Porch Group, Inc. - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019
☐ 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: 001-39142
PropTech Acquisition Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 83-2587663 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
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(I.R.S. Employer |
3485 N. Pines Way, Suite 110 Wilson, WY |
83104 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number: (847) 477-7963
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered | ||
Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share |
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PTAC | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | |
Redeemable Warrants | PTACW | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
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Units, each consisting of one share of Class A Common Stock and one-half of one Redeemable Warrant | PTACU | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See 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 is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
As of June 28, 2019, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the registrant’s securities were not publicly traded. The registrant’s units began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on November 22, 2019 and the registrant’s Class A common stock and warrants began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on January 13, 2020.
As of March 19, 2020, there were 17,250,000 shares of Class A common stock and 4,312,500 shares of Class B common stock of the registrant issued and outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:
● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
● | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
● | failure to maintain the listing on, or the delisting of our securities from, Nasdaq or an inability to have our securities listed on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange following our initial business combination; |
● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or |
● | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. These risks and others described under “Risk Factors” may not be exhaustive.
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By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this report. In addition, even if our results or operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.
Unless otherwise stated in this report, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
● | “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively; |
● | “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof as described herein; |
● | “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares (or their permitted transferees); |
● | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
● | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering; |
● | “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in such offering or thereafter in the open market); |
● | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
● | “public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and to any private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination; |
● | “sponsor” are to HC PropTech Partners I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
● | “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees; and |
● | “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to PropTech Acquisition Corporation. |
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Item 1. | Business. |
Overview
We are an early stage blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and recently 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, which we refer to throughout this Report as our initial business combination.
While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we are currently concentrating our efforts in identifying businesses that provide technological innovation to the real estate industry, or PropTech. As the largest asset class in the United States, the real estate industry is vast and includes, but is not limited to: (i) commercial real estate such as office buildings, multi-family buildings, retail centers, industrial warehouses, hotels, self-storage facilities, medical office buildings, student housing, senior housing and data centers; and (ii) residential real estate such as single family homes and condominiums. Within the real estate industry, we are focused on businesses that provide technology solutions to make the real estate industry more accessible, affordable, autonomous, connected, data-driven, digital, dynamic, efficient, experiential, flexible, productive, profitable, smart, transparent, and virtual.
New demand drivers are emerging across all sectors of the real estate industry—traditionally one of the most illiquid, opaque, fragmented, and low-tech asset classes in the U.S. economy. These trends are prompting entrepreneurs to create technologies and companies that digitally transform and disrupt the outdated technology and operating models of real estate. For example, the sharing economy catalyzed space-as-a-service operating models such as collaborative workspace and co-living, which are disrupting the office and residential sectors; modular technology and internet of things, or IoT, are reshaping property design, construction, and operations; crowdfunding platforms are expanding real estate ownership to a broader and distributed pool of participants; and the proliferation of data is allowing for the application of financial technology, or FinTech, solutions to real estate and data-driven property management, investment, and asset management tools.
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We are seeking to acquire businesses that offer innovative software, hardware, products, operations, or services that are technologically equipped to improve property ownership; property financing; property valuation; property operations; property management; leasing; property insurance; real estate asset management and investment management; design, construction, and development. These businesses, therefore, have a large market audience and many different customers, including landlords, tenants, developers, operators, managers, brokers, investors, lenders, architects, engineers, and general contractors.
We are seeking to acquire established businesses of scale that we believe are poised for continued growth with capable management teams and proven unit economics, but potentially in need of financial, operational, strategic or managerial enhancement to maximize value. We do not intend to acquire startup companies, companies with speculative business plans, or companies that are excessively leveraged.
Business Opportunity Overview
Real estate investment represents a significant segment of the U.S. economy. In 2018, the National Association of Real Estate Trusts estimated the total value of commercial real estate in the U.S. to be $16 trillion, and Zillow estimated the total value of residential real estate in the U.S. to be $33 trillion. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, real estate investment comprised the largest non-government share of U.S. GDP, with $3.3 trillion of total spending in 2018, representing 17.4% of U.S. GDP. Yet, nearly every industry other than real estate has been disrupted by new, innovative technologies, funded by a significant larger relative share of venture capital investment. Real estate, however, has received a relatively small share of venture capital investment. This disparity is particularly pronounced given the significant size of the real estate sector as a percentage of the U.S. economy. We believe this dynamic can be characterized as the real estate “innovation funding gap.”
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Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Pitchbook, CRETech, Metaprop and Unissu.
Note: Data only represents US VC Funding. Industry share of US GDP represents value added to the US economy.
The way that buildings are constructed, managed, leased, and traded has not changed materially for decades and information technology spending for commercial real estate firms represents just 1.0% of revenues, as compared to 3.0% of revenues across all other industry sectors. We believe traditional real estate owners and operators have not meaningfully invested in innovation, which has led to the innovation funding gap. The next generation of PropTech companies have identified this lack of innovation as an immediate opportunity. This metamorphosis is already underway. According to Unissu, over 7,000 PropTech companies have emerged, and according to CRETech, global investment in PropTech has increased from $33 million in 2010 to over $9.6 billion in 2018. We expect venture capital investment into PropTech to accelerate.
Despite the relative dearth of venture capital funding in PropTech, private investors have recognized the opportunity, as evidenced by the accelerating pace of PropTech funding relative to other sectors. The public markets have also supported PropTech companies including AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF), which has pioneered building automation through software-as-a-service platforms, Zillow (NASDAQ: ZG) has changed the way people think about buying or renting their next home and CoStar (NASDAQ: CSGP) has changed the way that data is aggregated and analyzed (e.g. LoopNet, Apartments.com, ForRent.com).
We believe that the combination of these trends has created a compelling growth proposition for well-managed, scalable PropTech companies with a proven product/market fit, for the following reasons: (i) the tremendous size (i.e. total addressable market) of the real estate economy; (ii) the stark innovation funding gap (i.e. the opportunity) that presently exists in the PropTech space; and (iii) the current robust private market appetite (i.e. investor recognition) for PropTech companies.
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As PropTech businesses grow, we believe that they will require access to the public markets to access capital for growth. Historically, companies have accessed public markets through initial public offerings, or IPOs. However, the number of IPOs in recent years has diminished. An average of 159 technology companies went public each year during the 1990s, according to the research firm Deal Logic. However, since 2010, the average number of IPOs has plummeted to only 35 per year, a 78% decrease. Generally, IPO slots are relatively available to companies that are larger and older and relatively unavailable to smaller companies (less than $1 billion in valuation). Further, the current IPO market has predominantly backed unicorns, which are companies that have a valuation in excess of $1.0 billion. For example, the median market capitalization of a venture-backed IPO soared from about $660 million in 2012 to over $1.5 billion in 2018. Today, the few available IPO slots are limited to companies that are larger.
Limited IPO slots creates a dilemma for management and shareholders of many established and scalable PropTech companies that have valuations below $1.0 billion. These companies also require access to public markets and capital to grow, but can currently only access private capital, which is typically complex and staged. The only viable exit route for these pre-unicorn PropTech companies is a strategic sale, which can be an unattractive option for current management who desire to maintain some level of control over their businesses. Ultimately, we believe this disparity creates a long-term opportunity to unlock shareholder value through a business combination with an established and growing PropTech business that has a valuation up to $1.0 billion. Additionally, it provides a persuasive argument for such companies to merge with us, as we believe we offer an attractive alternative to the limited private growth options available to these companies. Our strategy is to identify, evaluate, acquire and, after our initial business combination, continue to grow, a compelling PropTech business.
Competitive Strengths
Experienced Management Team with Deal Sourcing Network
Our team is led by co-CEOs Thomas D. Hennessy and M. Joseph Beck. With a combined 24 years of real estate experience, Messrs. Hennessy and Beck bring a unique track record, exclusive relationships, and deep expertise that is suited to take advantage of the growing set of acquisition opportunities in the U.S. PropTech space and to create shareholder value. Mr. Hennessy has served as the Managing Partner of Real Estate Strategies of Hennessy Capital LLC since July 2019. Mr. Hennessy served from 2014 to 2019 as a Portfolio Manager of ADIA, the world’s largest institutional real estate investor. While at ADIA, Mr. Hennessy was responsible for managing office, residential, and retail assets in the U.S. totaling over $2.1 billion of net asset value or $5.0 billion of gross asset value. Additionally, Mr. Hennessy executed over $900.0 million of equity commitments to U.S. real estate acquisitions, developments, and funds. Mr. Hennessy also conceived and led ADIA’s PropTech initiative and investment mandate, which included extensive due diligence on every major U.S. PropTech venture capital fund as well as meetings with numerous PropTech founders and companies. Mr. Hennessy’s PropTech efforts at ADIA resulted in assembling a global team of investment professionals, creating a network and relationships with the major global PropTech participants and ultimately making a significant investment into PropTech.
Mr. Beck served from 2012 to 2019 as a Senior Investment Manager of ADIA, working alongside Mr. Hennessy. While at ADIA, Mr. Beck was responsible for managing office, residential, industrial and retail assets in the U.S. totaling over $2.7 billion of net asset value or $3.6 billion of gross asset value. Additionally, Mr. Beck executed over $2.6 billion of equity commitments to U.S. real estate acquisitions, developments, and funds. Mr. Beck’s primary focus at ADIA was acquiring, executing, and managing a 10-asset portfolio of assets in Silicon Valley, where he established a superior network and access to major Silicon Valley real estate players, including technology tenants, landlords, brokers and developers.
Our management team’s contacts and relationships are extensive across both the real estate and the property technology landscape, providing superior access to PropTech. With regard to real estate, our network includes best-in-class owners, operators, developers, tenants, lenders, brokers, service providers and advisors. With regard to PropTech, our network includes partners at U.S. PropTech venture capital funds, founders of next generation space-as-a-service operators, and a significant number of real estate technology entrepreneurs. We are leveraging this network to gain exclusive access to and identify attractive target businesses in PropTech.
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In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including real estate market participants, real estate private equity and generalist venture capital groups, investment banking firms, consultants, legal and accounting firms and large business enterprises. Members of our management team are communicating actively with our networks of relationships to articulate parameters for a potential business combination target.
Board of Directors
We have a group of highly accomplished and engaged independent directors who bring to us public company governance, executive leadership, operations oversight and capital markets expertise. Our board members have served as directors, officers, partners and other executive and advisory capacities for publicly-listed and privately-owned companies and private equity and venture capital firms. Our directors have extensive experience with acquisitions, divestitures and corporate strategy and possess relevant domain expertise in the sectors where we expect to source business combination targets. We believe their collective expertise, contacts and relationships make us a highly desirable merger partner. Finally, all of our directors are individual investors in our sponsor.
In addition to supporting us in the areas of, assessment of key risks and opportunities and due diligence, members of our board of directors may also advise us after the completion of our business combination in overseeing our strategy and value creation plan where relevant expertise exists.
In addition to our independent directors, we have recruited two highly accomplished senior advisors who bring to us significant special purpose acquisition company experience. Our senior advisors advise us on public company governance, executive leadership, and capital markets expertise. Our senior advisors have served as directors, officers, and partners for publicly-listed and privately-owned companies and private equity firms. In addition to advising us in the areas of, assessment of key risks and opportunities and due diligence, members our senior advisors may also advise us after the completion of our business combination in overseeing our strategy and value creation plan where relevant expertise exists.
Past performance of our management team or advisors is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical performance record of our management team or advisors as indicative of our future performance. Additionally, in the course of their respective careers, members of our management team have been involved in businesses and deals that were unsuccessful. Our officers and directors have no experience with special purpose acquisition companies. In addition, our officers and directors may have conflicts of interest with other entities to which they owe fiduciary or contractual obligations with respect to initial business combination opportunities.
We believe that we are unique among listed SPAC vehicles due to our management’s extensive research, analysis, credentials, and relationships with respect to U.S. PropTech. As PropTech is a relatively nascent technology sector, we believe that a key differentiator in the space will be combining real estate and PropTech investment expertise with real-time, superior access to the entrepreneurs that are driving the rapid growth of PropTech and venture capital investors that are funding this growth.
When taken together, we believe that our management team’s proprietary PropTech network and experience investing in both real estate and PropTech, our Board’s extensive management, private equity, venture capital, and technology experience, as well as our advisors’ successful SPAC track record, position us to identify an attractive PropTech target and close an initial business combination with such target.
Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective targets. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating 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.
● | Real Estate Technology. We are seeking to invest in one or more businesses with a focus on PropTech, a domain in which we have a substantial track record, deep experience, and pattern recognition knowledge. Our management team and advisors’ multifaceted expertise in assessing a target’s applicability to real estate are key in evaluating business transaction candidates. |
● | Target Business Size. We are seeking to invest in one or more businesses with an aggregate enterprise value of up to $1 billion (pre-unicorn status), determined in the sole discretion of our officers and directors according to reasonably accepted valuation standards and methodologies. This segment is where we believe we have a superior and proprietary network to identify the greatest number of attractive opportunities. |
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● | Proven Unit Economics and Growing Companies. We are seeking to invest in one or more businesses that have generated attractive unit economics at scale. We are focusing on businesses that have established and growing revenue streams. We do not intend to acquire startup companies, companies with speculative business plans, or companies that are excessively leveraged. |
● | Competitive Position. We intend to invest in one or more businesses that have a leading, growing or unique niche market position in their respective sectors. We will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of target businesses relative to their competitors. We are seeking to invest in one or more businesses that demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, including capable management team, defensible proprietary technology, strong adoption rates, and relevant domain expertise. |
● | Capable Management Team. We are seeking to invest in one or more businesses that have experienced management teams or those that provide a platform for us to assemble an effective and capable management team. We are focusing on management teams with a proven track record of driving revenue growth and creating value for their shareholders. |
● | Benefit from Being a Public Company. We intend to invest in one or more businesses that will benefit from being publicly listed and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital and the public profile to grow and accelerate shareholder value creation. |
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 find an opportunity that has characteristics more compelling to us than the characteristics described above, we would pursue such opportunity.
Our Business Combination Process
In evaluating prospective business combinations, we have conducted and will continue to conduct a thorough due diligence review process that encompasses and will continue to encompass, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We also utilize our expertise analyzing target companies and evaluating operating projections, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, advisors or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, advisors or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team and our advisors directly or indirectly own our founders shares, common stock and/or private placement warrants, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
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Each of our officers and directors presently has, and many 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. 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 opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, as we believe any such opportunities presented would be smaller than what we are interested in, in different fields than what we would be interested in, or to entities that are not themselves in the business of engaging in business combinations. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our officers have agreed not to become officers of any other special purpose acquisition companies with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have liquidated the trust account.
Our Management Team
Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs and intend to continue doing so until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team devotes in any time period may vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process. We believe our management team’s and our advisors’ operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in many industries. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.
Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
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Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to 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, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following November 26, 2024, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Financial Position
With funds available in the trust account for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $166,462,500, after payment of $6,037,500 of deferred underwriting fees, in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
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If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.
Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will continue to be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses will continue to be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources will also continue to introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources have read our public filings and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, will continue to bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of 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 may receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their affiliates. While we do not presently engage 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, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction, 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 finder’s fees 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 our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered 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). Although none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, are allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination, we do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors and advisors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements are not used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or advisors or making the initial 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 an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or advisors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions 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.
If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management has virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we are not permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
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We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the “Investment Company Act”. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock 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 stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, we conduct a thorough due diligence review, which encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of 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.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
● | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and |
● | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
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We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction |
Whether Stockholder Approval is Required | |
Purchase of assets | No | |
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | No | |
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | No | |
Merger of the company with a target | Yes |
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
● | we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding; |
● | any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
● | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
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Permitted Purchases of our Securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, 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. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial 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 warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
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Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock 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 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 described herein. The amount in the trust account as of December 31, 2019 is approximately $10.01 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”). 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 any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we are required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
● | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
● | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our 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 Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
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If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
● | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
● | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 6,468,751, or 37.5%, of the 17,250,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted; or 1,078,126, or 6.25%, assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and assuming our sponsor, officers and directors do not purchase any public shares) in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock 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 shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
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Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed initial 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 stockholder holding an aggregate of 15% or more of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial 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 stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with Redemption Rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the meeting held to approve a proposed initial business combination by a date set forth in the proxy materials mailed to such holders or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy materials until the date set forth in such proxy materials to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the initial business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
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If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until May 26, 2021.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering (or until May 26, 2021) to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021, 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021.
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 by May 26, 2021. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after our 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 by May 26, 2021.
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 certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock 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 will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from the approximately $1.4 million of proceeds held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2019), although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
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If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we have sought and will continue to seek to have all vendors, service, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. 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. 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.
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. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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 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. 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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In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so 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. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor has to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have access to up to approximately $1.4 million held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2019) with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that if a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021, 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following May 26, 2021 and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
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Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations are limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination by May 26, 2021, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still be able to exercise their redemption rights in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.
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Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we have encountered and may continue to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. 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 greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses is limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the initial business combination of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Employees
We currently have two officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs and intend to continue doing so until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they 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 initial business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are registered under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, this Report contains financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 as required by 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 company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination. We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
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We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following November 26, 2024, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Risk Factors. |
You should carefully consider the following risk factors and all the other information contained in this Report, including the financial statements. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risk factors described below are not necessarily exhaustive and you are encouraged to perform your own investigation with respect to us and our business.
We are a recently formed early stage 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 recently formed early stage company with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We 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.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the initial business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or will allow stockholders 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 stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 6,468,751, or 37.5%, of the 17,250,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted; or 1,078,126, or 6.25%, assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and assuming our sponsor, officers and directors do not purchase any public shares) in order to have our initial business combination approved. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the initial business combination.
Since our board of directors may complete an initial business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote.
Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential 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 stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 an initial business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into an initial business combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders 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 initial business combination. Furthermore, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 as described above upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which 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 to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition, each as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into an initial business combination with us.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 stockholders 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. 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 common stock results in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to Cantor will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders 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 stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
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The ability of our public stockholders 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 stock.
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 stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock 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 our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets 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 stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning an initial business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating an initial 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.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or May 26, 2021. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by such date. If we have not completed our initial business combination by such date, 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder 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 or a combination thereof 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. 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.
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Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, 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 stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial 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 warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. 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 common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder 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 redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders 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 shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or May 26, 2021 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by May 26, 2021, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Stockholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still be able to exercise their redemption rights in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our securities are currently listed on Nasdaq. However, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500) of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an 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 common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A common stock and public warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and public warrants are covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of certain 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 identified, 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 are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means that we 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.
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If we seek stockholder 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 stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder 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 an aggregate of 15% or more of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ 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 stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We have encountered and expect to continue 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 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 technical, human and other resources to ours, and our financial resources are relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable is limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation.
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Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout China and other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic”. A significant outbreak of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, 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 for an initial business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1.4 million (as of December 31, 2019) is available to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. 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. None of 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-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. 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 stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside 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. Although 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. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders 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 initial business combination constituted an actionable material misstatement or omission.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, 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 perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per 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 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 similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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 believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, it is unlikely that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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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 stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, 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 stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and not to 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 stockholders 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 stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’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.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. 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 stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
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If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
● | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
● | registration as an investment company; |
● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial 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: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021; or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination by May 26, 2021, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. Stockholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still be able to exercise their redemption rights in connection with a subsequent business combination. 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 an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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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.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following May 26, 2021 in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
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We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration 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.
We have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering 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 common stock 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 of 1933, as amended, or 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. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants issued in our initial public offering 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 shares of Class A common stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock 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. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of units sold in our initial public offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to sell the common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying common stock. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in our initial public 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 warrants may be able to exercise such private warrants.
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If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
There are circumstances in which the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. First, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Second, if a registration statement covering the Class A common stock 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. Third, if we call the public warrants for redemption, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. 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 shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (as defined in the next sentence) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders 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 common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with our initial public offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the founder shares and exercise of the private placement warrants held, or to be held, by them and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock 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 common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders 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 common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
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Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We are not limited to completing an initial business combination in any industry or geographical region, although we are not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, permitted to effectuate our initial 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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders 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.
Past performance by our management team or our advisors may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Past performance by our management team or our advisors is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or our advisors’ respective performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. Additionally, in the course of their respective careers, members of our management team and our advisors have been involved in businesses and transactions that were not successful. None of our officers and directors has had experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the past.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We may consummate a business combination with a company in any industry we choose and are not limited to any particular industry or type of business, although we intend to focus our search for technology businesses in the real estate industry. 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 to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial 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 adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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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 stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder 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 stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings 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.
We are not required to obtain a fairness opinion, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock 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 in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 68,425,000 and 5,687,500 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are currently no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination.
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We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock 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 in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock 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 certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with the approval of our stockholders. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
● | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock 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 common stock and/or warrants. |
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 stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account 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 stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
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Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally 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 employ 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. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination 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 initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements as well as reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, if any, with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, if any, 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 the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Additionally, they may negotiate reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on our behalf prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, should they choose to do so. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial 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 initial business combination, or as reimbursement for such out-of-pocket expenses. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
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We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
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’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our officers and directors 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 do 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 an initial business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers, directors and advisors or their affiliates have pre-existing fiduciary and contractual obligations and may in the future become affiliated with other entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us. Accordingly, they 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 will continue to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, although our officers may not become officers of any other special purpose acquisition companies with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have liquidated the trust account.
Our officers, directors and advisors or their affiliates have pre-existing fiduciary and contractual obligations to other companies. Accordingly, they may participate in transactions and have obligations that may be in conflict or competition with our consummation of our initial business combination. As a result, a potential target business may be presented by our management team to another entity prior to its presentation to us and we may not be afforded the opportunity to engage in a transaction with such target business. Specifically, Daniel J. Hennessy, our Senior Advisor, is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV, or Hennessy IV and Greg Ethridge, our Senior Advisor, is currently President, Chief Operating Officer and director of Hennessy IV. Hennessy IV is a special purpose acquisition company that intends to identify and acquire a business focusing on the industrial, infrastructure solutions and value-added distribution sectors in the United States with an aggregate enterprise value of $750 million or greater. Each of these individuals has agreed to present all suitable business combination opportunities to Hennessy IV prior to any other company (subject to any pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations). 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 other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Delaware law. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
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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 an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors, our advisors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not 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.
We may engage in an initial 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, advisors or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders 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, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In July 2019, our sponsor purchased 3,881,250 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. On October 30, 2019, we effected a stock dividend for approximately .11 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares. In October 2019, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of Messrs. Farrell and Leeney, Mses. Robinson and Whelan, our directors, and Mr. Ethridge, our senior advisor. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,700,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, for a purchase price of $5,700,000, or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. 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.
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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this 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 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 common stock; |
● | 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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
● | other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of 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 services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $172,500,000 is available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes $6,037,500 for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).
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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. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in 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. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our initial 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 an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.
We may structure an initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders 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 stockholders prior to the initial 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 initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. 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.
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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 an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even if a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder 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 their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock 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, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check 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 certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check 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. To the extent we seek to amend our organizational documents in a way that would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any 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 certificate of incorporation 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 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-initial 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 stockholders as described herein and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, 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 common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-initial business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete an initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
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 certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares on a business combination if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock 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, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders 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 stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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 are targeting businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, 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, the amount of additional financing we may be required to obtain could increase as a result of future growth capital needs for any particular transaction, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination and/or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the liquidation of our trust account 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 stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor entitled “If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share,” under certain circumstances our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon the liquidation of the trust account.
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Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is divided into three classes, each of which generally serves for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect 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 initial business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Unlike many other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which founder shares shall convert into Class A common stock will be adjusted so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of the initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us. This is different from most other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial stockholder will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination. Additionally, the aforementioned adjustment will not take into account any shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with the business combination. Accordingly, the holders of the founder shares could receive additional shares of Class A common stock even if the additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued solely to replace those shares that were redeemed in connection with the business combination. The foregoing may make it more difficult and expensive for us to consummate an initial business combination.
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 a majority of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock 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 to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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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 outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock 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 best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in our initial public offering. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 8,625,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units offered in our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in a private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 5,700,000 shares of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares. The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
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Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock 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 an initial business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole 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 they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for use to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if
(i) | we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per 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 on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and |
(iii) | the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, |
then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted 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 will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes Oxley Act”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of Nasdaq and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.
A market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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Because we must furnish our stockholders 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 a proxy statement with respect to a vote on an initial business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. 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, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or 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), or PCAOB. These financial statements may also be required to be prepared in accordance with GAAP in connection with our current report on Form 8-K announcing the closing our initial business combination within four business days following such closing. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies will make our securities less attractive to investors.
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 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 stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders 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 common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in 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 the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
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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 our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2020. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company 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.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may make it more costly for a stockholder to bring a claim, and it may also limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims, although our stockholders cannot waive our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. We cannot be certain that a court will decide that this provision is either applicable or enforceable, and if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
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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.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
● | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
● | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
● | tax issues, including but not limited to tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
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● | rates of inflation; |
● | cultural and language differences; |
● | employment regulations; |
● | changes in industry, regulatory or environmental standards within the jurisdictions where we operate; |
● | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
● | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
● | government appropriations of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
If we acquire a PropTech company, our future operations may be subject to risks associated with this sector.
While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we currently intend to concentrate our efforts in identifying businesses that provide technological innovation to the real estate industry, or PropTech. Because we have not yet identified or approached any specific target business, we cannot provide specific risks of any business combination. However, risks inherent in investments in this sector may include, but are not limited to, the following:
● | adverse changes in international, national, regional or local economic, demographic and market conditions; |
● | adverse changes in financial conditions of buyers, sellers and tenants of properties; |
● | competition from other PropTech companies and businesses; |
● | the ability to develop successful new products or improve existing ones; |
● | the disruption or failure of our networks, systems, platform or technology that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access our products and services, which may cause our users, advertisers, and partners to cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether, which could harm our business; |
● | fluctuations in interest rates, which could adversely affect the ability of buyers and tenants of properties to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all; |
● | mobile malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, spamming, and improper or illegal use of our products, which could harm our business and reputation; |
● | litigation and other legal proceedings; |
● | the ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees; |
● | environmental risks; and |
● | civil unrest, labor strikes, acts of God, including earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters and acts of war or terrorism, which may result in uninsured losses. |
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses are not limited to PropTech companies. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.
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Unresolved Staff Comments. |
None.
Item 2. | Properties. |
We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. We currently maintain our principal executive offices at 3485 N. Pines Way, Suite 110, Wilson, WY 83014. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per-month aggregate fee our sponsor charges us for general and administrative services. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. | Legal Proceedings. |
To the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures. |
Not applicable.
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Item 5. | Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. |
Market Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are each traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “PTACU,” “PTAC” and “PTACW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on November 22, 2019, and our Class A common stock and warrants commenced separate public trading on January 13, 2020.
Holders
On March 19, 2020, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock and two holders of record of our warrants.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
On November 26, 2019, we consummated a private placement of an aggregate of 5,700,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total proceeds of approximately $5,700,000. The Private Placement Warrants, which were purchased by our sponsor, are the same as the warrants included in the units issued in our initial public offering (the “Public Warrants”), except that the Private Placement Warrants are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally the Private Placement Warrants are also exercisable on a cashless basis and are non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than its initial holders, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants. No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sale. The sale of the Private Placement Warrants was made pursuant to an exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”).
Use of Proceeds from the Initial Public Offering
On November 26, 2019, we consummated our initial public offering of 17,250,000 units, including 2,250,000 units issued pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $172,500,000. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as the sole book running manager of the offering and Northland Securities, Inc. acted as co-manager for the offering. The securities sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”) on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-234512). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on November 21, 2019.
We paid a total of $3,450,000 in underwriting fees related to the initial public offering. In addition, the representative of the underwriters agreed to defer $6,037,500 in underwriting fees.
Upon the closing of our initial public offering, we deposited $172,500,000 (or $10.00 per unit sold in the initial public offering) in the trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6. | Selected Financial Data. |
Not required for smaller reporting companies.
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Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
References to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” are to Proptech Acquisition Corporation, except where the context requires otherwise. References to our “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors, and references to the “sponsor” are to HC PropTech Partners I LLC. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and 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. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with an initial business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of our common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:
● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
● | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
● | 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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund 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; |
● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
● | other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
On November 26, 2019, we completed our initial public offering of 17,250,000 units, including 2,250,000 units that were issued pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to us of $172.5 million. We incurred offering costs of approximately $10.1 million, inclusive of approximately $6.0 million in deferred underwriting commissions.
On November 26, 2019, simultaneously with the consummation of our initial public offering, we completed the private sale (the “private placement”) of 5,700,000 private placement warrants at a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant to our sponsor, generating gross proceeds to us of $5.7 million.
Upon the closing of our initial public offering, an aggregate of $172.5 million of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the private placement was deposited in a trust account established for the benefit of our public stockholders (the “trust account”).
If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021, 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021. The representative of the underwriters has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021 and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of the public shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than $10.00.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering (or until May 26, 2021) to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021, 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by May 26, 2021.
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Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any significant operations nor generated any operating revenue to date. Our only activities from inception related to our formation and our initial public offering, and since the closing of our initial public offering, the search for a prospective initial business combination. Although we have not generated operating revenue, we have generated non-operating income in the form of investment income from investments held in the trust account. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company, as well as costs in the pursuit of an initial business combination.
For the period from July 31, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, we had net income of approximately $32,000, which consisted of approximately $239,000 in investment income, offset by approximately $78,000 in general and administrative expenses, approximately $13,000 in related-party administrative expenses, approximately $84,000 in franchise tax expense, and approximately $33,000 in income tax expense.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2019, we had approximately $1.4 million in our operating account, approximately $239,000 of investment income earned from investments held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of such net interest to pay dissolution expenses), and working capital of approximately $1.5 million (including approximately $116,000 of tax obligations).
Through December 31, 2019, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through proceeds of $25,000 from our sponsor for issuance of the founder shares, $225,000 in loans from our sponsor, and the net proceeds from the private placement not held in the trust account. The balance of $225,000 in loans was paid in full at the closing of our initial public offering on November 26, 2019.
Based on the foregoing, we believe that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet our needs through the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, these funds will be used for payment of general and administrative expenses as well as expenses associated with identifying and evaluating prospective initial business combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses and structuring, negotiating and consummating our initial business combination.
Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
In July 2019, our sponsor paid $25,000 in offering expenses on our behalf in exchange for the issuance of 3,881,250 founder shares. In October 2019, we effected a stock dividend for approximately .11 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares (up to 562,500 shares of which were subject to forfeiture to the extent the underwriters did not exercise their over-allotment option in full). On November 26, 2019, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment in full; thus, these founder shares were no longer subject to forfeiture. The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustments, and are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below.
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares.
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Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the consummation of our initial public offering, we completed the private placement of warrants to our sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $5.7 million. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the purchase price of the Private Placement Warrants was added to the proceeds from our initial public offering held in the trust account. If our initial business combination is not completed by May 26, 2021, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of the public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable for cash and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our sponsor agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
Promissory Note – Related Party
On July 31, 2019, our sponsor agreed to loan us an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the our initial public offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing and was due upon the completion of our initial public offering. We borrowed $225,000 under the Note. The Note balance was paid in full at closing of our initial public offering on November 26, 2019.
Administrative Support Agreement
We agreed to pay $10,000 a month for office space, utilities, and secretarial and administrative support to our sponsor. Services commenced on the date the securities were first listed on the Nasdaq and will terminate upon the earlier of our initial business combination or our liquidation. We incurred approximately $13,000 for expenses in connection with such services for the period from July 31, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, which is reflected in the accompanying statement of operations.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Investments Held in Trust Account
Our portfolio of investments held in trust account are comprised mainly of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in investment income from investments held in Trust Account in our statement of operations. The fair value for trading securities is determined using quoted market prices in active markets.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability and measured at fair value. Shares of conditionally redeemable Class A common stock (including shares of Class A common stock 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 our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, shares of Class A common stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and will adjust the carrying value of the security at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying value of redeemable shares of Class A common stock shall be affected by charges against additional paid-in capital. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2019, 16,316,085 shares of Class A common stock subject to conditional redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”), which is intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of this standard on its financial statements and related disclosures.
We do not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material impact on our financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K, as of December 31, 2019. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
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” and 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 are electing 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 those of companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following November 26, 2024, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Item 7A. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. |
The net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. |
Reference is made to Pages F-1 through F-16 comprising a portion of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. |
None.
Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures. |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
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Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officer”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2019, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2019, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
This report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by the rules of the Commission for newly public companies.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. | Other Information. |
None.
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Item 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance. |
Directors and Executive Officers
As of the date of this report, our directors and officers are as follows:
Name | Age | Position | ||
Thomas D. Hennessy | 34 | Chairman of the Board, Co-Chief Executive Officer and President | ||
M. Joseph Beck | 34 | Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director | ||
Jack Leeney | 34 | Director | ||
Courtney Robinson | 35 | Director | ||
Margaret Whelan | 47 | Director | ||
Mark Farrell | 45 | Director | ||
Daniel J. Hennessy | 61 | Senior Advisor | ||
Greg Ethridge | 43 | Senior Advisor |
Thomas D. Hennessy has served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and a director since inception. Mr. Hennessy has served as the Managing Partner of Real Estate Strategies of Hennessy Capital LLC since July 2019. From September 2014 to July 2019, Mr. Hennessy served as a Portfolio Manager of ADIA, the largest global institutional real estate investor, where he was responsible for managing office, residential, and retail assets in the U.S. totaling over $2.1 billion of net asset value or $5.0 billion of gross asset value. While at ADIA, Mr. Hennessy executed over $475 billion of equity commitments to U.S. acquisitions and developments and over $435 million of limited partner equity commitments to opportunistic real estate equity funds, real estate credit funds, and real estate technology venture capital funds. Mr. Hennessy also created and led ADIA’s PropTech investment mandate, which included committing equity to PropTech. From January 2011 to April 2014, Mr. Hennessy served as an associate at Equity International Management LLC, an opportunistic real estate private equity fund founded by Sam Zell, where he evaluated investments and structured equity investments in real estate operating platforms in emerging markets. From September 2009 to January 2011, Mr. Hennessy served as an associate for CERES Real Estate Partners LLC, a private investment management company. From June 2007 to June 2009, Mr. Hennessy served as an analyst in the investment banking division of Credit Suisse, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions for companies in the real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure sectors as well as public and private financings of equity, debt and structured products. Mr. Hennessy is the son of Daniel J. Hennessy, one of our advisors. Mr. Hennessy holds a B.A. degree from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Mr. Hennessy is well qualified to serve as director due to his extensive real estate, private equity and PropTech experience.
M. Joseph Beck has served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and a director since inception. Mr. Beck has served as the Managing Partner of Real Estate Strategies of Hennessy Capital LLC since July 2019. From August 2012 to July 2019, Mr. Beck served as a Senior Investment Manager of ADIA, where he was responsible for managing office, residential, industrial and retail assets in the U.S. totaling over $2.7 billion of net asset value or $3.6 billion of gross asset value. While at ADIA, Mr. Beck executed over $2.2 billion of equity commitments to U.S. acquisitions and developments and over $400 million of limited partner equity commitments to opportunistic real estate equity funds and real estate credit funds. Mr. Beck also led an internal restructuring of a seven-asset, $3.5 billion gross asset value portfolio at the ADIA. From July 2008 to August 2012, Mr. Beck served as an analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he focused on mergers and acquisitions for companies in the real estate sector as well as public and private financings of equity, debt and structured products. Mr. Beck holds a B.A. degree from Yale University. Mr. Beck is well qualified to serve as director due to his extensive real estate experience.
Jack Leeney has served as one of our independent directors since our initial public offering. Since September 2016, Mr. Leeney has served as a Founding Partner of 7 Global Capital, a growth stage venture capital firm, and is responsible for running the funds’ operations. Mr. Leeney led the firm’s investments in Cheddar, a digital-first new media company (sold to Altice USA, May 2019), Capsule Corp., an online pharmacy, and hims & hers, a health and wellness e-commerce brand and Jyve, a skilled economy job marketplace for the consumer packaged goods industry. Between April 2011 and December 2016, Mr. Leeney served on the boards of directors of Quantenna Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: QTNA), DoAt Media Ltd. (Private), CinePapaya (acquired by Comcast), Joyent (acquired by Samsung), BOKU, Inc. (AIM: BOKU), Eventful (acquired by CBS) and Blueliv (Private). Previously, Mr. Leeney served as the Head of U.S. Investing for Telefonica Ventures between June 2012 and September 2016, the investment arm of Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), served as an investor at Hercules Capital (NYSE: HTGC) between May 2011 and June 2012 and began his career as a technology-focused investment banker at Morgan Stanley in 2007. Mr. Leeney holds a B.S. from Syracuse University.
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Courtney Robinson has served as one of our independent directors since our initial public offering. Since October 2014, Ms. Robinson has served as a Founding Partner of Advance Venture Partners LLC, a growth stage venture capital firm, and is responsible for the firm’s consumer investment practice. Ms. Robinson led the firm’s investments in Bellhops, a technology-enabled moving service; Brandable, a portfolio of CPG brands; Curology, a personalized skincare provider; Modsy, an interior design marketplace; Rent the Runway, a subscription clothing business; and Sawyer, an education marketplace. Between December 2011 and October 2014, Ms. Robinson was a Founding Principal at American Express Ventures, the investment arm of American Express (NYSE: AXP), and before that, served as Director of Business Development at Plum District, a local commerce marketplace, between February 2011 and December 2011. She began her career as a technology-focused investment banker at GCA Savvian Advisors LLC in 2006. Ms. Robinson holds a B.A. from Columbia University. Ms. Robinson is well qualified to serve as a director due to her extensive investment and advisory experience.
Margaret Whelan has served as one of our independent directors since our initial public offering. Since November 2014, Ms. Whelan has served as the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Whelan Advisory LLC, a boutique investment banking firm focused on the residential real estate industry. In this role, she provides strategic and financial counsel to leaders of both public and private real estate companies in the U.S. and globally. From September 2013 to November 2014, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Tricon Capital Group Inc., a private equity firm specializing in residential real estate. Previously, she served in positions with JP Morgan Chase (2007 to 2013), UBS Financial Services Inc. (1997 to 2007) and Merrill Lynch & Co. (1995-1997). Between June 2015 and May 2019, Ms. Whelan served on the board of directors of Top Build Corp. (NYSE: BLD), as an independent director and member of the audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees. Since September 2017, she has served on the board of directors of Mattamy Homes, North America’s largest privately owned homebuilder. She also serves on the advisory boards of John Burns Real Estate Consulting and the Housing Innovation Alliance. Ms. Whelan holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance degree from the University College Dublin (Ireland). Ms. Whelan is well qualified to serve as a director due to her extensive investment banking and advisory experience.
Mark Farrell has served as one of our independent directors since our initial public offering. Mr. Farrell serves as a Managing Director at Thayer Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with a strategic focus on the travel and transportation industry, which he co-founded in 2009. He leads the firm’s transportation investments, and currently serves on the board of directors of private companies. Mr. Farrell served as the 44th Mayor of San Francisco in 2018, and prior to his election as Mayor, served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2010 to 2018. From 2004 to 2009 Mr. Farrell served as a Vice President in the investment banking group at Thomas Weisel Partners, where he advised companies in the Internet & Digital Media sector, including the sale of MySpace to News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA), HomeAway’s purchase of VRBO, and the initial public offering of Thomas Weisel Partners. Prior to this, from August 2001 to February 2004, Mr. Farrell was a practicing attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, advising growth companies on venture capital and M&A transactions. Mark holds a B.A. degree from Loyola Marymount University, a M.A. degree from University College Dublin (Ireland) and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mr. Farrell is well qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive investment and advisory experience.
Advisors
Daniel J. Hennessy is the Founder and the Managing Member of Hennessy Capital LLC, an alternative investment firm he founded in 2013 that focuses on the industrial services, infrastructure services and real estate industries. Since March 2019, Mr. Hennessy has served as Chairman and CEO of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV, or Hennessy IV (NASDAQ: HCACU). Mr. Hennessy has served as a director of SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving since August 2018. From January 2017 to October 2018, Mr. Hennessy served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. III, or Hennessy III, which merged with NRC Group Holdings, LLC, a global provider of comprehensive environmental, compliance and waste management services, now known as US Ecology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECOL) and served as a director from January 2017 to October 2019. From April 2015 to February 2017, Mr. Hennessy served as Chairman and CEO of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. II, or Hennessy II, which merged with Daseke in February 2017 and is now known as Daseke, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE) and since February 2017, has served as its Vice Chairman. From September 2013 to February 2015, Mr. Hennessy served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp., or Hennessy I, which merged with School Bus Holdings Inc. in February 2015 and is now known as Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD), and previously served as a director from September 2013 to April 2019. From 1988 to 2016, Mr. Hennessy served as a Partner at Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC (n/k/a CHS Capital or “CHS”), a middle-market private equity investment firm he co-founded in 1988. Over a 25 year period, CHS invested $2.9 billion in nearly 400 operating companies. Mr. Hennessy has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of various CHS portfolio companies that manufacture and/or distribute a broad array of products or provide services for the industrial, infrastructure, energy and packaging sectors. In 2009, EDH Properties, LLC, a family real estate investment entity for which Mr. Hennessy was the managing member, filed a petition for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. A plan of reorganization was confirmed by the court in 2010 and the lender received payment in full. Prior to forming CHS, Mr. Hennessy was employed by Citicorp from 1984 to 1988 as head of the Midwest Region for Citicorp Mezzanine Investments and Vice President and Team Leader with Citicorp Leveraged Capital Group. He began his career in 1981 in the oil and gas lending group at Continental Illinois National Bank (now Bank of America) where he was a Banking Officer. Mr. Hennessy holds a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Boston College and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Mr. Hennessy is the father of Thomas D. Hennessy, our Chairman of the Board and Co-Chief Executive Officer.
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Greg Ethridge, since February 2019, has served as President, Chief Operating Officer and director of Hennessy IV. Since June 2019, Mr. Ethridge has served as Chairman of Motorsports Aftermarket Group, a designer, manufacturer, marketer, distributor and primarily e-commerce retailer of aftermarket parts, apparel and accessories for the motorcycle and power sports industry. Mr. Ethridge previously served as President of Matlin & Partners Acquisition Corporation from January 2017 to November 2018, at which time it merged with USWS Holdings LLC, a growth- and technology-oriented oilfield service company focused exclusively on hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas exploration and production companies and is now known as U.S. Well Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: USWS). He serves as Senior Partner of MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, or MatlinPatterson. Prior to joining MatlinPatterson in 2009, Mr. Ethridge was a principal in the Recapitalization and Restructuring group at Broadpoint Capital, Inc. where he moved his team from Imperial Capital LLC, from 2008 to 2009. In 2006, Mr. Ethridge was a founding member of the corporate finance advisory practice for Imperial Capital LLC in New York. From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Ethridge was a principal investor at Parallel Investment Partners LP (formerly part of Saunders, Karp and Megrue), executing recapitalizations, buyouts and growth equity investments for middle market companies. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Ethridge was an associate in the Recapitalization and Restructuring Group at Jefferies and Company, Inc. where he executed corporate restructurings and leveraged finance transactions and was a crisis manager at Conway, Del Genio, Gries & Co. in New York from 2000 to 2001. Mr. Ethridge has served a director of Palmetto Bluff Company, LLC, formerly a multi-asset class real estate developer known as Crescent Communities, LLC, a multi-class real estate developer, since June 2010. From 2009 until 2017, Mr. Ethridge served on the board of directors of FXI Holdings Inc., a foam and foam products manufacturer and served as its chairman from February 2012 until 2017. Mr. Ethridge has also served on the board of directors of Advantix Systems Ltd. and Advantix Systems, Inc., HVAC equipment manufacturers, from August 2013 until 2015 (for Advantix Systems, Inc.) and until 2018 (for Advantix Systems Ltd.). Mr. Ethridge holds a BBA and a Masters in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin.
We currently expect our advisors to (i) provide their business insights when we assess potential business combination targets and (ii) upon our request, provide their business insights as we work to create additional value in the businesses that we acquire. In this regard, they will fulfill some of the same functions as our board members. However, they have no written advisory, employment or advisory agreement with us. Our advisors have no other employment or compensation arrangements with us. Moreover, our advisors will not be under any fiduciary obligations to us nor will they perform board or committee functions, nor will they have any voting or decision making capacity on our behalf. They will also not be required to devote any specific amount of time to our efforts or be subject to the fiduciary requirements to which our board members are subject. Accordingly, if any of our advisors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the entities to which he has fiduciary or contractual obligations (including
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of six directors and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Courtney Robinson and Margaret Whelan, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mark Farrell and Jack Leeney, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Thomas D. Hennessy and M. Joseph Beck, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination.
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 persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
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Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, advisory fee, reimbursement or consulting fee, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers, directors and advisors, 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). 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. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. 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 using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an 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 stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders 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.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Margaret Whelan, Jack Leeney and Mark Farrell serve as members of our audit committee, and Margaret Whelan chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Margaret Whelan, Jack Leeney and Mark Farrell meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
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Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Margaret Whelan qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
● | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
● | pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
● | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations; |
● | 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 (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) 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 and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence; |
● | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
● | reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Courtney Robinson, Mark Farrell and Jack Leeney serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Courtney Robinson, Mark Farrell and Jack Leeney are independent and Courtney Robinson chairs the compensation committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officers’ compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officers’ performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officers based on such evaluations; |
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers; |
● | reviewing on an annual basis 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; |
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● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
● | if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for up to 18 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, 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, legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Margaret Whelan, Jack Leeney, Courtney Robinson and Mark Farrell. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
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 stockholders.
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.
Availability of Documents
We have filed a copy of our form of Code of Ethics, our audit committee charter, our nominating committee charter and compensation committee charter as exhibits to the registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
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Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our common stock and other equity securities. These executive officers, directors, and greater than 10% beneficial owners are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms filed by such reporting persons. Based solely on our review of such forms furnished to us and written representations from certain reporting persons, we believe that all reports applicable to our executive officers, directors and greater than 10% beneficial owners were filed in a timely manner in accordance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act.
Item 11. | Executive Compensation. |
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and 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). However, these individuals are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an 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 stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders 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.
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Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters. |
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 19, 2020 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock, by:
● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; | |
● | each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and | |
● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.
Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | |||||||||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Class | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | % of Class | ||||||||||||
HC PropTech Partners I LLC(2) | 4,187,500 | 97.1 | % | |||||||||||||
Thomas D. Hennessy(2) | 4,187,500 | 97.1 | % | |||||||||||||
M. Joseph Beck(2) | 4,187,500 | 97.1 | % | |||||||||||||
Jack Leeney(3) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Courtney Robinson(3) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Mark Farrell (3) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Margaret Whelan(3) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Daniel J. Hennessy(2) | 4,187,500 | 97.1 | % | |||||||||||||
All executive officers and directors as a group (6 individuals) | 99.4 | % | ||||||||||||||
UBS O’Connor LLC(4) | 1,400,000 | 8.1 | % | |||||||||||||
Linden Advisors LP(5) | 1,100,100 | 6.4 | % | |||||||||||||
HGC Investment Management Inc. (6) | 1,002,000 | 5.8 | % | |||||||||||||
Magnetar Capital Partners LP(7) | 1,000,000 | 5.8 | % | |||||||||||||
RP Investment Advisors LP(8) | 1,000,000 | 5.8 | % | |||||||||||||
Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. (9) | 1,000,000 | 5.8 | % | |||||||||||||
MMCAP International Inc. SPC(10) | 900,000 | 5.2 | % |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o PropTech Acquisition Corporation, 3485 N. Pines Way, Suite 110, Wilson, WY 83014. | |
(2) | Our sponsor is the record holder of such shares. Each of Thomas D. Hennessy, M. Joseph Beck and Daniel J. Hennessy are the managing members of HC PropTech LLC, the managing member of our sponsor, and as such, each have voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held of record by our sponsor and may be deemed to have shared beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our sponsor. Each such entity or person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. | |
(3) | Each of these individuals, as well as our advisors, holds a direct or indirect interest in our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. | |
(4) | According to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 13, 2020 by UBS O’Connor LLC. UBS O’Connor LLC serves as the investment manager to (i) Nineteen77 Global Multi-Strategy Alpha Master Limited (“GLEA”) and (ii) Nineteen77 Global Merger Arbitrage Master Limited (“OGMA”). In such capacity, UBS O’Connor LLC exercises voting and investment power over the shares of Class A common stock held for the account of GLEA and OGMA. UBS O’Connor is a registered investment adviser under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. As a result, UBS O’Connor may be deemed to have beneficial ownership (as determined under Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) of the shares of Class A common stock held for the account of GLEA and OGMA. As of the close of business on December 31, 2019, UBS O’Connor LLC may have been deemed to have beneficial ownership of 1,400,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, which consisted of (i) 700,000 shares of Class A Common Stock held by GLEA and (ii) 700,000 shares of Common Stock held by OGMA. The business address of UBS O’Connor LLC is One North Wacker Drive, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60606. |
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(5) | According to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 14, 2020 by Linden Capital L.P. (“LCLP”), Linden GP LLC (“LGP”), Linden Advisors LP (“LALP”), and Siu Min Wong (“Wong”). The business address of LCLP is 31 Victoria Street, Hamilton HM10, Bermuda. LGP is the general partner of LCLP and, in such capacity, may be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by LCLP. LALP is the investment manager of LCLP and trading advisor or investment advisor for the LCLP separately managed accounts (the “Managed Accounts”). Mr. Wong is the principal owner and controlling person of LALP and LGP. In such capacities, LALP and Wong may each be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by each of LCLP and the Managed Accounts. The business address for each of LGP, LALP, and Wong is 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022. |
(6) | According to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 13, 2020 by HGC Investment Management Inc. The business address of HGC Investment Management Inc. is 6060 Center Drive, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 90045. | |
(7) | According to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 13, 2020 by Magnetar Financial LLC, Magnetar Capital Partners LP, Alec N. Litowitz (“Mr. Litowitz”) and Supernova Management LLC. This statement relates to the units held for Magnetar Constellation Master Fund, Ltd (“Constellation Master Fund”), Magnetar Constellation Fund II, Ltd (“Constellation Fund”), Magnetar Xing He Master Fund Ltd (“Xing He Master Fund”), Magnetar SC Fund Ltd (“SC Fund”), Magnetar Capital Master Fund Ltd, (“Master Fund”) and Magnetar Structured Credit Fund, LP (“Structured Credit Fund”), collectively (the “Magnetar Funds”). Magnetar Financial serves as the investment adviser to the Magnetar Funds, and as such, Magnetar Financial exercises voting and investment power over the units held for the Magnetar Funds’ accounts. Magnetar Capital Partners serves as the sole member and parent holding company of Magnetar Financial. Supernova Management is the general partner of Magnetar Capital Partners. The manager of Supernova Management is Mr. Litowitz. As of December 31, 2019, each of Magnetar Financial, Magnetar Capital Partners, Supernova Management and Mr. Litowitz held 1,000,000 units. The amount consists of (A) 308,490 units held for the account of Constellation Master Fund; (B) 17,982 units held for the account of Master Fund; and (C) 139,224 units held for the account of Xing He Master Fund; (D) 291,960 units held for the account of Constellation Fund; (E) 71,832 units held for the account of SC Fund; and (F) 170,512 units held of the account of SC Fund. The business address of HGC Investment Management Inc. is 1603 Orrington Avenue, 13th Floor, Evanston, Illinois 60201. | |
(8) | According to Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2020 by RP Investment Advisors LP (the “Advisor”), RP Select Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., RP Debt Opportunities Fund Ltd. and RP Alternative Global Bond Fund. The shares of Class A common stock are held by RP Select Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., RP Debt Opportunities Fund Ltd. and RP Alternative Global Bond Fund (the “Funds”), which are managed by the Advisor. The Advisor, in its capacity as the investment manager of the Funds, has the power to vote and the power to direct the disposition of all units held by the Fund and the Advisor may be deemed to beneficially own such securities. The business address of each of the Advisor, RP Select Opportunities Master Fund Ltd., RP Debt Opportunities Fund Ltd. and RP Alternative Global Bond Fund is 39 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Canada, M5R 2E3. | |
(9) | According to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 12, 2020 by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. serves as the investment advisor to Polar Multi-Strategy Master Fund (“PMSMF”), with respect to the shares of Class A common stock directly held by PMSMF. The address of Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. is 401 Bay Street, Suite 1900, PO Box 19, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y4, Canada. | |
(10) | According to Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 5, 2020 by MMCAP International Inc. SPC (“MMCAP”) and MM Asset Management Inc. (“MM”). The business address of MMCAP is c/o Mourant Governance Services (Cayman) Limited, 94 Solaris Avenue, Camana Bay, P.O. Box 1348, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1008. The business address for MM is 161 Bay Street, TD Canada Trust Tower, Suite 2240, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 2S1. |
The table above does not include the shares of common stock underlying the private placement warrants held by our sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this report.
Changes in Control
Not applicable.
Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence. |
In July 2019, our sponsor purchased 3,881,250 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. On October 30, 2019, we effected a stock dividend for approximately .11 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares. In October 2019, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of Messrs. Farrell and Leeney, Mses. Robinson and Whelan, our directors, and Mr. Ethridge, our senior advisor. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. The founder shares (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,700,000 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
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If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Other than the foregoing, no compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and 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 an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). 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. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
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 on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. 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 warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. 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.
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 stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. 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 stockholder 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.
Related Party Policy
Our audit committee must review and approve any related person transaction we propose to enter into. Our audit committee charter details the policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest and may raise questions as to whether such transactions are consistent with the best interest of our company and our stockholders. A summary of such policies and procedures is set forth below.
Any potential related party transaction that is brought to the audit committee’s attention will be analyzed by the audit committee, in consultation with outside counsel or members of management, as appropriate, to determine whether the transaction or relationship does, in fact, constitute a related party transaction. At its meetings, the audit committee will be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, the business purpose of the transaction and the benefits to us and to the relevant related party.
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In determining whether to approve a related party transaction, the audit committee must consider, among other factors, the following factors to the extent relevant:
|
● | whether the terms of the transaction are fair to us and on the same basis as would apply if the transaction did not involve a related party; |
● | whether there are business reasons for us to enter into the transaction; | |
● | whether the transaction would impair the independence of an outside director; and | |
● | whether the transaction would present an improper conflict of interest for any director or executive officer. |
Any member of the audit committee who has an interest in the transaction under discussion must abstain from any voting regarding the transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the audit committee, participate in some or all of the audit committee’s discussions of the transaction. Upon completion of its review of the transaction, the audit committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the transaction.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Farrell and Leeney and Ms. Robinson and Ms. Whelan are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Item 14 . | Principal Accountant Fees and Services. |
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. During the period from May 28, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, we paid Withum approximately $57,345 for the services it performed in connection with our initial public offering.
Audit-Related Fees. During the period from July 31, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, Withum did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements.
Tax Fees. During the period from July 31, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, Withum did not render services to us for tax compliance, tax advice or tax planning.
All Other Fees. During the period from July 31, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by Withum other than those set forth above.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
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Item 15. | Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules. |
(a) | The following documents are filed as part of this report: |
(1) | Financial Statements | |
(2) | Financial Statements Schedule |
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto in is Item 15 of Part IV below.
(3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Copies of such material can be obtained on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Item 16. | Form 10-K Summary. |
Not applicable.
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EXHIBIT INDEX
* | Filed herewith |
** | Furnished herewith |
(1) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on November 26, 2019. |
(2) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1, filed with the Commission on November 13, 2019. |
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PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
PropTech Acquisition Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of PropTech Acquisition Corporation(the “Company”) as of December 31, 2019, and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows, for the period from July 31, 2019 (date of inception) to December 31, 2019, 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, 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from July 31, 2019 (date of inception) to December 31, 2019, 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 entity’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
New York, New York
March 18, 2020
F-2
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
BALANCE SHEET
December 31, 2019 | ||||
Assets: | ||||
Current assets: | ||||
Cash | $ | 1,412,901 | ||
Prepaid expenses | 217,566 | |||
Total current assets | 1,630,467 | |||
Investments held in Trust Account | 172,738,705 | |||
Total assets | $ | 174,369,172 | ||
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity: | ||||
Current liabilities: | ||||
Accounts payable | $ | 27,750 | ||
Accrued expenses | 26,711 | |||
Franchise tax payable | 83,836 | |||
Income tax payable | 32,523 | |||
Total current liabilities | 170,820 | |||
Deferred underwriting commissions | 6,037,500 | |||
Total liabilities | 6,208,320 | |||
Commitments | ||||
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 16,316,085 shares subject to possible redemption at $10.00 per share | 163,160,850 | |||
Stockholders’ equity: | ||||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | - | |||
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 933,915 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 16,316,085 shares subject to possible redemption) | 93 | |||
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 4,312,500 shares issued and outstanding | 431 | |||
Additional paid-in capital | 4,967,368 | |||
Retained earnings | 32,110 | |||
Total stockholders’ equity | 5,000,002 | |||
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 174,369,172 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the Period from July 31, 2019 (date of inception) to December 31, 2019 | ||||
General and administrative expenses | $ | 77,571 | ||
Administrative expenses - related party | 12,666 | |||
Franchise tax expense | 83,835 | |||
Loss from operations | (174,072 | ) | ||
Investment income from investments held in Trust Account | 238,705 | |||
Income before income tax expense | 64,633 | |||
Income tax expense | 32,523 | |||
Net income | $ | 32,110 | ||
Weighted average number of shares outstanding of Class A common stock | 17,250,000 | |||
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A | $ | 0.01 | ||
Weighted average number of shares outstanding of Class B common stock | 4,312,500 | |||
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B | $ | (0.02 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 31, 2019 (DATE OF INCEPTION) TO DECEMBER 31, 2019
Common Stock | Additional | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A | Class B | Paid-In | Retained | Stockholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Earnings | Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balances - July 31, 2019 (date of inception) | - | $ | - | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | - | - | 4,312,500 | 431 | 24,569 | - | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of units in initial public offering, gross | 17,250,000 | 1,725 | - | - | 172,498,275 | - | 172,500,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Offering costs | - | - | - | - | (10,096,258 | ) | - | (10,096,258 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Sale of private placement warrants to Sponsor in private placement | - | - | - | - | 5,700,000 | - | 5,700,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Common stock subject to possible redemption | (16,316,085 | ) | (1,632 | ) | - | - | (163,159,218 | ) | - | (163,160,850 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Net income | - | - | - | - | - | 32,110 | 32,110 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Balances - December 31, 2019 | 933,915 | $ | 93 | 4,312,500 | $ | 431 | $ | 4,967,368 | $ | 32,110 | $ | 5,000,002 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the period from July 31, 2019 (date of inception) to December 31, 2019 | ||||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||
Net income | $ | 32,110 | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||
Investment income from investments held in Trust Account | (238,705 | ) | ||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
Prepaid expenses | (217,566 | ) | ||
Accounts payable | 23,250 | |||
Accrued expenses | 1,711 | |||
Franchise tax payable | 83,836 | |||
Income tax payable | 32,523 | |||
Net cash used in operating activities | (282,841 | ) | ||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||
Cash deposited in Trust Account | (172,500,000 | ) | ||
Net cash used in investing activities | (172,500,000 | ) | ||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||
Proceeds from sale of Class B common stock to Sponsor | 25,000 | |||
Proceeds from note payable to related party | 150,000 | |||
Repayment of note payable to related party | (225,000 | ) | ||
Proceeds received from initial public offering, gross | 172,500,000 | |||
Proceeds received from sale of private placement warrants | 5,700,000 | |||
Offering costs paid | (3,954,258 | ) | ||
Net cash provided by financing activities | 174,195,742 | |||
Net increase in cash | 1,412,901 | |||
Cash - beginning of the period | - | |||
Cash - end of the period | $ | 1,412,901 | ||
Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: | ||||
Deferred underwriting commissions associated with the initial public offering | $ | 6,037,500 | ||
Offering cost included note payable to related party | $ | 75,000 | ||
Offering cost included in accounts payable | $ | 4,500 | ||
Offering cost included in accrued expenses | $ | 25,000 | ||
Value of common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 163,160,850 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Organization and General
PropTech Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on July 31, 2019 (date of inception). The Company was formed for the purpose of effectuating a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2019, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activities for the period from July 31, 2019 (date of inception) to December 31, 2019 related to the Company’s formation and the Offering (as defined below), and since the closing of the Offering, the search for a prospective target for the initial Business Combination. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
Sponsor and Initial Public Offering
On November 26, 2019, the Company closed its initial public offering (the “Offering”) of 17,250,000 units at $10.00 per unit (including the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option) (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units, the “Public Shares”) which is discussed in Note 3 and the sale of 5,700,000 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) to our sponsor, HC PropTech Partners I LLC (the “Sponsor”) that closed simultaneously with the closing of the Offering (as described in Note 4). The Company has listed the Units, the Public Shares and the Public Warrants (as defined below) on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”).
Trust Account
Upon the closing of the Offering on November 26, 2019, the Company deposited $172,500,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the proceeds of the Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, into a trust account (the “Trust Account”), which were then invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any money market fund meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), which invest only in direct U.S, government treasury obligations until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s stockholders, as described below.
Initial Business Combination
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Offering and sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. Nasdaq rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (as defined below) (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public stockholders”) 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 stockholders meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. In connection with a Business Combination, the Company may seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which public stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
F-7
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that, a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to 15% or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to public stockholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the representative of the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants (“Warrants”). These shares of Class A common stock will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Offering, in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
If a stockholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.
The Company’s Sponsor has agreed (a) to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Offering in favor of a Business Combination, (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the Company’s pre-Business Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) into the right to receive cash from the Trust Account in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek stockholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation relating to stockholders’ rights of pre-Business Combination activity and (d) that the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Offering, or May 26, 2021, (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a 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 the Company to pay taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of applicable law. The representative of the underwriters has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Offering price per Unit ($10.00).
F-8
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to 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 Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, we have not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
On January 9, 2020, the Company announced that, commencing on January 13, 2020, the holders of Units may elect to separately trade the shares of Class A common stock and warrants included in the Units. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The shares of Class A Common Stock and the warrants currently trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “PTAC” and “PTACW,” respectively. The Units not separated will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “PTACU.”
Liquidity
As of December 31, 2019, the Company had approximately $1.4 million of cash in its operating account, approximately $239,000 of investment income held in the Trust Account available to pay franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of such net interest to pay dissolution expenses), and working capital of approximately $1.46 million (including approximately $116,000 of tax obligations).
Through December 31, 2019, the Company’s liquidity needs have been satisfied through proceeds of $25,000 from the Sponsor for issuance of the Founder Shares (Note 4), $225,000 in loans from the Sponsor, and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. The balance of $225,000 in loans was paid in full upon the closing of the Offering on November 26, 2019.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet the Company’s needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from the date of this filing. Over this time period, the Company will use these funds for payment of general and administrative expenses as well as expenses associated with identifying and evaluating prospective Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses and structuring, negotiating and consummating a Business Combination.
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.
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, 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 stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
F-9
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with those of 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.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Use of Estimates
The preparation of these financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. 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 balance sheet, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change due to one or more future confirming events. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Concentrations of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to credit risk consist principally of cash and investments held in the Company’s operating account and the Trust Account. Cash is maintained in accounts with financial institutions, which, at times may exceed the federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. At December 31, 2019, the Company has not experienced losses on these cash accounts and management believes, based upon the quality of the financial institutions, that the credit risk with regard to these deposits is not significant.
Investments Held in Trust Account
The Company’s portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account are comprised mainly of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in gain on marketable securities (net), dividends and interest, held in the Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The fair value for trading securities is determined using quoted market prices in active markets. At December 31, 2019, the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account consist mainly of U.S. government securities with an original maturity of 185 days or less.
Fair Value Measurements
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
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 approximately $1,600 in cash equivalents held in the Trust Account as of December 31, 2019.
Offering Costs
Offering costs consist of expenses incurred in connection with the preparation of the Offering. These expenses, together with the underwriting discounts and commissions, in the amount of approximately $10 million, were charged to equity upon completion of the Offering.
F-10
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
As discussed in Note 1, all of the 17,250,000 public shares sold as part of Units in the Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of Public Shares if the Company holds a stockholder vote or there is a tender offer for shares in connection with a Business Combination. In accordance with FASB ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”), redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require the security to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480. Although the Company did not specify a maximum redemption threshold, its charter provides that in no event will it redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets (stockholders’ equity) to be less than $5,000,001 upon the closing of a Business Combination.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of the securities at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by adjustments to additional paid-in capital. Accordingly, at December 31, 2019, 16,316,085 of the 17,250,000 Public Shares were classified outside of permanent equity.
Net Income Per Share of Common Stock
Net income per share of common stock is computed by dividing net income applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants to purchase an aggregate 14,325,000 shares of Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted loss per share, since inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method as of December 31, 2019.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income per share for common stock subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Basic and diluted net income per share of Class A common stock for the year ended December 31, 2019 is calculated by dividing the investment income earned on the investments held in the Trust Account (approximately $239,000, net of funds available to be withdrawn from the Trust Account for payment of taxes, resulting in a total of approximately $122,000), by the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding since issuance. Basic and diluted net loss per share of Class B common stock for the year ended December 31, 2019 is calculated by dividing the net income, less income attributable to Class A common stock of approximately $122,000, by the weighted average number of shares of Class B common stock outstanding for the period.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC, 740, “Income Taxes (“ASC 740”). Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 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 and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2019. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of December 31, 2019. 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.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”), which is intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on its financial statements and related disclosures.
F-11
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
On November 26, 2019, the Company closed the Offering for the sale of 17,250,000 Units (including the underwriters’ full exercise of their overallotment option) at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $172.5 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $10.0 million, including approximately $6.0 million in deferred underwriting commissions.
Each Unit consists of one share of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and one-half of one redeemable warrant (the “Public Warrants”). Each whole Public Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (see Note 6).
NOTE 4. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
In July 2019, the Sponsor purchased 3,881,250 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. On October 30, 2019, the Company effected a stock dividend for approximately .11 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares (“Founder Shares”). In October 2019, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to four of the Company’s directors, and to a senior advisor. The Sponsor had agreed to forfeit up to 562,500 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters. On November 26, 2019, the underwriters exercised the over-allotment option in full; thus, these Founder Shares were no longer subject to forfeiture.
The Company’s initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or similar transaction that results in the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.
Private Placement Warrants
In connection with the Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,700,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($5,700,000 in the aggregate) each exercisable to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the Offering. The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was added to the net proceeds from the Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On July 31, 2019, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing and was due on the earlier of March 31, 2020 or upon the completion of the Offering. The Company borrowed $225,000 under the Note. The Note balance was paid in full upon the closing of the Offering on November 26, 2019.
F-12
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of notes may be converted upon consummation of a Business Combination into additional Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Warrant. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. At December 31, 2019, there are no outstanding Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company agreed to pay $10,000 a month for office space, utilities, and secretarial and administrative support to the Sponsor. Services commenced on the date the securities were first listed on the Nasdaq and will terminate upon the earlier of the consummation by the Company of a Business Combination or the liquidation of the Company. The Company incurred approximately $13,000 for expenses in connection with such services for the period from July 31, 2019 (date of inception) to December 31, 2019, which is reflected in the accompanying statement of operations.
NOTE 5. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, the Private Placement Warrants (and their underlying securities) and any Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and underlying securities) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement executed in connection with the closing of the Offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the consummation of a Business Combination. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters were paid a cash underwriting discount at closing of $3,450,000, which is equal to two percent (2.00%) of the gross proceeds of the Offering. In addition, the representative of the underwriters is entitled to a deferred fee of 3.50% of the gross proceeds of the Offering, or $6,037,500. The deferred fee will become payable to the representative of the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
NOTE 6. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock
The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of $0.0001 par value preferred stock. At December 31, 2019, there were no preferred shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock
The Company is authorized to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value. Holders of the Company’s Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2019, there were 17,250,000 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding, including 16,316,085 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption.
Class B Common Stock
The Company is authorized to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value. Holders of the Company’s Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like.
F-13
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
In July 2019, the Sponsor purchased 3,881,250 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. On October 30, 2019, the Company effected a stock dividend for approximately .11 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 4,312,500 shares of Class B common stock. In October 2019, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to four of the Company’s directors and to a senior advisor. The Sponsor had agreed to forfeit up to 562,500 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters. On November 26, 2019, the underwriters exercised the over-allotment option in full; thus, these Founder Shares were no longer subject to forfeiture (see also Note 4).
The Company may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete its Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of its Business Combination.
Warrants
The Public Warrants are exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the consummation of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the effective date of the registration statement relating to the Offering. No Public Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the common shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to such common shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the common shares issuable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within 60 business days from the consummation of a Business Combination, the holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise the Public Warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to an available exemption from registration under the Securities Act. If an exemption from registration is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company may call the Public Warrants for redemption (excluding the Private Placement Warrants), in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant:
● | at any time while the Public Warrants are exercisable, |
● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each Public Warrant holder, |
● | if, and only if, the last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrantholders and, |
● | if and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the issuance of the common stock underlying such warrants at the time of redemption and for the entire 30-day trading period referred to above and continuing each day thereafter until the date of redemption. |
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the common shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis and are non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
F-14
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the Company’s initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of such initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the 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 above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless. If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of common shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
NOTE 7. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; | |
● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and | |
● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
As of December 31, 2019, the recorded values of cash, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and tax payables approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of the instruments.
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2019 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques that the Company utilized to determine such fair value. In general, fair values determined by Level 1 inputs utilize quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Fair values determined by Level 2 inputs utilize data points that are observable, such as quoted prices, interest rates and yield curves. Fair values determined by Level 3 inputs are unobservable data points for the asset or liability, and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability.
F-15
PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 2019 | ||||||||||||
Description | Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Significant Other Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | |||||||||
Investments held in Trust Account | $ | 172,738,705 | $ | - | $ | - |
As of December 31, 2019, the investments held in the Trust Account were comprised mainly of U.S. government securities (in the amount of approximately $173 million), within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, and approximately $1,600 in cash.
NOTE 8. INCOME TAXES
The income tax provision (benefit) consists of the following:
December 31, 2019 | ||||
Current | ||||
Federal | $ | 32,523 | ||
State | - | |||
Deferred | ||||
Federal | - | |||
State | - | |||
Income tax provision expense | $ | 32,523 |
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
December 31, 2019 | ||||
Deferred tax asset | ||||
Net Operating loss carryforward | $ | - | ||
Startup/Organizational Costs | 18,950 | |||
Total deferred tax assets | 18,950 | |||
Valuation Allowance | (18,950 | ) | ||
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance | $ | - |
In assessing the realization of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax assets, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the period from July 31, 2019 (date of inception) to December 31, 2019, the valuation allowance was approximately $19,000.
A reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate (benefit) to the Company’s effective tax rate (benefit) is as follows:
December 31, 2019 | ||||
Statutory federal income tax rate | 21.0 | % | ||
Valuation allowance | 29.3 | % | ||
Income tax provision expense | 50.3 | % |
NOTE 9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred up to the date the financial statements were available to be issued. Based upon this review, the Company determined that there have been no events that have occurred that would require adjustments to the disclosures in the financial statements, except as disclosed in Note 1.
F-16
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
March 20, 2020 | PROPTECH ACQUISITION CORPORATION | |
By: | /s/ Thomas D. Hennessy | |
Name:
Thomas D. Hennessy |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name | Position | Date | ||
/s/ Thomas D. Hennessy | Chairman of the Board, Co-Chief Executive Officer and President | March 20, 2020 | ||
Thomas D. Hennessy | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ M. Joseph Beck | Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director | March 20, 2020 | ||
M. Joseph Beck | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Jack Leeney | Director | March 20, 2020 | ||
Jack Leeney | ||||
/s/ Margaret Whelan | Director | March 20, 2020 | ||
Margaret Whelan | ||||
/s/ Mark Farrell |
Director |
March 20, 2020 | ||
Mark Farrell | ||||
/s/ Courtney Robinson |
Director |
March 20, 2020 | ||
Courtney Robinson |
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