RCF Acquisition Corp. - Quarter Report: 2023 March (Form 10-Q)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2023
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
OR
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-41039
RCF ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Cayman Islands | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
1400 Wewatta Street Suite 850 Denver, Colorado | 80202 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (310) 209-7280
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class: | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: | ||
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant | RCFA.U | The New York Stock Exchange | ||
Class A ordinary shares, 0.0001 par value | RCFA | The New York Stock Exchange | ||
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | RCFA WS | The New York Stock Exchange |
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 and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definition 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 April 28, 2023, there were 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, issued and outstanding, and 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
RCF Acquisition Corp.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2023 | 2022 | |||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||
Current assets | ||||||||
Cash | $ | 897,575 | $ | 41,276 | ||||
Prepaid expenses | 147,653 | 268,368 | ||||||
Total current assets | 1,045,228 | 309,644 | ||||||
Investment held in Trust Account | 240,586,387 | 238,041,214 | ||||||
Total Assets | $ | 241,631,615 | $ | 238,350,858 | ||||
LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
LIABILITIES | ||||||||
Current liabilities | ||||||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 1,340,289 | $ | 541,320 | ||||
Sponsor convertible note - related party | 350,000 | 100,000 | ||||||
Total current liabilities | 1,690,289 | 641,320 | ||||||
Non-current liabilities | ||||||||
Deferred Underwriting Commission | 8,050,000 | 8,050,000 | ||||||
Warrant liability | 2,320,000 | 1,624,000 | ||||||
Total non-current liabilities | 10,370,000 | 9,674,000 | ||||||
Total Liabilities | 12,060,289 | 10,315,320 | ||||||
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 8) | ||||||||
Redeemable Class A Ordinary shares | ||||||||
Redeemable Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized, 23,000,000 shares issued and outstanding subject to possible redemption, at redemption value | 234,600,000 | 234,600,000 | ||||||
SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; and December 31, 2022 | issued and outstanding at March 31, 2023||||||||
Class B ordinary shares; $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 issued and outstanding at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 | 575 | 575 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
Accumulated deficit | (5,029,249 | ) | (6,565,037 | ) | ||||
Total Shareholders’ Deficit | (5,028,674 | ) | (6,564,462 | ) | ||||
Total Liabilities, Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares and Shareholders’ Deficit | $ | 241,631,615 | $ | 238,350,858 |
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed financial statements
1
RCF Acquisition Corp.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the Three Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, 2023 | March 31, 2022 | |||||||
EXPENSES | ||||||||
General and administrative expenses | $ | 1,313,385 | $ | 377,681 | ||||
Loss from operations | (1,313,385 | ) | (377,681 | ) | ||||
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) | ||||||||
Change in fair value of warrant liability | (696,000 | ) | 5,568,000 | |||||
Change in fair value of sponsor convertible note - related party | 1,000,000 | — | ||||||
Interest earned in Trust Account | 2,545,173 | 19,503 | ||||||
Total other income | 2,849,173 | 5,587,503 | ||||||
NET INCOME ALLOCABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS | $ | 1,535,788 | $ | 5,209,822 | ||||
23,000,000 | 23,000,000 | |||||||
$ | 0.05 | $ | 0.18 | |||||
5,750,000 | 5,750,000 | |||||||
$ | 0.05 | $ | 0.18 |
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed financial statements
2
RCF Acquisition Corp.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN REDEEMABLE CLASS A ORDINARY
SHARES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2023
Shareholders’ Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares | Additional paid-in | Accumulated | Total shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | capital | deficit | deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, December 31, 2022 | 23,000,000 | $ | 234,600,000 | 5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | $ | (6,565,037 | ) | $ | (6,564,462 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Net income | — | — | 1,535,788 | 1,535,788 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, March 31, 2023 | 23,000,000 | $ | 234,600,000 | 5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | $ | (5,029,249 | ) | $ | (5,028,674 | ) |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2022
Shareholders’ Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares | Additional paid-in | Accumulated | Total shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | capital | deficit | deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, December 31, 2021 | 23,000,000 | $ | 234,600,000 | 5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | $ | (20,408,536 | ) | $ | (20,407,961 | ) | |||||||||||||||
Net income | — | — | 5,209,822 | 5,209,822 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, March 31, 2022 | 23,000,000 | $ | 234,600,000 | 5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | $ | (15,198,714 | ) | $ | (15,198,139 | ) |
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed financial statements
3
RCF Acquisition Corp.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the Three Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, 2023 | March 31, 2022 | |||||||
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
Net income | $ | 1,535,788 | $ | 5,209,822 | ||||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
Change in fair value of warrant liability | 696,000 | (5,568,000 | ) | |||||
Change in fair value of sponsor convertible note - related party | (1,000,000 | ) | — | |||||
Interest earned in Trust Account | (2,545,173 | ) | (19,503 | ) | ||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
Prepaid expenses | 120,715 | 186,118 | ||||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | 798,969 | 74,045 | ||||||
Net cash flows used in operating activities | (393,701 | ) | (117,518 | ) | ||||
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
Proceeds from sponsor convertible note - related party | $ | 1,250,000 | — | |||||
Net cash flows provided by financing activities | 1,250,000 | — | ||||||
NET CHANGE IN CASH | 856,299 | (117,518 | ) | |||||
CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD | 41,276 | 700,293 | ||||||
CASH, END OF PERIOD | $ | 897,575 | $ | 582,775 |
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed financial statements
4
RCF Acquisition Corp.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 - Description of Organization and Business Operations
RCF Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Cayman Islands on June 9, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company’s sponsor is RCF VII Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The Company has selected December 31st as its fiscal year end.
All activity for the period from June 9, 2021 (inception) through March 31, 2023 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Public Offering”), and activities related to pursuing merger opportunities. The Company will not generate operating revenues prior to the completion of a Business Combination and will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on Permitted Investments (as defined below) from the proceeds derived from the Public Offering.
The registration statement for the Company’s Public Offering was declared effective by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 9, 2021. The Public Offering closed on November 15, 2021 (the “Closing Date”). Simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,700,000 warrants to purchase Class A ordinary share (“Private Placement Warrants”) for $1.00 each, or $11,700,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement on the Closing Date (the “Private Placement”).
The Company intends to finance a Business Combination with proceeds from its $230,000,000 Public Offering (see Note 3) and $11,700,000 Private Placement (see Note 4). At the Closing Date, proceeds of $241,700,000, net of underwriting discounts of $4,600,000 and $2,500,000 designated for operational use were deposited in a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer and Trust Company acting as trustee (the “Trust Account”) as described below. Transaction costs amounted to $13,267,977, consisting of $12,650,000 of underwriters fees of which $8,050,000 was for Deferred Underwriting Commissions (see Note 8) and $617,977 of other offering costs.
Of the $241,700,000 total proceeds from the Public Offering and Private Placement, $234,600,000 was deposited into the Trust Account on the Closing Date. The funds in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations (collectively “Permitted Investments”).
Funds will remain in the Trust Account except for the withdrawal of interest earned on the funds that may be released to the Company to pay taxes. The proceeds from the Public Offering and Private Placement will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of a Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of the public shares if the Company has not completed a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering (unless extended by a vote of the Company’s shareholders at a general meeting), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of the public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company obligation to allow redemption in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s public shares if the Company has not consummated a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. Of the proceeds held outside the Trust Account, $296,235 was used to repay a loan from the Company’s Sponsor and the remainder may be used to pay business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisitions, listing fees and continuing general and administrative expenses.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Public Offering, although substantially all of the net proceeds of the Public Offering are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business Combination with (or acquisition of) a target business. The Company is focused on sponsoring the public listing of a company that combines attractive business fundamentals with, or with the potential for strong environmental, social and governance principles and practices through a Business Combination. As used herein, the target business must be with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (less any Deferred Underwriting Commissions and taxes payable on interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the Company signing a definitive agreement.
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After signing a definitive agreement for a Business Combination, the Company will provide the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve a Business Combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against a 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 a Business Combination including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the Trust Account was $10.20 per public share on the Closing Date. The per share amount the Company will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by any Deferred Underwriting Commissions payable to the underwriters of the Public Offering (the “Underwriters”). The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares in a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its 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 the Company to seek shareholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirements. If the Company seeks shareholder approval, it will complete its Business Combination only if a majority of the outstanding of Class A ordinary shareholders vote in favor of a Business Combination. However, in no event will the Company redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, after payment of the Deferred Underwriting Commission. In such an instance, the Company would not proceed with the redemption of its public shares and the related Business Combination, and instead may search for an alternate Business Combination.
The Company has 18 months from the Closing Date to complete its Business Combination. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within this period, it shall (i) cease all operations except for the purposes 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 in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its 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 shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and the board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. The Initial Shareholders (as defined in Note 4 below) and the Company’s officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 4 below) if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the Closing Date. However, if the Initial Shareholders acquire public shares after the Closing Date, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such public shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the allotted 18-month time period.
On March 14, 2023, the Company signed a non-binding letter of intent for a business combination with a company in the critical minerals sector (“Target”). However, no assurances can be made that the Company and Target will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement regarding a business combination. Any transaction would be subject to board and equity holder approval of both companies, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
On April 3, 2023, the Company filed a definitive proxy statement with respect to an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to be held on May 9, 2023, to ask shareholders to approve, among other things, an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend (the “Extension”) the date by which the Company must consummate a Business Combination from May 15, 2023 to May 15, 2024.
The Underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to any Deferred Underwriting Commission held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination and those amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares.
If the Company fails to complete a Business Combination, the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares will reduce the book value of the shares held by the Sponsor, who will be the only remaining shareholder after such redemptions. If the Company holds a shareholder vote or there is a tender offer for shares in connection with a Business Combination, a Public Shareholder will have the right to redeem its shares for an amount in cash equal to its pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay taxes. As a result, such shares are recorded at their redemption amount and classified as temporary equity on the balance sheets, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
6
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2023, the Company had $897,575 in its operating bank accounts, $240,586,387 in securities held in the Trust Account to be used for a business combination or to repurchase or redeem its ordinary shares in connection therewith and a working capital deficit of $645,061. As of March 31, 2023, $5,986,387 of the amount on deposit in the Trust Account represented interest income, which is unavailable to fund operating expenses.
Until the consummation of a business combination, the Company will be using the funds held outside of the Trust Account primarily to find and evaluate target businesses, perform business, legal, and accounting due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its acquisition plans. The Company anticipates that the cash held outside of the Trust Account as of March 31, 2023, will not be sufficient to allow the Company to operate until May 15, 2023, the date at which the Company must complete a Business Combination. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by May 15, 2023, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating.
The Company issued the Sponsor Convertible Note to the Sponsor (see Note 4), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to $5,000,000 from the Sponsor for ongoing expenses reasonably related to the business of the Company and the consummation of the Business Combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor. Prior to the completion of the initial business combination, the Company does not expect to seek loans from parties other than its Sponsor or an affiliate of its Sponsor as the Company 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 the Company’s Trust Account. As of March 31, 2023, the Company had $1,750,000 in outstanding borrowings under the Sponsor Convertible Note with a fair value of $350,000. If the Company completes the initial business combination, the Company will repay any loaned amounts. In the event that the Company’s initial business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay such loaned amounts.
Going Concern
In connection with the the Company's assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” while the Company expects to have sufficient access to additional sources of capital under the Sponsor Convertible Note, there is no current obligation on the part of the Sponsor to provide additional capital and no assurances can be provided that such additional capital will ultimately be available if necessary. Management also has determined that the Company will be unable to complete a Business Combination by May 15, 2023, the date of which the Company must complete a Business Combination. If, prior to that date, the required majority of shareholders do not vote in favor of extending the date to May 15, 2024, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. Management has determined that substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern due to the need to obtain additional capital from Sponsor to address the Company’s liquidity condition, which the Sponsor is not obligated to advance, and the date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after May 15, 2023.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these unaudited condensed financial statements. The unaudited condensed financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
7
Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for audited financial statements. The unaudited condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim period presented. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2023 may not be indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2023. Amounts as of December 31, 2022 included in the condensed balance sheet have been derived from the audited financial statements as of that date. The unaudited condensed financial statements, included herein, should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto, as well as Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in the Company’s Form 10 K for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the unaudited condensed financial statements in conformity with U.S. 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 unaudited condensed financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The significant estimates reflected in the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements include, but is not limited to, valuation of the warrant liability and sponsor convertible note.
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 and cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of March 31, 2023.
Investment Held in Trust Account
The Company’s portfolio of investments held in Trust Account is comprised solely of investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government treasury obligations and generally have a readily determinable fair value. Such securities and investments in money market funds are classified as trading securities and presented on the unaudited condensed 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 the interest earned in Trust Account in the unaudited condensed statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.
Offering Costs Associated with the Public Offering
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A - Expenses of Offering. Offering costs consist of legal and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Public Offering. Offering costs are charged against the carrying value of Class A ordinary share or the statement of operations based on the relative value of the Class A ordinary share and the Warrants, as described below, to the proceeds received from the Units sold upon the completion of the Public Offering. Accordingly, as of the Closing Date, offering costs in the aggregate of $13,267,977 were recognized, $671,494 of which was allocated to the Warrants, as described below, and were immediately expensed, and $12,596,483 was allocated to redeemable Class A ordinary share, reducing the carrying amount of such shares.
8
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage limit of $250,000. At March 31, 2023, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature, except for the warrants and redeemable shares, which are carried at fair value and redemption value, respectively, as discussed below.
Fair Value Measurement
ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes and ranks the level of observability of inputs used to measure investments at fair value. The observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of investment, characteristics specific to the investment, market conditions and other factors. 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).
Investments with readily available quoted prices or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets will typically have a higher degree of input observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value.
The three levels of the fair value hierarchy under ASC 820 are as follows:
● | Level 1 – Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments at the measurement date are used. | |
● | Level 2 – Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the investment, either directly or indirectly. Level 2 pricing inputs include quoted prices for similar investments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar investments in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the investment, and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means. |
● | Level 3- Pricing inputs are unobservable and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the investment. The inputs used in determination of fair value require significant judgment and estimation. |
In some cases, the inputs used to measure fair value might fall within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the investment is categorized in its entirety is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the investment. Assessing the significance of a particular input to the valuation of an investment in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the investment. The categorization of an investment within the hierarchy is based upon the pricing transparency of the investment and does not necessarily correspond to the perceived risk of that investment. See Note 7 for additional information on assets and liabilities measured at fair value.
Derivative Liabilities
The Company evaluated the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, “Warrant Securities”) in accordance with ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” and concluded that the Warrant Securities could not be accounted for as components of equity. As the Warrant Securities meet the definition of a derivative in accordance with ASC 815, the Warrant Securities are recorded as derivative liabilities on the balance sheets and measured at fair value at inception (the Closing Date) and remeasured at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” with changes in fair value recognized in the statements of operations in the period of change.
9
Redeemable Shares
All of the 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with a Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In accordance with SEC staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Such changes are reflected in retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, in additional paid-in capital. As of December 31, 2021, the Company recorded an adjustment to present the redeemable Class A ordinary shares at redemption value of $28,926,483, of which $24,425 was recorded against additional paid-in capital and $28,902,058 was recorded in accumulated deficit. No such adjustments were recorded as of March 31, 2023.
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
FASB 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 as of March 31, 2023. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company is not currently aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals, or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. There is currently no taxation imposed by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
There is currently no taxation imposed by the Government of the Cayman Islands. The Company has no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements.
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Stock Compensation Expense
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation expense in accordance with ASC 718, “Compensation - Stock Compensation” (“ASC 718”). Under ASC 718, stock-based compensation associated with equity-classified awards is measured at fair value upon the grant date and recognized over the requisite service period. To the extent a stock-based award is subject to a performance condition, the amount of expense recorded in a given period, if any, reflects an assessment of the probability of achieving such performance condition, with compensation recognized once the event is deemed probable to occur. The fair value of equity awards has been estimated using a market approach. Forfeitures are recognized as incurred.
The Company’s Class B ordinary shares transferred to incoming directors and management (see Note 4) were deemed to be within the scope of ASC 718, Stock Compensation, and are subject to a performance condition, namely the occurrence of a Business Combination. Compensation expense related to the Class B ordinary shares is recognized only when the performance condition is probable of occurrence, or more specifically when a Business Combination is consummated. Therefore, no stock-based compensation expense has been recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022. The unrecognized compensation expense related to the Class B ordinary shares at March 31, 2023 was $2,612,244 and will be recorded when the performance condition occurs.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Income Per Ordinary Share
The Company’s unaudited condensed statements of operations includes a presentation of income per share for redeemable ordinary shares in a manner similar to the two-class method in calculating net income per ordinary share. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted, for Class A redeemable ordinary shares is computed by dividing the pro rata net income between the Class A ordinary share and the Class B ordinary share by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period, adjusted for the effects of deemed dividend under the assumption that they represent dividends to the holders of Class A redeemable ordinary shares. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted, for Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares is computed by dividing the pro rata net income between the Class A ordinary share and the Class B ordinary share by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period.
The calculation of diluted income per ordinary share does not consider the effect of the warrants and rights issued in connection with the Public Offering since the exercise of the warrants and rights are contingent upon the occurrence of future events. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not have any dilutive warrants, securities or other contracts that could potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares. As a result, diluted income per ordinary share is the same as basic income per ordinary share for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.
A reconciliation of net income per ordinary share as adjusted for the portion of income that is attributable to ordinary shares subject to redemption is as follows:
For the Three Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, 2023 | March 31, 2022 | |||||||
Redeemable Class A Ordinary Share | ||||||||
Numerator: Net income allocable to Redeemable Class A Ordinary Share subject to possible redemption | ||||||||
Net income allocable to ordinary shareholders | $ | 1,535,788 | $ | 5,209,822 | ||||
Less: Net income allocable to Class B Ordinary Shares | (307,158 | ) | (1,041,964 | ) | ||||
Net income allocable to Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 1,228,630 | $ | 4,167,858 | ||||
Denominator: Weighted Average Shares Outstanding of Class A Ordinary Shares | ||||||||
23,000,000 | 23,000,000 | |||||||
$ | 0.05 | $ | 0.18 | |||||
Class B Ordinary Share | ||||||||
Numerator: Net income allocable to Class B Ordinary Share | 307,158 | 1,041,964 | ||||||
Denominator: Weighted Average Shares Outstanding of Class B Ordinary Shares | ||||||||
5,750,000 | 5,750,000 | |||||||
$ | 0.05 | $ | 0.18 |
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Note 3 - Public Offering
In its Public Offering, the Company sold 23,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each unit consists of one share of Class A ordinary shares and one-half of a redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).
The Company paid an underwriting discount of 2.00% of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering, or $4,600,000, to the Underwriters at the Closing Date, with an additional fee (the “Deferred Underwriting Commission”) of 3.50% of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering, or $8,050,000, payable upon the Company’s completion of a Business Combination. The Deferred Underwriting Commission will become payable to the Underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event the Company completes a Business Combination. The Underwriters are not entitled to receive any of the interest earned on Trust Account funds that would be used to pay the Deferred Underwriting Commission. The Deferred Underwriting Commission has been recorded as a deferred liability on the balance sheets.
Note 4 - Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On June 9, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 shares (the “Founder Shares”) of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (“Class B ordinary shares”) for an aggregate price of $25,000. The Sponsor subsequently transferred an aggregate of 402,500 Founder Shares to members of the Company’s board of directors, management team, board of advisors and/or their estate planning vehicles for the same per-share consideration that it originally paid for such shares, resulting in the Sponsor holding 5,347,500 Founder Shares.
As of the Closing Date, the Initial Shareholders held 5,750,000 Founder Shares.
The Founder Shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares sold in the Public Offering except that:
● | the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
● | the Founder Shares are entitled to registration rights; |
● | only holders of Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote in a vote to continue the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (which requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes of all ordinary shares); |
● | the Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which have agreed to (A) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, (C) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period and (D) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the Public Offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination; and |
● | the founder shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described in the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. |
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The initial shareholders agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial business combination or (B) subsequent to the initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares 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 initial business combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their shares of ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement Warrants
On the Closing Date, the Sponsor purchased from the Company 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or $11,700,000, in a Private Placement that occurred in conjunction with the completion of the Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Private Placement Warrants will not be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants. The Sponsor, or its permitted transferees, will have the option to exercise the Private Placement Warrants on a cashless basis. The Private Placement Warrants are not transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination.
If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the Closing Date, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
Indemnity
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 discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduces the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the Underwriters of the Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account. The Company has not independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believes that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company and, therefore, the Sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. The Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such eventuality as the Company believes the likelihood of the Sponsor having to indemnify the Trust Account is limited because the Company will endeavor to have all vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
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Sponsor Convertible Note
On April 1, 2022, the Company issued an unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Sponsor Convertible Note”) to the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to $5,000,000 from the Sponsor for ongoing expenses reasonably related to the business of the Company and the consummation of a Business Combination. The Sponsor Convertible Note is non-interest bearing and all unpaid principal will be due and payable in full on the earlier of (i) May 15, 2023 and (ii) the effective date of a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, involving the Company and one or more businesses (such earlier date, the “Maturity Date”). If the Company completes the initial business combination, the Company will repay any loaned amounts. In the event the Company’s initial business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay such loaned amounts.
Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The Sponsor will have the option, at any time on or prior to the Maturity Date, to convert any amounts outstanding under the Sponsor Convertible Note, into warrants to purchase the Company’s Class A ordinary shares at a conversion price of $1.00 per warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to the same adjustments applicable to the private placement warrants sold concurrently with the Company’s Public Offering. The Sponsor Convertible Note is accounted for within the scope of ASC 480 and is measured at fair value upon the issuance and at each reporting period end with changes in fair value recognized in the statements of operations. The fair value of this Note considers the likelihood of an initial business combination closing and the potential value of such transaction against the likelihood of no initial business combination taking place resulting in the redemption of the public shares and the fair value of the loan approximating its liquidation value. The fair value of the embedded conversion feature upon the issuance of the Sponsor Convertible Note is de minimis.
On January 5, 2023, the Company borrowed $1,250,000 from the Sponsor Convertible Note. As of March 31, 2023, the Company had $1,750,000 in outstanding borrowings under the Sponsor Convertible Note with a fair value of $350,000.
Service and Administrative Fees
The Company has agreed, commencing on November 10, 2021, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to the Company’s management team. As of March 31, 2023, the Company had incurred $167,000 under this arrangement. Upon completion of a Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.
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Note 5 - Shareholders’ Deficit
Preference shares - The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preference shares with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of March 31, 2023, there were
shares of preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary shares - The Company is authorized to issue 200,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of March 31, 2023, there were 23,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, all of which were subject to possible redemption and were classified at their redemption value outside of shareholders’ deficit on the balance sheets.
The Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will the Company redeem its Class A ordinary shares in an amount that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In addition, the proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration the Company would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to the Company, the Company will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Class B Ordinary shares - The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. As of March 31, 2023, there were 5,750,000 shares of Class B ordinary share issued and outstanding.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Company Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of Class B ordinary shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Note 6 - Warrant Liability
As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had 23,200,000 warrants issued in the Public Offering consisting of 11,500,000 Public Warrants and 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants, which are accounted for in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, the Company classified each warrant as a liability at its fair value, with the change in the fair value recognized in the Company’s statements of operations.
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The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination. No warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of ordinary shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
● | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, and |
● | if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
Except as set forth below, none of the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the Company, Sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities - Warrants - Public Shareholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Company Class A ordinary shares except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities - Warrants - Public Shareholders’ Warrants” in the Public Offering prospectus; and |
● | if, and only if, the closing price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities - Warrants - Public Shareholders’ Warrants - Anti-dilution Adjustments” in the Public Offering prospectus) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
The “fair market value” of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. The Company will provide the warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). Any redemption of the warrants for Class A ordinary shares will apply to both the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants.
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No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, the Company will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder.
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, Company 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 Private Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Public Offering, except that the Private Warrants and the shares of ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Warrants will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
The exercise price and number of shares of ordinary shares issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or the Company’s recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of ordinary shares at a price below their respective exercise prices. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the 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.
In addition, if the Company issues additional shares of ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of ordinary shares (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 initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by them prior to such issuance), (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 a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates 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 greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the price at which the Company issues the additional shares of ordinary shares or equity-linked securities.
Dividend Policy
The Company has not paid any cash dividends on their ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to the Company’s initial business combination will be within the discretion of the Company’s board of directors at such time.
Note 7 - Fair Value Measurements
As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $240,586,387 and $238,041,214, respectively, in money market funds which are invested in U.S Treasury Securities. The fair values of cash, prepaid assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses are estimated to approximate the carrying values as of March 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022 due to the short maturities of such instruments.
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The following table presents information about the Company’s derivative assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
As of March 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |||||||||||||
Assets: | ||||||||||||||||
Investments held in Trust Account – Treasury Securities Money Market Fund | $ | 240,586,387 | $ | $ | $ | 240,586,387 | ||||||||||
Total | $ | 240,586,387 | $ | $ | $ | 240,586,387 | ||||||||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||
Sponsor convertible note | $ | $ | $ | 350,000 | $ | 350,000 | ||||||||||
Public Warrants | 1,150,000 | 1,150,000 | ||||||||||||||
Private Placement Warrants | 1,170,000 | 1,170,000 | ||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 1,150,000 | $ | 1,170,000 | $ | 350,000 | $ | 2,670,000 |
As of December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |||||||||||||
Assets: | ||||||||||||||||
Investments held in Trust Account – Treasury Securities Money Market Fund | $ | 238,041,214 | $ | $ | $ | 238,041,214 | ||||||||||
Total | $ | 238,041,214 | $ | $ | $ | 238,041,214 | ||||||||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||
Sponsor convertible note | $ | $ | $ | 100,000 | $ | 100,000 | ||||||||||
Public Warrants | 805,000 | 805,000 | ||||||||||||||
Private Placement Warrants | 819,000 | 819,000 | ||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 805,000 | $ | 819,000 | $ | 100,000 | $ | 1,724,000 |
Transfer to or from Levels 1,2, and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period. The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement and the estimated fair value of the Private Placement Warrants transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 2 measurement during the year ended December 31, 2022 when the Public Warrants were separately listed and traded in January 2022. There were no transfers between levels of the hierarchy for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
The Company recognized $23,664,000 for the derivative warrant liabilities upon their issuance on November 15, 2021. The Sponsor paid an aggregate of $11,700,000 for Private Placement Warrants with an initial aggregate fair value of $11,934,000. The difference between the purchase price and the initial fair value on the Private Placement closing date is recorded against accumulated deficit.
The fair value of the sponsor convertible note for which Level 3 inputs were used at March 31, 2023, considers the likelihood of an initial business combination closing and the potential value of such transaction against the likelihood of no initial business combination taking place resulting in the redemption of the public shares and the fair value of the loan approximating its liquidation value.
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The change in the fair value of the sponsor convertible note, measured with Level 3 inputs, for the period from December 31, 2022 through March 31, 2023, is summarized as follows:
Sponsor convertible note at December 31, 2022 | $ | 100,000 | ||
Proceeds from sponsor convertible note | 1,250,000 | |||
Change in fair value of sponsor convertible note(1) | (1,000,000 | ) | ||
Sponsor convertible note at March 31, 2023 | $ | 350,000 |
(1) | Changes in valuation assumptions are recognized in the change in fair value of sponsor convertible note – related party in the statements of operations. |
Note 8 - Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, will be entitled to registration rights (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares to shares of Class A ordinary shares) pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed on the effective date of the Public Offering, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares to shares of Class A ordinary shares). These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Underwriters purchased 3,000,000 Units to cover over-allotments at the Public Offering price, less the underwriting commissions, bringing the total amount of Units purchased by the Underwriters to 23,000,000 Units.
The Underwriters were paid a cash underwriting discount of two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering, or $4,600,000. Additionally, the Underwriters will be entitled to a Deferred Underwriting Commission of 3.5% or $8,050,000 of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering held in the Trust Account upon the completion of the Company’s initial business combination subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Note 9 - Subsequent Events
Management evaluated subsequent events that occurred after the balance sheet date through the date of issuance of these unaudited condensed financial statements, except on the item noted below, no subsequent events which required adjustment or disclosure.
On April 3, 2023, the Company filed a definitive proxy statement with respect to an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to be held on May 9, 2023, to ask shareholders to approve, among other things, an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which the Company must consummate a Business Combination from May 15, 2023 to May 15, 2024.
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ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
References in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q (the “Quarterly Report”) to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to RCF Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to RCF VII Sponsor LLC. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-Q including, without limitation, statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this Form 10-Q, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or the Company’s management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward- looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in our filings with the SEC. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on the Company’s behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph.
For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 7, 2023 and under “Item 1A – Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on June 9, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not entered into a definitive agreement with a business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry, we intend to target assets or businesses of scale across the critical minerals value chain that are poised to benefit over the long-term from the substantial market opportunity created by the global energy transition. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our 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 following the Public Offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with a business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Public Offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:
● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
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● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
● | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
As indicated in the accompanying condensed unaudited financial statements, as of March 31, 2023, we had $897,575 held outside the Trust Account that is available to us to fund our working capital requirements and $240,586,387 held inside the Trust Account. We cannot assure you that our plan to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
Our registration statements for the Public Offering became effective on November 9, 2021. On November 15, 2021, we consummated the Public Offering of 23,000,000 Units, including the issuance of 3,000,000 Units as a result of the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of $230,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering, we consummated the Private Placement of 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of $11,700,000.
Upon the closing of the Public Offering and the Private Placement, $234,600,000 (or $10.20 per Unit) was placed in the Trust Account. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, if any, the funds held in the Trust Account would not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering, subject to applicable law, (iii) the redemption of the Company’s public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. The proceeds held in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of its public shareholders.
If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Public Offering, or May 15, 2023, 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law.
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On April 3, 2023, we filed a definitive proxy statement with respect to an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to be held on May 9, 2023, to ask shareholders to approve, among other things, an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend (the “Extension”) the date by which we must consummate a Business Combination from May 15, 2023 to May 15, 2024.
Results of Operations
For the three months ended March 31, 2023, we had a net income of $1,535,788, and a loss from operations of $1,313,385, which was comprised of general and administrative expenses, and non-operating income of $2,849,173. Non-operating income was comprised of a change in fair value of sponsor convertible note of $1,000,000 and interest earned in the Trust Account of $2,545,173, offset by a change in fair value of the warrant liability of $696,000. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, we had a net income of $5,209,822, and a loss from operations of $377,681, which was comprised of general and administrative expenses, and non-operating income of $5,587,503. Non-operating income was comprised of a change in fair value of warrant liability of $5,568,000 and interest earned in the Trust Account of $19,503.
Our only activities from inception to March 31, 2023 have been organizational activities, preparation for our public offering, and activities related to pursuing merger opportunities. Since the consummation of our Public Offering through March 31, 2023, our activity has been limited to the evaluation of potential initial business combination candidates, and we will not be generating any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after the public offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. We are incurring increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Prior to the consummation of our Public Offering, our only sources of liquidity were an initial purchase of Founder Shares for $25,000 by the Sponsor, and a total of $296,235 of loans and advances from the Sponsor.
On November 15, 2021, we consummated our Public Offering in which we sold 23,000,000 of the Company’s Units (“Units”, held by “Public Shareholders”), each consisting of one Class A ordinary share (“Public Share”) and one-half warrant (“Redeemable Warrant”) to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50, at a price of $10.00 per Unit generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000 before underwriting fees and expenses. Simultaneously with the consummation of our Public Offering, we consummated the Private Placement of 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants, each Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, to the Sponsor, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of $11,700,000.
In connection with our Public Offering, the Company incurred offering costs of $13,267,977, consisting of $12,650,000 of underwriters fees of which $8,050,000 was recorded as Deferred Underwriting Commissions and $617,977 of other offering costs. Other offering costs consisted principally of formation and preparation fees related to our Public Offering. Of the total offering costs, $671,494 of which was allocated to the Warrants, were immediately expensed and $12,596,483 was allocated to redeemable Class A ordinary shares, reducing the carrying amount of such shares.
Of the $241,700,000 total proceeds from the Public Offering and Private Placement, $234,600,000 was placed in our U.S.-based Trust Account, established for the benefit of our public shareholders. Prior to the closing of our Public Offering, the Sponsor had made $296,235 in loans and advances to the Company. The loans and advances were non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the completion of our Public Offering. The loans of $296,235 were fully repaid upon the consummation of our Public Offering on November 15, 2021.
As of March 31, 2023, we have available to us $897,575 of cash on our balance sheet and a working capital deficit of $645,061. We will use the available cash primarily to find and evaluate target businesses, perform business, legal, and accounting due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination. The interest income earned on the investments in our Trust Account are unavailable to fund operating expenses.
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In order to finance transaction costs in connection with the initial business combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account. As of March 31, 2023, there was $1,750,000 outstanding under the Sponsor Convertible Note with a fair value of $350,000.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. We anticipate that the cash held outside of the Trust Account as of March 31, 2023, will not be sufficient to allow us to operate until May 15, 2023, the date at which we must complete a Business Combination (unless otherwise extended in accordance with our organizational documents). If we are unable to complete a Business Combination by May 15, 2023 (unless otherwise extended in accordance with our organizational documents), then we will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating.
In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB’s ASU 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” while we expect to have sufficient access to additional sources of capital under the Sponsor Convertible Note, there is no current obligation on the part of the Sponsor to provide additional capital and no assurances can be provided that such additional capital will ultimately be available if necessary. Management also has determined that the Company will be unable to complete a Business Combination by May 15, 2023, the date of which the Company must complete a Business Combination. If, prior to that date, the required majority of shareholders do not vote in favor of extending the date to May 15, 2024, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. Management has determined that substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern due to the need to obtain additional capital from the Sponsor to address the Company’s liquidity condition, which the Sponsor is not obligated to advance, and the date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after May 15, 2023.
As of March 31, 2023, we have no obligations, assets or liabilities which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements. 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 entered into any non-financial assets.
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On June 9, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 Founder Shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares for an aggregate price of $25,000. The Sponsor subsequently transferred an aggregate of 402,500 Founder Shares to members of the Company’s board of directors, management team, board of advisors and/or their estate planning vehicles for the same per-share consideration that it originally paid for such shares, resulting in the Sponsor holding 5,347,500 Founder Shares. The Founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A ordinary shares at the time of the Company’s initial business combination.
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Our initial shareholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Sponsor Convertible Note
On April 1, 2022, we issued an unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Sponsor Convertible Note”) to our Sponsor, pursuant to which we may borrow up to $5,000,000 from the Sponsor for ongoing expenses reasonably related to the business of the Company and the consummation of a Business Combination. The Sponsor Convertible Note is non-interest bearing and all unpaid principal will be due and payable in full on the earlier of (i) May 15, 2023 and (ii) the effective date of a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, involving us and one or more businesses (such earlier date, the “Maturity Date”). If we complete the initial business combination, we will repay any loaned amounts. In the event our 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 the Trust Account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Our Sponsor will have the option, at any time on or prior to the Maturity Date, to convert any amounts outstanding under the Sponsor Convertible Note, into warrants to purchase the Company’s Class A ordinary shares at a conversion price of $1.00 per warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to the same adjustments applicable to the private placement warrants sold concurrently with the Company’s Public Offering. The Sponsor Convertible Note is accounted for within the scope of ASC 480 and is measured at fair value upon the issuance and at each reporting period end with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations. The fair value of this Note considers the likelihood of an initial business combination closing and the potential value of such transaction against the likelihood of no initial business combination taking place resulting in the redemption of the public shares and the fair value of the loan approximating its liquidation value. The fair value of the embedded conversion feature upon the issuance of Sponsor Convertible Note is de minimis.
On January 5, 2023, the Company borrowed $1,250,000 from the Sponsor Convertible Note. As of March 31, 2023, the Company had $1,750,000 in outstanding borrowings under the Sponsor Convertible Note with a fair value of $350,000.
Commitments and Contractual Obligations
At March 31, 2023, we did not have any long-term debt, finance lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities.
Service and Administrative Fees
We agreed, commencing on November 10, 2021, to pay an affiliate of our Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to our management team. As of March 31, 2023, the Company has incurred $167,000 in these fees. Upon completion of a business combination or the Company’s liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters were paid a cash underwriting discount of two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering, or $4,600,000. Additionally, the underwriters will be entitled to a Deferred Underwriting Commission of 3.5% or $8,050,000 of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering held in the Trust Account upon the completion of the Company’s initial business combination subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. The Deferred Underwriting Commissions will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes an initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
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Registration and Shareholder Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans) were entitled to registration rights pursuant to the registration rights agreement signed upon the effective date of the Public Offering. The holders of these securities were entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Employment Agreement
On September 1, 2022, we entered into the Employment Agreement with Mr. Shah. The Employment Agreement has a term commencing September 1, 2022 and terminates automatically on the later of (i) May 15, 2023, (ii) August 15, 2023 if the Company has executed a letter of intent or agreement in principle in connection with a business combination, and (iii) the closing date of a business combination. Under the Employment Agreement, Mr. Shah is entitled to earn an annual salary of $50,000 and will be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses necessary for him to carry out his duties. Mr. Shah or the Company may terminate the employment with three months’ written notice; however, no notice is required in the case of an automatic termination as described above, or for the Company to terminate the employment for cause, such as due to gross misconduct or material breach of obligations, as set forth under the Employment Agreement. The Employment Agreement also provides for post termination obligations for Mr. Shah, including customary non-compete covenants for up to six months following any termination.
As of March 31, 2023, Mr. Shah received compensation of $29,167 under the Employment Agreement. The foregoing description of the Employment Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified by reference to the full text of the Employment Agreement, filed as Exhibit 10.8 to this Annual Report.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Income Per Ordinary Share
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income per share for redeemable ordinary shares in a manner similar to the two-class method in calculating net income per ordinary share. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted, for Class A redeemable ordinary shares is computed by dividing the pro rata net income between the Class A ordinary share and the Class B ordinary share by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period, adjusted for the effects of deemed dividend under the assumption that they represent dividends to the holders of Class A redeemable ordinary shares. Net income per ordinary share, basic and diluted, for Class B non-redeemable ordinary shares is computed by dividing the pro rata net income between the Class A ordinary share and the Class B ordinary share by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period.
The calculation of diluted income per ordinary share does not consider the effect of the warrants and rights issued in connection with the Public Offering since the exercise of the warrants and rights are contingent upon the occurrence of future events. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not have any dilutive warrants, securities or other contracts that could potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares. As a result, diluted income per ordinary share is the same as basic income per ordinary share for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.
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Derivative Liabilities
The Company evaluated the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, “Warrant Securities”) in accordance with ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” and concluded that the Warrant Securities could not be accounted for as components of equity. As the Warrant Securities meet the definition of a derivative in accordance with ASC 815, the Warrant Securities are recorded as derivative liabilities on the balance sheet and measured at fair value at inception (the Closing Date) and remeasured at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change.
Redeemable Shares
All of the 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with a business combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Such changes are reflected in retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, in additional paid-in capital. On December 31, 2021, the Company recorded an adjustment to present the redeemable Class A ordinary shares at redemption value of $28,926,483, of which $24,425 was recorded against additional paid-in capital and $28,902,058 was recorded in accumulated deficit. No such adjustments were recorded as of March 31, 2023.
Investments Held in the Trust Account
Our portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account is comprised 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, or investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities, or a combination thereof. The investments held in the Trust Account are 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 are included in net gain from investments held in Trust Account on the statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statement.
Emerging Growth Company
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable.
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We 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.
Recent Developments
On March 14, 2023, we signed a non-binding letter of intent for a business combination with a company in the critical minerals sector (“Target”). However, no assurances can be made that we and Target will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement regarding a business combination. Any transaction would be subject to board and equity holder approval of both companies, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
On April 3, 2023, the Company filed a definitive proxy statement with respect to an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to be held on May 9, 2023, to ask shareholders to approve, among other things, an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend (the “Extension”) the date by which the Company must consummate a Business Combination from May 15, 2023 to May 15, 2024.
ITEM 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Not applicable.
ITEM 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Quarterly 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 Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2023, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of March 31, 2023, 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.
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.
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PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in this Quarterly Report are any of the risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 7, 2023. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risk factors not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business or results of operations.
As of the date of this Quarterly Report, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 7, 2023. However, we may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS.
On November 15, 2021, we consummated our Public Offering of 23,000,000 units. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $230,000,000. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc. acted as representatives of the Underwriters. The securities sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-260462). The SEC declared the registration statement effective on November 9, 2021.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering, we consummated the Private Placement of 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of $11,700,000. Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants, except that so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company (except in certain circumstances as described further below), (ii) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the Company completes its initial business combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) they will be entitled to registration rights.
Net proceeds of $234,600,000 from the Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement are held in the Trust Account as of March 31, 2023. We incurred offering costs of $13,267,977 related to the Public Offering, including $12,650,000 in underwriting discounts. In addition, the Underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their 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 other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. No payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning ten percent or more of our ordinary shares or to their associates, or to our affiliates. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from the Public Offering as described in our final prospectus dated November 9, 2021, which was filed with the SEC.
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ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
The following exhibits are filed as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
* | Filed herewith. |
** | These certifications are furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and are deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, nor shall they be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
RCF ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
Date: April 28, 2023 | /s/ Sunny S. Shah | |
Name: | Sunny S. Shah | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
Date: April 28, 2023 | /s/ Thomas M. Boehlert | |
Name: | Thomas M. Boehlert | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Director (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
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