Following the re-evaluation of accounting guidance, our management and our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the year ended December 31, 2020. As part of the restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
As a result of such material weakness, the restatement related to the accounting for complex financial instruments, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the Restatement and material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. As of the date of this annual report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a business combination.
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RISKS RELATING TO OUR SEARCH FOR, AND CONSUMMATION OF OR INABILITY TO CONSUMMATE, A BUSINESS COMBINATION
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.
While we intend to seek shareholder approval of the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, we may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or Nasdaq requirements. In such case, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, as we intend to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.
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 own, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Pursuant to letter agreements with us, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, Private Placement Shares, as well as any Public Shares purchased (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination.
Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary 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 it is approved by an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of the holders of the shares present in person or by proxy at a general meeting of the Company, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 4,312,501 or 37.5%, of the 11,500,000 Public Shares sold in the Initial Public Offering 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 and the Private Placement Shares issued to our sponsor are voted in favor of the transaction). 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 an ordinary resolution, being the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
If we do not complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake and instead pursue an alternate initial business 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 shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding our initial business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
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The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a 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. For instance, the Business Combination Agreement with MoonLake includes a closing condition that we have at least $150 million of cash available at the closing after giving effect to redemptions, payment of transaction expenses, and the cash raised in the PIPE. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we may not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination unless the condition is waived by MoonLake. 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.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not, and at the time we entered into the Business Combination Agreement, we did not, know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, like the Business Combination Agreement does, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, like the Business Combination Agreement, we may need to arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances, such as the PIPE, 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 Class B ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary 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 shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
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, including the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, like the Business Combination Agreement does, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination 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.
The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, including the efforts to mitigate its impact, has and may continue to have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, as well as any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination.
The COVID-19 pandemic, including efforts to combat it, has and may continue to adversely affect our search for a business combination. In addition, the outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has and may continue to adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide. As such, the business of any potential target business with which we may consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected.
In response to the pandemic, public health authorities and local, national and international governments have implemented measures that may directly or indirectly impact our ability to search for and acquire any target business, including measures such as voluntary or mandatory quarantines, restrictions on travel and orders to limit the activities of non-essential workforce personnel. We may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner.
In addition, countries or supranational organizations in our target markets may develop and implement legislation that makes it more difficult or impossible for entities outside such countries or target markets to acquire or otherwise invest in companies or businesses deemed essential or otherwise vital. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our search for and ability to consummate 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 the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions to contain it or treat its impact. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 pandemic continue for an extended period of time and result in protectionist sentiments and legislation in our target markets, 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 the COVID-19 pandemic.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our Public Shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. 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 ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (less 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), 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.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, as we expect to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares 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, as we expect to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or equity-linked securities 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 shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the Trust Account will be used to purchase shares or equity-linked securities 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, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase 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 shares. The purpose of any such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the Business Combination with MoonLake, or an alternate business combination if we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake, and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination (as the Business Combination Agreement does), where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. 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.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares and the number of beneficial holders of our Class A ordinary shares may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our Class A ordinary shares on a national securities exchange.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our Public Shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its 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 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 shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.
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You are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares 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 U.S. securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our shares will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake or another initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the Initial Public Offering had been 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, as we expect to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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 20% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 20% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, as we expect to do in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 20% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public shareholders.
If we are unable to complete our business combination with MoonLake, 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, including MoonLake, that we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our Public Shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any 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 pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public shareholders.
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If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, 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.
We believe that the funds available to us outside of the Trust Account will be sufficient to allow us to operate until at least October 22, 2022; 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 and we have not done so in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake. If we entered 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.
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 $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Shares of the post-business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per share at the option of the lender. 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 within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our Public Shares.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per 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, 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. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering did not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account.
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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 payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per Public Share initially held in the Trust Account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement entered into in connection with the Initial Public Offering, 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) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, 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 the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. MoonLake has executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies in the Trust Account. 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 $10.00 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.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case 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, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
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If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
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; |
● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
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.
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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 U.S. “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 submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, 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.
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 proposed Business Combination with MoonLake or another initial business combination, and results of operations.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such to 24 months before redemption from our Trust Account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our Public Shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the Trust Account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the Trust Account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time (“Companies Law”). In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering before the redemption proceeds of our Trust Account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our Trust Account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.
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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 $18,293 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
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 appoint directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
If we do not complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, when we look for an alternate business combination target, we will not be limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector, and you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, except that our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. We intend to complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, and accordingly we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in MoonLake’s business operations and industry, which are set forth in detail in the Definitive Proxy Statement. If we do not complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, we may be affected by numerous risks relating to the target 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, and have done so in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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 Class A ordinary shares will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in MoonLake or another business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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We may seek 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 Class A ordinary shares will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in the Initial Public Offering 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 Initial Public Offering prospectus 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.
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, which could adversely affect the shareholder support for the combination.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that MoonLake or another target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have some or 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 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 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 pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public shareholders.
Although we obtained a fairness opinion in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm in connection with an alternate transaction, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
We obtained a fairness opinion in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, a copy of which is filed as an annex to the Definitive Proxy Statement. If we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake and instead pursue an alternate target, then, unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated 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 a valuation or appraisal firm that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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We will issue additional Class A ordinary shares to complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, or if we complete an alternate initial business combination in lieu of the proposed Business Combination, we may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete such alternate initial business combination, and we may issue such shares 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 one-to-one at the time of such alternate initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained therein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes 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 5,000,000 preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. As of the date of this Form 10-K, there are 488,070,000 and 47,125,000 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination. Such anti-dilution adjustments were waived in connection with the proposed Business Combination. As of the date of this Form 10-K, there are no preferred shares issued and outstanding.
We will issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares to complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, or if we complete an alternate initial business combination we may issue additional ordinary shares or preferred shares to complete such alternate 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 Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein in connection with such alternate initial business combination. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, 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 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 or preferred shares:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Initial Public Offering; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preferred 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 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 Class A ordinary shares. |
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 one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment to prevent dilution (which anti-dilution adjustment provisions have been waived by the holders of founder shares in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake). 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, 20% 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), 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 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 Shares issued to our 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.
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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.
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, consultants 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 pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public shareholders.
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 U.S. holder of our Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Following the Business Combination, for the taxable year that includes the Business Combination and subsequent taxable years, the asset and income tests will be applied based on the assets and activities of the combined business. We believe we were a PFIC for our taxable year ended December 31, 2021 (the “2021 Tax Year”). Based on the anticipated timing of the Business Combination and the income and assets of the Company following the Business Combination, it is possible we may be classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year. However, because the timing of the Business Combination and the PFIC characterization of the assets and revenue of the Company for these purposes is uncertain and because our PFIC status for each taxable year will depend on several factors, including the composition of our income and assets and the value of our assets (which may be determined in part by reference to the market value of our Class A ordinary shares), our PFIC status for the current taxable year or any other taxable year may not be determined until after the close of the taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. 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.
We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
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If we do not complete the proposed business combination with MoonLake and search for an alternate target with which to pursue an initial business combination, 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, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
If we do not complete the proposed business combination with MoonLake and search for an alternate target with which to pursue an initial business combination, in light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.” 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 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, 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.
Since our sponsor, 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 have acquired during or after the Initial Public Offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On August 19, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for 3,593,750 founder shares. On September 30, 2020, our sponsor surrendered, for no consideration, 718,750 founder shares, resulting in our sponsor holding 2,875,000 founder shares (value of $0.009 per share). In September 2020, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of Dr. Chang, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Schmid.
Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by the 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 Initial Public Offering would be a maximum of 11,500,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 430,000 Private Placement Shares for an aggregate purchase price of $4,300,000, or $10.00 per share. The Private Placement Shares will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month anniversary of the closing of the Initial Public Offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
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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 Annual Report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, and we do not intend to do so in connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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 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. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, 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.
Although the Business Combination Agreement contemplates an initial business combination with a single target business, MoonLake, if we do not complete the proposed Business Combination, we may effectuate an alternate initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only MoonLake or another single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
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If we do not complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, 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. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our proposed 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 are attempting to complete our initial business combination with MoonLake, 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.
We are attempting to complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, a private company. In pursuing our business combination strategy, if we do not complete the proposed business combination with MoonLake, we may seek to effectuate an alternate initial business combination with a different 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 do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our Public Shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In addition, the Business Combination Agreement imposes a minimum cash condition, and any proposed initial business combination with an alternate target 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. Nevertheless, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares. Similarly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination (as we expect to do in connection with the Business Combination with MoonLake) and do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we may enter into privately negotiated agreements with public shareholders to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the Business Combination Agreement or such other proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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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. 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. 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. Amending such provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) 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 an initial business combination within 24 months of the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) 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 in our Initial Public Offering, 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company (or 65% of our ordinary shares with respect to amendments to the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account), 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 Initial Public Offering and the private placement of shares into the Trust Account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, under Cayman Islands law being the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company (provided the holders of at least 50% of our ordinary shares attend such meeting), and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who beneficially own approximately 20% 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 within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering 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 Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our 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.
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We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
If redemptions of Public Shares exceed the minimum cash condition set forth in the Business Combination Agreement, we may be unable to complete the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake unless MoonLake waives such condition. If we seek an alternate initial business combination and if the cash portion of the purchase price of such alternate initial business combination 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 pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to public shareholders. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial shareholders own approximately 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders 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. 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 divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term for three years with only one class 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. In addition, the founder shares, all of which are held by our initial shareholders, will, in a vote to continue the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (which requires the approval of at least two thirds of the votes of all ordinary shares), entitle the holders to ten votes for every founder share. This provision of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over our continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. 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 the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake or any other initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. In the case of MoonLake, these financial statements are, and in the case of any other target company, these financial statements may be, required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board depending on the circumstances. In the case of MoonLake, the historical financial statements are, and in the case of any other target business, the historical financial statements may be, required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). 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.
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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 this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2021. 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.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our Private Placement Shares may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the Initial Public Offering, following our initial business combination, 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 Shares and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Private Placement Shares and the Class A ordinary shares and holders of Private Placement Shares that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such shares or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such loans. 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 Shares or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Helix has no operating history and is subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement if it does not complete an initial business combination by October 22, 2022. As such, there is a risk that Helix will be unable to continue as a going concern if it does not consummate an initial business combination by the applicable deadline. If Helix is unable to effect an initial business combination by the deadline, it will be forced to liquidate.
Helix is a blank check company, and as Helix has no operating history and is subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement, there is a risk that Helix will be unable to continue as a going concern if it does not consummate an initial business combination by October 22, 2022. There can be no assurance that Helix will complete a business combination by this time. If Helix does not complete its initial business combination by October 22, 2022, Helix will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us (less 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the Helix Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), 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. 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 less than $10.00 per share. Helix expects to consummate the proposed business combination with MoonLake prior to October 22, 2022 and does not currently intend to take any action to extend its life beyond the October 22, 2022 business combination deadline.
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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 our share price, 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, as we have done on MoonLake in connection with the proposed Business Combination, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with MoonLake or another target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of MoonLake’s or such other target business’s control 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 who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders 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.
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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 have structured the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of MoonLake. If we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake, we may structure an alternate business combination similarly, 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, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the Company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
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 who choose to remain shareholders following the 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 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.
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, such as MoonLake 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, such as MoonLake 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; |
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● | 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 and wars; and |
● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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.
If we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction as part of an alternate business combination. 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.
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We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction which may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
If we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake, we may, in connection with an alternate business combination or otherwise and subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder 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 to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
An investment in our ordinary shares may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in our ordinary shares may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For example, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our ordinary 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 Class A ordinary 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. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when acquiring, owning or disposing of our securities.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
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.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our 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 will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. 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.
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, such as MoonLake, 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.
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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.
RISKS RELATING TO OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM
We are dependent upon our 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 officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our 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 officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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 are expected to join us following our proposed Business Combination with MoonLake or may join us in an alternate business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
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Our 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.
Although we have identified a target in connection with the proposed Business Combination, our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our 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.
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.
Following the completion of the Initial Public Offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide 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 it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
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. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our 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, if we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake, 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.
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We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and 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.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors may be amended without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors contain provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and Private Placement Shares, indemnification of the Trust Account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the Trust Account. The letter agreement may be amended without shareholder approval. As is the case in connection with the MoonLake Business Combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not and have not required approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
RISKS RELATING TO OUR SECURITIES
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, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earliest 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 and on the conditions described herein, (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our Public Shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares, potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq may delist our Class A ordinary shares from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We have been approved to have our Class A ordinary shares listed on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to the Initial Public Offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our Class A ordinary shares 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, following the Public Offering, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $2,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 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, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million.
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If Nasdaq delists our Class A ordinary shares from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our Class A ordinary shares on another national securities exchange, we expect our Class A ordinary shares could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
● | a limited availability of market quotations for our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | reduced liquidity for our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | 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 Class A ordinary shares; |
● | 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 we expect that our Class A ordinary shares will be listed on Nasdaq, our Class A ordinary shares will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our Class A ordinary shares, 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.
Our initial shareholders have paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.009 per founder share and, accordingly, investors will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A ordinary shares after the Initial Public Offering constituted the dilution to investors in the Initial Public Offering. Our initial shareholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon closing of the Initial Public Offering the public shareholders incurred an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 87.8% (or $8.78 per share), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after the Initial Public Offering of $1.22 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per share. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.
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The determination of the offering price of our Class A ordinary shares and the size of the Initial Public Offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of shares and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our shares properly reflects the value of such shares than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to the Initial Public Offering there has been no public market for any of our Class A ordinary shares. The Initial Public Offering price of the shares was negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of the Initial Public Offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the representative of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of the Initial Public Offering, prices and terms of the Class A ordinary shares include:
● | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
● | prior offerings of those companies; |
● | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
● | a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
● | our capital structure; |
● | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
● | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the Initial Public Offering; and |
● | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering size, price and terms of the shares is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following the Initial Public Offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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 U.S. courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (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.
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We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given, provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company.
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 U.S. courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under U.S. laws.
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 contain 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 preferred 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.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the Trust Account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The proceeds held in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the Trust Account, plus any interest income not released to us, net of taxes payable. Negative interest rates could impact the per-share redemption amount that may be received by public shareholders.
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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 newly incorporated blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through the Initial Public Offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
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.
Information regarding our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team and their affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our shareholders, or of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experiences of our management team and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team or their affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our and our management team’s control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
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 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.
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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 exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, 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 30. 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.
We employ a mail forwarding service, which may delay or disrupt our ability to receive mail in a timely manner.
Mail addressed to the Company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by Company to be dealt with. None of the Company, its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused in mail reaching the forwarding address, which may impair your ability to communicate with us.
ITEM IB. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
We currently lease executive offices at 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston MA 02116 from our Sponsor and the members of our management team. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
As of December 31, 2021, to the knowledge of our management, there was no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market Information
Our Class A ordinary shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “HLXA.”
Holders
As of December 31, 2021, there were two holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares. The number of holders of record does not include a substantially greater number of “street name” holders or beneficial holders whose Class A ordinary shares are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of the initial business combination. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with the initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
The sales of the founder shares and Private Placement Shares to our Sponsor and our initial shareholders as described herein were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act, in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering.
Use of Proceeds
On October 19, 2020, our registration statement on Form S-l (File No. 333-249197) was declared effective by the SEC for the Initial Public Offering pursuant to which we sold an aggregate 10,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares at an offering price to the public of $10.00 per share for an aggregate offering price of $100,000,000. Jefferies LLC acted as representative for the underwriters (the “Underwriters”). Our Public Offering did not terminate before all of the securities registered in our registration statement were sold. The Initial Public Offering was consummated on October 22, 2020.
Net proceeds of $115,000,000 from the Initial Public Offering, the closing of the over-allotment and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, including deferred underwriting discounts of approximately $3,500,000, are held in the Trust Account. We paid $2,300,000 in underwriting discounts and incurred offering costs of $425,447 related to the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the Underwriters agreed to defer $4,025,000 in underwriting discounts, which amount will be payable when and if a business combination is consummated. No payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning ten percent or more of our ordinary shares or to their associates, or to our affiliates. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from the Initial Public Offering as described in our final prospectus dated October 19, 2020 which was filed with the SEC.
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ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on August 13, 2020, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash derived from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete an initial business combination will be successful.
Recent Developments
Our sponsor is an affiliate of Cormorant Asset Management, LP (“Cormorant”), a leading life sciences focused investment firm with over $2 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021. Our registration statement for the Initial Public Offering was declared effective on October 19, 2020.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Shares, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating an initial business combination.
If the Company is unable to complete a business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or October 22, 2022 (the “Combination Period”), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us (less 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), 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.
Proposed Business Combination
On October 4, 2021, the Company announced that it entered into the Business Combination Agreement. Following the Closing of the Business Combination, (i) the existing equity holders of MoonLake will retain their equity interests in MoonLake (except as noted in the Company’s Form 8-K filed on October 4, 2021) and will receive a number of non-economic voting shares in Helix determined by multiplying the number of MoonLake Common Shares held by them immediately prior to the Closing by the Exchange Ratio; (ii) the BVF Shareholders will assign all of their MoonLake common shares to Helix and Helix will issue to the BVF Shareholders an aggregate number of Helix Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of such number of assigned MoonLake common shares and the Exchange Ratio; and (iii) Helix will receive a controlling equity interest in MoonLake in exchange for making the Cash Contribution (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement). The Exchange Ratio is the quotient obtained by dividing (a) 360,000,000 by (b) the fully diluted shares of MoonLake prior to the Closing by (c) 10. Substantially all of the assets and business of MoonLake and Helix will be held by MoonLake as the operating company following the Closing.
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For more information about the Business Combination Agreement and the Business Combination, see our Definitive Proxy Statement. Unless specifically stated, this Annual Report does not give effect to the Business Combination and does not contain the risks associated with the Business Combination. Such risks and effects relating to the Business Combination are included in the Definitive Proxy Statement.
The Business Combination is expected to close occur in the first half of 2022, following the receipt of required approval by the stockholders of the Company, required regulatory approvals and the fulfilment or waiver of other conditions set forth in the Business Combination Agreement.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations (other than searching for an initial business combination after our Initial Public Offering) nor generated any operating revenues to date. Our only activities from inception through December 31, 2021 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, and, subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying MoonLake as the target company for the Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of the Business Combination with MoonLake or an alternate initial business combination. We expect to generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on investments held in trust after the Initial Public Offering. We expect that we will incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses in connection with searching for, and completing, an initial business combination.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $4,542,654, which consisted of general and administrative expenses of $4,570,345 offset by interest earned on investments held in Trust Account of $27,691.
For the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $90,838, which consisted of formation and operating costs of $105,755, offset by interest earned on investments held in Trust Account of $14,917.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Until the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, our only source of liquidity was an initial purchase of ordinary shares by the Sponsor and loans from our Sponsor.
On October 22, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 11,500,000 Public Shares, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 1,500,000 Public Shares, at a price of $10.00 per Share, generating gross proceeds of $115,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 430,000 Private Placement Shares to the Sponsor at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Share generating gross proceeds of $4,300,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the full exercise of their over-allotment option and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, a total of $115,000,000 was placed in the Trust Account, and we had $1,646,100 of cash held outside of the Trust Account, after payment of costs related to the Initial Public Offering, and available for working capital purposes. We incurred $6,750,447 in transaction costs, including $2,300,000 of underwriting fees, $4,025,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $425,447 of other offering costs.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $611,071. Net loss of $4,542,654 was affected by interest earned on investments held in the Trust Account of $27,691 and changes in operating assets and liabilities, which used $3,959,274 of cash for general and administrative expenses.
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For the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $316,692. Net loss of $90,838 was affected by the formation cost paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of founder shares of $5,000, interest earned on investments held in the Trust Account of $14,917, and changes in operating assets and liabilities, which used $215,937 of cash for operating activities.
As of December 31, 2021, we had investments held in the Trust Account of $115,042,608. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account, which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions, to complete our Business Combination. We may withdraw interest from the Trust Account to pay taxes, if any. Through December 31, 2021, we did not withdraw any interest earned on the Trust Account to pay our taxes. To the extent that our share capital or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete a 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.
At December 31, 2021, we held $666,790 of cash outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to complete the Business Combination with MoonLake. If we do not complete the Business Combination with MoonLake and seek an alternate business combination target, we will use such funds to 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, structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a 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 the Business Combination or an alternate initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to us. In the event that the Business Combination or an alternate initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts, but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into shares, at a price of $10.00 per share, at the option of the lender. The shares would be identical to the Private Placement Shares. As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loans.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of completing the Business Combination with MoonLake, or with identifying an alternate target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an alternate 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. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete the Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon completion of the Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with the Business Combination.
Going Concern
We have until October 22, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after October 22, 2022.
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2021. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
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Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities other than an agreement to pay the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, administrative services and remote support services provided to the Company. We began incurring these fees on October 22, 2020 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of a Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Share, or $4,025,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
On July 22, 2021, Helix retained SVB Leerink as its financial advisor in connection with the proposed Business Combination, and SVB Leerink commenced its review of MoonLake and the proposed transaction. On the same date, Helix also retained Jefferies as lead capital markets advisor and lead placement agent, Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”) as co-lead placement agent, and SVB Leerink as financial advisor and co-lead placement agent for the PIPE financing. Under the placement agent engagement letters between Helix and each of Jefferies, Cowen, and SVB Leerink, each of Jefferies, Cowen, and SVB Leerink are entitled to a placement agent fee based on the amount of gross proceeds of the PIPE, payable upon the consummation of the PIPE.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have not identified any critical accounting policies.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our 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 is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that features redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheets.
Net Income (Loss) per Ordinary Share
We calculate earnings per share to allocate net income (loss) evenly to Class A and Class B ordinary shares. This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of common stock share pro rata in the income (loss) of the Company.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
Not applicable.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
This information appears following Item 16 of this Form 10-K and is included herein by reference.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act 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.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based upon their evaluation, and due to a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting over the accounting for complex financial instruments, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were not effective as of December 31, 2021.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in the Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of these inherent limitations, management does not expect that our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all error and all fraud. Management conducted an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued in 2013 by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the “2013 Framework”). Based on our evaluation under the 2013 Framework, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021, due to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the period presented.
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Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex securities and related accounting standards. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The Company has made changes in its internal control over financial reporting to enhance our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements, including providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The Company can offer no assurance that these changes will ultimately have the intended effects.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
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PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Directors and Executive Officers
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name | Age | Position | ||
Bihua Chen | 53 | Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman | ||
Dr. Andrew J. Phillips | 51 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
Nancy Chang | 72 | Director | ||
Will Lewis | 53 | Director | ||
John Schmid | 59 | Director |
Bihua Chen serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman of our board of directors. In addition, Ms. Chen has served as a director of Biomea Fusion, Inc. since April 2020, which completed its initial public offering in April 2021, and as a director of Erasca, Inc. since August 2020, which completed its initial public offering in July 2021. Ms. Chen also serves on the board of several privately held life science companies: Alta Vision, Inc., Supira Medical, Adona Medical, Inc., Umoja Biopharma, Inc., Chroma Medicine, Inc., Blossom Bioscience Ltd., Orionis Biosciences, Aleksia Therapeutics, Inc., and Akura Medical, Inc. Ms. Chen is the founder and managing member of Cormorant. Prior to founding Cormorant, Ms. Chen managed a separately managed account focused on the healthcare sector as a sub-adviser to a large, multi-strategy hedge fund based in New York. During Ms. Chen’s time managing the account from 2005 through 2010, the account grew from $75 million in assets to $800 million in assets. Prior to that, Ms. Chen was a healthcare analyst and sector portfolio manager for American Express Asset Management, Boston. Ms. Chen has also served as a portfolio manager for the Asterion Life Science Fund from 2001 through 2002, an equity analyst and portfolio manager for Bellevue Research from 2000 through 2001 and an equity analyst for Putnam Investments from 1998 through 2001. Ms. Chen obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of Business in 1998 and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Molecular Biology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Science at Cornell Medical College in 1994. Ms. Chen also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics and Genetic Engineering from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, which she received in 1990.
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Dr. Andrew J. Phillips has served as a Managing Director at Cormorant Asset Management, an investment manager, since August 2020. Since April 2021 he has also served as Chief Financial Officer of Helix and since June 2021 he has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Blossom Bioscience Ltd., and since December 2021 he has also served as interim Chief Executive Officer of Aleksia Therapeutics Inc. Dr. Phillips is a Director at the following private companies: OnKure, Inc., Expansion Therapeutics, Inc., BiVACOR, Inc., Blossom Bioscience, Ltd, Blossom Biomedicines USA, Inc., ONK Therapeutics, Ltd., Kestrel Therapeutics Inc., and Enliven Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Phillips previously served as a Director at Elevation Oncology, Inc. from November 2020 through June 2021, and Immuneering Corp from December 2020 through July 2021. From January 2016 to March 2020, Dr. Phillips was with C4 Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, where he served as Chief Executive Officer from May 2018 to March 2020, President from September 2016 to May 2018 and Chief Scientific Officer from January 2016 to May 2018. From July 2014 to January 2016, he served as Senior Director, Center for Development of Therapeutics at the Broad Institute, a biomedical and genomic research organization. From June 2010 to January 2015, Dr. Phillips was a Professor of Chemistry at Yale University, and from July 2001 to June 2010 he was Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado. He holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
Dr. Nancy Chang has served on our board of directors since 2020. Dr. Chang is currently serving as the CEO of Ansun Biopharma, Inc., a clinical late stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of unique host-directed anti-viral therapies for respiratory viruses. In addition to her role with Ansun Biopharma, Inc., she also serves as the Chairman and Founder of Apex Capital, an investment management company focused on investments in healthcare, education and socially responsible ventures. From 2007 to 2012, Dr. Chang was the Founder, Chairperson and Senior Managing Director of Caduceus Asia Partners at OrbiMed Advisors L.L.C., one of the largest healthcare focused investment management firms in the world. Prior to that, Dr. Chang was the Co-Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Tanox, Inc., a company focused on the development of therapeutics to address major unmet medical needs in the areas of asthma, allergy, inflammation, HIV infection and other diseases affecting the human immune system, from 1986 to 2006, and led the Company through an initial public offering in 2000 and growth to a $1 billion public valuation until its acquisition by Genentech Inc. in 2007. From 1980 to 1986, Dr. Chang held several leadership positions at Centocor Biotech Inc., now a division of Johnson & Johnson. In addition, Dr. Chang has served on the boards of a number of companies, including Charles River Laboratory International, Inc., Eddingpharm (Cayman) Inc., Crown Bioscience Inc., Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and a number of other private companies. In addition, Dr. Chang was a member of the board of directors at BIO (the Biotech Industry Organization in the U.S.) and BioHouston (the biotech industry organization in Houston, Texas). She has published more than 35 papers on topics ranging from monoclonal antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and holds seven patents. Dr. Chang graduated from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and received her Ph. D. from the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard Medical School in 1979.
Will Lewis has served on our board of directors since 2020. He joined Insmed, Inc. in 2012 as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors. Mr. Lewis became chair of the board of directors in November 2018. He is the former Co-Founder, President, and Chief Financial Officer of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEGR), and previously spent more than 10 years working in investment banking in the U.S. and Europe. He also previously worked for the U.S. government. Will holds a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Oberlin College as well as a Master of Business Administration and a Juris Doctor with Honors from Case Western Reserve University. Will is a member of the board of trustees of BioNJ, the life sciences association for New Jersey, and a member of the board of trustees of Case Western Reserve University.
John Schmid has served on our board of directors since 2020. Mr. Schmid currently serves as a member of the board of directors of AnaptysBio, Inc., Design Therapeutics, Inc., Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Forge Therapeutics, Inc., all pharmaceutical companies, and as the chairman of the board of directors of Speak, Inc., a speakers bureau, which he helped found in 1989. Mr. Schmid served as Chief Financial Officer of Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2013 until its sale to Teva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2015. Prior to Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., he co-founded Trius Therapeutics, Inc., where he served as Chief Financial Officer from 2004 until its merger with Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 2013. Mr. Schmid also served as Chief Financial Officer at GeneFormatics, Inc. from 1998 to 2003 and as Chief Financial Officer at Endonetics, Inc. from 1995 to 1998. Mr. Schmid holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of San Diego.
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Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of four members and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general 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 Nancy Chang and Will Lewis will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of John Schmid will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Bihua Chen will expire at the third annual general meeting.
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.
Director Independence
The rules of Nasdaq require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who, in the opinion of the Company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company). We have three “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that Nancy Chang, Will Lewis and John Schmid are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
In September 2020, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of Dr. Chang, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Schmid. None of our 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 have agreed to pay our sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, administrative services and remote support services provided to members of our management team. We may elect to make payment of customary fees to members of our board of directors for director service. In addition, our sponsor, 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, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their 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 the Company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
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We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Board Committees
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Both our audit committee and our compensation committee are composed solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules, 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, and the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee will operate under a charter that will be approved by our board and will have the composition and responsibilities described below.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Will Lewis and Nancy Chang serve as the members of the audit committee, and John Schmid chairs the audit committee. All members of our audit committee are independent of and unaffiliated with our sponsor and our underwriters.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that John Schmid qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
● | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the firm has with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
● | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
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● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
● | reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Nancy Chang and John Schmid serve as the members of the compensation committee, and Will Lewis chairs the compensation committee. All members of our compensation committee are independent of and unaffiliated with our sponsor and our underwriters.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer’s based on such evaluation; |
● | reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive compensation and equity based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers; |
● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment of customary fees we may elect to make to members of our board of directors for director service and payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for up to 24 months, for office space, utilities, administrative services and remote support services and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
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The compensation committee charter provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. John Schmid and Will Lewis serve as the members of the nominating and corporate governance committee, and Nancy Chang chairs the nominating and corporate governance committee. All members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are independent of and unaffiliated with our sponsor and our underwriters.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
● | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the Company; and |
● | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The nominating and corporate governance committee charter provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have previously filed a copy of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement in connection with our Initial Public Offering. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters of the committees of our board of directors will be provided without charge upon request from us.
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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) | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
(iii) | directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
(iv) | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
(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) | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the Company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to at least one other 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 will provide 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 it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. 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.
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Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual | Entity | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
Bihua Chen | Cormorant Global Healthcare Master Fund, LP | Financial | Managing member of the general partner | |||
Cormorant Private Healthcare Fund I, LP | Financial | Managing member of the general partner | ||||
Cormorant Private Healthcare Fund II, LP | Financial | Managing member of the general partner | ||||
Atia Vision, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Supira Medical | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Adona Medical, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Biomea Fusion, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Erasca, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Helix Acquisition Corp. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Umoja Biopharma, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Chroma Medicine, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Blossom Bioscience Ltd | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Aleksia Therapeutics, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Orionis Biosciences | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Dr. Andrew J. Phillips | Enliven Therapeutics, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | |||
OnKure, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
BiVacor, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Blossom Bioscience Ltd | Biotechnology | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||||
Expansion Therapeutics, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Blossom Biomedicines USA | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Aleksia Therapeutics, Inc. | Biotechnology | Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||||
Kestrel Therapeutics, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
ONK Therapeutics, Ltd | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Nancy Chang | Ansun Biopharma, Inc. | Pharmaceutical | Chief Executive Officer and Director | |||
Apex Enterprises, Inc. | Biotechnology | President | ||||
Will Lewis | Insmed, Inc. | Pharmaceutical | Officer | |||
BioNJ | Life Sciences Association | Director | ||||
John Schmid | Speak, Inc. | Advisory | Director | |||
AnaptysBio, Inc. | Biotechnology | Director | ||||
Design Therapeutics, Inc. |
Pharmaceutical | Director | ||||
Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Pharmaceutical | Director | ||||
Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. | Pharmaceutical | Director | ||||
Forge Therapeutics, Inc. | Pharmaceutical | Director |
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. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
● | Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
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● | Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, Private Placement Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares and Private Placement Shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property and our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Private Placement Shares until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares and Private Placement Shares will be released from the lockup. Because each of our officers and directors will own ordinary shares 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. |
● | 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, 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 will also pay our sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, administrative services and remote support 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 sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.
On October 4, 2021, we, the Sponsor, and other Insiders agreed, at and conditioned upon the Closing of the Business Combination, to enter into the Amended Sponsor Letters. Pursuant to the Amended Sponsor Letters, the Sponsor and Insiders will (i) waive the anti-dilution and conversion price adjustments set forth in our Existing MAA with respect to the Class B ordinary shares held by the Sponsor and Insiders and (ii) vote in favor of approval of the adoption of the Business Combination Agreement, the Business Combination, and each other proposal presented by the Company for approval by our shareholders.
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 will provide 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 expect to purchase 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.
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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 officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We will pay our Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to members of our management team. In addition, our Sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any 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, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their 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 the Company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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, including the Definitive Proxy Statement. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
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ITEM 12. PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this 10-K, by:
● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares; |
● | each of our officers, directors and director nominees; and |
● | all our officers and directors as a group. |
The beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares is based on 14,805,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of January 7, 2022, consisting of 11,930,000 Class A ordinary shares and 2,875,000 of Class B ordinary shares. 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.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Shares | ||||||
Directors, Executive Officers and Founders | ||||||||
Bihua Chen(3) | 3,215,000 | 21.7 | % | |||||
Dr. Andrew Phillips | -- | 0.0 | % | |||||
Nancy Chang | 30,000 | * | ||||||
Will Lewis | 30,000 | * | ||||||
John Schmid | 30,000 | * | ||||||
All officers, directors and director nominees as a group (five individuals) | 3,305,000 | 23.3 | % | |||||
Five Percent Holders | ||||||||
Helix Holdings LLC(3) | 3,215,000 | 21.7 | % | |||||
Certain funds managed by Adage Capital Partners, L.P.(4) | 1,011,589 | 6.8 | % | |||||
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.(5) | 746,862 | 6.2 | % | |||||
Certain funds managed by BlackRock, Inc.(6) | 741,906 | 5.0 | % | |||||
Certain funds managed by RTW Investments, LP(7) | 750,000 | 5.1 | % | |||||
FMR LLC (8) | 1,193,000 | 8.1 | % | |||||
Citadel Advisors LLC(9) | 685,937 | 5.7 | % |
* | Less than one percent. |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, MA 02116. |
(2) | Interests of Helix Holdings LLC, Nancy Chang, Will Lewis and John Schmid 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) | Helix Holdings LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of such shares. Bihua Chen is the manager of Helix Holdings LLC and has voting and investment discretion with respect to the ordinary shares held of record by Helix Holdings LLC. Bihua Chen disclaims any beneficial ownership of the securities held by Helix Holdings LLC other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest she may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
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(4) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021 on behalf of Adage Capital Partners, L.P. and Phillip Gross, as managing member of Adage Capital Advisors, L.L.C., managing member of Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C., general partner of Adage Capital Partners, L.P., with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares directly owned by Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C., each of which may be deemed the beneficial owner with respect to certain of the reported Class A Ordinary Shares shown above. The business address of each reporting person is 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. |
(5) | According to a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022 on behalf of by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares owned by it. The business address of this reporting person is 100 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. |
(6) | According to a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 3, 2022 on behalf of by BlackRock, Inc. with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares owned by it. The business address of this reporting person is 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055. |
(7) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2021, on behalf of RTW Investments, LP and Roderick Wong, as managing partner of RTW Investments, LP. The Class A Ordinary Shares are held by one or more private funds (together the “Funds”), which are managed by RTW Investments, LP (the “Adviser”). The Adviser, in its capacity as the investment manager of Funds, has the power to vote and the power to direct the disposition of all shares held by the Funds. Each of the Adviser and Mr. Wong disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares except to the extent of his or its pecuniary interest therein. The business address of each reporting person is 40 10th Avenue, Floor 7, New York, NY 10014. |
(8) | Based on a Schedule 13G filed by FMR LLC and Abigail P. Johnson with the SEC on December 10, 2021. Represents shares held by various accounts managed by FMR LLC. Abigail P. Johnson is a Director, the Chairman, and the Chief Executive Officer of FMR LLC. Members of the Johnson family, including Abigail P. Johnson, are the predominant owners, directly or through trusts, of Series B voting common shares of FMR LLC, representing 49% of the voting power of FMR LLC. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders’ voting agreement under which all Series B voting common shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B voting common shares. Accordingly, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders’ voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the Investment Company Act, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC. Neither FMR LLC nor Abigail P. Johnson has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of the shares owned directly by the various investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act (the “Fidelity Funds”) advised by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC (“FMR Co. LLC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of FMR LLC, which power resides with the Fidelity Funds’ Boards of Trustees. FMR Co. LLC carries out the voting of the shares under written guidelines established by the Fidelity Funds’ Boards of Trustees. The business address of FMR LLC is 245 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210. |
(9) | Based on a Schedule 13G filed by Citadel Advisors LLC (“Citadel Advisors”), Citadel Advisors Holdings LP (“CAH”), Citadel GP LLC (“CGP”), Citadel Securities LLC (“Citadel Securities”), Citadel Securities Group LP (“CALC4”), Citadel Securities GP LLC (“CSGP”) and Mr. Kenneth Griffin on February 14, 2022, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares owned by Citadel Multi-Strategy Equities Master Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands company (“CM”), and Citadel Securities. Such owned Class A ordinary shares may include other instruments exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares. Citadel Advisors is the portfolio manager for CM. CAH is the sole member of Citadel Advisors. CGP is the general partner of CAH. CALC4 is the non-member manager of Citadel Securities. CSGP is the general partner of CALC4. Mr. Griffin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of CGP, and owns a controlling interest in CGP and CSGP. This disclosure shall not be construed as an admission that Mr. Griffin or any of the Citadel related entities listed above is the beneficial owner of any securities of the Company other than the securities actually owned by such person (if any). The business address of Citadel Advisors, CAH, CGP, Citadel Securities, CALC4, CSGP, and Mr. Griffin is 131 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603. |
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On August 19, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for 3,593,750 founder shares. On September 30, 2020, our sponsor surrendered, for no consideration, 718,750 founder shares, resulting in our sponsor holding 2,875,000 founder shares (value of $0.009 per share). In September 2020, our sponsor transferred 30,000 founder shares to each of Dr. Chang, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Schmid.
The founder shares, Private Placement Shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and management team. Those lock-up provisions provide that (i) the founder shares are not transferable or salable until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property and (ii) the Private Placement Shares are not transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, pursuant to the Sponsor Letter, our Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Private Placement Shares until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
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Private Placement Shares
Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 430,000 Private Placement Shares at a price of $10.00 per share, or $4,300,000 in the aggregate in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering.
The Private Placement Shares may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
Administrative Support Agreement
We currently utilize office space at 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, MA 02116 from our sponsor as our executive offices. Commencing on the date of the prospectus, we have paid our sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, administrative services and remote support 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.
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 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, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
Sponsor Loans
On August 19, 2020, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The promissory note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2020 and (ii) the completion of the Initial Public Offering. As of December 31, 2020, there was $58,063 outstanding under the Promissory Note.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Shares of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per share at the option of the lender. 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.
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.
PIPE
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On October 4, 2021, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, Helix entered into Subscription Agreements with the PIPE Investors which include an affiliate of the Sponsor and the BVF Shareholders and their affiliates pursuant to, and on the terms and subject to the conditions of which, the PIPE Investors have collectively subscribed for 11,500,000 Class A Ordinary Shares at a price of $10.00 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $115,000,000. The funds from such private placement will be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, and any excess funds from such private placement will be used for working capital in the post-transaction company.
Post-Consummation Management Team Payments
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.
Registration Rights
The holders of the (i) founder shares, (ii) Private Placement Shares and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such Private Placement Shares and (iii) Private Placement Shares that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans have registration rights to require us to register following the completion of our initial business combination the resale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement, we will be obligated to register up to 3,305,000 Class A ordinary shares and 4,300,000 Private Placement Shares. The number of Class A ordinary shares includes (i) 2,875,000 Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares, (ii) 430,000 Private Placement Shares. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggyback” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
At the Closing of the Business Combination, MoonLake, the Sponsor and certain ML Parties will enter into the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, pursuant to which, among other things, the parties thereto will be granted certain customary registration rights with respect to Class A Ordinary Shares beneficially held by them, directly or indirectly, and to transfer restrictions with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares and Class C Ordinary Shares beneficially held by them, as applicable.
Amended Sponsor Letters
On October 4, 2021, the Company, the Sponsor, and other Insiders agreed, at and conditioned upon the Closing, to enter into the Amended Sponsor Letters. Pursuant to the Amended Sponsor Letters, the Sponsor and Insiders will (i) waive the anti-dilution and conversion price adjustments set forth in our Existing MAA with respect to the Class B ordinary shares held by the Sponsor and Insiders and (ii) vote in favor of approval of the adoption of the Business Combination Agreement, the Business Combination, and each other proposal presented by the Company for approval by our shareholders.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the Company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the Company’s total assets at year end for the prior two completed fiscal years in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy will include: (i) our directors, nominees for director or officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party.
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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. During the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $105,318 and $43,775, respectively, for the services Withum performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the audit of our December 31, 2021 and 2020 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees. During the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
Tax Fees. During the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
All Other Fees. During the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
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PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K: |
(1) | Financial Statements: |
Page | |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | F-2 |
Financial Statements: | |
Balance Sheets | F-3 |
Statements of Operations | F-4 |
Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Deficit | F-5 |
Statements of Cash Flows | F-6 |
Notes to Financial Statements | F-7 to F-17 |
(2) | Financial Statement Schedules: |
None.
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(3) | Exhibits |
The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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HELIX ACQUISITION CORP.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | F-2 |
Financial Statements: | |
Balance Sheets | F-3 |
Statements of Operations | F-4 |
Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Deficit | F-5 |
Statements of Cash Flows | F-6 |
Notes to Financial Statements | F-7 to F-17 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Helix Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Helix Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 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 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 13, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs as well as complete a Business Combination by the close of business on October 22, 2022, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. This date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our 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 entity'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 2020.
New York, New York
February 16, 2022
PCAOB ID Number 100
F-2
HELIX ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||
Current assets | ||||||||
Cash | $ | 666,790 | $ | 1,335,924 | ||||
Prepaid expenses | 126,916 | 283,057 | ||||||
Total Current Assets | 793,706 | 1,618,981 | ||||||
Investments held in Trust Account | 115,042,608 | 115,014,917 | ||||||
TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 115,836,314 | $ | 116,633,898 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
Current liabilities | ||||||||
Accrued expenses | $ | 3,870,251 | $ | 67,120 | ||||
Promissory note — related party | 58,063 | |||||||
Total Current Liabilities | 3,870,251 | 125,183 | ||||||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | 4,025,000 | 4,025,000 | ||||||
Total Liabilities | 7,895,251 | 4,150,183 | ||||||
Commitments and Contingencies | ||||||||
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, 11,500,000 shares at $10.00 per share as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 | 115,000,000 | 115,000,000 | ||||||
Shareholders’ Deficit | ||||||||
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; | shares issued and outstanding||||||||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 430,000 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 11,500,000 shares subject to redemption) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 | 43 | 43 | ||||||
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 2,875,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 | 288 | 288 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit | (7,059,268 | ) | (2,516,616 | ) | ||||
Total Shareholders’ Deficit | (7,058,937 | ) | (2,516,285 | ) | ||||
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | $ | 115,836,314 | $ | 116,633,898 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
HELIX ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from August 13, 2020 | |||||||
2021 | 2020 | |||||||
General and administrative expenses | $ | 4,570,345 | $ | 105,755 | ||||
Loss from operations | (4,570,345 | ) | (105,755 | ) | ||||
Other income: | ||||||||
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | 27,691 | 14,917 | ||||||
Total other income, net | 27,691 | 14,917 | ||||||
Net loss | $ | (4,542,654 | ) | $ | (90,838 | ) | ||
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares | 11,930,000 | 6,232,090 | ||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A | $ | (0.31 | ) | $ | (0.01 | ) | ||
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares | 2,875,000 | 2,695,896 | ||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B | $ | (0.31 | ) | $ | (0.01 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
HELIX ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance — August 13, 2020 (inception) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor | 2,875,000 | 288 | 24,712 | 25,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of 11,500,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts and offering costs | — | — | (4,324,669 | ) | (2,425,776 | ) | (6,750,445 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of 430,000 Private Placement Shares | 430,000 | 43 | 4,299,957 | 4,300,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | (90,838 | ) | (90,838 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance — December 31, 2020 | 430,000 | $ | 43 | 2,875,000 | $ | 288 | $ | $ | (2,516,614 | ) | $ | (2,516,283 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | (4,542,654 | ) | (4,542,654 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance — December 31, 2021 | 430,000 | $ | 43 | 2,875,000 | $ | 288 | $ | $ | (7,059,268 | ) | $ | (7,058,937 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
HELIX ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Year Ended December 31, | For the Period from August 13, 2020 (Inception) through December 31, | |||||||
2021 | 2020 | |||||||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
Net loss | $ | (4,542,654 | ) | $ | (90,838 | ) | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | (27,691 | ) | (14,917 | ) | ||||
Payment of formation costs through issuance of Class B ordinary shares | 5,000 | |||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
Prepaid expenses | 156,141 | (283,057 | ) | |||||
Accrued expenses | 3,803,133 | 67,120 | ||||||
Net cash used in operating activities | (611,071 | ) | (316,692 | ) | ||||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||
Investment of cash into Trust Account | (115,000,000 | ) | ||||||
Net cash provided by investing activities | (115,000,000 | ) | ||||||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||
Proceeds from sale of Class A ordinary shares, net of underwriting discounts paid | 112,700,000 | |||||||
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Shares | — | 4,300,000 | ||||||
Repayment of promissory note – related party | (58,063 | ) | ||||||
Payment of offering costs | (347,384 | ) | ||||||
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | (58,063 | ) | 116,652,616 | |||||
Net Change in Cash | (669,134 | ) | 1,335,924 | |||||
Cash – Beginning | 1,335,924 | |||||||
Cash – Ending | $ | 666,790 | $ | 1,335,924 | ||||
Non-cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
Offering costs paid by Sponsor included in accrued offering costs | $ | $ | 20,000 | |||||
Offering costs paid through promissory note | $ | $ | 58,063 | |||||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | $ | 4,025,000 | |||||
Accretion of Class A ordinary shares to redemption amount | $ | — | $ | (6,750,445 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1 — DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Helix Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on August 13, 2020. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the year ended December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on October 19, 2020. On October 22, 2020 the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 11,500,000 Class A ordinary shares (the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Public Share, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 1,500,000 Public Shares, at $10.00 per Public Share, generating gross proceeds of $115,000,000, which is described in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 430,000 Private Placement Shares (the “Private Placement Shares”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Share in a private placement to Helix Holdings, LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $4,300,000, which is described in Note 4.
Transaction costs charged to equity amounted to $6,750,447, consisting of $2,300,000 of underwriting fees, $4,025,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $425,447 of other offering costs.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on October 22, 2020, $115,000,000 ($10.00 per Public Share) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) and will be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earliest of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s shareholders, as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Shares, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The stock exchange listing rules require that the Business Combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account). The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
The Company provided 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 the Business Combination, either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination (initially $10.00 per Public Share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, subject to certain limitations. The per-share amount to be distributed to the Public Shareholders who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6).
F-7
The Company will proceed with a Business Combination by seeking shareholder approval and will proceed if it receives an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law approving a Business Combination, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company. If a shareholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote the Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering 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 a proposed Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of the Business Combination and the Company does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, 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 20% of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares, Private Placement Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provides the 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 Trust Account and not previously released to pay taxes, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares.
The Company will have until 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company has not completed a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish the rights of the Public Shareholders 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 Public Shareholders and its 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.
The Sponsor has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the founder shares and Private Placement Shares it will receive if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor or any of its respective affiliates acquire Public Shares, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account 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 commission (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 assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Share ($10.00).
F-8
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (1) $10.00 per Public Share and (2) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per Public Share, due to reductions in the value of trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $0.7 million in its operating bank accounts and working capital deficit of approximately $3.1 million.
Prior to the completion of the Initial Public Offering, the Company’s liquidity needs had been satisfied through a contribution of $25,000 from the Sponsor to cover for certain offering costs in exchange for the issuance of the Founder Shares, the loan of up to $300,000 from the Sponsor pursuant to a promissory note, and the proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (see Note 5). As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loan.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until October 22, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the liquidity condition and mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after October 22, 2022.
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
F-9
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and, accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.
Offering Costs
Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the Initial Public Offering that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs were allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with the Class A ordinary shares issued were initially charged to temporary equity and then accreted to ordinary shares subject to redemption upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering (see Note 1).
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
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 are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature 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, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, an aggregate of 11,500,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheets at December 31, 2021 and 2020.
F-10
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable Class A ordinary shares resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Class A ordinary shares reflected in the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:
Gross proceeds | $ | 115,000,000 | ||
Less: | ||||
Class A ordinary shares issuance costs | (6,750,445 | ) | ||
Plus: | ||||
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | 6,750,445 | |||
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 115,000,000 |
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes.
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
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 the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Net Income (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. The Company applies the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities or 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 net loss per ordinary share is the same as basic net loss per ordinary share for the periods presented.
F-11
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
Year Ended December 31, 2021 | For the Period from August 13, 2020 (Inception) Through December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share | ||||||||||||||||
Numerator: | ||||||||||||||||
Allocation of net loss, as adjusted | $ | (3,660,511 | ) | $ | (882,143 | ) | $ | (63,409 | ) | $ | (27,429 | ) | ||||
Denominator: | ||||||||||||||||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | 11,930,000 | 2,875,000 | 6,232,090 | 2,695,896 | ||||||||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share | $ | (0.31 | ) | $ | (0.31 | ) | $ | (0.01 | ) | $ | (0.01 | ) |
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage amount of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the Company’s balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. ASU 2020-06 removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and it also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3 — INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 11,500,000 Public Shares, which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 1,500,000 Public Shares, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Public Share generating gross proceeds of $115,000,000.
NOTE 4 — PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 430,000 Private Placement Shares at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Share, for an aggregate purchase price of $4,300,000. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Shares were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account.
F-12
NOTE 5 — RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On August 19, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 3,593,750 Class B ordinary shares. On March 31, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered, for no consideration, 718,750 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in the Sponsor holding 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). In September 2020, the Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to each of its independent directors. As a result of the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their over-allotment option, 375,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares or Private Placement Shares until the earliest of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Administrative Services Agreement
Commencing on October 22, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement to pay the Sponsor up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, administrative services and remote support services. Upon completion of a Business Combination or its liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company incurred and accrued $120,000 and $20,000 in fees for these services. A total of $140,000 and $20,000 are included in accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes may be repaid upon completion of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of notes may be converted upon completion of a Business Combination into shares at a price of $10.00 per share. Such shares would be identical to the Private Placement Shares. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
NOTE 6 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
F-13
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on October 19, 2020, the holders of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Shares that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans will be entitled to registration rights require the Company to register a sale of any of the Company’s securities held by them. The holders of these securities will be 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 a Business Combination. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Share, or $4,025,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Business Combination Agreement
On October 4, 2021, the Company announced that it entered into a Business Combination Agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”), by and among the Company, MoonLake Immunotherapeutics AG, a Swiss stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) registered with the commercial register of the Canton of Zug, Switzerland under the number CHE-433.093.536 (“MoonLake”), the existing equity holders of MoonLake (collectively, the “ML Parties”), Helix Holdings LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company and the sponsor of the Company (the “Sponsor”), and the representative of the ML Parties.
Following completion (the “Closing” and the date of Closing, the “Closing Date”) of the Business Combination contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, (i) the existing equity holders of MoonLake will retain their equity interests in MoonLake (except as noted in the Company’s Form 8-K filed on October 4, 2021) and will receive a number of non-economic voting shares in the Company determined by multiplying the number of MoonLake common shares held by them immediately prior to the Closing by the Exchange Ratio; (ii) ) certain equity holders of MoonLake (the “BVF Shareholders”) will assign all of their MoonLake common shares to the Company and the Company will issue to the BVF Shareholders an aggregate number of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of such number of assigned MoonLake common shares and the Exchange Ratio; and (iii) Helix will receive a controlling equity interest in MoonLake in exchange for making the Cash Contribution (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement). The Exchange Ratio is the quotient obtained by dividing (a) 360,000,000 by (b) the fully diluted shares of MoonLake prior to the Closing by (c) 10. Substantially all of the assets and business of MoonLake and Helix will be held by MoonLake as the operating company following the Closing. At the Closing, the Company will change its name to “MoonLake Immunotherapeutics.”
The Business Combination has been approved by the boards of directors of each of the Company and MoonLake. The Closing is expected to occur late in the fourth quarter of 2021 or early in the first quarter of 2022, following the receipt of the required approval by MoonLake’s and the Company’s shareholders and the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions.
On October 4, 2021, concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, the Company entered into subscription agreements (collectively, the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors (collectively, the “PIPE Investors” which include an affiliate of the Sponsor and the BVF Shareholders and their affiliates) pursuant to, and on the terms and subject to the conditions of which, the PIPE Investors have collectively subscribed for 11,500,000 the Company’s Class A ordinary shares at a price of $10.00 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $115,000,000 (the “PIPE”).
The PIPE is expected to be consummated immediately prior to or substantially concurrently with the Closing of the Business Combination. The closing of the PIPE is conditioned upon, among other things, (i) the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent to the Business Combination and the substantially concurrent consummation of the Business Combination, (ii) the accuracy of all representations and warranties of the Company and the PIPE Investors in the Subscription Agreements, subject to certain bring-down standards, and (iii) the satisfaction of all covenants, agreements, and conditions required to be performed by the Company and the PIPE Investors pursuant to the Subscription Agreements. The Subscription Agreements provide for certain customary registration rights for the PIPE Investors.
F-14
The Subscription Agreements will terminate with no further force and effect upon the earliest to occur of: (a) such date and time as the Business Combination Agreement or Investment Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms; (b) the mutual written agreement of the Company and the PIPE Investor to terminate its Subscription Agreement; (c) if on the Closing Date, any of the conditions to closing set forth in the Subscription Agreement are not satisfied or waived, and, as a result thereof, the transactions contemplated in the Subscription Agreement are not consummated at the Closing; or (d) May 30, 2022.
Financial Advisor Fees
The underwriters of Helix’s initial public offering are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per share sold in the IPO. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters in the event that Helix completes an initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
In connection with the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake, Helix retained SVB Leerink LLC as its financial advisor in connection with the Business Combination to provide an opinion on the fairness, from a financial point of view, to Helix of the consideration to be paid by Helix in the Business Combination. Helix also retained Jefferies, one of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering, as lead capital markets advisor and lead placement agent, Cowen and Company, LLC as co-lead placement agent, and SVB Leerink as financial advisor and co-lead placement agent for the PIPE financing. Under the placement agent engagement letters between Helix and each of Jefferies, Cowen, and SVB Leerink, each of Jefferies, Cowen, and SVB Leerink are entitled to a placement agent fee based on the amount of gross proceeds of the PIPE, payable upon the consummation of the PIPE.
The aggregate amount of contingent and deferred fees payable by Helix upon the consummation of the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake will be approximately $9.1 million (including expense reimbursements).
Board Member Agreements
Helix has entered into board member agreements with the new directors that will serve as members of Helix’s Board of Directors following the proposed Business Combination with MoonLake. These board member agreements will take effect at the Closing of the proposed Business Combination. The annual compensation for each new Board Member will be $35,000 per calendar year, subject to the terms of the board member agreement.
NOTE 7 — SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were 430,000 Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding, excluding 11,500,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, which are included in temporary equity.
Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were 2,875,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of shareholders, except as required by law.
In a vote to continue the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (which required the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes of all ordinary shares), holders of the Founder Shares will have ten votes for every Founder Share and holders of the Class A ordinary shares will have one vote for every Class A ordinary share.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% 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), 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 a Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination and any Private Placement Shares issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
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NOTE 8 — FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. | |
Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. | |
Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
The Company classifies its U.S. Treasury and equivalent securities as held-to-maturity in accordance with 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 on the accompanying balance sheets and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.
At December 31, 2021, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $115,042,608 in money market funds which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company did not withdraw any interest income from the Trust Account to pay for taxes.
At December 31, 2020, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $457 in cash and $115,014,460 in U.S. Treasury securities. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company did not withdraw any interest income from the Trust Account.
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value. The gross holding gains and fair value of held-to-maturity securities at December 31, 2020 are as follows:
Held-To-Maturity | Level | Amortized Cost | Gross Holding Gain | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
December 31, 2020 | U.S. Treasury Securities (Matured on 1/21/21) | 1 | $ | 115,014,460 | $ | 1,417 | $ | 115,015,877 |
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
Level: | Assets: | Fair Value | ||||||
1 | Investments held in Trust Account | $ | 115,042,608 |
NOTE 9 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
February 17, 2022
HELIX ACQUISITION CORP. | |||
By: | /s/ Bihua Chen | ||
Name: | Bihua Chen | ||
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Bihua Chen and Andrew J. Phillips, and each or any one of them, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her 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 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 and Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated below.
Name | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Bihua Chen | Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman | February 17, 2022 | ||
Bihua Chen | ||||
/s/ Andrew J. Phillips | Chief Financial Officer | February 17, 2022 | ||
Andrew J. Phillips | ||||
/s/ Nancy Chang | Director | February 17, 2022 | ||
Nancy Chang | ||||
/s/ Will Lewis | Director | February 17, 2022 | ||
Will Lewis | ||||
/s/ John Schmid | Director | February 17, 2022 | ||
John Schmid |
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