Motive Capital Corp II - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
OR
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO
Commission File Number 001-41127
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II |
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter) |
Cayman Islands |
| 98-1627112 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
| (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St., Floor 47 New York, NY |
| 10007 |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code : (212) 651-0200 |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
| Trading Symbol(s) |
| Name of each exchange on which registered |
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-third of one redeemable warrant |
| MTVC U |
| New York Stock Exchange |
Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units |
| MTVC |
| New York Stock Exchange |
Warrants included as part of the units, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 |
| MTVC WS |
| New York Stock Exchange |
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 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant : (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ |
| Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
The registrant's Units began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on December 6, 2021 and the registrant's Class A ordinary shares began separate trading on January 27, 2022. The aggregate market value of the registrant's Class A ordinary shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, at June 30, 2021 cannot be determined as the Initial Public Offering was consummated after June 30, .
As of March 29, 2022, 34,137,444 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 8,534,361 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, were issued and outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K including, without limitation, statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward looking statements. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, words such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, identify forward looking statements. Such forward looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. No assurance can be given that results in any forward-looking statement will be achieved and actual results could be affected by one or more factors, which could cause them to differ materially. The cautionary statements made in this Annual Report should be read as being applicable to all forward-looking statements whenever they appear in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For these statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to, those detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. We maintain a corporate website at www.motivecapitalcorpii.com. The information that may be contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not incorporated by reference in, or otherwise a part of, this report.
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SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The following is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky, all of which are more fully described below in the section titled “Risk Factors.” This summary should be read in conjunction with the “Risk Factors” section and should not be relied upon as an exhaustive summary of the material risks facing our business. In addition to the following summary, you should consider the information set forth in the “Risk Factors” section and the other information contained in this Annual Report before investing in our securities.
● | 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 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. |
● | If our funds held outside the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the completion window, 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 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. |
● | The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the global markets and the sectors in which Motive Partners has historically operated. |
● | 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 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. |
● | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
● | The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their 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. |
● | Any due diligence in connection with an initial business combination may not reveal all relevant considerations or liabilities of a target business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. |
● | Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will only have 18 months (unless our sponsor extends the completion window for us to consummate our initial business combination to 24 months) to consummate an initial business combination. |
● | 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. |
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● | Our sponsor has the right to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination from 18 months to 24 months from the closing of this offering without providing our shareholders with a corresponding redemption right. |
● | Our trust account contains approximately $10.20 per public share. In the event our sponsor extends the completion window, our trust account is expected to contain approximately $10.30 per public share. As a result, public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination. |
● | We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time. |
● | Our search for a business combination, and any partner business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets. |
● | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares. |
● | If 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 have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
● | NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions. |
● | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
● | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we 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, and our warrants will expire worthless |
● | If our funds held outside the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the completion window, 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. |
● | 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. |
● | 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. |
● | 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. |
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PART I
Item 1. Business
General
We are a blank check company incorporated in July 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”) whose business purpose is to effect a business combination with one or more businesses (the “initial business combination”). We have reviewed, and continue to review, a number of opportunities to enter into an initial business combination with an operating business, but we are not able to determine at this time whether we will complete an initial business combination with any of the target businesses that we have reviewed or with any other target business. We also 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash except proceeds from our Initial Public Offering that is held in the Trust Account and invested mainly in US Treasury Bills.
On August 4, 2021, we issued an aggregate of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Founder Shares”) to Motive Capital Funds Sponsor II, LLC (our “sponsor”), for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On December 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of the independent directors. On December 6, 2021, the Company issued a dividend of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares. On December 16, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 90,639 Founder Shares for no value, resulting in 8,534,361 Class B ordinary shares outstanding.
The registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261084) for our initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 6, 2021. On December 9, 2021, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 34,137,444 units, including 4,137,444 units as a result of the underwriters’ partial exercise of their overallotment option (the “Units”), at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit. The gross proceeds from the Initial Public Offering were $341,374,440 in the aggregate (the “Offering Proceeds”).
Simultaneous with the consummation of the Initial Public Offering and the issuance and sale of the Units, the Company consummated the private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 11,769,985 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $17,654,978.
A total of $341,374,440 of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement, were placed in a trust account maintained by the Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Transaction costs amounted to approximately $19,675,594, consisting of $6,827,489 of underwriting fees, $11,948,105 of deferred underwriting fees and approximately $900,000 of other offering costs.
The balance of the funds held outside of the trust account are intended to be used primarily 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, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination. In the future, a portion of interest income on the funds held in the Trust Account may be released to us to pay tax obligations. At December 31, 2021, funds held in the Trust Account equaled $348,214,789.
Our Units began trading on December 6, 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol “MTVC U.” On January 27, 2022, we announced that the holders of the Units may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants included in the Units commencing on February 1, 2021. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Any Units not separated will continue to trade on the NYSE under the symbol “MTVC.U”. Any underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that are separated will trade on NYSE under the symbols “MTVC” and “MTVC WS,” respectively.
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Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and consummate an initial business combination with a target that can benefit from the investment, operating and innovating experience of our management team and Motive Partners GP, LLC, an affiliate of our sponsor (“Motive”). Specifically, we will focus on opportunities where we can efficiently enact our proven and replicable value creation strategy, centered around five key pillars (Strategy and M&A, Sales and Marketing, Product Development and Innovation, Operational Improvements, Talent) and leveraging the integrated platform capabilities of Motive.
We are focused on making investments in growth equity and buyout transactions in respect of which we can exercise control and/or significant influence. Although we may pursue targets in any industry, we are focused on financial software and information services companies operating at the intersection of the financial and business services sections (“financial technology”), generally headquartered in North America and Europe. Specifically, we intend to pursue financial software and information services companies that serve five main sub-sectors in financial services: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Insurance and Investment Management. We seek financial technology companies in these sub-sectors that exhibit infrastructure-like characteristics and are strategically important to their customers. As such, these businesses tend to have attractive business models, high recurring revenues, stable earnings, predictable cash flows, and can generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for shareholders.
Our selection process will leverage our management’s and Motive’s extensive relationship network, deep and specialized operational experiences and proven deal sourcing capabilities to access proprietary acquisition opportunities. We believe that our management team and Motive’s track record of identifying and sourcing transactions, coupled with our management team’s experiences with Motive Capital Corp I (“Motive Capital I”) and the steps leading up to that company’s recent merger with Forge, positions us well to appropriately evaluate potential business combinations and select one that will be well received by the public markets. Our sourcing process will leverage the extensive networks of Motive and our management team, which we believe should provide us with a number of potential business combination opportunities.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the track record and business relationships of our officers and directors. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Any such payments prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than the foregoing, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or from 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 firm which 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. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines, which we believe are essential in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these guidelines to evaluate acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
● | utilizes our management team’s and Motive’s extensive network of relationships, which enables access to proprietary and advantaged deal flow; |
● | benefits from Motive’s fully integrated platform of investment expertise, industry perspective and skillset, and technological and innovation capabilities; |
● | provides strategically important infrastructure and business services to its customers, and thus has a defensible market position with high barriers to entry against new potential market entrants; |
● | has a history of strong operating and financial results, and strong fundamentals, which can be improved further under our ownership; |
● | is prepared to be a public company and will benefit from having a public currency in order to enhance its ability to pursue accretive acquisitions, high-return product development and innovation, and/or strengthen its balance sheet; |
● | will offer an attractive risk-adjusted return for our shareholders, potential upside from growth in the target business and an improved capital structure that will be weighed against any identified downside risks; and |
● | combines attractive business fundamentals with, or with the potential for, strong ESG practices consistent with Motive’s ESG policy. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
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The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Initial Business Combination
In accordance with the rules of NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to satisfaction of such criteria. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
We anticipate structuring our 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. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the prior owners of the target business, the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
We have until June 9, 2023 to complete our initial business combination.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: (a) conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and (b) file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial Business Combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange
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Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our 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. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. Such amount will be increased by an anticipated $0.10 per public share pursuant to our sponsor’s purchase of additional private placement warrants to extend our time to consummate an initial business combination by 6 months. 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. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. 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 and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Limitations on Redemptions
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, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such 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 15% 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 15% 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.
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Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
If we have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, 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 income 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window. However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted completion window.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
Corporate Information
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have obtained a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
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Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our issued and outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, Floor 47, New York, NY 10007. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations. This office space is provided to us by our Sponsor.
Employees
We currently have three officers: Rob Heyvaert, our Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Blythe Masters, our President, and Kristy Trieste, 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.
Periodic Reporting and Audited Financial Statements
We have registered our units, ordinary shares and warrants under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accounting firm.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of a prospective target business as part of any tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statements 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 financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the JOBS Act, and will remain such for up to five years. However, if our annual gross revenue is $1.07 billion or more, if our non-convertible debt issued within a three-year period exceeds $1 billion or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million on the last day of the second fiscal quarter of any given fiscal year, we would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following fiscal year. As an emerging growth company, we have elected, under Section 107(b) of the JOBS Act, to take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards.
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, 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.
Risks Related to Our Business and Financial Position
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and all of our activities to date have been related to our formation, our initial public offering, and, since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, a search for a business combination candidate. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
We may 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, 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; |
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● | 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. |
If our funds held outside the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the completion window, 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.
As of December 31, 2021, we have approximately $1.7 million available to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we 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 warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.20 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the global markets and the sectors in which Motive Partners has historically operated.
While we intend to search for acquisition targets with a focus on businesses in the sectors in which Motive Partners has historically operated, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted business operations in these sectors. The pandemic has also resulted in, and may continue to result in, significant disruption and volatility of global financial markets. Given the ongoing impact of the virus, responsive measures taken by governmental authorities and the continuing uncertainty about its impact on society and the global economy, we cannot predict the extent to which the sectors in which Motive Partners has the most experience will be affected by the pandemic, particularly if these impacts persist or worsen. To the extent COVID-19 continues to affect the global financial markets, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section.
Risks Related to Our Proposed Initial 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 business combination.
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 stock exchange listing 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, 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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
As of December 31, 2021, our initial shareholders own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares . 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 provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. 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.
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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. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriter of our initial public offering will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets, after payment of the deferred underwriting commissions, to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination or less than such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption of our public shares and the related business combination, and we 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. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
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 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, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. The number of shares submitted for redemption also impacts the extent of dilution that you will experience as a result of our sponsor's expected ownership interests in our founder shares and private placement warrants. The more shares that are redeemed, the greater the dilution will be on a per-share basis for shareholders that do not redeem. In addition, raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the 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, which may further dilute your investment. 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 per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders 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. We may not be able to generate sufficient value from the completion of our initial business combination in order to overcome the dilutive impact of these and other factors, and, accordingly, you may incur a net loss on your investment.
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The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your 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.
Any due diligence in connection with an initial business combination may not reveal all relevant considerations or liabilities of a target business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We intend to conduct such due diligence as we deem reasonably practicable and appropriate based on the target business and the facts and circumstances applicable to the proposed transaction prior to any initial business combination. The objective of the due diligence process will be to identify material issues which might affect the decision to proceed with an initial business combination or the consideration payable in connection with such initial business combination. We also intend to use information provided during the due diligence process to formulate our business and operational planning for, and valuation of, any target company or business. While conducting due diligence and assessing a potential target business, we will rely on publicly available information (if any), information provided by the relevant target business to the extent provided and, in some circumstances, third-party studies.
The due diligence undertaken with respect to a potential initial business combination may not reveal all relevant facts that may be necessary to evaluate such transaction or to formulate a business strategy. Furthermore, the information provided during due diligence may not be adequate or accurate. As part of the due diligence process, we will also make subjective judgments regarding the results of operations, financial condition and prospects of a potential initial business combination, and these judgments may be inaccurate.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Due diligence conducted in connection with an initial business combination may not result in the initial business combination being successful. If the due diligence investigation fails to identify material information regarding an opportunity, or if we consider such material risks to be commercially acceptable relative to the opportunity, and we proceed with an initial business combination, our company may subsequently incur substantial impairment charges or other losses. In addition, following an initial business combination, we may be subject to significant, previously undisclosed liabilities of the acquired business that were not identified during due diligence and which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
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Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will only have 18 months (unless our sponsor extends the completion window for us to consummate our initial business combination to 24 months) to consummate an initial business combination. 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.
Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will only have 18 months (unless our sponsor extends the completion window for us to consummate our initial business combination to 24 months) to consummate an initial business combination. Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination within the completion window. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our sponsor has the right to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination from 18 months to 24 months from the closing of this offering without providing our shareholders with a corresponding redemption right.
We have until 18 months from the closing of the initial public offering to consummate our initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months, we may, by resolution of our board of directors if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time we will have to consummate an initial business combination by an additional 6 months (for a total of up to 24 months from the closing of this offering), subject to our sponsor purchasing additional private placement warrants. Our shareholders will not be entitled to vote on or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension. In accordance with the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, in order to extend the period of time to consummate an initial business combination in such a manner, our sponsor must purchase an additional 2,275,830 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant. This feature is different than most other special purpose acquisition companies, in which any extension of the completion window would require a vote of a special purpose acquisition company’s shareholders and, in connection with such vote, such special purpose acquisition company’s shareholders would have the right to redeem their public shares.
Our trust account contains approximately $10.20 per public share. In the event our sponsor extends the completion window, our trust account is expected to contain approximately $10.30 per public share. As a result, public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Our trust account contains approximately $10.20 per public share. In the event our sponsor extends the completion window, our trust account is expected to contain approximately $10.30 per public share. As a result, public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies with completion windows of 18 or 24 months for which the trust account will only contain $10.00 per public share. As a result of the additional funds receivable by public shareholders upon redemption of public shares, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions) at a price of $10.00 per share. The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-business combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time.
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Our search for a business combination, and any partner business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted, and other infectious diseases could result, in a widespread health crisis that has and will continue to adversely affect economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination may also be materially and adversely affected.
Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if 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 complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the severity and duration of the pandemic, including the impact of coronavirus mutations and resurgences; governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic (including restrictions on travel and transport); the development, availability and public acceptance of effective treatments or vaccines; global economic conditions and levels of economic growth; and the pace and extent of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to complete a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to coordinate as a team or to consummate a business combination may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the completion window, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such date before redemption from our trust account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the completion window, the funds 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 income 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 Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the completion window before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the funds 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.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, 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 the completion window. 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 COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect the U.S. and global economic environment and, while the extent of the impact of the pandemic 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. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the completion window, 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 income 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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We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire , 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, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present within a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders or warrant holders who choose to remain shareholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrant holders 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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Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
Although expected to focus on financial technologies companies, our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic financial technology investments globally. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibit us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders 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.
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 securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable 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 herein 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.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of 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.
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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, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, 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.
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file 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 a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
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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, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their 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 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.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
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 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.
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, 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, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not 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.
In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management may consider the availability of funds from the sale of the forward purchase units, which may be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. If the Motive Fund Vehicles decide not to exercise their right to purchase all or some of the forward purchase units, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.
We entered into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which the Motive Fund Vehicles have committed that they intend to purchase an aggregate of 10,000,000 forward purchase units, consisting of one share of Class A ordinary stock, or a forward purchase share, and one-third of one warrant to purchase one share of Class A ordinary stock, or a forward purchase warrant, for $10.00 per unit, or an aggregate amount of $100,000,000, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of our initial business combination. The proceeds from the sale of these forward purchase units, if any, are expected to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, and to pay expenses in connection with our initial business combination and may be used for working capital in the post-transaction company. If the Motive Fund Vehicles do not agree to fund some or all of the forward purchase units, the post- transaction company may not have enough cash available for working capital. The obligations under the forward purchase agreement do not depend on whether any public shareholders elect to redeem their shares in connection with our initial business combination. However, if the sale of the forward purchase units does not close, for example, by reason of the failure of the Motive Fund Vehicles or any forward transferee to fund the purchase price for their forward purchase units, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. The Motive Fund Vehicles’ obligation to purchase forward purchase units is, among other things, subject to approval, prior to our entering into a definitive agreement for our initial business combination, of their investment committees and sufficiency of capital to purchase. In determining whether to approve an initial business combination, we expect that the Motive Fund Vehicles would consider many of the same criteria that we will consider, but will also consider whether the investment is an appropriate investment for the Motive Fund Vehicles. Accordingly, if we pursue an acquisition target that is not approved by the investment committees of the Motive Fund Vehicles, such Motive Fund Vehicles would not be obligated to purchase any forward purchase units, and we may need to seek alternative financing. Additionally, the Motive Fund Vehicles’ and any forward transferee’s obligation to purchase the forward purchase units is subject to termination prior to the closing of the sale of such units by mutual written consent of the company and such party, or automatically: (i) if our initial business combination is not consummated within the completion window; or (ii) if we become subject to any voluntary or involuntary petition under the United States federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law, in each case which is not withdrawn within sixty (60) days after being filed, or a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer is appointed by a court for business or property of us, in each case which is not removed, withdrawn or terminated within sixty (60) days after such appointment. In addition, the Motive Fund Vehicles’ obligation to purchase the forward purchase units is subject to fulfilment of customary closing conditions, including that our initial business combination must be consummated substantially concurrently with the purchase of the forward purchase units. In the event of any such failure to fund by the Motive Fund Vehicles or any forward transferees, any obligation is so terminated or any such condition is not satisfied and not waived by such party, we may not be able to obtain additional funds to account for such shortfall on terms favorable to us or at all. Any such shortfall would also reduce the amount of funds that we have available for working capital of the post-business combination company.
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Affiliates of Motive Partners have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we may not be presented investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us.
Affiliates of Motive Partners currently invest, plan to invest, and/or plan to continue to invest in, incubate, and grow successful businesses in sectors across the financial services technology industry. There may be overlap of investment opportunities with affiliates of Motive Partners that are actively investing and similar overlap with future Motive Partners affiliates. This overlap could create conflicts of interest. In particular, investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us may not be presented to us by Motive. This overlap could also create conflicts in determining to which entity a particular investment 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.
Certain members of our management team may be involved in and have a greater financial interest in the performance of other Motive Partners entities, and such activities may create conflicts of interest in making decisions on our behalf.
Certain members of our management team may be subject to a variety of conflicts of interest relating to their responsibilities to Motive Partners and its other affiliates. Such individuals may serve as members of management or a board of directors (or in similar such capacity) to various other Motive Partners entities. Such positions may create a conflict between the advice and investment opportunities provided to such entities and the responsibilities owed to us. The other entities in which such individuals may become involved may have investment objectives that overlap with ours. Furthermore, certain principals and employees may have a greater financial interest in the performance of such other Motive Partners entities than our performance. Such involvement may create conflicts of interest in sourcing investment opportunities on our behalf and on behalf of such other entities.
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.
We may face risks related to financial technology businesses.
Business combinations with financial technology businesses may involve special considerations and risks. If we complete our initial business combination with a financial technology business, we will be subject to the following risks, any of which could be detrimental to us and the business we acquire:
● | if the company or business we acquire provides products or services which relate to the facilitation of financial transactions, such as funds or securities settlement system, and such product or service fails or is compromised, we may be subject to claims from both the firms to whom we provide our products and services and the clients they serve; |
● | if we are unable to keep pace with evolving technology and changes in the financial services industry, our revenues and future prospects may decline; our ability to provide financial technology products and services to customers may be reduced or eliminated by regulatory changes; |
● | any business or company we acquire could be vulnerable to cyberattack or theft of individual identities or personal data; |
● | difficulties with any products or services we provide could damage our reputation and business; |
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● | a failure to comply with privacy regulations could adversely affect relations with customers and have a negative impact on business; |
● | we may not be able to protect our intellectual property and we may be subject to infringement claims. |
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to financial technology businesses. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks will likely not affect us and we will be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, none of which can be presently ascertained.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
Risks Related to Our Operations
Past performance by our management team, Motive Partners, Motive Capital I 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, Motive Partners, Motive Capital I 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, Motive Partners, Motive Capital I 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, Motive Partners, Motive Capital I 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, Motive Partners, Motive Capital I or their affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
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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 may structure our initial business combination 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 a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post- transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, 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 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 may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained.
Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
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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. In addition, our sponsor, upon consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
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.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our 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 they 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.
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Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to continue to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
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 identify and 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, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
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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 funds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 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 $10.20 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.
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.
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 “Item 10. 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 acquired during or after the initial public offering), and because our sponsor, officers and directors who have an interest in founder shares may profit substantially from a business combination even under circumstances where our public shareholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On August 4, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 founder shares. On December 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of the independent directors. On December 6, 2021, the Company issued a dividend of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares. On December 16, 2021 our Sponsor surrendered 90,639 founders shares, resulting in 8,534,361 Class B ordinary shares outstanding. 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 such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares following our 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 11,769,985 private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $17,654,978, or $1.50 per warrant. The private placement warrants 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 expiration of the completion window nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
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Certain of our officers and directors have direct and indirect economic interests in us and/or our sponsor and such interests may potentially conflict with those of our public shareholders as we evaluate and decide whether to recommend a potential business combination to our public shareholders.
Certain of our officers and directors may own membership interests in our sponsor and indirect interests in our Class B ordinary shares and private placement warrants which may result in interests that differ from the economic interests of the investors in the initial public offering, which includes making a determination of whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. There may be a potential conflict of interest between our officers and directors that hold membership interests in our sponsor and our public shareholders that may not be resolved in favor of our public shareholders. Moreover, subject to any fiduciary duties owed as a matter of Cayman Islands law, we may pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor, clients of our sponsor or investors in our sponsor. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the business combination by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours because they hold a different portion of the capital structure. See “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers 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 expiration of the completion window nears, which is the deadline for the completion of 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.
As of December 31, 2021, our initial shareholders own 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 is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a terms for three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual 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 Company has agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of 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.
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 as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 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 warrants 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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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NYSE 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 public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.
In the event that our sponsor, 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 of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. 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 or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Governance and Shareholder Rights
Prior to the closing of our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares are the only shareholders of the Company which will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Therefore, upon the listing of our shares on the NYSE, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Prior to the closing of our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares are the only shareholders of the Company which will have the right to vote on the election of directions. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a ‘controlled company’ and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
● | we have a board that includes a majority of ‘independent directors,’ as defined under the rules of the NYSE; |
● | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
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● | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.
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 NYSE 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 NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Act 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 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.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires 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, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants (including, for these purposes, the holders of the then-outstanding forward purchase warrants) and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants, and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the forward purchase warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the forward purchase warrants, 50% of the then-outstanding forward purchase warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (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 the completion window 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 through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
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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 our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders) may be amended if approved by special resolution, under Cayman Islands law which requires 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, 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 ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares, may 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 and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) 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 the completion window 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 or directors 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.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
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 warrants, 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 (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer the founder shares before June 4, 2022 will require the prior written consent of the underwriters of our initial public offering). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter agreement prior to our initial 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 require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
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The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such units, shares, warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants (including, for these purposes, the holders of the forward purchase warrants). As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement, or defective provision, (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants (including, for these purposes, the holders of the forward purchase warrants) approve of such amendment and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants, and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the forward purchase warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the forward purchase warrants, 50% of the then-outstanding forward purchase warrants. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If (i) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities (not including any forward purchase securities) for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price (as defined in the warrant agreement) of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination, and (iii) the Market Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of our Class A ordinary shares is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value or the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value or the Newly Issued Price, respectively. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We also are subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP, 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 United States company.
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 preference shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 , we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the 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 the completion window 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 have not completed an initial business combination within the completion window, 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. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the funds held in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels, such as a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) 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 NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NYSE. For instance, following the consummation of our initial business combination, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an 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 securities; |
● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
● | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
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● | 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 units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NYSE, 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 ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis after we call the warrants for redemption or if there is no effective registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants will cause holders to receive fewer Class A ordinary shares upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.
If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option, in our sole discretion, to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis in certain circumstances. If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of Class A ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his or her warrant for cash. For example, if the holder is exercising 875 public warrants at $11.50 per share through a cashless exercise when the Class A ordinary shares have a fair market value of $17.50 per share when there is no effective registration statement, then upon the cashless exercise, the holder will receive 300 Class A ordinary shares. The holder would have received 875 Class A ordinary shares if the exercise price was paid in cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.
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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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 more than an aggregate of 15% of of our Class A ordinary shares 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 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to- one at the time of our 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 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2021, there are 465,862,556 and 41,465,639 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares at any time and from time to time at the option of the holders thereof or automatically on the day of 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. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the 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. 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 preference shares:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
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A registration statement covering Class A ordinary shares may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.
Because the warrants are not exercisable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, we do not currently intend to update the registration statement relating to the initial public offering or file a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until after the initial business combination has been consummated. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement relating to the initial public offering or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus relating to the initial public offering, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify such Class A ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were initially offered by us in this offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable to exercise such public warrants but holders of our private placement warrants may be able to exercise such private placement warrants.
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If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you will receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
Under the following circumstances, the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis: (i) If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption; (ii) if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement; and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available; and (iii) if we call the public warrants for redemption under certain circumstances described in the warrant agreement. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares calculated under the applicable provision in the warrant agreement. As a result, you would receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, if, among other things, the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the Market Value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 11,379,148 of our Class A ordinary shares as part of the units offered in the initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 11,769,985 private placement warrants, at $1.50 per warrant. In addition, if the sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
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Because each unit contains one-third of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-third of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and 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. 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 (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statements 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.
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Act, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income or otherwise subject it to adverse tax consequences in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes, other taxes or other adverse tax consequences with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target 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.
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If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
● | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
● | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
● | longer payment cycles; |
● | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
● | rates of inflation; |
● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
● | cultural and language differences; |
● | employment regulations; |
● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
● | corruption; |
● | protection of intellectual property; |
● | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
● | regime changes and political upheaval; |
● | terrorist attacks and wars; and |
● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
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We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States 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 United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
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General Risk Factors
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 Securities and Exchange Commission, 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.
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.
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 an emerging growth 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 Rule 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 any fiscal year for so long as either (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates did not exceed $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues did not exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates did not exceed $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.
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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 Report. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large 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.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a beneficial owner of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants who or that is (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source or (iv) a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person (“U.S. Holder”), such U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse United States federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception. Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, moreover, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year (of which there can be no assurance), we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
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 |
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● | 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.
We do not believe that our principal activities subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. 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 the completion window 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 the completion window, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
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.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the funds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm , and the underwriters of our initial public offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed 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 $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per 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 our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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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 account such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 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 earned thereon (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest income to pay dissolution expenses). Negative interest rates 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.
If, after we distribute the funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up 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 funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency 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 funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up 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 funds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the funds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency 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.
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.
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
Our executive offices are located at 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, Floor 47, New York, NY 10007, and our telephone number is (212) 651-0200. Our executive offices are provided to us by our sponsor and we have agreed to pay our sponsor up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services. However, at this time, the Sponsor has waived such fees until the Sponsor determines otherwise.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We are not a party to and none of our property is subject to any material pending legal proceedings.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
None.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are traded on the NYSE under the symbols “MTVC.U”, “MTVC” and “MTVC WS”, respectively. Our units commenced public trading on December 6, 2021, and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on January 27, 2022. There is no trading market for our Class B ordinary shares.
Holders
As of March 1, 2022, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our separately traded Class A ordinary shares, two holders of record of our separately traded public warrants, and 5 holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our Initial Business Combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our Initial Business Combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our Initial Business Combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our 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
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Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
On August 4, 2021, we issued an aggregate of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, to our Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On December 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of the independent directors. On December 6, 2021, the Company issued a dividend of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares. On December 16, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 90,639 Founder Shares for no value. Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Simultaneous with the consummation of the Initial Public Offering and the issuance and sale of the Units, the Company consummated the private placement of 11,769,985 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $17,654,978. The sale of the private placement warrants was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Use of Proceeds
The registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261084) for our Initial Public Offering was declared effective by the SEC on December 6, 2021. On December 9, 2021, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 34,137,444 Units, including 4,137,444 Units as a result of the underwriters’ partial exercise of their overallotment option, at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit. The gross proceeds from the Initial Public Offering were $341,374,440 in the aggregate.
A total of $341,374,440 of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement, were placed in a trust account maintained by the Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Transaction costs amounted to approximately $19,675,594, consisting of $6,827,489 of underwriting fees, $11,948,105 of deferred underwriting fees and approximately $900,000 of other offering costs. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from such use as described in the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-261084).
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 the audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Part II, 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,” “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on July 16, 2021 (inception), as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). We have not selected any Business Combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial Business Combination using cash from the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the private placement of the Private Placement Warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.
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The Registration Statement for our Public Offering was declared effective on December 6, 2021. On December 9, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 30,000,000 units (the “Units”). Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Shares”), and one-third of one redeemable warrant of the Company (“Warrant”), with each whole Warrant exercisable for one Class A Share for $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $300,000,000. The Company granted the underwriters’ in the IPO a 45-day option to purchase an additional 4,500,000 Units (the “Over-Allotment Units”) to cover over-allotments (the “Option”), if any. On December 9, 2021, simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale (the “Private Placement”) of 10,666,667 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, to the Company’s sponsor, Motive Capital Funds Sponsor II, LLC (the “Sponsor”) generating gross proceeds to the Company of $16,000,000.
On December 16, 2021, the Company consummated the closing of the Option, pursuant to which the underwriters’ purchased an aggregate of 4,137,444 Over-Allotment Units, which were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $41,374,440. On December 16, 2021, in connection with the sale of Over-Allotment Units, the Company completed a private sale of an additional 1,103,318 Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor generating gross proceeds to the Company of $1,654,978.
A total of $348,201,929, comprised of $334,546,951 of the proceeds from the IPO, including $11,948,105 of the underwriters’ deferred discount, and $13,654,978 of the proceeds from the Private Placement, were placed in a U.S.-based trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering, 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 to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from inception through December 31, 2021 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and the Company’s search for a target business with which to complete a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities. We are incurring 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 completing a Business Combination.
For the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $(144,212), which consists of formation and operating costs of $(157,072), offset by unrealized gain on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $12,860.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Until the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, our only source of liquidity was an initial purchase of Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the “Class B ordinary shares” or “Founder Shares”), by the Sponsor and loans from our Sponsor.
Following the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $348,201,929 (equal to $10.20 per Unit), comprised of $334,546,951 of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering (including $11,948,105 of the underwriters’ deferred discount) and $13,654,978 of the proceeds from the Private Placement, were placed in a U.S.-based trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. At December 31, 2021, we have a cash balance of $1,731,361 and working capital of $2,294,896.
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For the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $(1,660,755). A net loss of $(144,212) was offset by formation and operating expenses paid by the Sponsor in exchange for Founder Shares of $6,549, $(119,285) paid by the Sponsor under promissory note arrangement, gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account of $(12,380), and change in operating assets and liabilities of $(1,390,947).
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account, excluding deferred underwriting commissions, to complete our initial Business Combination. We may withdraw interest from the Trust Account to pay taxes, if any. 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.
We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily 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 a Business Combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to us. In the event that a 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 Warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant at the option of the lender. As of December 31, 2021, we did not have any outstanding 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 identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a 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 our initial Business Combination or redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than a promissory note due to the Sponsor.
The underwriters’ were paid an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $6,827,489 upon closing of the Initial Public Offering. The underwriters’ are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit sold in the Initial Public Offering plus $0.35 per Unit sold pursuant to the over-allotment option, or $11,948,105 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.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on December 9, 2021, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans) will be entitled to registration rights. The holders of the majority 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 "piggy-back" registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to completion of a Business Combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering our securities. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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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 estimates.
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
Net loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, plus, to the extent dilutive, the incremental number of shares of ordinary shares to settle warrants, as calculated using the treasury stock method. For the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the impact of the securities and other contracts that could potentially be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company, is anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted income per share is the same as basic income per share for the period presented.
The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). Earnings are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares on the assumption that the consummation of the Initial Business Combination is the most likely outcome. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities” from Equity. Ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption 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 ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable Class A ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable Class A ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August the FASB issued a new standard (ASU 2020-06) to reduce the complexity of accounting for convertible debt and other equity-linked instruments. For certain convertible debt instruments with a cash conversion feature, the changes are a trade-off between simplifications in the accounting model (no separation of an “equity” component to impute a market interest rate, and simpler analysis of embedded equity features) and a potentially adverse impact to diluted EPS by requiring the use of the if-converted method. The new standard will also impact other financial instruments commonly issued by both public and private companies. For example, the separation model for beneficial conversion features is eliminated simplifying the analysis for issuers of convertible debt and convertible preferred stock. Also, certain specific requirements to achieve equity classification and/ or qualify for the derivative scope exception for contracts indexed to an entity’s own equity are removed, enabling more freestanding instruments and embedded features to avoid mark-to- market accounting. The new standard is effective for companies that are SEC filers (except for Smaller Reporting Companies) for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 and interim periods within that year, and two years later for other companies. Companies can early adopt the standard at the start of a fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2020. The standard can either be adopted on a modified retrospective or a full retrospective basis. The Company adopted the standards effective July 16, 2021 (inception) and determined that the effects are immaterial to the Company’s financial statements.
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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Impact of COVID-19
Our Sponsor continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on our financial position, results of operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the balance date.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act and are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
As an “emerging growth company,” we are not required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis), and (iv) disclose comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five (5) years following the completion of our Public Offering or until we otherwise no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company.”
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined in Item 10(f) of Regulation S-K. As a result, pursuant to Item 305(e) of Regulation S-K, we are not required to provide the information required by this Item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Reference is made to Pages F-1 through F-6 comprising a portion of this Report.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
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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 this evaluation, 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 effective.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of the Company’s registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
For the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Directors and Executive Officers
Our directors and officers are as follows:
Name | Age | Title | |||
Rob Heyvaert | 57 | Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director | |||
Blythe Masters | 53 | President | |||
Kristy Trieste | 43 | Chief Financial Officer and Director | |||
Jill M. Considine | 77 | Director | |||
Stephen C. Daffron | 65 | Director | |||
Dina Dublon | 68 | Director | |||
Paula Madoff | 54 | Director |
Rob Heyvaert, 57, has been our Executive Chairman, our Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Motive Capital Corp II since 2021. Mr. Heyvaert previously served as the Executive Chairman and Director of Motive Capital I. Mr. Heyvaert is the Managing Partner of Motive Partners, which he founded in 2017. Mr. Heyvaert serves on the Motive Executive, Investment, Valuation and Conflicts Committees. Prior to founding Motive Partners, Mr. Heyvaert founded Capco at age 34, which was acquired by FIS, where Mr. Heyvaert served as Corporate Executive Vice President of Global Financial Solutions from 2010 to 2015. Additionally, Mr. Heyvaert was part of the Executive Management Committee of FIS and held corporate responsibility for all Enterprise Strategy related matters. Prior to founding Capco, Mr. Heyvaert founded Cimad Consultants at age 24, which was later sold to IBM, where Mr. Heyvaert was appointed global General Manager of Securities and Capital Markets and served in this role from 1996 to 1998.
We believe that Mr. Heyvaert’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his substantial experience as a financial technology executive and entrepreneur, having held senior leadership positions in the leading financial technology firms and having founded, scaled and exited two industry-leading global financial services and technology consulting firms.
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Blythe Masters, 53, has served as the President of Motive Capital Corp II since 2021. Ms. Masters previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Motive Capital I, and now serves as a Board Member of Forge Global Holdings, Inc. Ms. Masters is an Industry Partner at Motive Partners, which she joined in 2019. Prior to joining Motive Partners, Ms. Masters served from 2015 to 2018 as the CEO of Digital Asset Holdings, the leading enterprise blockchain fintech software company responsible for the Australian Securities Exchange's post trade infrastructure replacement project. Prior to joining Digital Asset Holdings, Ms. Masters was a senior executive at J.P. Morgan for 27 years from 1987 to 2014. Ms. Masters was a member of the Corporate & Investment Bank Operating Committee and firmwide Executive Committee, along with other positions including Head of Global Commodities, Head of Corporate & Investment Bank Regulatory Affairs, CFO of the Investment Bank, Head of Global Credit Portfolio and Credit Policy and Strategy and Head of Structured Credit. Ms. Masters serves as Board Member and Member of the Compensation and Risk Committees of Credit Suisse Group AG, Chair of Credit Suisse Holdings (USA) Inc., Board Member and Audit Committee Chair of GCM Grosvenor, and Board Member of CAIS. Ms. Masters is a member of the Advisory Board of the US Chamber of Digital Commerce, Figure Technologies, SandboxAQ, as well as a member of the Brookings Institution Taskforce on Financial Stability and P.R.I.M.E. Finance (the Hague based Panel of Recognized International Market Experts in Finance). Ms. Masters is a graduate and Senior Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge where she received a B.A. in Economics.
We believe that Ms. Masters’ qualifications to serve on our board of directors include her substantial experience in the finance industry, having held senior leadership positions in a large financial institution, and her extensive and varied leadership roles and board experience.
Kristy Trieste, 43, has served as Chief Financial Officer and a Director of Motive Capital Corp II since 2021. Ms. Trieste previously served as Chief Financial Officer and a Director of Motive Capital I.
Ms. Trieste is a Founding Partner, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Motive Partners since 2017. Prior to joining Motive Partners, Ms. Trieste served as Managing Director of Finance and Operations at Corsair Capital from 2009 until 2017. Prior to joining Corsair, Ms. Trieste was an Associate in the Finance and Administration group within the Principal Investment Area at Goldman Sachs from 2007 to 2009. Before joining Goldman Sachs, Ms. Trieste was an Assistant Vice President within the finance division of Corporate Investments at Deutsche Bank AG from 2006 through 2007. Ms. Trieste also worked at Ernst & Young LLP from 2000 through 2007. Ms. Trieste serves on the NY PE and VC FEA Board, a national affinity group administered by First Republic Bank. Ms. Trieste earned a B.B.A. in Accounting and Finance from James Madison University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
We believe that Ms. Trieste’s qualifications to serve on our board include her substantial experience in accounting and finance, along with her extensive experience in senior management.
Jill M. Considine, 77, has served as a Director of Motive Capital Corp II since 2021. Ms. Considine currently serves as a director of Mizuho Americas, Mizuho Securities USA, Mizuho Bank (USA), and the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC). Ms. Considine is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economics Club of New York. Ms. Considine previously served as a Director of Motive Capital I.
Previously, Ms. Considine has served as Chairman from 2014 to 2020, non-executive director from 2014 to 2020, Chair of the remuneration committee, and member of the audit and nomination committees of the London Clearing House. Ms. Considine also has served as director of Atlantic Mutual Insurance Companies, The Interpublic Group of Companies, Ambac Financial Group, and as the Chairman of Butterfield Fulcrum Group. Ms. Considine was a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for six years, serving as Chairman of the Audit and Operational Risk Committee. Ms. Considine was appointed as a trustee of the AIG Credit Facility Trust by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the US Treasury and served from 2009 until 2011.
Prior, Ms. Considine served as Senior Advisor of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and its subsidiaries from 2007 to 2008, Chairman from 2006 to 2007, and as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1999 to 2006. Before DTCC, Ms. Considine served as the President of the New York Clearing House Association from 1993 to 1998. Ms. Considine served as a Managing Director, Chief Administrative Officer, and as a member of the Board of Directors of American Express Bank Ltd. from 1991 to 1993, prior to which she was the New York State Superintendent of Banks from 1985 to 1991.
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Ms. Considine has served on the Group of Thirty Steering Committee on global clearance and settlement and as a member and speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Ms. Considine was a Presidential appointee to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations from 2003-2004. Ms. Considine was named Six Sigma Chief Executive Officer of the Year Award in 2006 and one of Crain’s New York Business 100 Most Influential Women in Business. Ms. Considine earned a B.A. with honors from St. John’s University, attended Bryn Mawr College, received an M.B.A. with honors from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and has an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law from St. John’s University.
We believe that Ms. Considine’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include her extensive financial services leadership positions in both the public and private sectors
Stephen C. Daffron, 65, has served as a Director of Motive Capital Corp II since 2021. Mr. Daffron is a Co-Founder and Industry Partner at Motive Partners which was founded in 2017. Mr. Daffron previously served on the Board of Motive Capital I. Between 2019 and 2021, Mr. Daffron served as the President of Dun & Bradstreet. Mr. Daffron serves on the Boards of QOMPLX since 2018 and E2Open since 2021. Prior to joining Motive Partners, Mr. Daffron served from 2013 to 2015 as the Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Data. Prior to Interactive Data, Mr. Daffron was the Global Head of Technology, Operations, and Data at Morgan Stanley from 2008 to 2013. Before returning to the sell-side, Mr. Daffron was Chief Operating Officer at Renaissance Technologies. Prior to this, Mr. Daffron worked for Goldman Sachs from 1993 to 2003, initiated the re-engineering of operations and technology functions across payments, derivative processing, credit risk/collateral control, and investment management. Mr. Daffron earned a B.S. from the United States Military Academy, and an MBA, MA, M.Ph. and Ph.D. from Yale.
We believe that Mr. Daffron’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his substantial experience as a financial technology executive, having held senior leadership positions in large institutions, and services on large public company boards...
Dina Dublon, 68, has served as a Director of Motive Capital Corp II since 2021. Ms.Dublon previously served as a Board member of Motive Capital I. Ms. Dublon currently serves as a Board member of PepsiCo since 2005, T Rowe Price Group since 2019 and serves on the Independent Audit Quality Committee of Ernst & Young since 2020. Ms. Dublon serves as a member of the Board of Advisors of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, member of the board of the Westchester Land Trust (WLT) and Co-Chairs Columbia Cancer Center (HICC) Advisory Council. Ms. Dublon was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., from 1998 until her retirement in 2004. Prior to this, Ms. Dublon previously held numerous positions at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its predecessor companies, including Corporate Treasurer, Managing Director of the Financial Institutions division and Head of Asset Liability management. Ms. Dublon has previously served on the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank from 2013 to 2018, the Board of Microsoft from 2005 to 2014, the Board of Accenture from 2002 to 2017, was a faculty member of Harvard Business School from 2011 to 2012 and worked at Bank Hapoalim in Israel. Ms. Dublon has also served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Women’s Refugee Commission, Global Fund for Women the Board of Advisors of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Westchester Land Trust. Ms. Dublon has been on the Fortune list of the 50 most powerful women in business for several years and has been honored as a “Woman Who Makes a Difference” by many organizations. Ms. Dublon received her B.A. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.
We believe that Ms. Dublon’s qualifications to serve on our board include her extensive leadership roles, financial expertise and her service on several large public company boards.
Paula Madoff, 54, has served as a Director of Motive Capital Corp II since 2021. Ms. Madoff previously served as a director on the board of Motive Capital I. Ms. Madoff currently serves as an Advisor to The Goldman Sachs Group. Ms. Madoff serves as a non-executive director on the boards of Power Corp of Canada since 2020, Great-West Lifeco since 2018, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust since 2018, Tradeweb since 2019, Beacon since 2018, and ICE Benchmark Administration since 2018, where she is also Chair of the ICE LIBOR Oversight Committee. Ms. Madoff has been with Goldman Sachs for 27 years where she was most recently a Partner leading Interest Rate Products and Mortgages until her retirement from this position in August 2017. Ms. Madoff has held several additional leadership positions at Goldman Sachs, including Advisory Director from 2017 to 2018, Co-Chair of the Retirement Committee, overseeing all 401(k) and pension plan assets, Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Mitsui Marine Derivatives Products, L.P., and was a member of its Securities Division Operating Committee and Firmwide New Activity Committee. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Ms. Madoff worked in Mergers and Acquisitions at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and in Corporate and Real Estate Finance at Bankers Trust.
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Ms. Madoff is a 2018 David Rockefeller Fellow, a member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board, a member of the Harvard Kennedy School Women and Public Policy Women’s Leadership Board, and a Director of Hudson River Park Friends. Ms. Madoff received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics, Cum Laude, from Lafayette College.
We believe that Ms. Madoff’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include her extensive business and management experience in financial services, along with her extensive private and public company board and committee experience.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of six members. In accordance with NYSE 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 the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Rob Heyvaert and Kristy Trieste, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Jill M. Considine and Dina Dublon, will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Stephen C. Daffron and Paula Madoff, will expire at the third annual general meeting.
Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote for the appointment of directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, which directors will be proposed by the Company’s board of directors following a nomination by the nominating and corporate governance committee. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to the rights of holders of Class B ordinary shares to appoint directors may be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting in a 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.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our sponsor, upon consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Our audit committee, our nominating and corporate governance committee and our compensation committee is composed solely of independent directors. The rules of the NYSE 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 the NYSE require that the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by our board and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
Dina Dublon, Jill M. Considine and Paula Madoff serve as members of the audit committee and Dina Dublon serves as chair of the audit committee. The Board determined that Dina Dublon, Jill M. Considine and Paula Madoff are independent within the meaning of NYSE listing standards and SEC rules applicable to audit committee members.
Each of Dina Dublon, Jill M. Considine and Paula Madoff is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Dina Dublon qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
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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 auditors; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
● | setting clear 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 independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
● | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
Dina Dublon, Jill M. Considine and Paula Madoff serve as members of the compensation committee and Paula Madoff serves as chair of the compensation committee. The Board determined that Dina Dublon, Jill M. Considine and Paula Madoff are independent within the meaning of NYSE listing standards applicable to compensation committee members.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which will detail 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 |
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● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Dina Dublon, Jill M. Considine and Paula Madoff. Jill M. Considine serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. The Board determined that Dina Dublon, Jill M. Considine and Paula Madoff are independent within the meaning of NYSE director independence standards.
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 appointment 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 charter also 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.
Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote for the appointment of directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, which directors will be proposed by the Company’s board of directors following a nomination by the nominating and corporate governance committee.
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.
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Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. Our Code of Ethics is posted on our website located at www.motivecapitalcorpii.com. If we make any amendments to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or NYSE rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website.
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 another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then- current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to identify and complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
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In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Although we have no formal policy in place for vetting potential conflicts of interest, our board of directors will review any potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis.
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Below is a table summarizing the Motive Partners-related and other entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Name | Entity/Organization | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | ||||
Rob Heyvaert | Motive Partners | Private equity investment | Managing Partner | ||||
Blythe Masters | Motive Partners | Private equity investment | Industry Partner | ||||
Forge Global Holdings, Inc. | Financial Services and Technology | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Credit Suisse Group AG | Banking and Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
GCM Grosvenor | Investment and Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
A.P. Møller Maersk | Integrated Container Logistics | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Santander Group | Banking and Financial Services | Member of International Advisory Board | |||||
Santander - Open Digital Services | Banking and Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Figure Technologies | Financial Services and Technology | Member of Advisory Board | |||||
Maxex | Financial Services and Technology | Member of Advisory Board | |||||
Kristy Trieste | Motive Partners | Private equity investment | Founder and Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Jill M. Considine | Mizuho Americas LLC | Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | ||||
Mizuho Securities USA | Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Mizuho Bank (USA) | Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Stephen C. Daffron | Motive Partners | Private equity investment | Industry Partner | ||||
QOMPLX | Risk Management | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
E2Open | Supply Chain Software | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Dina Dublon | Pepsico | Food and Beverage | Member of Board of Directors | ||||
T Rowe Price Group | Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Ernst & Young | Financial Services | Member - Independent Audit Quality Committee | |||||
Paula Madoff | Power Corp of Canada | Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | ||||
Great-West Lifeco | Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Tradeweb | Financial Services Software | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust | Financial Services | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
Beacon | Financial Services Software | Member of Board of Directors | |||||
ICE Benchmark Administration | Financial Services Software | Member of Board of Directors; Chair of the ICE LIBOR Oversight Committee |
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.
● | Our initial shareholders purchased founder shares and private placement warrants at the time of Initial Public Offering. 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 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 if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we |
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do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (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. 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 will be released from the lockup. |
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our officers and directors own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
● | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
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.
In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
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.
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 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 obtained 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. We have also entered into indemnity agreements with them.
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.
65
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. Ms. Masters, in her capacity as the President of the Company, has been awarded incentive equity in the form of a profits interest in the Sponsor. 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.
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.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares as of March 29, 2022 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 and directors; and |
● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
66
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
| Class B Ordinary Shares (2) |
| Class A Ordinary Shares |
|
|
| |||||
| Number of | | Number of | | Approximate |
| |||||
| Shares | Approximate | Shares | Approximate | Percentage |
| |||||
| Beneficially | Percentage | Beneficially | Percentage | of Voting |
| |||||
| Owned |
| of Class |
| Owned(2) |
| of Class |
| Control |
| |
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Shaolin Capital Management LLC (3) |
| |
| | | 1,855,225 |
| 5.4 |
| ||
Citadel Advisors LLC (4) |
| — |
| — |
| 2,675,000 |
| 7.8 |
| ||
Motive Capital Funds Sponsor II, LLC (our sponsor)(5) |
| 8,434,361 |
| 98.8 | % | — |
| |
| 19.8 | % |
Rob Heyvaert(5) |
| 8,434,361 |
| 98.8 | % | — |
| — |
| 19.8 | % |
Blythe Masters(6) |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — | |
Kristy Trieste(7) |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — | |
Jill M. Considine |
| 25,000 |
| * |
| — |
| — |
| * | |
Stephen C. Daffron |
| 25,000 |
| * |
| — |
| — |
| * | |
Dina Dublon |
| 25,000 |
| * |
| — |
| — |
| * | |
Paula Madoff |
| 25,000 |
| * |
| — |
| — |
| * | |
All officers and directors as a group (7 individuals) |
| 8,534,361 |
| 100 | % | — |
| — |
| 20.0 | % |
*Less than one percent
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, Floor 47, New York, NY 10007. |
(2) | 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, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.” |
(3) | Based on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 11, 2022 by Shaolin Capital Management LLC. According to its Schedule 13G, Shaolin Capital Management LLC reported having shared voting power over no Class A Ordinary Shares, sole voting power over 1,855,225 shares, shared dispositive power over no Class A Ordinary Shares and sole dispositive power over 1,855,225 shares. The Schedule 13G contained information as of December 31, 2021. The address of Shaolin Capital Management LLC is 7610 NE 4th Court, Suite 104 Miami, Florida 33138. |
(4) | Based on the Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2022 by Citadel Advisors LLC. According to its Schedule 13G/A, Citadel Advisors reported having shared voting power over 2,675,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, sole voting power over no shares, shared dispositive power over 2,675,000 Class A Ordinary Shares and sole dispositive power over no shares. The Schedule 13G/A contained information as of December 31, 2021. The address of Citadel Advisors LLC is 31 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603. |
(5) | Motive Capital Funds Sponsor II, LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of such shares. The manager of our sponsor is Motive Partners GP, LLC (“Manager”). The sole member of the Manager is Rob Exploration, LLC (“Exploration”) where Paul Luc Robert Heyvaert is the sole member. Each of Manager, Exploration and Paul Luc Robert Heyvaert may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the shares. |
(6) | Does not include any shares indirectly owned by Ms. Masters as a result of Ms. Masters’ profits interest in our sponsor. Ms. Masters disclaims beneficial ownership of any shares except to the extent of her pecuniary interest therein. |
(7) | Does not include any shares indirectly owned by this individual as a result of an interest in an affiliate of our sponsor. Each of these individuals disclaims beneficial ownership of any shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. |
67
Our initial shareholders beneficially own 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote for the election of directors in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, which directors will be proposed by the Company’s board of directors following a nomination by the nominating and corporate governance committee. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,769,985 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $17,654,977.50, in a private placement. The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants except that the private placement warrants (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below.
Motive Capital Funds Sponsor II, LLC, our sponsor, and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
On August 4, 2021, we issued to our sponsor an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share. On December 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of the independent directors. On December 6, 2021, the Company issued a dividend of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares. On December 16, 2021, our sponsor forfeited 90,639 founder shares.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,769,985 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $17,654,978, in a private placement. The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants except that the private placement warrants (i) will not be redeemable, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
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We entered into a forward purchase agreement with the Motive Fund Vehicles pursuant to which the Motive Fund Vehicles intend to purchase an aggregate of 10,000,000 forward purchase units, with each forward purchase unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share (the “forward purchase shares”) and one-third of one redeemable warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share (the “forward purchase warrant”), for a purchase price of $10.00 per forward purchase unit, or an aggregate amount of $100,000,000, in a private placement to close concurrently with the closing of a Business Combination. The proceeds from the sale of these forward purchase units, together with the amounts available to us from the trust account (after giving effect to any redemptions of public shares) and any other equity or debt financing obtained by us in connection with the business combination, will be used to satisfy the cash requirements of the business combination, including funding the purchase price and paying expenses and retaining specified amounts to be used by the post-business combination company for working capital or other purposes. The Motive Fund Vehicles may purchase less than 10,000,000 forward purchase units in accordance with the terms of the forward purchase agreement. In addition, the Motive Fund Vehicles’ commitment under the forward purchase agreement will be subject to approval, prior to our entering into a definitive agreement for our initial business combination, of their investment committees and sufficiency of capital to purchase. Pursuant to the terms of the forward purchase agreement, the forward purchase shares and the forward purchase warrants will be identical to the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units sold in our initial public offering, except that they generally will not be exercisable, transferable, assignable or salable, as applicable, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and will be subject to registration rights.
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.
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 warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. 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.
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.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors operates pursuant to a charter, which sets 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 similar 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 charter 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.
69
Pursuant to the charter, 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.
Director Independence
The rules of NYSE 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, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Our board of directors has determined that Jill M. Considine, Stephen Daffron, Dina Dublon and Paula Madoff are “independent directors” as defined in NYSE listing standards and that Jill M. Considine, Dina Dublon and Paula Madoff satisfy the additional audit committee independence requirements under applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm since inception include:
| For the period | ||
from July 16, | |||
2021 (inception) | |||
through | |||
December 31, | |||
2021 | |||
Audit Fees(1) | $ | 119,480 | |
Audit-Related Fees(2) |
| — | |
Tax Fees(3) |
| — | |
All Other Fees(4) |
| — | |
Total | $ | 119,480 |
(1) | Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm for the audit of our annual financial statements and review of financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements. |
(2) | Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. |
(3) | Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning. |
(4) | All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services. |
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statements Schedules
See the “Index” to the Financial Statements commencing on page F-1 of this Form 10-K.
All financial statements schedules are omitted since the required information is not present or is not present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedules, or because the information required is included in the financial statements and notes thereto.
We hereby file as part of this Annual Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.
Exhibit No. | Description | ||
3.1 | |||
4.1 | |||
4.2 | Description of Securities Registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act | ||
10.1 | |||
10.2 | |||
10.3 | |||
10.4 | |||
10.5 | |||
10.6 | |||
10.7 | |||
10.8 | |||
31.1 | |||
31.2 | |||
32.1 | |||
32.2 |
71
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II | ||
Date: March 29, 2022 | By: | /s/ Rob Heyvaert |
Rob Heyvaert | ||
Chief Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Rob Heyvaert | Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
Rob Heyvaert | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Kristy Trieste | Chief Financial Officer and Director | March 29, 2022 | ||
Kristy Trieste | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Jill M. Considine | March 29, 2022 | |||
Jill M. Considine | Director | |||
/s/ Stephen C. Daffron | March 29, 2022 | |||
Stephen C. Daffron | Director | |||
/s/ Dina Dublon | March 29, 2022 | |||
Dina Dublon | Director | |||
/s/ Paula Madoff | March 29, 2022 | |||
Paula Madoff | Director |
73
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholder and the Board of Directors of
Motive Capital Corp II
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Motive Capital Corp II (the "Company") as of December 31, 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in ordinary shares subject to possible redemption and shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
New York, New York
March 29, 2022
PCAOB ID NUMBER 100
F-1
Motive Capital Corp II
BALANCE SHEET
December 31, 2021
ASSETS |
| ||
Cash | $ | 1,731,361 | |
Prepaid expenses | 746,881 | ||
Other current assets | 12,100 | ||
Total current assets | 2,490,342 | ||
Marketable securities held in Trust Account |
| 348,214,789 | |
Other non-current assets | 693,680 | ||
Total Assets | $ | 351,398,811 | |
LIABILITIES, ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION, AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT |
|
| |
Current liabilities: | |||
Accounts payable | $ | 61,715 | |
Accrued expenses | 133,731 | ||
Total current liabilities | 195,446 | ||
Deferred underwriting fees payable |
| 11,948,105 | |
Total liabilities |
| 12,143,551 | |
|
| ||
Commitments and Contingencies |
|
| |
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, 34,137,444 shares at $10.20 per share | 348,201,929 | ||
|
| ||
Shareholders' deficit |
|
| |
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding |
| ||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or (excluding 34,137,444 shares subject to possible redemption) |
| — | |
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 8,534,361 shares issued and |
| 853 | |
Additional paid-in capital |
| — | |
Accumulated deficit |
| (8,947,522) | |
Total shareholders' deficit |
| (8,946,669) | |
Total Liabilities, Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption, and Shareholders' Deficit | $ | 351,398,811 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-2
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For The Period | |||
From July 16, 2021 | |||
(Inception) Through | |||
| December 31, 2021 | ||
Formation costs | $ | 28,854 | |
General and administrative expenses | 128,218 | ||
Loss from operations | (157,072) | ||
Gain on marketable securities (net), dividends and interest, held in Trust Account | 12,860 | ||
Net loss | $ | (144,212) | |
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, basic and diluted |
| 5,068,910 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | (0.01) | ||
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares, basic and diluted |
| 7,624,123 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares | (0.01) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 16, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Ordinary Shares Subject to | | | | | ||||||||||||||||
Possible Redemption | Ordinary Shares | Additional | Total | |||||||||||||||||
Class A | Class B | Paid-In | Accumulated | Shareholders' | ||||||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Amount |
|
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Capital |
| Deficit |
| Deficit | ||||||
Balance as of July 16, 2021 (inception) | | — | | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||
Issuance of ordinary shares to Sponsor | — | — | 8,625,000 | 863 | 24,137 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||
Forfeiture of Founder Shares | — | — | (90,639) | (10) | 10 | — | — | |||||||||||||
Proceeds from the sale of Units | 34,137,444 | 341,374,440 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
Paid underwriters fees | — | (6,827,489) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
Deferred underwriting fees payable | — | (11,948,105) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||
Allocation of offering proceeds to Public Warrants | — | (6,258,531) | — | — | 6,258,531 | — | 6,258,531 | |||||||||||||
Other offering costs |
| — |
| (476,562) | — | — |
| (402,790) |
| — |
| (402,790) | ||||||||
Proceeds from the sale of private placement warrants | — | — | — | — | 17,654,978 | — | 17,654,978 | |||||||||||||
Accretion of Class A ordinary shares to redemption value |
| — | 32,338,176 | — | — | (23,534,866) | (8,803,310) | (32,338,176) | ||||||||||||
Net loss |
| — |
| — | — | — |
| — |
| (144,212) |
| (144,212) | ||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2021 | 34,137,444 | $ | 348,201,929 | 8,534,361 | $ | 853 | $ | — | $ | (8,947,522) | $ | (8,946,669) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For The Period | |||
From July 16, 2021 | |||
(Inception) Through | |||
December 31, 2021 | |||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities |
|
| |
Net Loss | $ | (144,212) | |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
| |
Gain on marketable securities (net), dividends and interest, held in Trust Account | (12,860) | ||
Formation and operating expenses funded by note payable through Sponsor | (119,285) | ||
Formation and operating expenses paid in exchange for Founder Shares | 6,549 | ||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||
Prepaid expenses |
| (746,881) | |
Other assets | (705,780) | ||
Accounts payable | 61,715 | ||
Net cash used in operating activities | (1,660,754) | ||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities |
| ||
Investment of cash into Trust Account |
| (348,201,929) | |
Net cash used in investing activities | (348,201,929) | ||
|
| ||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities |
|
| |
Proceeds from sale of Class A shares, gross |
| 341,374,440 | |
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | 17,654,978 | ||
Offering costs paid | (7,435,374) | ||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
| 351,594,044 | |
| |||
Net increase in cash |
| 1,731,361 | |
Cash - beginning of period |
| — | |
Cash - end of period | $ | 1,731,361 | |
| |||
| |||
Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: | |||
Offering costs included in accrued expenses | $ | 133,731 | |
Offering costs paid through promissory note - related party | $ | 119,285 | |
Offering costs paid through prepaid legal expense funded by sponsor | $ | 18,452 | |
Deferred underwriting fees payable | $ | 11,948,105 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations, Liquidity, and Basis of Presentation
Organization and General
Motive Capital Corp II (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on July 16, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering described below, and search for a target for business combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Public Offering (as defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
On December 9, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 30,000,000 units (the “Units”). Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Shares”), and
-third of one redeemable warrant of the Company (“Warrant”), with each whole Warrant exercisable for one Class A Share for $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $300,000,000. The Company granted the underwriters’ in the IPO a 45-day option to purchase an additional 4,500,000 Units (the “Over-Allotment Units”) to cover over-allotments (the “Option”), if any. On December 16, 2021, the Company consummated the closing of the Option, pursuant to which the underwriters’ purchased an aggregate of 4,137,444 Over-Allotment Units, which were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $41,374,440(Note 3).On December 9, 2021, simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale (the “Private Placement”) of 10,666,667 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, to the Company’s sponsor, Motive Capital Funds Sponsor II, LLC (the “Sponsor”) generating gross proceeds to the Company of $16,000,000, which is described in Note 4. On December 16, 2021, in connection with the sale of Over-Allotment Units, the Company completed a private sale of an additional 1,103,318 Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor generating gross proceeds to the Company of $1,654,978.
A total of $348,201,929, comprised of $334,546,951 of the proceeds from the IPO, including $11,948,105 of the underwriters’ deferred discount, and $13,654,978 of the proceeds from the Private Placement, were placed in a U.S.-based trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) the completion of the Company’s initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemptions in connection with its initial business combination or to redeem 100% of its public shares if the Company does not complete its initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO with a Sponsor option to extend to 24 months or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of the Company’s public shares if it has not completed its initial business combination within 18 months (with a Sponsor option to extend to 24 months) from the closing of the IPO, subject to applicable law.
F-6
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in Trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company only intends to complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.20 per Unit sold in the Public Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”) located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earliest of: (i) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with its initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s public shares if it does not complete its initial Business Combination within the Completion Window 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 the Completion Window, the Company’s return of the funds held in the trust account to its public shareholders as part of its redemption of the public shares.
The Company will provide the holders of the Company’s issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares (the “Public Shareholders”), par value $0.0001 per share, sold in the Public Offering (the “Public Shares”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote 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 for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.20 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 5). These Public Shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” If the Company seeks shareholder approval, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. The Company will not redeem the Public Shares in connection with a Business Combination in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and file tender offer documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval, the Company will offer to redeem the Public Shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and any Public Shares they may acquire during or after the Public Offering in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
F-7
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association will 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 redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company. The holders of the Founder Shares (the “initial shareholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Completion Window (as defined below) or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within (A) the 18-month period from the closing of this offering, (B) the 24-month period from the closing of this offering if the Sponsor has extended the period of time for the Company to consummate a Business Combination by purchasing additional private placement warrants, or (C) such other time period in which the Company must consummate a Business Combination pursuant to an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the “Completion Window”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than
business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account, if any (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law.The initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Completion Window. However, if the initial shareholders acquire Public Shares in or after the Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Completion Window. The underwriters’ have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within in the Completion Window and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.20. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (except for 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 (a “Target”), reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per 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 Target that 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 the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters’ of the 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 Company’s 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 any monies held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $1,731,361 of cash and a working capital of $2,294,896. Further, the Company’s liquidity needs are satisfied through using proceeds that is not held in Trust Account to pay for existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and
F-8
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Initial Business Combination.
If the Company’s estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence, and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to an initial Business Combination. Moreover, the Company may need to obtain additional financing either to complete an initial Business Combination or because it becomes obligated to redeem a significant number of its public shares upon completion of an initial Business Combination, in which case the Company may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such initial Business Combination. Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing.
Risk and Uncertainties
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak 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.
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 an emerging growth 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. 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 that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
F-9
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgement. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $250,000. At December 31, 2021, the Company had not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet primarily due to its short-term nature. The marketable securities held in the Trust Account have underlying investments comprised of U.S. Treasury Bills that are assets are assessed as Level 1 instruments due to their nature.
Warrant Instruments
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the instruments’ specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the instruments are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the instruments meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the instruments are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares and whether the instrument holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, was conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the instruments are outstanding.
The Company has concluded that the Public Warrants and Private Warrants issued pursuant to the warrant agreement qualify for equity accounting treatment.
F-10
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Offering Costs
Offering costs consist of legal, accounting, and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering and were charged to temporary equity upon completion of the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs were $891,451 for the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021. These costs were allocated between the instruments sold in connection with the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs allocated to public and private placement warrants are charged against additional paid-in capital and those allocated to Class A ordinary shares are charged against the carrying value of Class A ordinary shares.
Net Loss Per Ordinary share
Net loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares issued and outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of their warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and private placement to purchase Class A ordinary shares, in the calculation of diluted income per share, as their inclusion is contingent on a future event.
For the period from July 16, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, the impact of the securities and other contracts that could potentially be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company, is anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted income per share is the same as basic income per share for the period presented.
The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). Earnings are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares on the assumption that the consummation of the Initial Business Combination is the most likely outcome. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
A reconciliation of the net loss per ordinary share is as follows:
| For The Period | ||
From July 16, 2021 | |||
(Inception) Through | |||
December 31, 2021 | |||
Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares |
|
| |
Numerator: Net loss allocable to Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares | $ | (57,590) | |
Denominator: Weighted Average Share Outstanding, Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares |
|
| |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Redeemable Class A |
| 5,068,910 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Redeemable Class A | $ | (0.01) | |
Non-Redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares |
|
| |
Numerator: Net loss allocable to non-redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares |
|
| |
Net loss allocable to non-redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares | $ | (86,622) | |
Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Class B Ordinary Shares |
| 7,624,123 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Non-Redeemable Class B | $ | (0.01) |
F-11
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties at December 31, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman federal income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
F-12
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August the FASB issued a new standard (ASU 2020-06) to reduce the complexity of accounting for convertible debt and other equity-linked instruments. For certain convertible debt instruments with a cash conversion feature, the changes are a trade-off between simplifications in the accounting model (no separation of an “equity” component to impute a market interest rate, and simpler analysis of embedded equity features) and a potentially adverse impact to diluted EPS by requiring the use of the if-converted method. The new standard will also impact other financial instruments commonly issued by both public and private companies. For example, the separation model for beneficial conversion features is eliminated simplifying the analysis for issuers of convertible debt and convertible preferred stock. Also, certain specific requirements to achieve equity classification and/ or qualify for the derivative scope exception for contracts indexed to an entity’s own equity are removed, enabling more freestanding instruments and embedded features to avoid mark-to- market accounting. The new standard is effective for companies that are SEC filers (except for Smaller Reporting Companies) for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 and interim periods within that year, and two years later for other companies. Companies can early adopt the standard at the start of a fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2020. The standard can either be adopted on a modified retrospective or a full retrospective basis. The Company adopted the standard effective July 16, 2021 (inception) and determined that the effects are immaterial to the Company’s financial statements.
The Company’s management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, If currently adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had $1,731,361 in cash and no cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021. Also, there are no cash equivalents in the Trust Account as of December 31, 2021.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2021, the assets held in the Trust Account were substantially held in mutual funds with underlying investments comprised of U.S. Treasury Bills. These securities, due to their nature, are assessed as a Level 1 instrument.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
All of the Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Therefore, all Class A ordinary shares have been classified outside of permanent equity.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable Class A ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable Class A ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.
F-13
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
At December 31, 2021, 34,137,444 ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value ($10.20) as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Gross proceeds |
| $ | 341,374,440 |
Less: |
|
| |
Class A ordinary shares issuance costs |
| (19,252,156) | |
Fair value of Public Warrants at issuance |
| (6,258,531) | |
Plus: |
|
| |
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value |
| 32,338,176 | |
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 348,201,929 |
Note 3 — Public Offering
Pursuant to the Public Offering and the underwriters’ exercise of their overallotment option, the Company sold 34,137,444 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A ordinary shares, and - third of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On August 4, 2021, the Sponsor acquired 7,187,500 founder shares (the “Founder Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, consisting of 7,187,500 Class B founder shares. On December 6, 2021, the Company issued a dividend of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. On December 16, 2021, the Sponsor forfeited 90,547 Class B ordinary shares due to partial exercise of underwriters’ overallotment option. As of December 31, 2021, there are 8,534,361 Class B ordinary shares issued and . The per share purchase price of the Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the Company by the aggregate number of Founder Shares issued.
Class B Founder Shares
The Class B founder shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares at any time and from time to time at the option of the holders thereof or automatically on the day of the consummation of the Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, and recapitalizations, In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities (as defined herein) are issued or deemed issued in connection with the 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, 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, including any forward purchase securities but 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 Business Combination and any private placement warrants issued to the Sponsor or the Company’s officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of Class B founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. Prior to the initial business combination, only holders of Class B founder shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors.
Private Placement Warrants
The Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,769,985 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, or approximately $17,654,978 in a private placement that occurred substantially concurrent with the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per ordinary share.
F-14
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants to the Sponsor will be added to the proceeds from the Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Completion Window, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable (except as described below in Note 6 under “Warrants — Redemption of Public Warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00”) so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.
The purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants will agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants (except to permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination. The Sponsor may purchase up to 2,300,000 additional Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in order to extend the period of time the Company will have to complete an initial business combination by six months (for a total of up to 24 months to complete an initial business combination from the closing if the Public Offering).
Related Party Loans – Promissory Note
On August 4, 2021, the sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 (the “Promissory Note”) to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. The Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2021 or (ii) the consummation of the Public Offering. On December 10, 2021, the Company paid off the outstanding balance under the Promissory Note and the facility is no longer available to the Company.
Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
F-15
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Expressions of Interest and Forward Purchase Agreement
In connection with the consummation of the Public Offering, the Company will enter into a forward purchase agreement with fund vehicles managed by an affiliate of Motive Partners (collectively the “Motive Fund Vehicles”), pursuant to which the Motive Fund Vehicles will have the option to purchase from the Company 10,000,000 forward purchase units, with each forward purchase unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share, or a forward purchase share, and
of one warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share, or a forward purchase warrant, for $10.00 per unit, or an aggregate amount of $100,000,000, in a private placement that will close concurrently with the closing of the initial business combination. The proceeds from the sale of these forward purchase units, together with the amounts available to the Company from the trust account (after giving effect to any redemptions of public shares) and any other equity or debt financing obtained by the Company in connection with the business combination, will be used to satisfy the cash requirements of the business combination, including funding the purchase price and paying expenses and retaining specified amounts to be used by the post-business combination company for working capital or other purposes. The Motive Fund Vehicles may purchase less than 10,000,000 forward purchase units in accordance with the terms of the forward purchase agreement. In addition, the Motive Fund Vehicles commitment under the forward purchase agreement will be subject to approval, prior to the Company entering into a definitive agreement for the initial business combination, of their investment committees and sufficiency of capital to purchase. The forward purchase shares will be identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being sold in the Public Offering, except that they will be subject to transfer restrictions and registration rights. The forward purchase warrants will have the same terms as the Public Warrants and are equity classified.There can be no assurance that the Motive Fund Vehicle will acquire any Units in the Public Offering or what amount of equity the Motive Fund Vehicle will retain, if any, upon the consummation of the Company’s initial business combination.
Note 5 — Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans), will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement to be signed prior to the consummation of the Public Offering. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement will provide that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriter was entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $6,827,489 which was paid from proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and exercise of the underwriters’ overallotment option. An additional fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $11,948,105 will be payable to the underwriter for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter 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.
Note 6 — Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares and Shareholders’ Deficit
Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $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. December 31, 2021, there were no preference shares issued or .
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. At December 31, 2021, there were 34,137,444 Class A ordinary shares issued and , all of which were subject to possible redemption and were classified outside of permanent equity at the balance sheet date.
F-16
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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. At December 31, 2021, 8,534,361 Class B ordinary shares were issued and .
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares shall have the right to vote on the election of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination.
Warrants — As of December 31, 2021, an aggregate of 11,379,148 public warrants and 11,769,985 private warrants were outstanding. Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination provided that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of its initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at the Company’s option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, the Company’s will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes (other than any forward purchase securities) in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor, initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor, initial shareholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions) and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described under “Redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares” and “Redemption of warrants for cash” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants, except that (i) they will not be redeemable, (ii) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.
F-17
MOTIVE CAPITAL CORP II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Redemption of Public Warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00:
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
● | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and |
● | if, and only if the last reported sale price of Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted). |
The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a cashless basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.
The Company will not redeem the public warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the sale of the shares of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period or the Company requires the Public Warrants to be exercised on a cashless basis as described below.
If the Company calls the warrants for redemption as described above, its management will have the option to require any holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” If the Company takes advantage of this option, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. The “10-day average closing price” means, as of any date, the average last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares as reported during the 10-trading day period ending on the trading day prior to such date.
Note 7 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through March 29, 2022, the date 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, other than as described below.
On January 25, 2022, the Company announced that starting January 27, 2022, the holders of the Company’s units (the “Units”) may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the Units. Those Units not separated will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MTVC U,” and each of the Class A ordinary shares stock and warrants that are separated will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under symbols “MTVC” and “MTVC WS,” respectively.
F-18